Interview with Hull Stingrays player and coach – Sylvain Cloutier

It’s a brand new start for Hull Stingrays this year as the tenuous ownership issues have been resolved, giving player/coach Sylvain Cloutier a chance to build a successful team at the Hull Arena.

I recently spoke to Sylvain to get his view on life, inside and outside, the Stingrays.

For those who aren’t aware of Sylvain, he has played all over North America and even further afield before finding home in the UK. He was drafted by the Detroit Red Wings in 1992 and played some games for the Chicago Blackhawks. Sylvain has also played in the AHL for teams such as Adirondack and Albany, and made appearance in the IHL, ECHL and UHL before joining the Coventry Blaze where he was part of two Elite League winning teams.

My first question to Sylvain was regarding the buyout of the club by Bobby McEwan and the effect it would have.

Obviously I think it’s great for the club and the city. I think it’s definitely going to move forward. We made a lot of strides over the past four years since I got here. I’ve seen the crowds grow. I think people on the whole understand we have a small budget, but if you put out a team that’s going to compete, they’re going to come out and support us.”

There are larger clubs in the league but it’s great that the Stingrays have high hopes for the season. Sylvain is building a team to focus on work ethic and improve in areas deficient last season.

“There’s no reason for us why we can’t battle in our division at the top. I feel we put a good fight in. I think the guys have come in as competitors and hard workers, and we addressed a few weaknesses that we had last season.”

Sylvain highlighted players such as Matthew Davies and Dominic Osman to be big players this year, adding to the perennial achievers such as Jason Silverthorn and Jereme Tendler. Further to the current roster, my next question revolved around the recruiting at grassroots level.

“We’re definitely working closely with the minor hockey association. Bobby McEwan is the head of minor hockey. That’s opened a lot of doors for us as a team in the past. Now we have some of the kids getting rewarded and to come and train with us.”

Furthermore, Sylvain elaborated on how he saw the recruitment. “If we can keep the young local guys, then we can go to them and bring them in. We’ll be using them. You don’t have to go search overseas if you can build your team with your local talent.”

Hull have a good schools programme making the children aware of the game of ice hockey and the Stingrays from an early age. Hull being a big Rugby League city, as well as having a football team, means that the Stingrays are competing against two ‘mainstream’ sports.

The new season brings in a new format with the league split into two Conferences. Sylvain is confident that the Stingrays can exploit this and develop as a team. “I think it’s more exciting, and I think it gives us a chance to believe that we can win more home game. We know we’re not playing Nottingham, Sheffield, Belfast every other weekend. They come in with their big teams. If you play a perfect game, you have a chance at stealing points.”

Moving on to Sylvain’s role in the club, I was intrigued on how he balanced his coaching duties and playing.

“Obviously I’ve been doing it for three seasons. I’d say coach is probably one of the toughest jobs you can do. Bobby McEwen is on the bench with me. We’ve been partners for three years, so we have a very good relationship and we work together. He knows what I like and the things I do. That’s why it’s been a good match.”

With coaching taking up time and Sylvain getting closer to the end of his playing career, I audaciously enquired about his on-ice time and if it was diminishing. Sylvain’s passion for continuing to play came through.

When I spoke to Sylvain, he had done some spinning classes in the morning! He elaborated on how he saw the conundrum of being a player/coach. “Obviously, I have to be realistic about my role and the way I play. I’m not going to score 30 goals and be the go-to guy, It was five years ago when I played in Coventry, and played in the American leagues and stuff. I can still bring the physical game.”

As mentioned earlier, Sylvain has played for quite a few teams and that brings its own challenges.

“Obviously when I lived in Orlando, I was there a month and a half and ended up getting traded to Albany, NY, so we went from wearing flip-flops and shorts to 5 feet of snow. That was quite a shock, too. But out of all the places I’ve played and lived, obviously I lived in Adirondack and the Albany area for seven or eight years in my professional career and that was one of our favorite spots, and we have a lot of friends there.”

The life of a professional hockey player can mean a life of moving around. I wanted to know how Sylvain’s family feel about it. “Coming to Hull, obviously, I’ve been here four or five years. My family is happy. My kids are happy here. It’s their home now. Obviously our family is back in Canada, which is tough at times to be here but we’ve made friends. Hull is a great place to live. We really enjoy being here.”

Finally, I asked Sylvain about his prediction for the Stingrays this year. “We want to improve on what we did last season and the year before. We want to get as many points as we can this year, and try to beat our record from two years ago, and obviously making it in the final four last year was a great experience. We didn’t get the result we wanted. I think a lot of our young guys – and some of the older guys – were pretty much in awe of seeing the arena full of 10,000 people there. Our goal is to get there, and to finish as high as we can in the standings and get as many points as we can out of our group.”

Sylvain came over as a considered coach and a passionate player. I think his influence and his experience will push Hull Stingrays to their potential this season. With a mix of experience and youth, it’s an exciting time on Humberside and I look forward to see how the season develops.