physical presence on the ice - is it missed

[Jayboy]

I can't square the circle where the club's marketing pushes the physical side of the sport, whilst at the same time we have a chairman and a coach who really don't choose to play that more bump and grind style of hockey.

I've often thought that, most of our highlight reels include the big checks and the fights and rough stuff alongside the goals.

[mark]

The overall standard has risen since the old days, we can no longer afford to carry some lumbering knuckle dragger who has a decent punch but the turning circle of a HGV, if you want a big body who can play to a good standard then you need to have deep pockets because those guys are playing in the money leagues, it's about the balance of the squad within your budget, I'd love to see a modern day Allison but not at the cost of having three other guys that cannot skate at this level. Finding someone who fits the budget as well as bringing size and skill is like a lottery win.

[SteelerBlade]

Nottingham have Gagnon & allegedly want Sol too.

Not exactly what you’d call mobile but time will tell if their size offers any intimidation, or if the likes of Connolly and similar rink rats can goad them into trouble.

[Keith Sheppard]

It would be interesting to see if the club sold more shirts with, King, Fitzgerald and Sestito on the back, than other players during their times with the club. If they did, I think that would illustrate what the feelings of the fan base is.

[Jayboy]

It would be interesting to see if the club sold more shirts with, King, Fitzgerald and Sestito on the back, than other players during their times with the club. If they did, I think that would illustrate what the feelings of the fan base is.

I guarantee they did...

[Sttrinian84]

Has anyone seen the Twitter “banter” with Simms and Kyle Haas over the Steelers physical presence on the ice? I’d add the tweets but not tech savvy at all. Haas has managed to ruffle quite a lot of fans feathers by looks of it lol

[mark]

Has anyone seen the Twitter “banter” with Simms and Kyle Haas over the Steelers physical presence on the ice? I’d add the tweets but not tech savvy at all. Haas has managed to ruffle quite a lot of fans feathers by looks of it lol

Actually I haven't as looking at Simms' Twitter output is about as pleasant as viewing an open sewer and contains much of the same material, but Kyle does have the excuse of the large number of head shots he has absorbed over his career.

[Daniel14]

I think out and out enforcers are pretty much a dying breed here as like mentioned before, the ones that can play as well simply cost too much. But physicality is important without question. I like the look of our team so far but I do worry we’re going to be very lightweight as I’m not sure id have any of our guys so far pencilled in for the first line leaving us 1 slot left on our bottom 9 almost definitely on the 4th line. The rivalry with Nottingham this season I think will answer the question of whether skill really can beat out size as we do look small in comparison. That said add a couple of reasonably big D-men and maybe a big 4th liner all of a sudden we have a good balance. One of the more interesting off seasons in recent memory for sure