KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Don’t call it a comeback – at least not yet anyway.
Kevin Swider, the Southern Professional Hockey League’s most prolific scorer, is returning to the Knoxville Ice Bears lineup after a year of retirement,
Kevin Swider will be trading in his tie for his number 12 jersey (Photo courtesy of Knoxville Ice Bears)
Swider, who will turn 34 on November 17th, put the skates in the closet following the 2009-2010 season while at the top of his game and holding many of the scoring records in the SPHL media guide. He led the league in scoring six times, amassing 676 points (264 goals and 412 assists) in 374 regular season games, 71 points (20 goals and 51 assists) in 51 playoff games and been a part of four regular season SPHL titles and three President’s Cup championships.
At the time he decided to walk away, Swider was feeling the exhaustion from a long and arduous season. He was also wanting to spend more time at home with his wife and young daughter.
“When I decided not to play last year, I had played hockey for so long that I just got run down a little,” Swider said. “I thought it was time to step away for a year or maybe for good.”
He took a job in the Knoxville front office as Director of Hockey Operations, working closely with first year head coach Mike Craigen on putting together the team‘s roster. Off the ice, Swider was involved in sales and marketing programs, utilizing the fact that he was the “face of the franchise” to the fans and corporate sponsors in the Knoxville area. During this past summer, he spearheaded the drive to raise the funding necessary to completely redo the Ice Bears locker room ahead of the franchise’s year-long tenth anniversary celebration.
Still, the call of the ice downstairs from his office at the Knoxville Civic Coliseum beckoned him. He worked with Craigen on the ice during practices, assisting with drills. As the season went along, it was apparent that he missed the game more than he expected, which led to his return for this coming season.
“Obviously I missed it a little bit and am looking forward to coming back with a little more fire than I would have if I had just ended another season,” he said. “It’s not as repetitive now so it is something new again.”
Swider still has his competitive nature and said he is looking forward to winning games and helping his team grow. Naturally, his number one goal for this coming season is bringing the President’s Cup to Knoxville for the fourth time.
“We have had success here before. I have had success in this league before. I think this year for me is all about how far we can go as a team,” Swider said. “Can we win the regular season and can we win the playoffs? That is the ultimate goal and I am really looking forward to competing.”
Swider’s return also means that Craigen will have a decision to make. Over the summer, the SPHL revised its rule on the number of professional games played allowed between the three allotted veterans (players with 224 or more pro games played). Both Emery Olauson and Rob Sich were expected to return to the Ice Bears but with Swider returning, keeping all three would put Knoxville over the new 1,100 aggregate total. Last Wednesday on the SPHL Weekly Show, Craigen announced that Olauson was fully recovered from an upper body injury he suffered at the end of last season, making the coach’s decision even harder.
SPHL Editor Don Money contributed to this report.
Contact the author at kristina.shands@prohockeynews.com
