By Kris Smith
The Canadian veteran has been a key figure both on and off the ice since arriving in 2018 and was appointed as an alternate captain in the 2019-2020 season and then named club captain last year.
Now, Dow has taken another step up to help out Stars GM and Head Coach, Jeff Mason with his coaching duties and the 29-year-old blueliner from Calgary, Alberta will be serving as the Player-Assistant Coach to Mason this year and will also be leading the team’s conditioning training.
Discussing his new role and the upcoming season, a delighted Dow said: “I am really excited for this season and it was an honour to be named as the Player-Assistant Coach this year.
“It is an exciting new role for me and I am really excited to have this opportunity and to get the chance to learn from Jeff.
“It is a new opportunity for all of us having a new coach in here and we cannot wait to get on the ice and back to work, learning all the new stuff he has to offer us.”
Whilst Drydn has made the first step into a possible coaching career, he reaffirmed his desire to continue playing and is not planning on hanging up the skates anytime soon.
He explained: “I still have a good bit of hockey left in me yet, so hopefully I still have a few good years to come, but when I was approached with the opportunity, it was a no brainer for me.
“Getting that on the resume and to learn and experience a new role, will hopefully help me in the future.”
Dow also admitted he is looking forward to working closely with Mason and also learning from his new teammates, who bring a wealth of other experiences to the Stars locker room.
Drydn added: “I had that relationship with Omar and we communicated a lot last year, so it will be good to get this experience with Jeff too and see his side of things and see the differences there.
“I am also looking forward to passing on everything that I learned too as we have a lot of new guys this year, so I can use what I have learned over the past couple years and hopefully they can pass stuff onto me too.
“That is what you find on teams like this, we have had guys with so much hockey experience, that it is like everyone is a leader, so you are not just relying on one guy to be that leader.”
In just six days’ time, the Stars return to action at the DIA and you can secure your tickets for the preseason clash against Belfast Giants HERE.
All images: Derek Black.
