First of all, thank you for reading what will be my second post here on Frozen Steel Blog, and hopefully this will be the second of many.
I would also like to thank Liam for giving me the opportunity to post on Frozen Steel Blog on a regular basis once the season has begun.
To kick-start these blogs from my part, I thought I’d try and tackle a very split feeling in my head and I will assume in most of yours too. The split feeling coming from our latest signing, Tyler Mosienko.
The West St. Paul born, Canadian center isn’t the first of his family to have played the game. If you follow the NHL a lot of you will have heard the name Bill Mosienko. Bill is a Hockey Hall of Famer and Chicago Blackhawk legend, who is also noted for getting the fastest hat-trick in NHL History (21s). With such a great grandfather, it is no surprise that Mosienko took to the game.
Standing at 5’8” and weighing in at 172lbs, he isn’t the biggest player on the ice, but that doesn’t stop Mosienko playing big. He has been noted for being an aggressive center who plays his role well. He is able to skate high speeds and move well, couple that together and we have a very talented skater on our hands. He also possesses a good work ethic, which for me automatically fits him into a Gerad Adams style team, go hard, or go home.
After having a career spanning across the AHL, ECHL, Danish league, DEL and the Asian league, he looks like the type of player we need. Most of his playing career in the ECHL, playing 325 games in total, with 273 points in those games. His most recent championship win was actually last year with ECHL side, the Alaska Aces, in which he was able to lift the Kelly Cup.
Not only did he play in the ECHL last year, but he also played in Denmark, for Esbjerg. This is where things get a little touchy about Mosienko. He only played half a season in Denmark because of an incident he took part in which involved betting on a game he was involved in; which as we all know, it’s strictly a no-no.
What seems to be the case is that Mosienko and 2 team-mates had bet on a game involving their team, betting that their team would concede in the first period. Mosienko did however, seem to player a smaller part than the main offender, having a smaller amount and smaller ban upon him. That isn’t a get-out for Mosienko though, he still did it.
Now, I for one didn’t really like the signing at first, for the reasons above; BUT, after reading the release and listening to his interview with Peter Spencer, I feel that Mosienko is full of remorse for what he has done. He does have to live with what he did, and he does want to start again. His time here in Sheffield will be a re-building phase for him, to get back a reputation he once held, to be a respected player once more.
Now for me, that means he has a point to prove not only to us as fans, not just to our organisation to himself. Hopefully that will be the power that drives on Mosienko this year, to be the best player he can be and not let the past shadow him.
Gerad Adams said (Sheffield Steelers Official Website);
“A player of his skill and background would be impossible for us to attract had he not made his mistake of last season, and now he is paying the financial penalty for that, which is why we can afford him.”G has full faith that Mosienko will turn it around, so even after my initial judgements, I am willing to give him that chance too. Are you?
Thank you for reading and don’t forget to check out the new #TeamFrozenSteel t-Shirts!
Ryan Gleeson
@RatedRDG
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