Josef Hrabal joins Steelers

Sheffield Steelers have announced the signing of defenceman Josef Hrabal.

Hrabal, 34, could make his debut this weekend as the club are hoping to have their international transfer paperwork completed, with the player set to arrive in Sheffield on Friday.

He joins the club from HC Prerov in Czech 2, having made eight appearances so far this season. It will be his first time featuring in the EIHL.

Head coach Aaron Fox has also confirmed that Mikko Kuukka has left the club after his trial period and will return back to the Finnish Liiga.

“It was a difficult decision to return home to Finland, I have been so pleased to play in Sheffield and was surprised how good and profession the team was. I wish everyone here the best,” said Mikko

On the news, Fox added: “We always knew that Mikko would be a short term signing, in fact I think we were lucky to keep him as long as we did. He really enjoyed his time here and I think it was a tougher decision for him that he thought it was going to be.

“We leave on good terms and you never know if our paths will cross again.

“We have been looking for a replacement for a short while and we are delighted to sign Josef. He is a little bit more of a two-way player so he isn’t a like for like replacement for Mikko

“Josef has ample experience, he has played in top leagues including the KHL and last year was a team-mate of Marek Troncinsky.

“We are doing everything we can to get the paperwork sorted by the weekend, we are confident that he will be in the line up for Fife on Saturday.”