Breaking News: Lucas Brine signs with Steelers - Confirmed

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Doom
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Ritchie wasn't on my retain list so I can't say I'm upset he's left.

No doubt he put up decent points and had a bit of a physical presence, but those +/- stats were dreadful.

Do we really want to pay top dollar for a player who is only interested in playing one half of the ice?

I'm sure Fox will get better value elsewhere.

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https://www.sheffieldsteelers.co.uk/ste ... he-roster/
Lucus Brine to partner Mr Greenfield between the pipes
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I see this as a very risky signing.

No doubt one of the better Brits, but he's certainly not import quality yet.

I can see the possibilities this opens up elsewhere, but can you really afford to take a risk like this with the most important position in the team?

I guess time will tell, but I certainly wouldn't be shocked to see a 2nd import netminder sign before Christmas.

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It will be interesting to see how this one pans out. Every season under Fox we've started with the declared intention to spilt the NM duties, but then Fox usually bottles it and rides one goalie heavily. Last season and the grand slam season are the only two where this has worked, and the grand slam is the only one where one of the goalies (Morrone) was less experienced or junior to Greener (McAdam is about the same age as Greener).

I hope for Brine's sake he doesn't come here and ends up being in a Warbs or a Brad Day / Dave Lawrence type of position where his main responsibility is opening the door on the bench every game. It looks like a risk, but then if your other goalie is the best in the league it's less of a risk for us than for other teams. If he can take as little as 10 games off Greener it's probably enough - Morrone only took, what, 15 games off Greener in the GS season?
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@Doom - completely agree.

We’ve been very lucky with Greenfield and injuries, I don’t remember him being out at all tbh, certainly not for any significant length of time.

In McAdam we were more than covered, and I think we got more out of a pushed Greenfield as a result.

Maybe this is a Warburton replacement?
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I would make a bold decision early on and name him as our Challenge Cup keeper and make it known we intend to use him in that competition as the starter from the beginning..
Less risky than playing him in important league games and confidence building for Brine...

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Can we have a @DiscoRay perspective on Lucas Brine.. its always good to get an opinion first hand from someone who has seen him play...
After asking around at end of last season when the story broke of his issues with Glasgow.. a didnt hear a bad word about him...?

Jayboy

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I can't see Fox making him our Challenge Cup goalie.

He needs to give Greenfield early season game time to get him up to speed for the league action.

We also need to consider seeding for the latter stages of the Challenge Cup if we qualify. Do we have a better chance of a higher seeding with a 92% to 93% netminder or an 89% netminder?

Brine needs game time, but I'd only give him 2 or 3 CC games or bring him in part way through a game if we have a decent lead.

He maybe a Bowns or Whistle one day, but he's not close to that level just yet.

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He never will be if he rides the pine all season...

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A 1B Brit goalie would always be an ideal scenario for any EIHL club.

The reality is it's almost impossible to achieve at the Steelers without taking a bold or risky decision to, for example, play him in all the CC cup games.

Thing is, a Brit goalie isn't really going to get much better if they're sat opening the bench door, or playing at a lower level all the time.

At some point, a head coach has to take a risk by playing them more regularly so that they have the opportunity to improve. Being around the first team and training with them is a great experience, but it isn't proper match experience, so significant improvement will always be limited.

As a fan, I would be happy to give a Brit goalie the opportunity to play 15 or so games in a full season, even if that means we might lose the odd game. There has to be noticeable improvement though.

Just my two penneth, unfortunately there's (quite rightly) too much pressure for success for the Steelers to play an up and coming, unproven, Brit 1B goalie IMO.
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