Simpson wants to make his Mark on British ice hockey

Simpson has signed for Sheffield Steelers and will be one of the tallest players to have taken on the forward line role in recent times.

At 28 years old, and having only visited England as a tourist once before, he is keen on making his mark in the new surroundings of the EIHL.

And he hopes to make more of an impact here than he did last year, when he left his former club Stockton Heat in the AHL to sign for KalPa, of Kuopio, Finland.

That Liiga experience fizzled out in eight matches and he transferred to Italian side Asiago in the ICEHL.

In 31 games there, he scored five goals and six assists but feels his role there was not as conducive to offensive play as he'd have liked.

Simpson, from Rothesay, New Brunswick, explained: "I have always wanted to play in Europe, and the AHL is a tough league to stay, and I figured there would be a better opportunity in Europe.

"It was a good opportunity in Finland, I thought it was the best move for me to get my European career started, while I was still young.

"I didn't have the best start to the season, though.

"The biggest thing for me was that I had just come off an injury in the AHL and didn't finish the season there until late June home.

"I went home for a month then was off to Finland to get started and I just felt it wasn't enough time to get ready in the Summer.

"I was slow out of the gates and it was a big adjustment moving from the AHL to Finland.

"Maybe if I had had a little bit more time to prepare I could have adjusted better" said Simpson.

"It felt best on both the personal side and the team side that I should move on so I took the opportunity in Italy to play a bigger role.

"It was where a former team mate played, so there was a smooth transition.

"I really enjoyed myself in Italy" said Simpson, although he was left pondering what life would have been like there had he been asked to perform a more offensive role.

In the close season, the left-shooter's agent reported interest from Sheffield coach Aaron Fox.

"Aaron gave me the spiel about team organisation and what my role is on the team and it all sounded very intriguing.

"I talked it over with my family and girlfriend and I came to the conclusion I wanted to be part of that team," said the 14-and-a-half stone forward.

"I have heard nothing other than good things about the city.

"I heard that the fans' support is incredible, the facilities are good and I am looking forward to playing in Sheffield.

"I have plenty of time to get head and body ready.

"I have been able to train for over two months and there's still plenty of time to get ready and feel like myself again in terms of Summer conditioning and I am really excited to have a big year."

Coach Fox commented: "Mark will bring a ton of character and energy to our group.

"Mark prides himself on his two-way play and plays every shift the right way. "He skates extremely well for his size which I think will cause real problems in this league.

"Watching Mark, he is excellent in the face-off circle and is the type of guy winning teams need on the ice and in their dressing room.

"I feel his game will translate very well in the UK and not only will he be a great team player I believe he will be a guy who has the potential to run some nice offensive numbers here."