Sheffield Steelers v Sparta Prague - Kevin Tansey assesses the Steelers' Champions Hockey League campaign - video Dailymotion

Yorkshire Post

Sheffield Steelers’ Kevin Tansey assesses the team’s first two Champions Hockey League games and looks ahead to this weekend’s clashes against Sparta Prague and Skellefteå AIK

Transcript

00:00Just a quick reflection on the weekend just gone, it must have been immensely satisfying

00:11on the plane home given what you managed to achieve.

00:14Yeah, I mean, satisfying, I wouldn't say immensely satisfying, we won one out of two games so

00:20we obviously had a goal of winning both games but we were happy with our results even in

00:23the loss.

00:24But you know whenever you go into these tournaments you think of yourself as you made the tournament,

00:29the other team has made the tournament so you want to get as many points as you can

00:31so satisfying, I don't know if immensely satisfying is the right word though.

00:36You probably go in as underdogs given the history of elite league teams in the Champions

00:40Hockey League, did that leave you as a group of players perhaps with a feeling of something

00:46to perhaps prove at that level?

00:48Yeah, I mean I think a lot of outside people thought we were underdogs, I think there was

00:53a belief in our team with what we did last year and the group of guys that we brought

00:57back and the new guys that we brought in, we knew we had a really good team that had

01:02a chance to compete and a chance to do well in this tournament so we were looked at as

01:07underdogs by other people but in our locker room we had a lot of belief there that we

01:10were right there with every team that's in that tournament.

01:12Yeah, because in both games you kind of matched the opponent didn't you and gave as good as

01:16you got for the large part.

01:18Yeah, I mean absolutely, Freiburg was a good team, they basically just ended up scoring

01:23one more goal, I know it's kind of a dumbed down version of it but it was a pretty evenly

01:28matched way the whole time and some penalties at the end and just leave that comment at

01:35that and it is what it is, they ended up scoring one in the third period and we didn't match

01:41that and then we had the chip on our shoulder because of that I think going into Saturday's

01:45game and we just wanted to take it to them from the puck drop and I think we really did

01:49a good job of that.

01:51Do you think prior to the weekend perhaps other teams in the competition may have taken

01:55yourselves lightly in some respects?

01:57Yeah, I mean possibly, I'm not sure.

02:00I like to think that other teams wanted to go on and compete but I don't think that we

02:05saw bad games from the other teams, I mean they were doing well, I think we were just

02:09matching their effort and even sometimes doing better than their effort and playing to our

02:13system perfectly.

02:14And obviously having such a great win in Sweden, Sparta Pride Friday, Skellefteå on Sunday

02:20goes without saying another two tough games but given what you achieved while you were

02:24away with the win in Sweden, it must do absolute wonders for your confidence as a group.

02:29Yeah, I mean we're in that playoff spot right now, I think we're in the 15th spot right

02:34now so we're going to like to hold on to that.

02:38We worked hard for the first two games and we're going to keep on working hard and it's

02:41a good test, it's fun hockey, it's some of the highest level hockey that a lot of us

02:45have played over here and you want to grab those opportunities and you want to be a big

02:49game player and that's what these games are and you want to bring your best to those.

02:52And given that, is that the challenge for a lot of players in that room, like you say,

02:57it's probably the highest level a lot of them have played at and therefore you automatically

03:00just raise your game.

03:01Yeah, I mean that's kind of how we all got here right, we all had to be the best at our

03:06level at some point, that's how you become a professional athlete, you know you have

03:10to show that you're better than other people constantly throughout your life and we have

03:13the chance to do that at the highest level in European hockey so I think a lot of guys

03:17look forward to raising their game to that level, showing what they can prove and maybe

03:24getting a team that looks at them and they like the way they play and some guys are young

03:28on the team and have chances to go play other ways and after this season it's a great way

03:33to showcase your skill and what you can bring to the table.

03:36Also given what you achieved last season in the Grand Slam Winners League Cup play-offs,

03:40there's no reason why you should go into any game really, it's your own confidence isn't

03:44it?

03:45Or self-belief?

03:46Yeah, I mean we've got the best goalie in the EIHL, I think we have the best decor and

03:51the best group of forwards and I think we're showing that we can play with any team at

03:56any level so yeah we're definitely flying high on the confidence because we've been

04:00through a lot as a team and we've grown a lot together and it's the same as last year

04:05where everybody in that room is friends and want to work for each other so it's fun to

04:09go to battle with a group of guys that you really love.

04:11Half a dozen or more sort of changes or key changes in personnel over the summer, it looks

04:16like the sort of chemistry and the coming together of this new look team is going pretty

04:21well so far, so early in the season yeah?

04:23Yeah I mean you know we brought in a bunch of good guys, I mean everybody sort of knows

04:28everybody in the hockey world so it wasn't like there was anybody that we really didn't

04:31know, I mean from just knowing you know the two Finns that came in, we're friends with

04:37Nicholas and Mikko from our team this year and last year and then you know Levins is

04:42a Toronto guy who's played with a bunch of guys and you know Marco and Michele are guys

04:47who a lot of us have played against in the Austrian League and you know playing international

04:52hockey and then the same with Sasha too so they're all familiar faces and I think they

04:57all came in here knowing that you know we don't just want to play hockey this year to

05:02collect a paycheck, we came in to win trophies and we came in here to compete every day and

05:07on the ice, off the ice and you know they're fitting in perfectly doing that.

05:10There's a lot to look forward to this year, there's a lot that you'll want to achieve,

05:14how much would it mean to you as a group at this early stage to make it through to the

05:17next phase of the Champions Hockey League?

05:19Yeah I mean like I said there's a belief in this team, we know the talent that we have,

05:25we know the chemistry that we have and you know we just want to win and you know we've

05:31been doing a good job of doing that, sticking to our systems and it would definitely mean

05:35a lot but you know we just want to prove to people that we're a good hockey team.

Sheffield Steelers v Sparta Prague - Kevin Tansey assesses the Steelers' Champions Hockey League campaign

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