Revived Sarich positive Steelers can bounce back

DESPITE it being less than 12 months after suffering a career-threatening injury, Sheffield Steelers’ defenceman Rod Sarich says he feels in better shape now than at any point in the last three years.

The 31-year-old – now in his eighth season with the three-time Elite League champions – alarmingly, yet thankfully briefly, faced the possibility of calling time on his career after he lost the use of part of his kidney when surgery was required to correct damage done in what seemed like an innocuous on-ice hit during a game against arch-rivals Nottingham Panthers last November.

It’s been a long and often arduous road back to a full recovery for Sarich who, after missing the majority of the 2011-12 season, returned just in time for an ultimately failed league title bid and a surprisingly early play-off exit for coach Ryan Finnerty’s team.

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A summer of exhaustive strength and conditioning training followed for Sarich, something he admits was painful at times, but which has clearly proved worthwhile given the peak physical condition he now feels he is in.

“Last weekend, I probably felt better than at any time in the last three years or so,” said Sarich, who has not suffered any further ill-effects from his alarming kidney injury.

“I actually feel like I am back to peak fitness. I’ve been feeling better and better on the ice with each passing week. I lost a lot of core strength and speed because of the injury and then the surgery, but I feel like I’ve got that back now.”

Sarich said his rehabilitation also seems to have helped solve a separate longstanding issue with his back, which he said had plagued him since the championship-winning 2010-11 season.

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“I seem to have overcome the back problem I had for a long while,” he added. “I feel like a new man and, given where I was about 11 months ago, I feel like I have come a long way.”

Sarich admitted last weekend’s home defeats to Nottingham Panthers and Coventry Blaze – which resulted in forward Cory Pecker being fired soon afterwards – were regrettable, but believes he has seen enough on the current Steelers’ roster to believe they can get back to winning ways in this week’s matches against Cardiff Devils and Braehead Clan.

“It’s still very early in the season,” said Sarich. “But we are making good progress as a team. We’ve managed to get some early wins on the board and there are going to be more tougher games this season.

“We seem to be a bit of a Jekyll and Hyde team at the moment, so we need to try and find more consistency in our performances.

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“You’re always going to have spells where the puck doesn’t go in for you. But as long as we are going about things the right way, with the right attitude, it always turns around.”

Twitter: @PHarrisonYP