It's been a funny old season to be a Sheffield Steeler.
From the dark days of November, to the resurgent turn of the year, to Doug's dismissal, to the elation that was the playoff final weekend, its been a strange, strange season.
But with the playoff win, it's clear that we did have a good team. But how good? Lets take a look.
This is part 2, covering the forwards. Part 1, on the netminders and defence, can be found HERE.
Forwards
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| #10 Stefan Meyer |
Player of the year. What more can you say? Absolute thoroughbred of a player. Incredible on the puck, hardworking off it. His quality is obvious and he makes everybody around him a better player. I fear he won't come back because he'll have a far better offer, but it will be a long time before we see somebody of his quality in a Steelers jersey again.
Grade: A* - Easily the best 'outfield' skater we had this season
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| #11 Jeff Legue |
Jeff was, well, Jeff this season. He started in his usual freescoring manner and got his 500th point in the Elite League in November. However, after the birth of little Leggy, his performances did seem to slip slightly. He was hugely unfortunate to miss out on the playoffs after blocking Chris Blight's slapshot with his jaw, but proved his loyalty to the club by joining the bench at the NIC. The rumours of his departure are a bit stronger this year than they have been before, and while it'd be sad to lose him, I'd rather him go a legend than keep going for emotional reasons. He will be nigh-on impossible to replace though.
Grade: B+ - would have scored higher if he'd carried on his form
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| #12 Max Lacroix |
Max started like a man on a mission. He looked like he'd score 30+ and lead us to some kind of glory. Then he got that freak broken ankle in the NIC and we missed him immensely for 3 months. He came back, and while his quality was evident, he never really returned to his early form. A move to centre to cover for Legue for the playoffs seemed a masterstroke though. I'm a big fan of Max, and think he'll go onto better things.
Grade: B - could have been so much more if not for the injury
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| #13 Nate Dicasmirro |
If ever a player encapsulated Jekyll and Hyde, its Nate Dicasmirro. Dicas joined with Rob Sirianni, and they tore the place down on their debuts. He clearly enjoys playing with Siri, and looked fairly lost when Siri left for Italy. In came Gerad, and Nate transforms back into the player he was when he arrived. Clearly a player who thrives in knockout competition, he was immense in the playoffs. He won't be back, and that makes me sad - but only half the time.
Grade: C - if he'd turned up all season he'd be level with Meyer
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| #17 Jason Hewitt |
It is well known what I thought of Jason Hewitt when I first started writing the blog. He wasn't the same player any more, he didn't look like he was bothered about playing for the club, he'd be best moving on...I am happy to say he has proved me wrong. Sometimes it seemed like he was doing it simply to prove a point to me - a look he gave me early doors in Hull in March seemed to suggest as such. He's taken every point I made about him and turned it on its head. He could still produce a bit more pointswise for me, but as a 3rd line Brit, its understandable.
Grade: B - much better Hewy. Much much better
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| #18 Steven Goertzen |
The heartbeat of the team. When he was missing due to a Matt Myers induced concussion, there was a noticeable lack of drive, passion and commitment in the team. Goertzen is like Frank Doyle - if he plays well, the Steelers play well. Led the team through some tough times this season, and has taken to the captaincy like a duck to water. If he comes back, we will be a much better team for him being in it.
Grade: A - the main cog in the mechanism. He'll be a huge loss if he departs
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| #19 Aaron Nell |
Its hard to place the blame for why Aaron didn't make much impact. He was given minimal ice time by Doug Christiansen, which was only compounded when Phil Hill was brought in. But then there's an argument that he didn't take advantage of the opportunities he was given as well. A two-way deal with his former EPL side Swindon was struck, and Nell returned to scoring a silly amount of points in that league. He needs ice time to develop, but we're not a club that affords that kind of luxury are we?
Grade: E - mitigating circumstances, but did he do enough, when given the chance, to warrant a return?
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| #20 Jonathan Phillips |
I'm afraid Jono was one of the players last summer who I'd have wished well in their future endeavours. I felt he had gone backward and was not as effective as in the past. But then DC took the C off him, and he looks like a different player. Clearly, the weight of responsibility that the captaincy brings was dragging him down, and without it he has had a much better season. More of this please Jono.
Grade: B - much more than I was expecting from him, looked like the Jono of old
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| #21 Tim Spencer |
Came in looking like being our hired gun for the year, ended up being a lot more. If someone was needed to stand up and be strong, both in a physical sense and a mental. He's a much more intelligent player than he's given credit for - Henley had his number on their first meeting of the season, so he decided he wasn't going to fight them again. He's filled in at D too, and looked more than comfortable there. He occasionally makes a rash decision, but doesn't everyone? I think he's exceeded all expectations and I'd be happy for him to return.
Grade: B - an able replacement for Simon Ferguson
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| #24 Phil Hill |
Anyone got any idea where the real Phil Hill is? A shadow of the player who was considered one of the elite British power forwards. Scored a couple of goals, especially the huge first equaliser in the PO final, but on far too many occasions you might not have noticed he was even icing.
Grade: E - wish I could be nicer with it, but just not at the races
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| #25 Ilpo Salmivirta |
Look, we just have to accept that it was never meant to last. It was a fun month, it was a quick fling, and we both moved on. Just imagine how good we might have been if we'd kept the Siri-Dicas-Ilpo line together. Then try not to cry into your pillow. Dishmaster extraordinaire, he wowed us, then went back to the continent.
Grade: C - not here long enough, but what a month
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| #39 Rylan Galiardi |
Go on then, how many of you remembered him? He produced an okayish points total in his brief time in orange, but he was deemed the fall guy for our poor start, and after a niggling injury ruled him out, he was let go.
Grade: D - who knows given time, but certainly not his brother TJ.
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| #57 Chris Blight |
I think we only saw a brief glimspe of what Chris Blight is about. He had a superb point production throughout the season, and he kept on providing for others in his time in orange. He's a player I'd love back next year to see what he could do with a full season, as I think he could be a key man in our title challenge.
Grade: B- - not here long enough to really judge, but plenty of promise
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| #71 Rob Sirianni |
Which side of fence were you on then? Was he a lazy, workshy player who took the glory for finishing chances that others had worked hard to create for him? Or was he a luxury player, the kind of player who finishes chances and shows a bit of flair, who could carve a chance out of nothing? I belong to the latter. I thought Sirianni was absolutely superb, and I don't blame him one bit for going back to Italy, as he is better than this league. To prove my point, where would we be without his 42 points?
Grade: B - he scores when he waaaaantssssss....
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| #75 Robert Dowd |
We got him alright, and while he has been his usual spectacular, productive self, you can't help but feel there's a bit more to come from him. Injuries have not helped this season, with a few little niggles and a few games out after that hit from Tuukka Makela in the NIC in November. But while his season has been a bit stop/start, he's still by far and away one of the premier Brits. It's between him and Rob Lachowicz for #1. You know what you're going to get with Dowdy, and he has delivered it. He just needs to learn that he can't actually do it all by himself.
Grade: B+ - still the very best of Robert Dowd to come next year
And we are done!
Please feel free to tell me what you think on Twitter, and on the forum. I welcome your feedback as always.
Liam
@IAmMcCausland
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