Long serving captain Struan Tonnar played his 400th game on Saturday night and to make it extra special they have all been as a Solway Sharks player.
Tonnar was born and bred in Dumfries and learned to skate at Dumfries Ice Bowl when his mum, Ailsa, was manager at the rink. He progressed right through the junior programme to the senior team and truly is a product of ice hockey in Dumfries.
He broke into the senior Sharks as a young, skilled forward and learned his trade in the Northern League and Celtic League while starting to learn his leadership skills under team captains Mark Gallagher and Alan Crane and served as an assistant captain in the 2014/15 campaign.
Struan said: “It feels like it’s flown by.
“I didn’t realise the numbers until it kicked off on Saturday but it’s nice to be recognised and it’s been easy because it’s always been such a great group of guys, the committee are always brand new and the fans are the best. So it seems like a long time but it’s flown by.
“It’s so much fun and enjoyable playing at the club.”
Tonnar has plenty of accolades from his time in the Sharks jersey including an incredible treble last season.
He added: “We’ve done really well. We’ve had some patches of rebuilding but the product we have and the system we have of bringing young talent through and a constant stream of juniors has been really successful.
“Last season with our first ever national title was probably the highlight of my career so far.”
He has since moved back to the blue-line and has become such an important part of the current Sharks D-core.
The step up to become the Sharks captain came in the 2015/16 season and it was the following season he really made his mark, lifting a league and playoff double which would be the start of seeing him regularly lifting silverware and awards as the captain of the club.
The biggest of them all was still to come and last season the captain led his team to a treble with the league, playoffs and the much coveted National Championship in Coventry. He’s not done yet as he aims to lead his team to back-to-back titles.
Struan truly is Mr Solway Sharks and works tirelessly both on and off the ice to ensure that the highest standards are upheld by the players and club.
And his passion, commitment, dedication and love for the game, club and his team mates was celebrated on Saturday night.
Coaches Martin Grubb and Jamie Thomson paid tribute to their captain, commenting: “Playing 400 games on its own is a unique achievement, but to play 400 for one team and that team being your own team, then it makes it a special milestone.
“We are proud to have seen Struan develop as a player but more importantly as a person over the years and to play a part in his success.
“He loves this club and makes sure anyone who pulls on a Sharks jersey knows what the club means to him, the fans and the wider Dumfries community and he should be very proud of his achievements.
“We both know he has had a great support network with his family behind him through the highs and the lows and like them the Sharks family is very proud of him.
“Congratulations Patches and enjoy looking back on this with pride.
“The club would like to congratulate Struan on his incredible achievement and for inspiring the younger generation of players.”
Struan said the last 17 years he’s spent with the Solway Sharks have flown by.
“The 32-year-old, who worked his way up the youth ranks and into the first team at the age of just 15, didn’t realise such a massive milestone was approaching until the weekend.
He said: “It feels like it’s flown by.
“I didn’t realise the numbers until it kicked off on Saturday but it’s nice to be recognised and it’s been easy because it’s always been such a great group of guys, the committee are always brand new and the fans are the best. So it seems like a long time but it’s flown by.
“It’s so much fun and enjoyable playing at the club.”
Tonnar has plenty of accolades from his time in the Sharks jersey including an incredible treble last season.
He added: “We’ve done really well. We’ve had some patches of rebuilding but the product we have and the system we have of bringing young talent through and a constant stream of juniors has been really successful.
“Last season with our first ever national title was probably the highlight of my career so far.”
