American
defenseman Jack Dougherty, 29, has signed a one-year contract with
the Sheffield Steelers, the EIHL club announced on Monday.
“Jack
is a versatile defenseman that does all the little things right
needed to win hockey games,” said
Steelers head coach Aaron Fox. “He
will play physical and get stops defensively, he blocks a ton of
shots and is really smart on executing his retrievals and regroups.”
“Aaron
Fox didn’t have to work hard on selling the Steelers to me,” said
Dougherty.
“I had heard many great things about the club and organization,
so when the chance came up I was very happy to listen to what was
being said.
“Then you add to
that the signing of Evan Jasper who I played with last year and I
thought Sheffield was the place for my wife and I head to.”
Dougherty was born in St. Paul, Minn. And came through the U.S.
National Team Development Program, winning a gold medal at the 2014
IIHF U-18 World Championship. He then played one year of college
hockey at the University of Wisconsin and then one year in the
WHL with the
Portland Winterhawks.
Dougherty was selected in the second round, 51st
overall, by the Nashville
Predators in the 2014 NHL Entry Draft. Although Dougherty never
played a regular-season NHL game, he spent time in the minor-league
systems of the Predators, Buffalo
Sabres, Ottawa
Senators and Boston
Bruins, appearing in several pre-season games.
In 317 AHL
regular-season and playoff games, Dougherty recorded 62 points and
156 penalty minutes.
Finnish Former Predator Returns Home
Finnish forward Miikka Salomäki, 32, has signed a one-year contract
with SaiPa Lappeenranta, the Finnish Liiga club announced on Friday.
Since 2023, Dougherty has played in Germany with Kölner
Haie and the Nuremburg Ice Tigers and in Austria with the
Vienna Capitals.
“Jack was a full time AHL D man with European stops in the DEL
and Austria,” said Fox. “I think he will complement our group
very well and will be someone we rely heavy on for the PK.”
“I’m a two way defenseman that can play in all situations,”
said Dougherty.
“I love killing penalties and I’m the guy you send over
the boards in the last two minutes of a game to see it out – that’s
my gig. I work hard, I’m an experienced guy and I hope that rubs
off on the team. I’m here to do whatever is needed to help us win.”
Dougherty joins
a Steelers team that is used to success – they have not finished
worse than third in the past six seasons. In
addition to former teammate Jasper,
the
team includes former
NHL prospect Cliff Pu and
British national team captain Robert
Dowd, who is also the EIHL’s all-time scoring leader.
© Steve Roberts-Imagn Images
Canadian forward Cliff Pu, 27, has signed a one-year contract with
the Sheffield Steelers, the
EIHL club announced on Thursday.
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