American defenseman Jack Dougherty, 29, has signed a one-year contract with the Sheffield Steelers, the EIHL club announced on Monday.

“Jack is a versatile defenseman that does all the little things right needed to win hockey games,” said Steelers head coach Aaron Fox. “He will play physical and get stops defensively, he blocks a ton of shots and is really smart on executing his retrievals and regroups.”

“Aaron Fox didn’t have to work hard on selling the Steelers to me,” said Dougherty. “I had heard many great things about the club and organization, so when the chance came up I was very happy to listen to what was being said.

“Then you add to that the signing of Evan Jasper who I played with last year and I thought Sheffield was the place for my wife and I head to.”

Dougherty was born in St. Paul, Minn. And came through the U.S. National Team Development Program, winning a gold medal at the 2014 IIHF U-18 World Championship. He then played one year of college hockey at the University of Wisconsin and then one year in the WHL with the Portland Winterhawks.

Dougherty was selected in the second round, 51st overall, by the Nashville Predators in the 2014 NHL Entry Draft. Although Dougherty never played a regular-season NHL game, he spent time in the minor-league systems of the Predators, Buffalo Sabres, Ottawa Senators and Boston Bruins, appearing in several pre-season games.

In 317 AHL regular-season and playoff games, Dougherty recorded 62 points and 156 penalty minutes.

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Since 2023, Dougherty has played in Germany with Kölner Haie and the Nuremburg Ice Tigers and in Austria with the Vienna Capitals.

“Jack was a full time AHL D man with European stops in the DEL and Austria,” said Fox. “I think he will complement our group very well and will be someone we rely heavy on for the PK.”

“I’m a two way defenseman that can play in all situations,” said Dougherty. “I love killing penalties and I’m the guy you send over the boards in the last two minutes of a game to see it out – that’s my gig. I work hard, I’m an experienced guy and I hope that rubs off on the team. I’m here to do whatever is needed to help us win.”

Dougherty joins a Steelers team that is used to success – they have not finished worse than third in the past six seasons. In addition to former teammate Jasper, the team includes former NHL prospect Cliff Pu and British national team captain Robert Dowd, who is also the EIHL’s all-time scoring leader.

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