Tributes have been paid to Tom Stewart, a stalwart of the Dundee ice hockey community, following his death at the age of 82.
Tom was a former player and later owner of the Dundee Rockets and has been credited with building the foundations of ice hockey in the city.
He is survived by his wife, Marianne, and daughter, Michelle.
Mike Ward co-owner of Dundee Stars ice hockey team, paid tribute to his former coach.
He said: “I am deeply shocked and saddened to hear of Tom’s passing.
“He was a team mate, coach and great friend to me. Tom built the foundations of ice hockey in this city and his influence in the game is still felt today.
“My heartfelt thoughts are with Marianne and Michelle, and all their family at this sad time.”
Tom started his career as one of the original members of Dundee Rockets, playing at the old Kingsway Rink in the late 60s and the early 70s.
He ran his own successful scaffolding business and later became owner of Dundee Rockets, taking the team back to playing in the top level of ice hockey in the UK at the start of season 1981-82.
European competition
Mike said Tom was instrumental in re-introducing imported foreign players to the modern game that season, and such was his passion that he also helped to coach the team at that time.
The Rockets went on to dominate UK ice hockey for the next four years, winning three Grand Slam titles in the process.
Mike believes one of the main reasons for the success during this time was the signing of French-Canadian player Roy Halpin, who went on to re-write the record books in ice hockey scoring in the UK.
Mike said: “Roy remained close friends with Tom to this day.
“In season 1983-84, Tom’s vision of being the first UK team to play in a European competition was realised, when Rockets played Danish Champions Rodovre SIK and French Champions CS Megeve, paving the way for the present top UK teams who still compete in Europe today.
Old timers
“Tom put Dundee firmly on the map and also caused a sensation in the sport of ice hockey, when he signed former NHL “Iron Man” Gary Unger to Dundee Rockets in season 85-86.
“Growing ice hockey in Dundee was very important to Tom. He was always a presence in the rink, encouraging the younger players to improve and he also helped with the coaching of the Dundee Royals Ladies Team.”
Even until around 18 months ago Tom was still participating in the “Old Timers” hockey on Friday afternoons at Dundee Ice Arena, until the pandemic curtailed their sessions.