I would like to preference this by saying, this should have come out at the end of last season. However I never had time to finish the story. And so a season late here it is. Hopefully this will be the first part of many, I would like to track Stephan through this career in the SHL and SMJHL with the sim of creating a interesting narrative over the course of his career. The next section will feature his time in the SMJHL with Anaheim. 



Stephan Gill – A life story Pt.1



Early Life



Stephan Gill was born in the United Kingdom in the 17th March. Born in the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham. As a first born to his family his mother, Sarah Gill, and father Aaron Gill were both extremely proud.Just after his 3rd birthday, he was informed he was going to have a younger brother, and in the middle of August his little brother Jason was born. This was not to be the end of the little Gills running around there household, a year or so later, his sister Dianna wa born. 



From an early age Stephan showed great prowess in sports, he started playing football from the age 5 for Harbourne Casuals football club. Stright away he found his love for sport. For anyone who is unaware, junior football, particularly at this age is so fun to watch. Essainlty it boils downs to a group of 12 kids running around like headless chickens, nearby the ball but not always. However Stephan started to show promise as he moved through the age groups, when in the U9 team he scored 11 goals in a single game. This was enough for him to move clubs from his local Harbourne club to the main Birmingham Football Junior team. 



At the age of 8 he started to compete in athletic events, quickly becoming a track star for his age. He would compete across all disciplines, be that trick or feild event. Whenever he was at training he would alway be willing to try any event, except one he refused to do the Polr Volt. How anyone was able to partake in that event was beyond him. As he progressed he quickly decided that the shorter events were his special talent. Of all the short “sprint” disciplines his favourite was the 400m event. This was an event where he was able to go all out and just hold. Such a tough event but one he truly loved. 



As he grew up both himself and his younger brother Jason were always pushing themselves to be better. Forever running, playing sports where ever they could. They really took the play until you drop mentality to heart. Stephan mother, Sarah, was of Scandinavia origin and was very keen into her winter sports, Ice Hockey, Biathlons, speed skating etc. She was forever taking both Stephan and Jason to the Nottingham Ice ring to watch the Nottingham Panthers play in the British Hockey league. She also taught them to skate from a young age. Stephan particularly enjoyed taking up speed skating or the British equipment speed “roller” skating. 



At the age of 10, Stephan father Aaron was offered a new promotion. This promotion would mark a huge change for all family members. Aaron’s new role would see him working out in American in New York for a upcoming technology company. After much deliberation, it was decided that the Gill family would emigrate to New York Thus at the end of the year leaving pretty much everything they new behind the boarded the plane to America. In hindsight, this move could be seen as the start of Stephan Gill Ice hockey career, without this move, who knows where he’d end up, easily could have been anything. 



Stephan wasn’t use the extremely fast pace of life in NY even coming from the UK’s second largest city. His mother saw this and decided to find him a local ice rink to skate on, upon arriving the saw and advisement for a junior ice hockey development program. And so that evening both Jason and himself were signed up. This really was the start! Moving into a suburb of the great city of NY was such a large culture shock. Just like when he was in the UK, Stephan kept his track career going in the US. Now starting to really make headway into a very promising 400m career, competing in many intra-state races, wining several of them along the way. 



As Stephan grow up he continued to peruse both his track career and his new found love for ICE hockey. Finding time for both Ice Hockey and running were hard and involved many drives with his Mum & Dad taking both Jason and himself many times a week. As they grew up both Jason and Stephan continued to grow as not only athletes but extremely competent players. The two sports were split quite nicely between the athletic in the summer and Ice Hockey over the winter. Jason and Stephan soon become well known on both the Athletic track as well as the Ice rink.  



Now in his mid-teens Stephan started to think about collage in America, he had to decide if he was going to become an athlete, with the aim of competing in the Olympics for his home country of GB or pursue a career in Ice Hockey with the sim of getting drafted by a team in the SHL. In his final years of high school the choice as still weighing heavily in his mind. Both of his coaches keep saying that’s he should continue in the sport. 



Collage Career & Life



He eventually declared to join Western Michagan. In his freshman year, he played as a 4th string centre. He found very little time on the Ice however spent most of his time adjusting to the extra physicality of collage Ice Hockey when compared to that of the Hockey he was playing back in New York. In his second season he became the 2nd string centre of the team. The team ended up having a solid season just missing out on the NCAA Div 1 finial tomurnment. Each off-season Stephan spent as much time as he could back in NY but also taking time to go back home to GB to see family members. At this point Stephans brother Jason was undergoing the same choices regarding collage as his brother did. In the end Jason ended up choosing his Track career as the way to go. In his third season at Western Michigan, Stephan became the 1st string centre for the team plus was given the honor of being the teams captain. This season Western Michigan we’re able to make the NCAA Div 1 final Tournament, they made a strong showing in the first round of the playoffs, beating their local rivals Michigan Uni. However that was where it ended as they lost to Denver in the next round. 


Over the course of the season there were dicussions with the coaches about declaring for the SMJHL draft. After a strong showing in his last round of games in the season, it was decide that he should. And so after 3 years at Western Micigan he declared for the SMJHL draft. On the day where he was to tell the press that he was declaring for the SMJHL draft, Stephan could hardly contain his excitement or nervousness. At the press conference he almost forgot the reason for the press conference. 



(RFG -> Words 1418)