Top ice warrior Scott leaves Clan for Steelers
Hero hails Braehead side
Braehead Clan hero Scott Aarssen has thanked the side for “everything” following his departure from the EIHL side.
The Canadian penned a deal with English outfit, the Sheffield Steelers at the end of last week, bringing the curtain down on four years at Clan.
The 29-year-old defenceman had been Clan’s longest-serving foreign import prior to his departure, playing over 200 games for the side having signed from Austrain club Dornbirner EC in 2013.
Aarssen was quick to praise Clan, but admits he is looking forward to getting started with the Steelers, insisting he would never have left Braehead for any other club in the league.
He said: “I had an incredible four years with Ryan Finnerty and the team. We made huge progress as a club in that time.
“If I’m being honest I would have probably returned if it wasn’t for the interest from Sheffield.
“I didn’t think that I would get the opportunity to play for the Steelers but when the chance came it was an easy decision.
“My time in Braehead though was fantastic and I’d like to thank everyone associated with the club, especially the fans for the way we were treated.
“Sheffield has been ‘the club’ in the UK during my four years over here playing. They are the standard bearer, the club others look up to and aspire to be.
“The deal happened quickly. Once Paul Thompson made contact with me, there wasn’t much thinking to do.
“This is a new chapter in my career, and one I’m looking forward to. This is a dream come true for me.”
And his new head coach, Paul Thompson revealed he was excited by the prospect to see Aarssen in action for his side.
He added: “We had four options, but I felt that Scott was the most rounded and ticked the boxes for what we were looking for.
“He has been the Clan’s top defensemen and top scoring defensemen for the past four years. His game has improved as the league improved.
“Even though I’ve seen Scott play over the last couple of seasons, it was only when we started to take a real good look at him and watch the videos over and over again did we realise that we really liked what we saw.”