Sheffield Steelers centreman John Armstrong facing tough dilemma

From his home in Calgary, Canada, the Sheffield Steelers' centreman has been impatiently waiting for a positive development on the British ice hockey pandemic lockdown or a decent offer elsewhere.

Neither has happened.

Meanwhile, team-mates like Brendan Connolly, Robert Dowd, Josef Hrabal, James Bettauer and Davey Phillips have moved on to clubs in America and Europe.

They are the fortunate ones - coach Aaron Fox has been warning for months that quality jobs are at a premium and the money available is significantly reduced in many instances.

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Armstrong could find a job in a league inferior to the EIHL on a smaller wage - which doesn't exactly sound appealing.

And he obviously wants to avoid any coronavirus hot-spots in America.

But if he hangs up his skates for a full season, he knows he might find his CV is less attractive to future coaches and clubs.

He told The Star: "I’m trying to decide whether it’s worth it to go to a low league for garbage money. Those are the only offers I’m getting. And with covid getting worse there is no guarantee that the leagues won’t shut down at some point.

"Another option might be the ECHL. I’ve had a couple teams reach out to me but covid is so bad in the US.

"I really don’t know what I’m going to do.

"I think I could go a season without playing but general managers and coaches would probably want a guy that has been playing over someone that hasn’t.

"So I think it would be harder to get a good contract."

Armstrong, aged 32, is keeping himself in trim, in case an opportunity appears on the horizon.

"I’ve been skating with NHL and AHL guys and I feel good on the ice. I’m also a guy that likes to keep in good shape so I think I would be ok."

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He is covering all bases by checking on the availability of non-hockey employment.

"I’ve been applying for some jobs that I can do remotely," he said.

"I got offered a sales job recently. However, my first choice would still be to play hockey at some point this season."

Armstrong said he'd heard about financial assistance for the British Basketball League and added: "I’m surprised that they got it and hockey hasn’t."

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