Sheffield Steelers need a new Ken Priestlay

A decent run of results and the signing of Andreas Jamtin hasn’t lessened the need for some new blood.

And if he could pick up today’s equivalent of any previous player in Steeler history it would be Ken Priestlay, he says.

Asked about his recruitment plans, the head coach replied: “We always look. We brought Jamtin in, there’s a lot more to come from him.

“I am happy with his style and that type of smart player.

“We need some intelligence and we need to add depth to our line up and a little bit more flair.

“We will see if that’s around and that’s available and that’s not saying we are shipping anybody out, we are just looking to add a little bit more to our team.”

Thompson’s side has been rattled by injuries, with players out of the line-up or playing well under 100%.

“We’ve been playing five defencemen in the last 10 or 11 games and that is a concern to me.

“We are always looking to improve.

“And wherever we think we can improve a position we will look to do it.

“That’s not scaremongering the team know that, they know what we are about.

“I am not looking to stir anything.

“The story is if the right player becomes available and makes us better we will go after him.”

Thompson said: “We could do with a young Ken Priestlay. That would be nice.

“We have the League’s top scorer for the past three years, (Mathieu Roy) in our line-up, and he’s injured. And he hasn’t really got going all season.

“But if we can add to that, maybe that’s an area we are looking to increase.”

As for Roy: “We have got to get him mended. And that’s what we intend to do.”

FACTSPOT: Ken Priestlay, who turned 50 years old recently, scored 254 goals in 279 games for Steelers; that’s 472 points in total. Only Jeff Legue, Steve Nemeth and Ron Shudra netted a bigger points haul than ‘The Messiah.’