Ben Morgan will continue his 24 year association with Sheffield ice hockey when he takes up the role of the Steeldogs player coach ahead of the 2024-25 NIHL season.
Morgan’s entire ice hockey career has been in Sheffield with the exception of a single season in Manchester back in 2011, but for the last 12 season he has worn the Steeldogs uniform as a player, assistant captain and captain of the side.
Steeldogs owner Tony Smith is delighted with the appointment of Morgan saying “He is the right man for the job, a man with Steeldogs DNA that we all want to embrace.
Ben is excited to be on board with the new role as player coach. “I am delighted to be appointed as head coach for next season. It’s a position I have held before and have very fond memories of.
My philosophy and approach to the position and the task ahead has not changed. Player development and a genuine route through the performance pyramid from grassroots/junior hockey right the way through to elite/senior level is our fundamental objective.
We will of course also look to build a squad capable of competing with the best teams in the league in the hope we can repay the faith of our loyal and long-standing fans.
I’m very much looking forward to working with everyone in the new management team, backroom and off-ice staff.
I’d like to thank the management team for this amazing opportunity, and I cannot wait to get to work on delivering an on-ice product that everyone in Sheffield can be proud of and excited by.”
Smith continued “We are determined to bring success to Ice Sheffield and are already in the process of bringing some talent from the area back home to Sheffield. There should never be a reason for local youngsters to leave this programme to develop better elsewhere. We will build the best pathway for all players to develop, and Ben Morgan and his team are a major part of that process.
“I’m also delighted that Stevie Weeks will remain in the programme as our head of development, Stevie has been of great assistance to the Steeldogs since I took over and his knowledge of talent locally and nationally is unsurpassed.
“The future is very bright for the Steeldogs programme and fans will be excited with the make-up of next year’s team, there will be news shortly on that front and then throughout the summer. As for now we leave Ben to do what he does best and that is build a team we can all get excited about and behind.”
