Steelers add a jewel to their crown with King

SHEFFIELD, U.K. – Sheffield Steelers Player/Coach Ryan Finnerty has finally landed his number one summer target, in the form of 6’2 220lb power forward Colt King.
The 29 year old from Calgary was a fourth round draft pick for the Colorado Avalanche in the 2001 NHL Entry Draft. The closest that King has come to that level was during the 2009-10 season where he featured in two games for the Rochester Americans of the AHL.

King will be sure to be a big hit at the ‘House of Steel’ next season, and much like his name which is also a famous gun, the fans will be hoping he will be not only dropping the gloves but shooting with a deadly accuracy like he has previously demonstrated. It was whilst playing for the Guelph Storm of the OHL as a 17-year old rookie that King first showed signs of potential scoring prowess as he finished the season with a respectable 52 points from 65 games. Of those 52 points he managed 25 goals (joint 2^nd in the team) outscoring current NHL stars Danielle Paille and Dustin Brown. Since leaving the OHL, King then spent two seasons in the ECHL with Utah and Augusta, and it was with the latter where he shared a changing room with former Steelers defencemen Steve Munn and Rod Sarich. King then spent a season with Port Huron in the UHL, before spending the last four seasons in the CHL split between the Rocky Mountain Rage and the Rapid City Rush. In 418 regular season games since leaving the OHL, King has registered an impressive 291 points (133+158) and a staggering 1220 penalty minutes.
Sheffield Steelers Player/Coach Ryan Finnerty spoke about his decision to sign King, “This guy will be a star and a fan favourite. Clubs in North America, Europe and the Elite League were trying to sign this guy, he is a big strong winger who hits, fights and also finds the back of the net as well. He was my number one summer target, the first guy I thought of when I took over in Sheffield. He is the perfect Steeler type player and the fans will love him,” said Finnerty. It will be King’s first club outside his native North America, which raises concerns amongst some fans, who believe he may struggle to adapt. Finnerty quashed these reservations. “It’s a new challenge for him and he is excited about it. He wants to play a big roll on our team and I’m confident he will be a huge addition for us. I think our team will play bigger, tougher and feistier with him on it. I think you can see the direction I want to go, hard working, strong, aggressive, in your face type Steelers Hockey,” stated Finnerty.
The acquisition of King has gone down well with the Sheffield Steelers faithful who’ve been crying out for a player in the mould of King for quite a while.
Sheffield seem to have a knack of releasing tougher players from their contracts in favour of more prolific scorers, demonstrated in recent years with Jeremy Cornish, Mike Sgroi and Brett Clouthier. King’s statistics seem to suggest that he is a more consistent player in the scoring department, and with a Coach who is trying to emulate his own playing style with those who he’s hiring, it suggests that King could become a fan favourite for at least a season. The reigning Elite League Champions are expected to announce another signing on Thursday rumoured to be a former Elite League goaltender, or the re-signing of Neil Clark. Contact the author at Scott.antcliffe@prohockeynews.com