Sheffield Steelers: How familiar faces helped Mark Simpson choose an Elite League future

Goalie Matt Greenfield and defenceman Matt Petgrave were both consulted by Simpson before he made his mind up to continue his European hockey journey in the UK.

Greenfield, who knows Simpson from their time together at Stockton Heat in the AHL in the 2021-22, is already confirmed as returning for a second season at the Utilita Arena after impressing last time out.

It remains to be seen whether Petgrave - who played alongside Simpson for the University of New Brunswick in 2016-17 - follows suit.

Either way, what both had to say clearly had a positive influence on the 28-year-old Canadian, with the imposing 6ft 5ins left-hander keen to make his mark when he lands in South Yorkshire in August.

“I’d heard great things about the league, especially about the organisation in Sheffield, in how well they treat their players and it sounded like a great opportunity for me,” said Simpson, who makes the move to the UK after starting last season with KalPa in Finland’s Liiga before switching to Italian outfit Asiago in the IceHL.

“I hear it is more of a North American style compared to most of the European leagues and I know a couple of guys who have played at Sheffield - Matt Petgrave and Matt Greenfield.

“So I was texting with Matt Greenfield about the team, the city and the league and I heard nothing but great things back.

"I consider myself as a reliable person in the defensive zone, strong on face-offs, a pretty good skater for a guy of my size and I believe I have a good hockey sense all around.

"I think there’s an offensive side to my game too and I’d like to contribute more next season, especially at this level because I was always able to put up points in junior and school hockey and I’d like to get back to that role as a pro.”

Prior to his move to Finland, Simpson had played two seasons in the AHL for Stockton Heat, the affiliate to the NHL’s Calgary Flames, although his first season in California was shortened due to the global pandemic.

He didn’t turn pro until 2019 because he followed up his junior career in the QMJHL at Moncton Wildcats and Acadie-Bathurst Titan – where he put up impressive numbers – with four years at university.

During his time in the Canadian USports league for the University of New Brunswick – his home state – he continued to produce offensively,

And while his scoring rate has slowed since turning pro – more likely the result of the more defensive roles he has been asked to fulfil – Steelers’ head coach Aaron Fox believes he is getting the best of both worlds, convinced Simpson is a player prepared to grind at both ends of the ice as well as being able to return to the kind of points production shown during his junior and university career.

“He’s a big boy that can skate, competes very hard and I think his speed for his size will cause problems in this league,” said Fox.

"In the worst-case scenario, he’s centering our third line and playing a shutdown role, winning a ton of face-offs and creating havoc below the hash marks, that’s the worst-case scenario and winning teams need those kinds of players.

“But do I think that he’s got the opportunity to run some numbers with how fast he plays at his size? I absolutely do. I did the work, I watched the tape and I feel very good about what we’re getting.”