Steve Thornton (born March 8, 1973) is a Canadian-born British former professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

player. He is currently the Director of Hockey Operations for the Belfast Giants of the Elite Ice Hockey League.

Career

Thornton was born in Gloucester,

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

. Apart from playing junior hockey with the Gloucester Rangers, college hockey with Boston University and one season in the International Hockey League with the Peoria Rivermen, Thornton's career has been played in

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

. He has single season spells in

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

with Klagenfurt and in

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

's Deutsche Eishockey Liga with the Adler Mannheim 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 Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, spending five seasons with the Cardiff Devils. He also had spells with the London Knights and the Belfast Giants where he won the playoff cup in 2003. He then moved to

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

, spending two seasons with Val Pusteria Wolves and then had spells in

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

and

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

before returning to Britain, joined the Basingstoke Bison.

Coaching career

On April 7, 2008, Thornton was confirmed as the new player/coach of the Belfast Giants, replacing Ed Courtenay 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.

Personal

Thornton has acquired British citizenship. Thornton was formerly a real estate agent with Paul Rushforth Real Estate in

Ottawa Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...

, 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 ice hockey players in the United States 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 Northern Ireland NCAA men's ice hockey national champions British ice hockey coaches Canadian sports executives and administrators British sports executives and administrators Ice hockey executives British expatriate ice hockey people Naturalised ice hockey players British ice hockey right wingers Canadian emigrants to the United Kingdom {{Canada-icehockey-coach-stub