Gillies Reunites with Dagenais in Sheffield

Sheffield Steelers (United Kingdom) Head Coach David Matsos confirmed Wednesday that former Union forward Nathan Gillies has signed a contract with the club and will be his final forward signing of the summer. The Steelers compete in the Elite Ice Hockey League (EIHL).

In joining Sheffield, Gillies will be re-united with former Dutchmen teammate Randy Dagenais. He is the third former ECAC Hockey standout on the Steelers roster. Steve Munn, who played at Rensselaer, also is on the Sheffield 2008-09 roster.

Gillies has American League experiance in both Binghamton and Bridgeport though spent most of the last three seasons in Charlotte in the East Coast League. In 2007-08, Gillies spent time with Charlotte and Phoenix of the ECHL. He played 44 games, compiling seven goals and eight assists.

Matsos said "I have been trying to sign this guy since I became the Steelers coach three summers ago, there isn't anyone who has a bad word to say about the guy as a person, a player or a leader. I looked at many different options, the out and out tough guy, the super skilled forward but every time I kept coming back to Nathan, a guy who will give us grit, energy and who will make an offensive contribution.

"Nathan has played and captained Randy Dagenais at Union College and also played with former Steeler Kirk DeWaele in Charlotte. Both also gave glowing references. I believe that Nathan will be a fearless player, he is a guy who will fight anyone and can play on any line."

Gillies is presently working out at his home in Cambridge, Ontario "I can't wait to get going" he said "at my time in life I needed a new challenge, I am someone who gives his all in everything he does and I needed something new to focus my attentions on. I thought about Europe and spoke with guys like Kirk DeWaele. The message I got back was Sheffield, Sheffield, Sheffield. Then out of the blue who called me, the Sheffield coach, I suppose it was meant to be

"I know Sheffield has done its homework on me, and likewise I have done mine on both the club and the coach. I couldn't find anyone with a bad word to say about either, I'm excited and can't wait to arrive. I know many of the guys on the team, I have played with some and against many others. Matty has told me that I will be coming to play on a team hell bent on winning a championship and that sounds great to me"