New Steeler seeks successful EIHL career after being cut by rival UK club

The five feet seven inches tall forward from Turin should play against Coventry Blaze this weekend.

It will be his first appearance in the UK since being cut from Dundee Stars' roster in October 2016, when his coach felt he was not a game-changer.

Ironically Traversa is a former team-mate (Alaska Aces 2015-16) of Anthony DeLuca, who failed a drugs test while at Sheffield.

DeLuca has now signed for Trois-Rivières Lions, a move The Star hinted at on December 1.

On Sunday, coach Aaron Fox said that the club was "in the market right now for a short term injury cover."

But, as always, if the 31-year-old newcomer thrives, he may become a season-long feature.

Fox said: "We have brought Tommaso in as injury cover for Adrian Saxrud-Danielsen. There is an option to keep Tommaso as well if he plays well and we can make it work with the roster regulations.

"He’s coming in to play an energy-type role for us. He has been playing this season in the top Austrian league and is also a national team guy. He skates very well, can play all three forward positions is very responsible defensively and is a great penalty killer.

"He’s put up good numbers in the Alps League so he can chip in offensively. I think the passion and pace he plays with will fit in very well with how we play. He’s coming in to compete and wants to be here all season which is a great mentality."

Traversa may remind some fans of Italian-Canadian Vezio Sacratini, who played eight games for Sheffield in 2007 but is better known for his stints at Cardiff "He was of a similar build to Traversa and was a tough competitor.

Traversa's coach at Dundee, former Steeler Marc LeFebvre has mixed memories of his short stay in Scotland.

"He’s a small quick forward, full of energy and not afraid to get involved physically," he told The Star.

"We decided to make a change as we felt we needed more scoring in our line-up and send a message to the other players.

"He has skill and a hard shot. He skates very well and plays hard. Defensively he was average but wasn’t detrimental to the team.

"He didn’t put up any numbers for us really and we brought Kevin Bruijsten in. He bagged a bunch of goals for us and helped us get to the final four that season, so it was a key change for us.

"He seems like a good kid, with no real issues. He was young and new to the country and league but seemed to settle in fine with the city and other players.

"I wished him all the best as I do all the players who have been released or decide to leave on their own terms" said Lefebvre, head coach at Chamonix in France.

The Italian was a silver-medalist with Italy in the World Championships in 2017-2018.