We love hockey here at FSB, and occasionally do an article that is not all Steelers related. And so we have one here. As you know Steelers took on crack DEL outfit Thomas Sabo Ice Tigers at Ice Sheffield in a couple of exhibition games recently, and did pretty well in them. We're going to do a feature on the DEL in this article and helping us talk it is our DEL expert, Lee White - also known as The Big Man.
Hope you enjoy...
FSB: So were you surprised that Steelers played a DEL side in pre-season?
LW: It did kind of surprise me yes, in fact. Mind you we all know the reasons behind it, Rob Wilson's return back to Sheffield. It would have been nice to have another DEL side over (coughs and mutters Adler Mannheim) but it was nice surprise that we attracted a team that did very well in their domestic league last season (3rd)
FSB: The games were close, the Ice Tigers winning both games by two goals and one goal respectively, Did the results flatter you that they were that close?
LW: It did and it didn't to be honest because you could see that Ice Tigers weren't playing their "A" game in both encounters, it was more like a B plus game if you had state so. But it was nice for people to see how hockey is played in Germany compared to the standard over here in the UK.
FSB: Steelers held their own in both games as we said. Do you think they could have come away with the win in either game?
LW: Personally, no, maybe a tie at best. The Ice Tigers conditioning was tip top and you could see that as both games wore on, as Steelers seemed to tire towards the end. But to put a positive spin on it, it was pleasing to see how close the games considering this and the skill levels involved in each league.
FSB: Which of the Steelers players actually caused the DEL side the most problems and why?
LW: It has to be the DVN (Dowd-Valdix-Nelson) line which were always making Ice Tigers think with their movement and anticipation where the others were.
FSB: Looking at the performances generally, does this possibly give hope that we can see more results such as Braehead and Nottingham's win against DEL sides in the CHL happen again? Is the gap closing?
LW: The gap is definitely closing for sure. Five or six years ago, you would be lucky to compare an Elite League side to a mid table (at a push) DEL2 side but having seen Steelers play against Nurnberg, you could quite easily put the top EIHL teams on par with lower standard DEL sides such as Krefeld Pinguine.
FSB: We think that if Nurnberg iced their full team, we would have been steamrolled. Do you agree with that?
LW: In a simple one word answer, yes. I think they iced a lot of their younger talent but if that was their full roster then they were in second gear at most.
FSB: Finally, do you think this series will open the doors for more and more DEL sides playing exhibition games over here as part of their new season preparations?
LW: I don't think it will be a one off. I personally would love to see a game between the two Steelers teams again, Bletingheim vs Sheffield, whether it be here or in Germany. It can only benefit both nations and UK sides can pit themselves against better quality opponents which helps them gauge where they are in terms of standard. It will also go a long way in proving that UK hockey teams cannot be seen as the whipping boys of hockey which some people are led to believe is true.
A huge round of appreciation for Lee for his assistance in the creation of this article.
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