Hot Sauce: Sheffield Steelers' new defenceman will keep the game 'honest'

But that philosophy will go out the window if anybody takes liberties with his new Sheffield Steelers' team-mates.

The bushy-bearded defenceman insists he's not normally the type to initiate a punch-up.

However, he feels that the occasional bout of fisticuffs is essential to "keep the game of ice hockey honest."

Saucerman, one of three new Sheffield blue liners, is not the most obvious exponent of ice hockey's dark arts - he's a relatively modest 5ft 9ins tall.

That hasn't stopped him from firing warning shots in the past, though.

One example springs to mind.

When 'Sauce' was playing for Manchester Monarchs, in the ECHL, he came up close and personal with a rival he later discovered to be an enforcer who was leading the league in penalty minutes.

"It turned out to be a tough guy by the name of Yannick Turcotte; he was one of the toughest guys in the ECHL that year when he played for Worcester Railers" recalled the American.

"This guy was poking and prodding at our goaltender so I slashed him aggressively without really knowing who he was!

"I don't think I won that fight...but I was definitely in it!"

The decision-making behind whether to fight, or not, is a simple one for Saucerman, who could be an influential character on and off the ice in the Sheffield side of 2023-24.

"Although I am a smaller guy I will always fight to defend my team mates" he said.

"So if something happens that I don't like, either to myself or to a team mate, something that I feel is uncalled for, then I will definitely answer the bell.

"But I am not looking for it; I think I provide other good qualities so I don't need to go looking for fights" said the 31-year-old.

"I think it is a part of the game and what makes hockey unique.

"We have referees who do a good job but they miss things, that is human nature, and fighting allows us to help police the game. Every sport should have it!

"In fact, don't you wish your life was that - if you don't like something you can have a fight and then sit in the corner for five minutes?"

Saucerman clearly isn't somebody you'd want to get on the wrong side of, on the ice pad.

And one organisation that seemingly did that was his 2021-22 employers, HC Kosice.

"While I was in Slovakia there was a problem with my wife getting a visa" he explained.

"She didn't get it and so overstayed her 90 days in the EU and her passport ended up getting flagged so she had six six-month ban from the EU.

"The team was supposed to help us out, and I was fuming - I had to pay an 800 Euro fine and didn't get reimbursed, so it is safe to say I won't be going back to Slovakia.

"It didn't completely leave a sour taste as I enjoyed the city, my team mates were fine, the problem was with management and ownership but I have lost interest in ever going back there."