Sheffield Steelers have announced the stunning capture of young forward Logan Neilson following his exit from Elite League rivals Nottingham Panthers.
Neilson recently left the Panthers after two seasons, a matter of weeks after helping the club to playoff glory.
Last season, the 22-year-old iced 67 times for the club in all competitions, tallying 15 points (six goals and nine assists).
He went on to feature on the international stage with Great Britain, playing a starring in the promotion they achieved during their World Championship Division I Group A campaign in Romania.
Neilson joined the Panthers ahead of the 2023/24 campaign following a numbers of years honing his craft in North America, and went on to feature 117 times for the club.
“Logan is a big, young winger that has an extremely high skill set and ceiling,” Steelers head coach Aaron Fox said.
“I think he has the potential to be a guy who is a double digit goal scorer, and that will be able to play up and down the lineup. When you watch his tape, you can see he thinks the game offensively at a high level and has a great shot and skill set.
“Logan’s also willing to get to the hard areas. He’s still figuring out how best to use his size and reach to his advantage but competes hard.
“I also like it that Logan is a bit of a rink rat, which is something you like to see with the younger guys who love being at the rink putting in the work. I’m looking forward to having him in and getting to work with him.”
‘It feels right’
Photo credit: Nottingham Panthers
While the decision to swap Nottingham for Sheffield may come as a shock to many – Neilson included – he insists that the decision made is the right one for his career.
When the Panthers announced his exit last month, it was widely expected that he would join his father Corey at Glasgow Clan, where he is currently serving as head coach.
Instead, US-born Neilson will make the short move up the M1 to join the Steelers.
“It’s the weirdest feeling in the world and it goes against everything I have been bought up thinking, but it feels right and I’m super happy and excited with my decision,” he said.
“When the season ended I looked at my options and I just want to play, this is the best fit for me, I believe this is where I will play the most. There were times when I didn’t play as much as I would have liked last year, and after talking with Foxy it just felt right, if a little strange.
“Of course, I talked it over with my Dad and he didn’t bat an eyelid. He wants what’s best for me and gave the move the full blessing.”
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