Belfast Giants: ‘Leaders and winners’ praised by defenceman Jeff Baum ahead of this weekend's games

But he also is confident that this year’s squad is full of both “leaders and winners”.

He said: “It has been a privilege to have been given the A this season. To have your leadership skills acknowledged in that way is awesome.

“It is something that I am really proud off but at the same time, to be honest, it doesn’t change things that much. I just have to work as hard as the next guy in the locker-room.”

He added: “Each year since I joined the Giants I have looked at bringing as much as I can to the team and continue to grow as a person and a player, both on and off the ice.

“By doing that, I can be the best version of myself as I can be. It is an honour and privilege of Keefer to give me that nod. I will be looking at continuing to improve this season too.”

Baum believes that the Giants’ locker-room is beginning to gel, but that it is something the team will be working on throughout the season.

He said: “It is still very early in the season, there are still things that we need to work on.

“In our locker-room, Thornts and Keefer always do a great job each closed season to bringing in new players and retaining those who are returning.

“Everyone in that locker-room is a leader and a winner, that is why they are there, if they didn’t have those qualities they wouldn't be there.

“We work very hard trying to get the very best out of everyone during the week, so that when we get to the weekend games that the hard part of prepping has been done and we’re ready to compete.

“It is about building on that trust that is in the locker-room throughout the season.”

Baum says the Giants are pleased to have pinched a point against the Steelers – the earliest point taken of Sheffield for a number of seasons.

He said: “Three out of four points in a weekend isn’t a bad start. We were keen to get that fourth point and took the game to Sheffield, but in the end we fell just a little short in the shoot out.

“Last year our first game in Sheffield did not go well and I think the previous year we were also beaten in regulation.

“So getting the point with the adversity that we are facing right now we know that we can always put our best foot forward.

“Sheffield are going to be the team that you are going to have to beat, just like they were last season. It was a great preparation for facing Cardiff this weekend.”

Looking ahead to this weekend only game against the Devils, Baum says that the Giants will be anticipating another competitive game.

He said: “It is going to be another very competitive game for sure. They are one of the top teams in this league, so we will be expecting them to come in the SSE Arena looking for an upset.

“They have a lot of offence and firepower, so we are going to need to be dialled into defending against the Devils.

“We will need to learn those things as the game is being played and limit their chances in front of goal to as little as possible.

“They will get their looks throughout the game, so we need to be equal to stopping those chances becoming scores.”