Why Jason Hewitt is backed by Aaron Fox to have big impact for Sheffield Steelers in Elite Series

The 37-year-old veteran will tonight lace up as a Steeler for the first time in five years when Fox’s team open up their Elite Series campaign against arch-rivals Nottingham Panthers at the National Ice Centre.

Hewitt is second in the all-time list of appearances for the club at 682, scoring 104 goals and 174 assists between 2006-1016, when he helped the club lift three playoff trophies and four regular season league championships.

And he has been given an unexpected opportunity to add to his tally across all categories after being one of seven draft picks made by Fox ahead of the behind-closed-doors series.

Hewitt left the Steelers to drop down a level to the Hull Pirates, where he went on to become player-coach, leading them to a treble in the 2018-19 season.

More recently, Hewitt has played for Sheffield Steeldogs in the Spring Cup, where he was second-highest points scorer among the forwards with 25, including 10 goals, across 12 games as Greg Wood’s team went through the competition unbeaten.

“Hewey is actually playing with a very high degree of confidence right now,” said Fox. “He is going to play with some really good players here and he can play up and down my line-up on any given night.

“I didn’t know much about his skating before we got together, but he’s kept up and looked really, really good – he will play a really big role for us in this series.

“And if he doesn’t bring that offence, what I love about a guy like Hewey is that he can kill penalties, he can win you face-offs, he can finish games for you.

“He’s a winner and I love that mindset.”

While with the Steeldogs, Hewitt has been on a powerhouse line during both the Spring Cup and the earlier Streaming Series with Steelers’ teenage forward Alex Graham and GB international Ben Lake.

Graham, posted nine goals and 11 assists will team up again with Hewitt for the Elite Series, while Lake - who has previously played with Coventry Blaze and Belfast Giants - was drafted by Manchester Storm.

Fox has been trying several line combinations during the past week, but said teaming Hewitt with the talented 18-year-old was an option.

“There are a lot of options,” added Fox. “one day this week I had Hewey in the middle of Liam Kirk and Robert Dowd, but I’ve mixed up my lines quite a lot. But yes, there’s an option where I could put Alex and Hewey together and slide somebody in on the left side of them – we’ve got plenty of options.”

All the Elite Series games will be screened via live streams. For more details and the various packages available head HERE

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