Sheffield Steeldogs have announced the signing of Alex Oldale following his departure from Manchester Storm.
The 20-year-old keeper signs a two-way contract with the Planet Ice NIHL National Division outfit and Elite League side Sheffield Steelers, and becomes Slava Koulikov’s first signing since joining the Steeldogs from Peterborough Phantoms last week.
Oldale, a Sheffield native, returns home after beginning his ice hockey career in the Sheffield Ice Hockey Academy pathway, first with Sheffield Stormers U16s, then with Sheffield Steelhawks at the U18s and U19s level.
He went on to make his senior debut with the NIHL 2 North Sheffield Titans in 2021.
For the 2022/23 season, the young netminder joined Blackburn Hawks in the NIHL 1 North, going on to make 30 appearances in all competitions and recording a save percentage of 90%.
He secured a move to the Elite League in 2023 with Manchester Storm and featured 12 times across the league and EIHL Cup, but was limited to just five appearances last season.
On his homecoming, Oldale said: “I’m really looking forward to being able to further my career here in Sheffield.
“The opportunity to be able to continue my development, I think, can only bring me positive things. I aspire to work hard and compete to do all I can to help the team bring trophies to my home town.
“I can’t thank everybody enough for the support I’ve already received to help me to get to where I am, and I’m excited for everyone’s support come the new season to push the team to what hopefully will be a great year.”
‘A breakout season for Alex’
The 2025/26 season marks the beginning of the Sheffield ice hockey pathway – a partnership between the Sheffield Ice Hockey Academy, Steeldogs and Steelers, which offers unbroken progression through every level of the sport from youth hockey to the professional game.
Sheffield Steeldogs general manager Jamie McIlroy believes that Oldale is the perfect example of how the pathway can be successful, given his rise from the junior game in the city to the UK’s premier ice hockey competition.
“We’ve said that we wanted to bring Sheffield players home to play hockey where they belong,” McIlroy said.
“Alex fits that mould, and he’s a player who we’ve monitored for quite some time. He’s spent the past few seasons away from Sheffield in search of opportunities to develop his game.
“Now that we have the direct affiliation with the Steelers, we’re able to give him the scope to reach his full potential, whilst gaining valuable minutes with us to push him onto the next level.
“He’s shown that he’s more than capable of performing at Elite League level when called upon; that’s why we’ll be looking for him to come in and give us the best chance of winning, regardless of our opponents.
“I believe this will be a breakout Season for Alex, and he’s hungry to come in and battle to establish himself as a go-to guy.”
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