Tony Hand

Tony Hand (born on August 15, 1967 in Edinburgh) is a retired Scottish ice hockey center who became the first British-born and raised player to be drafted by an NHL team when he was picked by the Edmonton Oilers in 1986. He is currentlythe director and head coach for Murrayfield Racers and the team manager for British National Junior Team. He holds several national records, and has scored over 4000 points in his career.
Hand grew up in the Muirhouse area of Edinburgh, the second son to David and Lorraine Hand and attended St Augustine's Catholic School. He started his ice hockey career with the Edinburgh based Murrayfield Racers, playing for their junior team the Raiders and working part-time at the rink. His older brother Paul was also an ice hockey player.
==Professional career==
===Early playing career===
He made his senior debut on September 20, 1981 at the age of fourteen against the Fife Flyers when the Murrayfield Racers had a player shortage. He gained his first point against the Billingham Bombers on October 17, 1981 with an assist to a Chris Kelland goal. He finished the 1981/82 season having played 19 games with figures of 4 goals, 7 assist and followed it up the following year with 20 goals and 22 assists from 24 games. 
He established himself as a regular first choice player for Murrayfield side that finished 5th in the 1983/84 season, scoring 52 goals and 43 assists in 30 league games after scoring 12 goals and 8 assists in 7 Autumn Cup games. He reached his first Championship Playoff Final with Murrayfield but despite Hand scoring 10 goals and 5 assists in 6 games, they lost 5–4 to Dundee Rockets. He went on to represent Great Britain at the World Junior Championships scoring 6 goals and 3 assists.
In the 1984/85, Hand clocked up his career 100th league goal against Durham Wasps, scoring 72 in the season and broke Roy Halpin's league assists record with 92. He also scored 27 goals and 24 assists in 14 Autumn Cup and Championship Playoff games. With Murrayfield, he reached his second successive final after the Racer finished 3rd in the league but again they lost, this time to Fife Flyers. Representing Great Britain at the Pool C European Championships in Feltre in Italy, he played 3 games and scored 4 points. He also scored 2 goals while guesting for Dundee in the European Cup. 
In the 1985/86 season, Hand continued to clock up the points scoring 79 goals and 85 assists from 32 games to help Murrayfield finish 2nd in the League behind Durham, including his 200th goal against Peterborough Pirates on February 8, 1986. In 15 cup and playoff games, he also scored 35 goals and 36 assists as Murrayfield won both competitions. They beat Durham 8–5 in the Autumn Cup and Dundee 4–2 at Wembley. Personally, he was awarded the Young Player of the Year award winning a couple of weeks attendance at the Calgary Flames training camp to train with NHL players.
===NHL draft pick===
Instead of attending the Flames training camp, Hand went to the Edmonton Oilers' training camp after they had selected him in the 12th round (252nd and last overall) of 1986 NHL entry draft. There he survived the full fourteen days of camp without being cut, despite breaking his one and only stick on the first day and having to borrow one from Marty McSorley. Playing alongside players such as Wayne Gretzky and Mark Messier, he impressed coach Glen Sather and was offered a contract to play Junior Hockey for a year. Suffering from homesickness, Hand turned it down but agreed to return the following year. Hand was the first of only two British born and trained player ever to have been drafted by an NHL team (the second being Colin Shields). 
Before returning home to Scotland, Hand played briefly for the Junior Western Hockey League's Victoria Cougars, with whom he had trained with before the Edmonton camp, scoring eight points in only three games, but returned to Scotland a few months later due to exhaustion from the demands of training, playing and press interest. 
Despite the interest of other British clubs Hand returned to play for the Racers, where he won his first Heineken League Premier title, the Regal Scottish Cup and Scottish League. He broke the 200 league point barrier for the first time, scoring an amazing 105 goals and 111 assists in 35 games, scoring his 300th career goal against Nottingham Panthers in February 1987. He also won a bronze medal with the Great Britain Under-21's in Pool C of the World Championships in Denmark. However, they lost the play-off to Durham Wasps. 
The following season, Hand went back to Canada to train with the Cougars before heading to Edmonton where he played for the Oilers against Team Canada and assisted a Kevin Lowe goal. Again he was offered a contract with the farm team in Nova Scotia but again turned it down, afraid of being stuck in Junior hockey earning less than his contract in Edinburgh.
In his autobiography, Hand concedes that this was perhaps a mistake and that perhaps he should have re-negotiated the offer. In the foreword, Sather expressed his disappointment that "he didn't accept my deal because he could have advanced in North America. His progress would have been celebrated." Indeed, Sather also says "At the training camp I could see that he had a great ability to read the ice and he was the smartest player there other than Wayne Gretzky. he skated well: his intelligence on the ice stood out. he was a real prospect."
===Return to Britain===
Hand returned in October 1987 for Murrayfield's first ill-fated trip onto the continent to play in the IIHF's European Cup where, after beating Bulgarian side Slavia Sofia in a preliminary round, the semi-pro team from Scotland were thrashed by full-time sides from Holland, Sweden and Germany. 
On the domestic front they again won the Heineken League as well as the Scottish League and Cup double. However, in the Norwich Union Cup & Championship play-offs, Durham Wasp again proved to be their nemesis. After beating Murrayfield 11–5 in the final of the Autumn Cup competition, Durham also knocked them out of the Wembley Semi-final 11–8 despite Hand scoring a Championship record 7 points in the match. Hand ended the 1987–88 season with 125 goals and 135 assists in 52 league and cup games having scored his 400th league goal against Whitley Warriors on March 13. 
During the close season, Hand trained with Geneve-Servette and was offered a contract as their fourth import, but in the top Swiss league which allowed only three imports to play in game, he turned it down. Instead he returned to Murrayfield where, in an indifferent year, he scored 114 goals and 162 assists in 49 games, including his 1,000th point and 500th goal. 
Having won the Scottish league and cup double with Murrayfield, Hand was selected for the GB senior team for the first time, making his debut in the World Championships Pool D competition in Belgium. In 4 games, he scored 6 goals and 12 assists to help Britain to a third-place finish and receiving his first World Championship medal.
At the end of the 1989–90 season, after winning the Norwich Union Cup and the Scottish double, Murrayfield reached the Wembley play-off for the fifth time in seven years but lost to Cardiff Devils on penalty shots with Hand missing the deciding shot. He played 45 games, scoring 73 goals and 117 assists. In March 1990, he won a Gold medal and the MVP award during Great Britain's Pool D promotion campaign in Cardiff scoring 5 goals and 8 assists in 4 one-sided games against Australia and Spain. 
The following season was a disappointing one for Hand as Murrayfield won only one trophy, the Capital Foods Scottish Cup and Great Britain could only finish fifth in the Pool C competition in Denmark. On a personal front, Hand scored his 600th league goal against Durham Wasps and a record 11 assists against Trafford Metros in the quarter-final stage of the Norwich Union Cup. Overall, he scored 85 goals and 147 assists for Murrayfield in 52 games plus 9 goals and 12 assists in 8 games for the GB side.
1991–92 started badly for Hand with an eight-game ban for a drug offence when a cold remedy gave a positive result for traces of ephedrine. However, the domestic season got better for him personally as he was awarded a place on the All-Star team and was voted Players' Player of the Year. He was also the League's top scorer with 60 goals and 80 assists in 36 games and captained the Scotland side that beat England 7–6 in the 49th Home International, scoring three of the goals. For the Murrayfield team though, the season was full of controversy and disappointment which ended without qualifying for the play-offs.
In March 1992, the Pool C competition was held in Hull and in a group containing Australia, Belgium, Hungary, North Korea and South Korea, the GB team won the gold medal and promotion to Pool B. Hand finished top scorer with 6 goals and 12 assists in the 5 games to win the Best Forward award.
===End of an era===
Despite good offers from many teams over the years, Hand had remained with the Murrayfield Racers until they folded in 1994. Even then he joined the newly-formed Edinburgh Racers, scoring over 200 points in a season for the third time in his career. However, after a single season with the Edinburgh Racers who also went bankrupt, Hand finally moved to the Sheffield Steelers, in the Superleague. Four years later, another return to Scotland came with a move to the Ayr Scottish Eagles. It was also around this time that Hand was offered a place on the roster of HPK of Finland's SM-Liiga
===Coaching career===
In 2001, Hand started a coaching career as player-coach of the newly formed Dundee Stars of the British National League, before returning to Edinburgh to be the player-coach with the Edinburgh Capitals, where he has coached twice (2003–2004 and 2005–2006). Between these two spells at Edinburgh Hand was player-coach of the Belfast Giants. In 2004 Hand received an MBE for services to ice hockey. 
On 19 April 2006, Hand was announced as the head coach of the Manchester Phoenix for the 2006–07 season. Hand has released his autobiography, Tony Hand: A Life in British Ice Hockey, telling all the stories from his career. It is written with Ice Hockey Journalists UK member, Mike Appleton. Aged 41, in November 2008 he scored his 4000th career point against Hull Stingrays. Hand played with Manchester until the end of the 2014-15 season when he retired. He stayed with Machester until 2017. In seasons 2015-16 and 2016-17, Hand was their head coach.
Since 2018, Hand is the director and head coach for Murrayfield Racers.
He was/is also the coach of British National Teams. He was the assistant coach of the British National Team in 2008 - 2009, including 2008 World Championship Division I, the head coach of the British National Team in 2012 - 2013, including 2012 and 2013 World Championships Division IA, the head coach of the British National U18 Team at the 2018 World U18 Championship Division IIA and the team manager of the British National Junior Team at the 2020 World Junior Championship Division IIA.
==Honours and awards== 
* Scottish National League 1985–86 (Murrayfield Racers)
* British National League 1986–87, 1987–88 (Murrayfield Racers)
* Best Forward (World Championships D) 1990
* Best Forward (World Championships C) 1992
* ISL Second Team All-Star 1997–98
* Awarded the Ice Hockey Annual Trophy as leading British scorer in 1998–99, 1999–00, 2000–01, 2004–05, 2005–06 and 2006–07
* Sekonda Face to Watch December 1999 and November 2000
* ISL First Team All-Star 2000–01
* British National league Coach of the Year 2001–02
* British National League top points scorer 2001–02, 2002–03, 2003–04
* British Ice Hockey Writers' Association Player of the Year 1988–89, 2003–04, 2004–05
* Best British Forward 2004–05, 2005–06, 2006–07 and 2007–08
* EIHL First Team All-Star 2004–05
* EIHL Second Team All-Star 2005–06
==Career statistics==
===Club===
  	  	 	 	Regular season	Regular season	Regular season	Regular season	Regular season	 	Playoffs	Playoffs	Playoffs	Playoffs	Playoffs
Season 	Team 	League	 	GP 	G 	A 	Pts 	PIM 	 	GP 	G 	A 	Pts 	PIM
1983–84	Murrayfield Racers 	BHL 	 	30 	52 	43 	95 	28 	 	6 	10 	5 	15 	6
1984–85	Murrayfield Racers 	BHL 	 	36 	72 	92 	164 	36 	 	6 	13 	11 	24 	4
1985–86	Murrayfield Racers 	BHL 	 	32 	79 	85 	164 	49 	 	6 	13 	13 	26 	4
1986–87	Murrayfield Racers 	BHL 	 	35 	105 	111 	216 	86 	 	6 	9 	19 	28 	4
1987–88	Murrayfield Racers 	BHL 	 	36 	81 	111 	192 	54 	 	5 	17 	6 	23 	16
1988–89	Murrayfield Racers 	BHL 	 	35 	86 	126 	212 	57 	 	4 	8 	10 	18 	12
1989–90	Murrayfield Racers 	BHL 	 	32 	53 	91 	144 	26 	 	6 	9 	10 	19 	10
1990–91	Murrayfield Racers 	BHL 	 	34 	60 	96 	156 	46 	 	7 	8 	17 	25 	8
1991–92	Murrayfield Racers 	BHL 	 	36 	60 	80 	140 	46 	 	5 	8 	12 	20 	2
1992–93	Murrayfield Racers 	BHL 	 	35 	66 	119 	185 	100 	 	7 	14 	19 	33 	8
1993–94	Murrayfield Racers 	BHL 	 	44 	73 	149 	222 	44 	 	6 	9 	15 	24 	10
1994–95	Edinburgh Racers 	BHL 	 	42 	71 	136 	207 	28 	 	8 	13 	21 	34 	20
1995–96	Sheffield Steelers 	BHL 	 	35 	46 	77 	123 	65 	 	8 	6 	10 	16 	4
1996–97	Sheffield Steelers 	ISL 	 	41 	13 	32 	45 	26 	 	8 	3 	6 	9 	4
1997–98	Sheffield Steelers 	ISL 	 	28 	9 	30 	39 	16 	 	9 	2 	9 	11 	4
1998–99	Sheffield Steelers 	ISL 	 	36 	11 	27 	38 	6 	 	5 	1 	4 	5 	0
1999–00	Ayr Scottish Eagles	ISL 	 	40 	8 	35 	43 	52 	 	7 	0 	4 	4 	0
2000–01	Ayr Scottish Eagles	ISL 	 	46 	19 	36 	55 	42 	 	7 	2 	5 	7 	0
2001–02	Dundee Stars 	BNL 	 	44 	25 	79 	104 	18 	 	10 	7 	17 	24 	4
2002–03	Dundee Stars 	BNL 	 	35 	22 	56 	78 	99 	 	 	 	 	 	
2003–04	Edinburgh Capitals 	BNL 	 	36 	21 	63 	84 	38 	 	11 	2 	14 	16 	2
2004–05	Belfast Giants 	EIHL 	 	30 	10 	27 	37 	48 	 	8 	0 	6 	6 	34
2005–06	Edinburgh Capitals 	EIHL 	 	45 	15 	38 	53 	4 	 	4 	2 	2 	4 	0
2006–07	Manchester Phoenix 	EIHL 	 	51 	17 	55 	72 	60 	 	2 	0 	0 	0 	20
2007–08	Manchester Phoenix 	EIHL 	 	61 	24 	63 	87 	60 	 	2 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
===International===
 	  	  	 	 	 	 	 	
Year 	Team 	Event 	 	GP	G 	A 	Pts	PIM
1986 	Great Britain	World Junior Championships Pool C 	 	5 	10	1 	11 	6
1991 	Great Britain	World Championships Pool C 	 	8 	9 	12	21 	12
1992 	Great Britain	World Championships Pool C 	 	5 	6 	12	18 	4
1993 	Great Britain	World Championships Pool B 	 	7 	6 	8 	14 	2
1994 	Great Britain	World Championships Pool A 	 	6 	0 	0 	0 	0
1999 	Great Britain	World Championships Pool A Qualifiers	 	4 	1 	0 	1 	6
2000 	Great Britain	World Championships Pool B 	 	7 	2 	8 	10 	2
2001 	Great Britain	World Championships Division I 	 	5 	3 	13	16 	0
2002 	Great Britain	World Championships Division I 	 	5 	2 	4 	6 	2
2007 	Great Britain	World Championships Division I 	 	5 	0 	3 	3 	0
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
== External links ==
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Category:Born in 1967
Category:Ayr Scottish Eagles player
Category:Belfast Giants player
Category:Edinburgh Capitals player
Category:Edmonton Oilers draft picks
Category:Manchester Phoenix player
Category:Murrayfield Racers player
Category:British hockey players
Category:Sheffield Steelers player
Category:Victoria Cougars alumni