Sheffield Steelers add defenceman to their roster - once he's finished his GCSEs!

The six-feet tall defenceman, aged 16, will be encouraged to follow the ice hockey route established by NHL draft hopeful Liam Kirk.

That appeals to him - but for the next few days exams will come first for the Crewe-born teenager

It’s an intense time for Griffin, who was skipper of his club side, Bradford Bulldogs (U18s) and trained with Steelers last season.

He has played internationally in Austria and Slovakia and joins ex-Bradford team-mate Kieran Brown and Cole Shudra as Steeler apprentices, with Kirk expected to move to North America.

Coach Paul Thompson said: “We are committed to bringing through the best young British talent that we can. We have seen the progress of Liam and the opportunities ahead for him this summer.

“Jordan trained with us several times last year. I was impressed with how he improved every time we saw him. He took in the information that we gave him and we liked his desire to get better.

“He is a big kid for his age and the fact that he was a d-man was a big factor for us as we wanted to bring into our programme someone in this position.

“Jordan will practice with us and play a part in pre-season games” said the coach.

“We will then take a look at the best place for him to play because game minutes are vital for his development.”

Griffin, a product of the Manchester Phoenix youth system before moving to Bradford, suspects that he’ll play most of his games for Sheffield Steeldogs, while studying sports science at a college in the city.

He has yet to speak to the city’s second club.

But Griffin said of the Steeler interest: “This is a great chance for me.

“I look at the progress that the likes of Liam, Cole and Kieran have had and realise I’m lucky to be joining Steelers at this time.

“I enjoyed training with Steelers and playing against better players.

“I want to get better and play at the highest level I can.”