I’m loving my Braehead life in purple haze
AS MOST of the fans know, I first signed for Braehead Clan in 2010 and as the club has grown and flourished, I feel I’ve grown up with it along the way.
In my time at the Clan, I would definitely say I’ve changed in my seven years there and it couldn’t have gone any better.
When I first arrived, I was a 17, 18-year-old kid who had never been out of Doncaster or Sheffield making my first big move as an ice hockey player.
Now I have a fiancée and a beautiful baby girl and have recently just bought my own place to live so it’s been quite a 180-degree turn compared to when I first came up.
My life has gone the best possible way I could have wanted and it’s good to progress alongside how the club has progressed in that way too.
Looking back, if you’d asked me a few years ago if you could see me putting down roots here, I wouldn’t have believed it.
I couldn’t have asked for a better place for it to happen. Jenny, my fiancée and her family are all up here and it’s a great area for Charley to grow up in.
When I first met Jenny, I told her I was an ice hockey player and I don’t think she believed me at first.
She comes to a lot of the games and I think she was nervous about the physical side of the game at first, but has come to accept it’s all part of it now so it doesn’t bother her so much.
She knows it’s not personal on me or me on them and that’s it all part of what happens on the ice. It’s just the way the game goes.
Looking at Charley, she’s eight months old and I can’t believe where the time has gone already, but I’m loving every minute of it.
I signed right up to a testimonial in 2020 and it’s come to the point now where I can’t see myself being anywhere else.
I’m grateful for the loyalty the club has shown me throughout my time here and I feel I have to give my best to repay them.
“The fans have always been amazing to me in my time at the club and I love they’ve altered the famous Beatles song, “Hey Jude” to incorporate my name.
“It’s more when I score and it feels great to hear it when they sing it. I may be biased, but for me, it’s the best chant the fans have!
It so happens I like The Beatles and a catchy song so I’m pleased to be associated with it in that way where everyone can join in. It’s a great feeling.
I’m happily settled in Glasgow and couldn’t be happier where my life is right now, but as for staying once my career is over, it’s a long time away of course.
It’s a conversation Jenny and me would need to have, but it’s definitely a possibility for me, plus we need to decide the best place to bring Charley up, which is the most important thing of all.
For now, though, I’m living the dream.