Why Sheffield Steelers aren't relying on just one tough guy

Brandon McNally and Scott Allen can be heavyweights but there is much more to their game than solely being tough guys. Modest-sized players like Brett Neumann and Robert Dowd have shown this year that they won't be intimidated.

And silky-smooth defenceman Matt Petgrave dished out some punishment in last Sunday's match with Fife Flyers when taller ex-Steeler Chris Lawrence hovered too close to the home net.

Coach Aaron Fox says: "I don't think there is any issue with the team getting pushed around. Right now we have got some size and physicality throughout our group, we also have some guys who have zero issues with going (fighting) when needed. It has been good to see."

Meanwhile, a South Yorkshire prospect has spoken about his sorrow after the unexplained death of an inspiring coach who days earlier had offered to help launch his career in Canada.

Andre Payette, who last year relocated back to his native north America from the UK, was found dead, aged 46. There were no suspicious circumstances, according to the British Colombia coroners' service.

Just four days before he passed away, Payette contacted the parents of Ben Cutts, offering him a scholarship and place in his Mackenzie Mountaineers organisation. It was a thrilling offer for Ben (16) of Todwick, but it clashed with his A Levels and he had to decline.

The former Wales High School boy said: "I had just come back from a year studying and playing in Austria and had committed to A levels at Worksop College, so the timing wasn't right. Andre had watched me a few times (the former tough-guy enforcer was coach at Sheffield Steeldogs from 2010-15.)

"He was really good friends with my dad. He'd watch a few of my games and told my dad if I was doing well or giving me a few pointers. He gave me a great opportunity, asking me if I wanted to come across to Canada and play out there, this season. I was tempted but the education side here was more important.

"When my Dad told me he had died I just thought: 'Wow' - it came as a massive shock. It is horrible, I feel sorry for his young son and his step kids. I know them quite well and they have been badly affected. No one expected that."

Ben's father Shaun, who runs a ground care company in Dinnington, said: "Andre was a nice guy who has always tried to help Ben and other young players.

"I was absolutely gutted when he passed away, I don't know what the circumstances were, but it is so sad. He was a lovable rogue but he was always very good with the kids. He'd only messaged me the week before he passed for Ben to go and play for him. We appreciated it - it was like a free scholarship - but the timing was wrong."

Ben, who has played for Great Britain U16s and is now hoping to break into the UK tier two side Steeldogs, is a big fan of Maltby's NHL draftee Liam Kirk, currently with Tucson Roadrunners in America.

"What Liam has done is unbelievable, going from the Sheffield Academy to that level is just insane, really," he said.

The Todwick winger's own development has been helped by an academic year at a college in Austria, where he studied and played hockey, performing in the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Germany. The highest point was icing for GB in a tournament in Latvia.

"Being selected was the best feeling I have had in hockey...just getting to play for your country."