Sheffield Steelers new man and the art of the tip-in - Bob Westerdale

Last week, The Star reported how the club's exciting new import signing, Scott Allen, could take up that specialist mantle for Sheffield - one that Mathieu Roy raised the bar on, during his time at the Arena.

So I asked Allen about this dark art of knocking home pucks that are zipping towards net-screening forwards at an unpleasantly fast speed.

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The 32-year-old Canadian was understandably quick to talk up the importance of deflecting shots past a goaltender who would perhaps have parried the puck, otherwise.

The technique is all about hand-to-eye coordination - mixed in with more than a fair share of courage.

"There is an art to it, absolutely," he said.

"And it is a great art, a lot of thought and practice goes into it.

"From a defenceman's perspective (on his own team) they try to shoot pucks that are easy to tip.

"If they shoot the puck directly towards the goalie it is usually going to go wide but if they shoot outside you can tip it back into the net.

"There is definitely a method in a tip-in goal.

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"If a shot goes in off a leg or something then it is a fluke, yes, but if someone tips with a stick it is on purpose," said Allen.

NHL winger Zach Hyman describes the art as: “You want to put yourself in the best possible position so that either you’re getting a piece of the puck or you’re making it difficult on the goalie.”

Steelers' fans will be hoping that by either fluke or skill, Allen will be on target a lot for Sheffield.

Last year, the team didn't have any player in the EIHL's top five league goalscorers - Roy came in second for Glasgow Clan - although Steeler Robert Dowd came in sixth place with 29 goals from 54 games.

Allen's goal success, ofcourse, will depend to a degree on how he fares alongside new linemates.

So far, he says, his best year was the 2020-21 campaign at Freiburg, in Germany, where he was on a highly profitable unit with Christian Billich and Andreé Hult.

"We played together all season, we had great chemistry, and great production so it was a really fun year to be part of.

"I hadn't done that, to that standard, before so I have to say that was my best year."

The 62-game AHL forward will try to hit the ground running, in his new surroundings.

"I don't really know how the Elite League will compare with DEL2.

"I have been asking that same question to other people. I don't know too much about EIHL but from what I've heard it is very comparable to DEL 2 and I am looking forward to getting started."