Former Genting Casino Coventry Blaze coach Paul Thompson is fully focused on guiding Sheffield Steelers to victory as he prepares to make his first return to the Skydome.
Thompson led Blaze to 15 trophies during his 18 years in charge, including the Grand Slam in 2004/05, before heading to Sweden in the summer of 2013. 
The teams clash in the Challenge Cup on Saturday night (7pm face-off) – the first time they have met since their Elite League play-off final encounter which Blaze won in April.
Thompson, who took over at Steelers this summer, said: “I have some great memories and I had many, many great times with Coventry.
“I am sure there will be a few things going through my mind before the game and it will be different standing on the other bench but once the puck drops my focus is with Sheffield.
“That chapter is finished now and I am the head coach of the Sheffield Steelers and very happy to be. I certainly want to go in there and win.
“Chuck [Weber] is a great coach, he knows what he wants, he knows his systems and he works hard. You cannot knock what the team did last season – it was a tremendous achievement.
“I expect Coventry to be a better team than last year. Chuck is in from the start and he has added some more flair.
“But we will be looking to put a good 60 minutes together at a high tempo, although there are no easy games in the league.”
Thompson left Blaze to take up the position of head coach at Troja-Ljungby in Sweden before a stint in charge of Aalborg Pirates in Denmark.
He added: “I went away and wanted to go to Sweden to see how they do things and I learned a lot from that.
“I am a far more relaxed coach and more focused on just coaching – but I am still very passionate too!”
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