Former Dundee Stars goaltender, Mark McGill spent six seasons in Tayside, defending the Stars net and now six years later, he has looked back on his time in Dundee.

By Kris Smith

Mark joined the club at age 17 in 2009 and played 12 times in the Northern League before going onto compete with the team in the Elite League for the next five seasons.

After leaving the organisation in 2014, McGill began by telling how his life went since he departed from the Stars.

He said: “Since leaving the Stars, I’ve played for a few teams.

“Firstly, I went down south to play for Invicta Dynamos in Kent, which was awesome and being in the National Ice Hockey League.

“Then I took a couple years away from hockey before returning to play for the Murrayfield Racers in 2018 and so far, we have won the Scottish National League and the NIHL North Cup.

“Away from hockey I have become a barber, and now have my own shop in Edinburgh.”

 

 

During his time with the Stars, Mark made lots of memories and played with a lot of memorable characters but he has shared what his favourite moment in a Stars jersey was.

He said: “My memories from playing in Dundee are all good ones but one of my favourite memories is my first Elite League start against Belfast Giants.

“We lost the game 5-3 but I got the man of the match and made 40 saves in that game and I still have the DVD!”

 

 

The now 28-year-old also spoke more about why his time in Dundee was so enjoyable.

Mark added: “Playing for a club like Dundee was great, we were all looked after massively by the club and owners!

“Also, the support we received from the fans every game and every week was always top notch as well!

“When I was playing for the Stars, I was lucky enough to not have to manage a job alongside hockey, so I was able to only play ice hockey and truly live the dream!”

Despite being a back-up goaltender for most of his time with the Stars, McGill played a huge role in helping the team find success every night.

Discussing what it was like to be a back-up netminder, especially in the Elite League, Mark said: “It was great being goalie partners with import goalies.

“I got on great with every goalie I played alongside in Dundee and all for different reasons.

“Although, I learned the most from Rio (Nic Riopel), he was a true professional and very dedicated to being the best he could be.

“He showed me, as a goalie you should be familiar with all aspects of the game, not just stopping the puck!

“Also, his wife made awesome sushi too!”

 

 

Finally, the shot-stopper from Broxburn shared a message for all the Stars fans and McGill said:

“A message from me to the Stars fans is just thanks for the support in my six seasons at the club, my time there was amazing, and I will enjoy going back to the DIA every time!”

That concludes our series of ‘Look Back’ articles on the ninth Dundee Stars season but there is plenty more still to come, as next week we take you back to the 2009-2010 season.

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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