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Sutton Sting and the fans would chant , ‘ Up the Sting !’ I had a pretty great year ( 20 goals and 39 points in 28 games ), but it ’ s really interesting at that level over there . They ’ ll sign imports , suddenly realize they ’ ve overspent and drop guys immediately . That ’ s happened at least three times with me . So after the season , I got dropped by Sutton and Billingham picked me up . I was the only import on Billingham and we got to the league final . I had another great season ( 17 goals and 36 points in 22 games ).”
FROM BRITAIN YOU WENT TO HOLLAND AND NOW YOU ’ RE GOING TO GERMANY ? “ Yeah , last year I signed with the Ahoud Devils of Nijmegen in the top league in Holland ( the BeNeLiga ), I was the captain . It ’ s interesting how I became captain . The team had a captain , but his wife had booked a winter holiday for them before the schedule came out . So when the schedule came out , it turns out he ’ d miss five or six games because of this holiday in Spain or
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someplace . So I was named the captain . That ’ s kind have been the story of my career thus far .
“ Right now , I would say that I ’ m at the midway point of my career . I have a lot of years behind me , but I have some pretty good years ahead as well . I ’ m going to play for Adendorfer EC in the German 4th League . I ’ ll be paid about $ 1,500 CDN a month . It ’ s kind of like playing for the Goldeyes . To be honest I ’ m not too sure with what to expect from the hockey . I watched videos and I ’ d say it ’ s probably a Jr . A level over here . I could be wrong , but that ’ s what the videos looked like . I ’ m looking to go over there and set that league on fire . Personally , and I ’ m probably pumping my own tires here , but I know I can play at a higher level , but I need to put points up , win a championship and get more on my resume so that teams in higher leagues in Europe will notice me . This is a regrouping year – a pay-my-dues year – so that next year I can take another step forward .
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AFTER EVERYTHING THAT ’ S HAPPENED DO YOU HAVE ANY REGRETS , ANYTHING YOU WOULD HAVE DONE DIFFERENTLY ? “ Well , it ’ s the way that it went and I guess it worked out . I think there might have been other paths I could have taken , but I don ’ t regret anything that ’ s happened . I ’ m happy with the decisions I ’ ve made . Maybe I could have gone out to the U of M and tried to be a walk-on with the Bisons , but maybe if I ’ d played for the Bisons , I wouldn ’ t have had the opportunity to play pro . So I don ’ t look back and say ‘ Oh , I did this wrong .’ I look back and say , ‘ I got lucky .’ I put the work in and it ’ s paying off . But there are a lot of people who did as much work as I did and never got the opportunity to go pro so I ’ ve been very fortunate .” |
“I WAS THE ONLY
IMPORT ON
BILLINGHAM AND
WE GOT TO THE
LEAGUE FINAL .”
THOMAS SUART-
DANT , 91 , OF THE
BILLINGHAM STARS
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Thomas Stuart-Dant with the Sutton Sting - NIHL
HAS THE LONG , CRAZY JOURNEY BEEN WORTH IT ? “ When I learned that I could have the opportunity to play pro hockey and travel the world at the same time , I was like , ‘ Why don ’ t we actually look into this ? This is appealing .’ Now that I ’ m doing it , I would highly recommend it to any kid playing hockey right now . I ’ m living proof that if you want to be a hockey player and you want to play pro , you just have to keep playing and not be afraid to play in places that others might not pursue . Don ’ t quit . Just grind it out . There are times when it ’ s far from perfect , but it ’ s still playing hockey . And in Europe , it ’ s great . You have a week off and you just get on a plane and go someplace . It ’ s cheaper for me to fly from London to Madrid than from Winnipeg to Toronto . It ’ s unbelievable . Playing in Europe , I can ’ t describe it in words . It ’ s like a Kodak moment all the time . “ And you have to understand , I just like to play hockey . I like to skate , I like to be on the ice and I met most of my friends through hockey . I still love it now despite everything I ’ ve gone through . There is nothing I ’ d rather do than be on the ice playing hockey . I like working out in the gym and I really like bartending , it ’ s a lot of fun and you meet interesting people , but there is nothing more natural to me or fun for me than being on the ice playing hockey . I spent hours and hours playing on the outdoor rinks with my buddies . Hockey isn ’ t a way of life , it ’ s a ritual . The rink is like church for me and I want to go to the rink every day until I die .”
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106 | GAME ON | NOVEMBER 2017 |