Tributes have been paid to a popular ice hockey coach who passed away on Monday.
Coventry Blades have announced that assistant coach Dale Keane has passed away suddenly while in Scotland.
The 33-year-old, who also coached GB's youth teams, has been with the Elite League club since 2018.
He is affectionately known as Kino, and the club said the news left “the whole organization shocked”, adding that it sympathized with the feelings of his family and many friends.
The club said: “We understand that this news will be difficult for many people to take in and we would urge anyone who is suffering to seek the support they need.”NHS information on bereavement Added a link to.
Great Britain's national team and Ice Hockey UK also said they were shocked by the news, calling Mr Keane “a popular figure across British hockey, particularly with the British team and his domestic club Coventry, who is well-liked by everyone across the country.” He is loved.'' Blaze”.
They added that he had a “positive impact on everyone he met, brightening up the room with his wit and humor.”
Keane was appointed assistant coach of the Great Britain men's U-20 team in July 2019 and was part of two silver medal-winning teams in 2020 and 2023.
He led his team to bronze medals in 2022 and 2024.
Before starting coaching, he played for Solway Sharks and Kilmarnock Storm.
After working with Basingstoke Bison junior teams and Sheffield Steeldogs in the English Premier Ice Hockey League, he joined Elite League side Coventry Blades as a skills coach in 2018.
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