SHEFFIELD, U.K. – The Sheffield Steelers were quick to snap up proven EIHL goalscorer Luke Fulghum after he was released from his contract with the Blaze with immediate effect.
Steelers make some welcomed changes to the roster
The Blaze and Head Coach Paul Thompson are remaining tight-lipped about their reasons to part with a potent goalscorer in Fulghum, but one could assume it must have been pretty major to release a player who has recorded 191 points in 144 games for the Blaze.
The 31-year-old American first appeared in the U.K. with the Manchester Phoenix for the 2008/09 season, where he formed a formidable partnership with David Beauregard (now at Nottingham Panthers) before joining the Blaze the following season.
Steelers Player/Coach Ryan Finnerty spoke about the signing of the ex-AHL forward, “This move for Fulghum came out of the blue. I had been speaking to RG Flath about his thoughts moving forward as his trial period was coming to an end shortly. RG has been brilliant for us but advised me that he would be moving back to the States once his short-term contract ends in a couple of weeks time. Then the opportunity came to sign Luke and we had to move on it,” Finnerty said.
R.G. Flath will return back to the U.S. next week (picture courtesy of Sheffield Steelers)
Fulghum will make his debut for the Steelers tomorrow (3rd of December) as they take to home ice against the Cardiff Devils, before travelling to Hull on Sunday to take on the Stingrays.
Fulghum himself, spoke of his delight at joining the Steelers “this all came out of the blue. I’m a little shocked to be honest. I had a wonderful time in Coventry and would like to thank everyone there for everything they did for me. My family and I were settled and felt a big part of that club. Time moves on though and this is a great opportunity for me. Sheffield are a contender, they have a great team and reputation and it certainly softened the blow to find out how much they wanted me. It’s a new chapter and I’m looking forward to it starting on Saturday against Cardiff,” Fulghum said.
The signing of Fulghum is not the only one for the South Yorkshire side. Steelers have confirmed that they have agreed terms with a new defenceman, to fill the void that Rod Sarich has left as he is out for the season with a kidney injury. The unnamed defenceman may make his Steelers debut next week against the Belfast Giants (Friday 9th of December).
Ryan Finnerty once again spoke about the situation, “We were going back and forth last night until the early hours – I went to bed thinking we were close to a deal and woke this morning for another quick fire round of negotiations. The last e-mail I have back says we have a deal. The office will prepare a contract first thing this morning and we will fire it over to Canada for signature,” Finnerty explained.
The new player is said to be a former teammate of Steelers goaltender John DeCaro, who personally recommended him to Finnerty. The unnamed Canadian is believed to be playing with a side in the CHL at the moment.
With the signing of Fulghum and the unnamed ‘stay at home defenceman’ Sheffield have just bolstered their chances of retaining the EIHL title once again.
Contact the author at Scott.antcliffe@prohockeynews.com
You must be logged in to post a comment.