The 30-year-old goalie joins the club from HC Presov of the Slovakia2 league and he previously spent two years back-stopping for Head Coach, Marc LeFebvre during his tenure at French side, Chamonix.
Born in Presov, Richard has played in top division of France, Austria and his native Slovakia, whilst also spending time in Finland and the United States.
Sabol, who stands at 5-foot and 11-inches tall has played over 200 games in the French top flight and has played 11 years of professional hockey, with his longest stint being six seasons with Chamonix.
The Slovakian, who catches with his left-hand, also represented his country on 26 occasions at U17, U18 and U20, winning a U18 World Junior Championship Gold Medal in 2011-2012, where also held the tournaments best goals against average of 1.00.
LEFEBVRE ON SABOL
After finalising his goaltending tandem with the addition of Sabol, Stars Director of Hockey Operations and Head Coach, Marc LeFebvre, said: “We wanted to go with somebody who could give us the chance to win every night and Richard was my starter for two years in Chamonix and he gave us a chance to win every night, so that is going to be no different in Dundee.
“He is a quality netminder and I know what I am getting with Richard, I put all my trust and faith in him because he is a quality goaltender and he has a lot of experience.
“When looking for goalies, you look at the market and you look at different guys, trying to see who is going to fit into your plans and I just kept coming back to Richard.”
LeFebvre continued: “By my own circumstances, I did not really look for a goalie for a month with my father passing in July.
“I took a lot of time off from even focusing on hockey and other things, so I had to start the search up again once I got my feet back underneath me and make sure we got a quality goaltender and we definitely got that with Richard.
“He is going to bring a lot to the table, he will be a great partner for Jarrett and he will give our guys a lot of confidence every night.”
“It has been a hell of a month and not in a good way but getting back on the ice with the guys and in the first week of training camp, it has re-energised me a bit.
“It has been a really tough month but just getting back to concentrating on hockey a bit, which is something I love and enjoy doing and something my father took great pride in watching us play through the webcast.
“I think he is watching down very proudly and he will be cheering us on from wherever he is up above and we are looking forward to having a great season.”
SABOL ON THE OPPORTUNITY
After sealing his first move to the UK, Richard said: “I am super happy to be coming to Dundee and I was really happy when Marc got in touch with me and offered me this opportunity.
“I cannot wait to get to Dundee and experience a new team, a new city and I hope we can have a successful year and I am really delighted to be a part of it.”
Reconnecting with his former coach, Sabol explained how it was an easy choice to reunite with LeFebvre again, he added: “Marc did not have to convince me too much as we had a good relationship when we were in France together and I was really happy that he offered me this opportunity and I am ready to take it.
“I do not know too much about the league but I have asked some guys who have played in the league and they all said that it was a good level and that it is a very competitive and tough league, so I am looking forward to getting started.”
Explaining how he likes to play between the pipes, Richard commented: “I am a smaller goalie so I prefer to make myself as big as possible in the net and in the past I played an explosive and dynamic game but as I get older, I try to play smarter by reading the play and being more steady.”
Finally, Richard shared a quick message for the Stars fans as he begins his journey to Dundee and he said: “I am super pumped for this opportunity and I will do my best to help the team win as many games as I can and make this season a success.”
SABOL’S CAREER
Richard’s career started back in 2008 with his hometown club, HC Presov as he iced 24 times for their Under 18’s side and would develop with that team for the next two seasons, appearing in a further 57 games.
In the 2010-2011 campaign, the Slovakian also earned a call-up to both his nation’s Under 17’s and Under 18’s teams, where he played in a total of six matches for his country.
Sabol then joined HC Banska Bystrica U18’s team in the 2011-2012 season and he would play only once before stepping up to there U20’s side, where he would feature in 31 league games and 13 playoff games.
After also icing in five fixtures for HK Orange 20 at the end of the season, the netminder was again called up by Slovakia U18’s to play in another 11 matches, helping his countrymen to claim the World Junior Championship Gold Medal, as well as making his debut appearance with the nation’s U20’s team.
Richard then took his game across the pond and joined United States Hockey League outfit, Green Bay Gamblers and made six appearances before returning back to Banska Bystrica the following year.
The shot-stopper would play in 18 games for the U20’s before making his senior debut in the Slovakian topflight and also featuring in 22 games for the Slovakian U20’s.
In the 2014-2015 season, Sabol joined Austrian club, Kapfenberg Steelers of the Inter-National-League (INL) and he would appear 29 times before returning to his native Slovakia the following summer to take the starting role for HC 46 Bardejov.
After helping Bardejov to a promotion push, Richards had played in 37 Slovakia2 games and six topflight promotion matches, where he held a save percentage of .928 and a goals against average of 1.93.
After a successful year on home ice, Sabol then moved to Finnish Mestis club, TUTO Hockey and he would see action on one occasion before joining VG-62 on loan for the rest of the season and he iced in 11 games in the Suomi-sarja league.
The keeper then found a more permanent home in the summer of 2017 as he moved to France and signed with top division side, Chamonix.
Richards would spend the next six seasons with Chamonix and also spent two years being coached by LeFebvre before the Canadian returned to take the reigns in Dundee last season.
Sabol played in 233 French games during his six seasons with Chamonix, winning 78 of them and throughout that time he held an overall league save percentage of .906 and a goals against average of 3.28.
Last season, the goalie was back in his hometown, icing for HC Presov’s first team and he backstopped his boyhood club to 15 wins in 25 Slovakia2 matches, in which he stopped .911 of shots he faced and conceded an average of 2.75 goals per game.
Richard also spent one game on loan to HC Nove Zamky in the Slovakian top league this past season but is now making his first venture into British hockey and icing in the sixth country of his career.
Richard is our 20th signing of the summer and joins Drydn Dow, Ben O’Connor, Jonathan McBean, Xavier Pouliot, Craig Garrigan, Kris Inglis, Kyle Pouncy, Brett Gravelle, Craig Moore, Keanu Yamamoto, Brendan Harms, Jake Elmer, Alex Tonge, Cole MacDonald, Domenic Alberga, Zach Tsekos, Jarrett Fiske, Brogan O’Brien and Kameron Kielly on the roster for next season.
Sabol will wear #36 for the Stars and you can sponsor his equipment for this season right now, click HERE.
To see Richard’s career stats on Elite Prospects click HERE.
