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Tony Hand appointed GB coach

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Manchester Phoenix are delighted to announce that player coach Tony Hand MBE has been appointed coach of the Great Britain Senior Men’s Hockey Team.

Tony, often referred to as “The Great One” in British hockey, has had an illustrious career as player and coach. His career started in 1981 as a 14 year old, playing for Murrayfield Racers in the Scottish National League. Just 5 years later, after representing Great Britain in the World Junior Championships at under 20, he was drafted to the NHL by the Edmonton Oilers. Described by the Oilers as one of the best prospects they had at the time, Tony played three games for the Victoria Cougars, scoring 4 goals and 4 assists. However, as has been well documented in his autobiography, he returned home to his native Edinburgh to play for the Racers once again.

In 1995, he signed for the emerging Sheffield Steelers where he had a 123 point first season. Four years on and Tony returned to Scotland to ice for the Ayr Scottish Eagles until their demise in 2002. Remaining in his homeland, Tony moved into the coaching side and became player coach with the Dundee Stars for two seasons. After a season back with his hometown club, now known as the Edinburgh Capitals, a trip across the Irish Sea was next on the agenda as player coach for the Belfast Giants. The wanderer returned again to Edinburgh the following season before signing for his present club, Manchester Phoenix, in 2006.

In his 30 year career, he has amassed over 4000 points and is by far the top scoring player in British Ice Hockey history. His coaching record is not too shabby either, having won 2 championships in two different leagues with two different teams. (British National League in 2001/2 with Dundee Stars and the English Premier League in 2010/11 with Manchester Phoenix.)

Catching up with a delighted Tony this morning, I asked for his thoughts on the appointment. He said: “ It is an honour and a privilege to coach the National side and I am really looking forward to coaching the best players in Britain. I would like to thank Ice Hockey UK for giving me this great opportunity and also thank Neil Morris and the Phoenix organisation for their assistance in working with Ice Hockey UK during the process. This will be a dual role as I am, as always, fully committed to Manchester Phoenix.“

Manchester Phoenix MD Neil Morris commented: “This is a fantastic appointment for Tony and the club. When I signed Tony up in 2006, I said then that it would be my best ever signing. How true has that been? This is a great honour for a marvellous player and coach and the club is proud to have the greatest British player of all time on the books.”