Duncs drafted in to find Sheffield ice hockey's next Liam Kirk

Steve Duncombe, who played 124 games for Steelers, (2001-6) has been appointed as assistant coach at Steeldogs, where he will be piloting the emergence of young talent through the iceSheffield system.

The 39-year-old ex defenceman played his last game for Sheffield Scimitars two years ago to round off a playing career that included roster spots at Peterborough, Blackburn, Sutton and Leeds.

Now he will be right-hand man for Dogs' coach Ben Morgan, as well as influencing the youngsters coming through.

That is a positive, given the amount of quality youngsters who have gone elsewhere domestically and overseas.

"There is no way we should have let kids leave the Sheffield system" he said.

"I guess in the past it was politics, but we have it all here, a huge catchment, great facilities and it now seems like some strong leadership from Tony Smith to bring it all together.

"I am excited with this project.

"It’s something I always wanted: where an eight, nine 10 year old kid could see a way of playing through the Academy with the dream of playing in front of 9,000 fans at the Arena one day as a professional.

“I was so happy when Ben called and we spoke about the vision to do something really special here and I can’t wait to get started with the guys.

“It should have happened years ago, it didn’t, but it’s happening now and all of us have to make sure we make it a success”.

Morgan said he had wholehearted trust in Duncombe, who came through the Sheffield system, which developed NHL draftee Liam Kirk.

The Dogs' head coach expected 'Duncs' to "challenge my own coaching principles and philosophies."

He added: "As a product of the Sheffield junior system, Duncs shares our vision and commitment to developing the next generation of players and will play a vital role in ensuring we strike the balance between competitive first team performances and wider squad development.”