Steve Carpenter's tribute to Sheffield Steelers' coach

Few people are qualified to judge Sheffield Steelers boss Paul Thompson on his coaching and team-building expertise.
Steve Carpenter in his Steeler daysSteve Carpenter in his Steeler days
Steve Carpenter in his Steeler days

But Steve Carpenter certainly is.

‘Carps’ was a mid-ice hit specialist with Steelers in season 2001-1. But it was his time at Coventry Blaze, where Thompson coached with distinction from 2000-14, which gave him the opportunity to watch the team boss construct winning teams. “Thommo has proven what a good coach he is but his real talent is recruiting the right group of players” he said on Blaze’s website. “He always was able to find gems, keep a strong core and then add to it.”

Carpenter, who fractured his neck 2014 playing hockey, was also happy to compare Thompson with legendary Sheffield and Nottingham Panthers coach Mike Blaisdell.

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They were: “Very different- Thommo is a very technical based guy and builds a lot of systems into his teams. Blazer was more of an old school guy where he put people in good situations for their skill-set, then let them play. They were both ‘players coaches though,’ they both cared about their players. They were approachable and liked to have a good laugh which made you want to play for harder them!”