Steve Thornton (born March 8, 1973) is a
Canadian
Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...
-born
British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies.
** Britishness, the British identity and common culture
* British English, ...
former professional
ice hockey
Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...
player. He is currently the Director of Hockey Operations for the
Belfast Giants
The Belfast Giants (known officially as the Stena Line Belfast Giants due to sponsorship) are a professional ice hockey team based in Belfast, Northern Ireland. They compete in the UK's Elite Ice Hockey League (EIHL) and are the current cham ...
of the
Elite Ice Hockey League
The Elite Ice Hockey League (EIHL), sometimes referred to as the British Elite League or, for sponsorship reasons, the Viaplay Elite League, is an ice hockey league in the United Kingdom. Formed in 2003 following the demise of the Ice Hockey ...
.
Career
Thornton was born in
Gloucester
Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean to the west, east of Monmouth and east ...
,
Ontario
Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...
. Apart from playing junior hockey with the
Gloucester Rangers
The Rockland Nationals are a Junior "A" ice hockey team from Rockland, Ontario, Canada. They are a part of the Central Canada Hockey League. The Rockland Nationals will begin play in 2017-18, after the Gloucester Rangers relocated to Rockland af ...
, college hockey with
Boston University
Boston University (BU) is a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. The university is nonsectarian, but has a historical affiliation with the United Methodist Church. It was founded in 1839 by Methodists with its original campu ...
and one season in the
International Hockey League with the
Peoria Rivermen Peoria Rivermen is the name of four minor league hockey clubs:
*Peoria Rivermen (IHL), named as such 1984–1996, formerly the Peoria Prancers 1982–1984
*Peoria Rivermen (ECHL), 1996–2005
*Peoria Rivermen (AHL), 2005–2013
*Peoria Rivermen (SP ...
, Thornton's career has been played in
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
. He has single season spells in
Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
with
Klagenfurt
Klagenfurt am WörtherseeLandesgesetzblatt 2008 vom 16. Jänner 2008, Stück 1, Nr. 1: ''Gesetz vom 25. Oktober 2007, mit dem die Kärntner Landesverfassung und das Klagenfurter Stadtrecht 1998 geändert werden.'/ref> (; ; sl, Celovec), usually ...
and in
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
's
Deutsche Eishockey Liga
The Deutsche Eishockey Liga (for sponsorship reasons called "PENNY Deutsche Eishockey Liga") (; English: ''German Ice Hockey League'') or DEL, is a German professional ice hockey league and the highest division in German ice hockey. Founded in ...
with the
Adler Mannheim
The Adler Mannheim (English: ''Mannheim Eagles'', formerly Mannheimer ERC) is a professional ice hockey team of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga, the highest-level ice hockey league in Germany. The team is based in Mannheim, a city in the northern pa ...
before moving to the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
, spending five seasons with the
Cardiff Devils
The Cardiff Devils are a Welsh ice hockey team who play in the British Elite Ice Hockey League. The team play at Ice Arena Wales in Cardiff Bay.
Cardiff are the reigning EIHL play-off champions, winning their third title in a row after beating ...
. He also had spells with the
London Knights
The London Knights are a junior ice hockey team from London, Ontario, Canada, playing in the Ontario Hockey League, one of the leagues of the Canadian Hockey League. The Knights started out in 1965 as the London Nationals but changed to their cu ...
and the Belfast Giants where he won the playoff cup in 2003. He then moved to
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
, spending two seasons with
Val Pusteria Wolves and then had spells in
Switzerland
). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
and
Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...
before returning to Britain, joined the
Basingstoke Bison
The Basingstoke Bison are an English Ice Hockey club from Basingstoke. They currently compete in the NIHL National League and have previously been members of the Ice Hockey Superleague and its successor the Elite Ice Hockey League.
History ...
.
Coaching career
On April 7, 2008, Thornton was confirmed as the new player/coach of the Belfast Giants, replacing
Ed Courtenay
Edward Emmett Courtenay (born February 2, 1968) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey right winger and head coach.
Professional career
As a youth, Courtenay played in the 1980 and 1981 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournaments with ...
and in two seasons in charge he guided the Giants to three trophies. He departed in 2010 and was replaced by
Doug Christiansen.
On Monday 28 April 2014, Thornton returned as coach of the Belfast Giants, under taking the wider role of Head of Hockey Operations upon the departure of, Belfast Giants General Manager,
Todd Kelman
Todd Kelman (born January 5, 1975) is a Canadian retired ice hockey defenceman who is currently the Managing Director of the Cardiff Devils of the Elite Ice Hockey League. He was an original member of the first Belfast Giants squad that played in ...
.
Personal
Thornton has acquired British citizenship.
Thornton was formerly a
real estate
Real estate is property consisting of land and the buildings on it, along with its natural resources such as crops, minerals or water; immovable property of this nature; an interest vested in this (also) an item of real property, (more general ...
agent with Paul Rushforth Real Estate in
Ottawa
Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...
, Ontario
References
External links
*
1973 births
Adler Mannheim players
Basingstoke Bison players
Belfast Giants players
Boston University Terriers men's ice hockey players
Canadian expatriate sportspeople in Italy
Canadian ice hockey centres
Canadian ice hockey coaches
Cardiff Devils players
ECH Chur players
EHC Basel players
Naturalised citizens of the United Kingdom
Genève-Servette HC players
Ice hockey people from Ottawa
EC KAC players
Living people
London Knights (UK) players
Peoria Rivermen (IHL) players
Södertälje SK players
Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in England
Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in Northern Ireland
Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in Wales
Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in Austria
Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in Germany
Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in Switzerland
Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in Sweden
NCAA men's ice hockey national champions
Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in the United States
British ice hockey coaches
Canadian sports executives and administrators
British sports executives and administrators
Ice hockey executives
British expatriate sportspeople in Switzerland
British expatriate sportspeople in Sweden
British expatriate sportspeople in Italy
British expatriate ice hockey people
Naturalised sports competitors
British ice hockey right wingers
Canadian emigrants to the United Kingdom
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