The Dundee Stars first ever Head Coach was IIHF Hockey Hall of Famer, Tony Hand and the British hockey legend delivered a ton of success in his first year as a player-coach, so this article will look back at how his first season in Dundee panned out.

By Kris Smith

Tony joined the club from Ayr Scottish Eagles in 2001 and was in charge for the 2001-2002 and part of the 2002-2003 season.

When he arrived in Dundee, the Edinburgh native moved quickly to bring his former Ayr teammates; Teeder Wynne, Scott Young and Jan Mikel to Dundee with him.

His former clubs prior to his move to Tayside included; Murrayfield Racers, Victoria Racers (Western Hockey League) and Sheffield Steelers, all in a 20-year period.

In the 2001-2002 season, the then 35-year-old played in all 44 league games, six Findus Cup matches and made 10 playoff appearances.

In his total of 50 games, he racked up 39 goals and 106 assists for 145 points in his first campaign with the Stars and also lifted both the league and playoff trophies.

As the player-coach, Hand would be the quarterback of the powerplay and with his sublime skill and hockey knowledge, he was the team’s main creator and that is reflected in his assist totals.

In fact, at every stage in his very distinguished career, he has put up impressive numbers and has gained a wide range of experiences from across many areas of British hockey.

Tony led the Stars to their best possible start and that really helped rekindle the popularity of ice hockey in Dundee after a 10 year absence of the sport.

After leaving in 2003, Tony moved on to join Edinburgh Capitals, where we would continue his career as a player-coach for the next 12 years before hanging up his skates and staying behind the bench.

In those years, he also led Belfast Giants and Manchester Phoenix, as well as being both an assistant coach and a head coach of the GB Men’s team.

In 2018, Hand returned to Scotland to be a director and to coach the newly revived, Murrayfield Racers and he has also taken charge of the GB’s Under 18’s and Under 20’s squads.

Next-up in our ‘Look Back’ series we will be bringing you a special Stats of the Stars for the 2001-2002 season and it will be available here at 12pm tomorrow.

If you want to be a part of the historic 20th Dundee Stars season then you can buy your season tickets by contacting [email protected]

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