Sheffield Steelers - Interview with Brien Diffley
Sheffield Steelers’ defenceman Brien Diffley discusses returning for a second season in the Elite League, the challenge of defending the treble and competing in the CHL ...
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00:00As we talk about your return to the Sheffield Steelers for a second season, just a quick
00:11reflection on last year. It couldn't really have gone any better for you, could it?
00:16Yeah, no, I mean, yeah, that's exactly right. We obviously set out for the goal of the Grand
00:23Slam and, you know, some people may have thought it was a lofty goal, but we knew right away
00:30from the start of camp that it was definitely attainable. And yeah, I mean, look what happened.
00:38When a team comes together like that and we play like we did, we were tough to beat. And
00:44obviously all three trophies were ours, which was the best case scenario.
00:50What stood out for you as the main reason behind the success? Was it the off-ice coming
00:56together as well as what was going on on the ice?
01:00Yeah, it's definitely a combination of all things, really. You need like the perfect
01:05cocktail, I guess. And yeah, like I said, we had the connection right away off the ice
01:12and then, you know, I think after the first week of training camp and as the skates go
01:17on, guys start to realise, you know, how special of a group we really do have. And when you
01:23just put all those things together, it comes together quite nicely.
01:30Now you played the previous season under a former Steelers coach in Paul Thompson. So
01:36he probably, I don't know whether you spoke to him before he sort of signed for the Steelers
01:40or whatever, but he may have given you an understanding as to what to expect in the
01:44league, whatever those expectations were. How did you find them once you landed in Britain?
01:51Yeah, I mean, like you said, I spoke extensively, obviously, with Tommo and, you know, at first
01:58I kind of, I didn't know if he was overselling just because of how highly he was speaking
02:02of Sheffield and the league altogether. But obviously, when I got over to the UK and Sheffield,
02:10I saw how things were and definitely surpassed my expectations, you know, in terms of fan
02:17base, arena and, you know, even league play, it was better than I expected. And that was
02:26great for me.
02:27Now, you struck up a very effective partnership with Colton Saucerman. He's obviously already
02:35been announced his return. Was that a big sort of factor in your decision as well, that
02:40you wanted to renew that partnership on the blue line?
02:43Yeah, definitely. I mean, anytime you can, you know, I think we had 70 or some odd, maybe
02:5180 games played together. So anytime you can, you know, kind of get in a group with someone
02:57like that and develop sort of, you know, a partnership, it definitely helps. And to see,
03:04to know that he was going back and to have an opportunity to play with him again was
03:09definitely a contributing factor to my resigning.
03:14What do you feel that the biggest challenge is going to be for this team coming back?
03:19Obviously, you know, you're going to be a marked team. You were no doubt that during
03:25the last season anyway. But what do you feel that will be the biggest challenge on coming
03:30back? Obviously, winning three titles is quite a unique thing, although, funnily enough,
03:35Belfast did it the season before. But as was seen last season, it's not an easy thing
03:40to back that up, is it?
03:41No, exactly. I mean, that was, I was just saying to someone, someone the other day,
03:46that was, that was a major factor in me signing in Sheffield was to, you know, get a chance
03:52to knock off, knock off Belfast, who had won the treble the year before. So, you know,
03:59fast forward a year, and that's the situation that we're in. And, you know, new signings
04:04and guys who, you know, we may have beaten last year for those titles are going to want
04:09a chance to, you know, knock us off. And I think that definitely, you know, that's fun,
04:15and that's exciting. And the chance to defend those three titles is ultimately one of the
04:21major reasons that I'm coming back to Sheffield.
04:24So, you played in Europe for three seasons before you came over to the UK. You're going
04:30to get a chance to do that again with the Steelers in the Champions Hockey League. Was
04:34that a contributing factor as well for coming back?
04:37It was definitely, you know, I think it's, it would be year five, four or five overseas
04:43for me, and I haven't had a chance to play in the Champions League. So, yeah, that's
04:49a major factor. And definitely looking forward to that. And, you know, starting off the season
04:54against competition like that, I believe it sets up for, you know, a better season for the team.
05:03Yeah.