Is there a better choice for the job as Sheffield Steelers' captain?

Many fans see Dowd as an obvious replacement for long-term skipper Jonathan Phillips, who retired from the EIHL at the end of last season.

A decision on who wears the Steelers' 'C' will probably be taken after the pre-season exhibition games.

But Dowd, who has gone from being the 'Golden Child' to the oldest player on coach Aaron Fox's books, has made no bones about his thoughts on the matter.

"I would love that, that would be a great honour and a privilege if I was awarded the C" he told The Star.

"Obviously it's not my decision, it is completely down to the coach and I think he will make that in his own time.

"But if I am awarded it, it would be an absolute honour to represent this club with a 'C' on my chest."

The 35-year-old stressed: "I don't want to act as if I am retiring.

"But that would cap off a nice career here if I got awarded a 'C,' near the end , it would be pretty poetic, to be honest.

"It would be very nice, coming here as a young lad, (2006-07 season) then making it my home, setting roots down and now my kids and my wife all have Yorkshire accents...and then have a 'C' on my jersey.

"But if it doesn't happen I'll still be here doing the same job."

If the captaincy went elsewhere, the 741-game Steeler will support the skipper in the same way as he did for Phillips, he stressed.

Fox wouldn't be short of other candidates, with Scott Allen wearing the "A" last year like Dowd, new skater Colton Saucerman has performed a leadership role at Innsbruck and Daniel Ciampini is a model professional. Marco Vallerand was a captain way back in his major junior days.

Meanwhile, Dowd said his wife "laughed her head off" after The Star labelled him as the oldest player on the roster, recently.

"I never realised before we saw the article that I was the oldest player on books" he said.

"It was a shock, I think we should bring Jonna back for one more year just so I am not the oldest!"

Whether or not Dowd gets the 'C,' Dowd will be helping integrate half the roster who are new to the Steelers' system.

In terms of the number of new faces, the Great Britain winger said: "I didn't know quite what to expect, we had a good year but not a great year as we did not lift any silverware.

"Third place is not a thing to boast about in Sheffield. It's been too long since we had success.

"Obviously, changes were going to be made but I wasn't sure how many there would be - 10 is quite a big number!

"I am just glad I am not the man to make those calls and make those changes, but now we look like a very strong team."