New Sheffield Steelers' signing Daine Todd puts injury behind him

The offensive defenceman - who represents the finishing touch to coach Aaron Fox's squad - saw his career temporarily put on hold by surgery and the pandemic.

He iced just 16 times for Germany' s Iserlohn Roosters in 2019-20 and was recuperating during the following campaign, which itself was shortened in most countries by coronavirus.

But Todd, aged 34, says his knee is now completely fixed and he is looking forward to proving that on Sheffield ice.

He underwent arthroscopy, a surgical procedure to treat problems inside a joint, and accepts his final season with the DEL team "wasn't one of my best years."

He told The Star: "I tried to play with the issue, while it was nothing major the knee just needed cleaning up and then enough time to heal.

"Unfortunately it ate up most of that season, which wasn't great, but I am healthy now and feeling great.

"No player likes taking a year off (2020-21) but looking back it probably wasn't the worse thing for me. I had that time to get completely healthy.

"While it was quick, easy surgery it needed time to heal and more than enough time, it worked out well."

The pandemic lockdown meant, for a while, it was difficult to access gyms in his home area of Alberta, Canada.

"It was a hurdle but it feels like I have been training for a year and a half so I feel strong."

His full recovery allows him to think ahead - he has no intention of retiring any time soon, certainly not at the end of his one-year Sheffield contract.

"I am getting older but definitely want to keep playing as long as I can and I see myself playing for a few years," said the former Portland Pirates' skater.

"If it goes well I would like to extend it [Steelers deal]. I didn't see Sheffield as a place to 'grab' a contract. I saw it as a place possibly for a few years if I played well enough. That's definitely what I'd be looking to do.

"I've heard great things and am looking forward to getting my family over there. I have a wife and a little girl who is a year and a half. We had her in Germany and it was a big part of why I picked Sheffield, that balance with the family, it was a big factor."

Todd said he'd assessed the club as a "professionally run organisation with passionate fans and a place where the quality of life is great, it checks all boxes. That is what sold it for me."