Stephenson keen to move forward

The 27-year-old blue-liner is being touted as a like-for-like replacement for the now-retired Steve Munn, who made himself a crowd favourite during three trophy-laden seasons at Sheffield Arena.

Much like Munn – seen as an archetypal stay-at-home defenceman – Ontario-born Stephenson arrives in the UK on the back of two impressive seasons of AHL hockey, North America’s second-tier.

A key component for the Texas Stars in terms of shutting down opposition teams’ top lines, Stephenson rarely had chance to contribute offensively, posting just 10 assists in 136 games with the Dallas Stars’ No 1 affiliate.

But his one full season in the East Coast League and several years of college hockey prior to turning pro, saw Stephenson display a more offensive side to his game, something he is keen to return to when he lines up for the Steelers in September in what will be his first taste of hockey outside North America.

“I was always looking to make a change this season,” said Stephenson, for who the deal to come to South Yorkshire was made more appealing partly due to the opportunity of returning to study at university.

“It was obviously a chance for me to return to being a student and trying to better myself – I want to do what’s bnest for my family in the long run. But it also means I can carry on playing what people are telling me is a good and improving standard of hockey.

“I’m sure it’s going to be a very competitive league.”

Stephenson admits his last two seasons in the AHL have been a bit “up and down” – last season saw him sidelined initially before forcing his way into the Texas team – and says he plans to settle down quickly in South Yorkshire with his young family.

“Last season, I was out of the Texas line-up quite a bit but then played plenty towards the end of the season and helped them get into the play-offs,” he added.

“The previous season we got the final of the play-offs (where they lost 4-2 to the Hershey Bears) and I had a really good year, helping shut down other teams’ top lines every night and being on the top penalty killing line.”

But while Stephenson may not have had much chance to show his offensive skills in Texas, Steelers’ player-coach Ryan Finnerty has already made it clear he is more than happy to let his new defensive acquisition try his hand down the other end of the ice whenever the opportunity arises, a situation the new arrival is delighted with.

“It was difficult to show that side of my game at Texas – but I knew what my main role was and I had no problem with that,” added Stephenson.

“But in college I got more of an opportunity to play offensively and that’s definitely something I believe I can contribute more of when I get to Sheffield.”

Finnerty – who on Thursday is expected to unveil his final signing of the summer, believed to be American-born defenceman Steve Birnstill – said having a player on board of Stephenson’s calibre showed the Steelers are serious about defending their regular season crown.

“You’ve got to be doing something right if you’ve played in the AHL on a regular basis for the past two seasons,” said Finnerty.

“He’s totally bought into his role as a stay-at-home defenceman but we’re going to allow him to contribute much more than that at both ends of the ice.”