Next, we hear from Canadian forward, Brett Stovin, who joined the club in the summer of 2019 from USports side, University of Manitoba Bisons.
Firstly, Brett started off by explaining what he has been doing since leaving Dundee.
He began: “My girlfriend and I moved to western Canada to spend five months mountain biking, snowboarding, hiking, and Nordic skiing in the mountains.
“I am from central Canada with the closest mountain being a 16 hour drive away, so this was something I have wanted to do my entire life!”
Stovin then discussed his time in the City of Discovery and what he enjoyed most about his time as a Star.
He said: “I loved my time with the Stars!
“When other players ask me about the organization, league, and country I have nothing but great things to say!
“My favourite memories would have to be hearing our fans sing songs for us, celebrating our wins with our fans and my teammates, spending time getting to know my sponsorship family, and adventuring around your beautiful country.
“I could not possibly narrow down my favourite memories away from the rink or put into words how much I love your country!”
He then continued by sharing his favourite memories and adding: “I know some fans out there want me to say it was creating the music video and dancing on the ice for everyone.
“I’ll admit I did have some fun with that but, I would have to say my favourite moment was my first time stepping on the ice in front of the fans in Dundee.
“The Dundee fans are passionate and give you something that you can truly be proud to play for.
“Seeing you all stay in the stands after the game to celebrate a win or show that you are still there to support us after a loss means more than you could ever imagine.”
The Canadian then revealed more about how he ended up signing with the Stars and what made him want to play in the British topflight.
He explained: “While playing for the University of Manitoba we travelled to the UK to play pre-season games against UK teams twice.
“This provided me with my first exposure to the level of play and some of the organizations.
“The fact that the UK is English speaking and the level of play is so high was the first thing that pulled me in.
“Omar was extremely understanding and approachable during the recruitment process which made me feel like I would be playing for someone I wanted to battle for every night.
“Lastly, my passion for the outdoors and knowing that when I am stressed I can go for a walk in the hills made me want to come to Scotland as my first professional experience.”
Stovin then also shared a story about when his girlfriend Ashleigh made her first visit to Dundee and how their first day in Scotland went.
“A story most of you probably don’t know is on the first day when Ashleigh arrived in Scotland to visit, we had a day off so we decided to go for a short hike in Aberfeldy to keep her awake.
“On the way home, it was getting dark and part of the road was washed out.
“We ended up blowing both tires out on the left side of the car and had no cell service.
“Luckily, a gentleman from Perth stopped to help right away and he drove to a shop down the road and got them to bring a trailer to tow the car back to their shop where they could fit new tires the next day.
“In the meantime, the man from Perth drove us to the Spirits of Scone in Perth where Justin Maylan came to the rescue.
“Since we were there already, we all enjoyed the event then he drove us back to our apartment and then after practice the next day Duncan Speirs brought me back to get the car.
“In a matter of 12 hours of landing in Scotland, Ashleigh got to experience the beauty, the remoteness, the generosity, and the fun that comes with living in Scotland.
“It also rained 16 of the next 18 days…”
Finally, Brett shared a message for all the Stars fans back in Dundee and he said: “I hope all of you are staying safe and are excited for hockey to return.
“Thank you for helping make my season in Dundee one of the most enjoyable seasons of my entire career!
Brett.”
Next time we will be bringing you another interview with a player from the 2019-2020 season and we will be releasing interviews every month up until the start of the next campaign.
If you want to play a special part in the historic 20th Dundee Stars season then you can sign up to join the Gold Club by contacting: [email protected]
