Sheffield Steelers racing to get defenceman Josef Hrabal in to face Fife Flyers

The Steelers were always prepared for the exit of highly-rated defenceman Mikko Kuukka, which was confirmed on Wednesday night when the Steelers established a 5-2 lead over Manchester Storm in the first leg of their Challenge Cup quarter-final.

The same night, the Steelers announced that it would be a case of one out, one in at the FlyDSA Arena with the signing of 34-year-old Czech Republic-born defenceman Josef Hrabal.

And with defensive trio James Bettauer, Jonas Liwing and Aaron Johnson all currently on the long-term injury list, Steelers’ head coach Aaron Fox is hoping the paperwork will be completed in time for Hrabal - who arrives in the UK this morning - to make his debut against Todd Dutiaume’s team.

Fox said while he was sorry to see Kuukka depart, it was always something he was prepared for, the 34-year-old blue liner returning to the Finnish top-tier Liiga after agreeing a deal with Jukerit, currently lying third-bottom in the standings.

“We always knew that Mikko would be a short-term signing, in fact I think we were lucky to keep him as long as we did,” said Fox. “He really enjoyed his time here and I think it was a tougher decision for him than he thought it was going to be.

“We leave on good terms and you never know if our paths will cross again.”

While he has quickly secured another defenceman to replace the outgoing Kuukka, Fox says Hrabal - a team-mate of fellow defenceman Marek Troncinsky, who joined the Steelers in early October - brings a different dynamic to the Steelers’ back line.

“We have been looking for a replacement for a short while and we are delighted to sign Josef,” added Fox on a player who had a very brief spell in the KHL but has spent the majority of his career in the Czech top tier. “He is a little bit more of a two-way player so he isn’t a like-for-like replacement for Mikko.

“Josef has ample experience, he has played in top leagues and last year was a team-mate of Marek Troncinsky.

“We are doing everything we can to get the paperwork sorted by the weekend, we are confident that he will be in the line up for Fife on Saturday.”

The clash against the Flyers is the only game for the Steelers this weekend, with Fox’s team heading over to Altrincham next Wednesday for the second leg of their Challenge Cup semi-final.