For the Sheffield Steelers and wantaway forward Logan Neilson, the inevitable has finally arrived.
Marriages often end in divorce, but nobody expected their pact to come to such a heated conclusion within six months of the 22-year-old joining the Steel City side.
“At the end of the day, Logan wasn’t happy and left our group,” revealed Steelers head coach Aaron Fox, “so we decided that we would allow the move to Fife.
“I wish he would’ve stuck it out to fight and earn more ice time at our level or would’ve dropped to the [Sheffield Steeldogs] to play some bug minutes as we’ve seen how that’s helped others.
“But he made it clear he had no interest in that, which is too bad. Ultimately, we decided that it was more important to accept his request to move to Fife, even though we didn’t need to.”
Neilson’s stint with the Steelers was short and sour.
The Team Great Britain forward made 18 appearances, failing to score in orange.
Fittingly, Neilson’s last outing for Sheffield came against the Flyers on 2 November — he saw only two minutes of ice time.
Why did Logan Neilson’s Sheffield Steelers career end in failure?
Speculation that Neilson was in talks to join the Flyers had been mounting for weeks.
He spent a month out of the line-up, during which time the Steelers played short-benched, with Fox revealing last week that Neilson had stepped away from the team to consider his future.
The New York-born forward played a total of 17 minutes in his final five appearances for Sheffield, registering two shots on goal from four attempts.
Logan Neilson, now of the Nottingham Panthers (Image: Corpus Christi IceRays)
Despite Fox heralding his signing in the summer, Neilson never won (or was given) an opportunity to play meaningful minutes in an offensive role — and was ineffective from the fourth line.
“In the Elite League, where the regular-season is the big trophy, ice time decisions are made solely based on results and [it] needs to be earned,” Fox continued.
“The development aspect of our situation doesn’t solely lie at time on ice played at our level. The two-way [players] we currently have skate Tuesday to Friday with us and Tuesday to Thursday with the Steeldogs. They also have access to full-time strength and conditioning coaches and physios.
“Those practices with us have a huge impact versus just practicing and playing games at NIHL level and we will reap the rewards as time goes on.”
Ultimately, Neilson covets a middle-six role — and the Steelers, in their bid to win the regular-season title, didn’t believe he had done enough to earn that opportunity.
Why have the Fife Flyers signed Logan Neilson?
Neilson’s potential hasn’t evaporated since May.
He remains one of Team GB’s hottest prospects, with his combination of size, skill, and homegrown status making him an alluring pick-up for Elite League sides.
Logan Neilson, now of the Nottingham Panthers (Image: Corpus Christi IceRays)
That’s why the Steelers swooped for him in May and it’s also why the Flyers made him their top mid-season transfer target.
“As we continue to adjust our roster, an opportunity to add a top, young talent came our way and we’re extremely excited to welcome Logan to Fife,” said Flyers general manager and president Max Birbraer.
“His offensive upside is something we desperately need and [Jamie] Russell is excited to work with the young lad on all areas of his game and develop a complete, solid player for years to come.”
Fife’s struggles are no secret.
The Flyers are only a week removed from an 18-game losing streak — and they’re still five points below the playoff line, even after back-to-back overtime wins.
Neilson’s arrival will provide a much-needed boost to a squad that has only scored 25 goals in 16 Elite League games.
His rookie season yielded 17 points (eight goals, nine assists) in 41 appearances, averaging just over 10 minutes of ice time per game.
Last term, as a sophomore, he notched 13 points (four goals, nine assists) in 54 games while playing nine minutes per night.
In Fife, he’ll expect to play a more prominent role — and the Flyers will expect him to tally accordingly.
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