Coventry Blaze have signed Brad Cruickshank from the Sheffield Steelers.

With Adam Calder out for a few weeks, Blaze Coach Paul Thompson has signed the Canadian winger until the end of the season.

“Losing someone of Adam’s quality and influence would be a massive loss for any team in this league,” said Thompson to the Blaze website, “But when you are right in the middle of a title race, it’s a major blow.  At the moment we don’t know how long he will be missing but we know we are looking at a minimum of four weeks.

“This is a crucial time of the season so I felt I needed to bring someone in to make sure we give ourselves the best chance of winning games over the next few weeks, but with the signing deadline just a few days away I did wonder if we could find someone of the right quality at this notice.

“For someone of Brad’s ability to come available at exactly the right time was nothing short of amazing and I’m thrilled to be bringing him to the club.  He’s a very good all round player.  He can play tough, he hits, he can make plays, but above all, he can also score goals – something that I obviously needed with the loss of Calds.  He’s a real competitor, very committed and someone who wants to win.  He’s another leader out on the ice.”