Sheffield Steelers v Dynamo Pardubice: Aaron Fox hails Steelers' ability to rise to European challenge

WHEN the Champions Hockey League draw was made in May this year, Sheffield Steelers’ head coach Aaron Fox couldn’t help but laugh when asked about the scale of the challenge that would face his team at the start of their 2024-25 campaign.

Drawing two teams from each of Sweden, Czechia and Switzerland, it was hard to envisage how the CHL ‘regular season’ could have been made any harder for the Elite League grand slam winners.

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Now, with one game remaining in the competition’s first phase, Fox and his players stand on the brink of a remarkable achievement.

It could be that results on last night have already ensured the Steelers a place in the last 16 knockout phase before they even take to the ice against Czechia regular season champions Dynamo Pardubice at the Utilita Arena this evening.

ON THE CUSP: Sheffield Steelers' head coach, Aaron Fox,ON THE CUSP: Sheffield Steelers' head coach, Aaron Fox,
ON THE CUSP: Sheffield Steelers' head coach, Aaron Fox,

Either way, when the dust has settled and regardless of whether the Steelers have made it through to the second phase, their campaign in Europe will rightly be viewed as a success.

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Last year, the Belfast Giants came within a whisker of matching the achievement of Nottingham Panthers back in 2018 to be the only Elite League team to make it into the second phase.

This year, the Steelers’ performances and wins against some of Europe’s finest while continually billed as underdogs have further changed perceptions about the UK’s top tier.

It is a journey Fox and his players have rightly enjoyed and one they are keen to extend beyond tonight.

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SOLID: Sheffield Steelers' netminder Matt Greenfield in action against Skelleftea last month. Picture: Dean Woolley/Steelers Media.SOLID: Sheffield Steelers' netminder Matt Greenfield in action against Skelleftea last month. Picture: Dean Woolley/Steelers Media.
SOLID: Sheffield Steelers' netminder Matt Greenfield in action against Skelleftea last month. Picture: Dean Woolley/Steelers Media.

“I think if you would have told me before the competition started that this is the position we’d be in with one game left, I would have been pretty excited and happy about that,” he said.

“We knew we had a tough draw but we feel we have played very well in the competition.

“It’s been good for the league as a whole and good for us as a club to show we can play with these teams and prove that we can be competitive.

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“Obviously we would love to advance. If we don’t advance, that’s our own doing with the position that we’re in right now and controlling our own destiny, but I’d still say the campaign has been a success, regardless of the situation, considering how well we’ve played some of these games.

BELONGING: Sheffield Steelers' Mikko Juusola celebrates scoring against CHL rivals, Sparta Prague. Picture: Dean Woolley/Steelers MediaBELONGING: Sheffield Steelers' Mikko Juusola celebrates scoring against CHL rivals, Sparta Prague. Picture: Dean Woolley/Steelers Media
BELONGING: Sheffield Steelers' Mikko Juusola celebrates scoring against CHL rivals, Sparta Prague. Picture: Dean Woolley/Steelers Media

“It definitely puts a different strain on your group mentally and physically, but that’s part of the excitement of it as well. We’re really happy that we’ve been able to showcase ourselves like we have so far.

“I think it will have made Europe look at the Elite League a bit differently. Belfast had a really good campaign last year, too, and then you saw them struggle with some stuff early doors – it’s not a normal situation being in this competition.”

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The Steelers’ players have raised their game every time in Europe, but the same has been required of Fox and his coaching team, too. It is a challenge the 48-year-old American has relished, including when coming up against Stanley Cup-winning coach Marc Crawford when taking on Zurich Lions last week.

“We’re a pretty detail-oriented coaching staff and we try to make sure the guys are as prepared as they possibly can be with regard to what we’re going to see from each and every team,” explained Fox.

“We can put pieces in place but the players are the ones who are going to have to go out there and execute and compete and play a certain way, which they have done, so credit to them for how they have reacted in these situations.

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“For me personally, it’s been challenging, but also it’s been fun – you pick up a few different tricks of the trade when you watch how some of these other teams operate and some systems stuff.”

The Steelers head into the game against Pardubice on the back of something unheard of in the team’s recent history, three straight losses.

Granted the first of those came in a 2-1 shoot-out loss in Zurich, a game in which the Steelers again more than held their own against more illustrious opposition and had chances to put the game to bed inside 60 minutes. Of slightly more concern to Fox has been his team’s domestic form, something which came to the fore at the weekend with defeats at Manchester Storm – in the Challenge Cup – and in the league at Coventry Blaze in the league.

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But, while frustrated, the Steelers’ head coach doesn’t doubt his players will be able to raise their game on the European stage once more.

“There were parts of our game that I liked but there definitely wasn’t a 60-minute game in either of those efforts,” added Fox. “So, yeah, it’s slightly concerning as we’ve seen how good we can play against some of these European teams, but I know it’s been a tough schedule for us.

“We’ve played a lot of hockey up until now and a lot of hockey that matters for this early in the season.

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“And we’ve got some guys dinged up but I still feel like with our group that we’ve got better in there than what we had over the weekend and we’ll work at that.”

“We’ll make sure that we make it right here, because our goals are pretty standard and what I expect out of our group and what I expect out of myself - which is to be competing for as many trophies as possible.”

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