Stienstra Missed Hockey

The following article featuring former Cornell standout Doug Stienstra appeared January 29 on the Tilburg Trappers Web site.

On Monday DESTIL Trappers announced that they signed former Cornell forward Doug Stienstra for the Dutch Championship playoffs. The 32-year-old power forward will return to the team he played for the last three years. We called Doug in Kelowna, his home-town in British-Columbia (Canada), and heard that he is looking forward to come to Tilburg.

"I am really excited to play competitive hockey again," Doug answers when I asked him why he will join Trappers again. "I missed that just like I missed Holland. Canada is nice but I have lived in Holland for six years. I love the country and the people although I have no plans to live there permanently."

If Stienstra, who scored the important equalizer with one minute remaining against Korea in Innsbruck last April, will be available for the Dutch National Team at the World Championships in Poland will be the question.

"I am not sure about that. It depends on how well the playoffs will go."

The most valuable Dutch player in the Dutch League in ’07 and ’08 retired after last season but has re-evaluated his decision after a request by Larry Suarez and Cees Oerlemans.

"After I returned to Canada Larry and I had contact once in a while. Our first contacts about a possible return are dating back to December. At first I thought it was not possible because of my job at the hockey academy but my boss made a generous gesture for which I am very gratefull."

In the summer Doug became a minor hockey league coach. "When I was a player I never thought of being a hockey coach once. But that changed when I heard the hockey academy here was looking for a coach. I talked to the owner and he gave me the chance to coach one of the eight teams here." Although Stienstra still has to learn a lot, he loves his new job. "It is the first time I am behind the bench. I have to learn to control my emotions and accept that I am not in control anymore like I was as a player. Luckally there are a lot of experienced coaches at the academy that are more than willing to help me out."

Stienstra will arrive at February 16 and find a yellow and blue helmet with No. 12 on it above his nameplate in the Trappers dressing room. "I am on the ice twice a day, five days a week. Since I decided to come back I add an extra hour of practice for myself. I am not sure how long it is going to take me to get back to being the player I was last season. It is still a couple of weeks till February 16 but I do not want to disappoint anyone at the Trappers. The only way to get where you want to be is to start playing games."

Although there will be some new faces on the Trappers’ roster, Doug knows what to expect. "I saw Tilburg lost the Cup Final to Nijmegen, my first team in Holland. Now it is our job to make it three in a row," Stienstra says. "It seems the league is much closer compared to last year. Four or five teams fight for the championship." How quickly he gets up to speed and begins to contribute to the team will be intriguing to watch. "It is up to Larry to determine what my role will be. It does not matter to me as long as the team wins."

For Doug, who had interesting offers outside Holland this summer, leaving home is not easy. "My little girl turned 1 on Christmas day. Leaving her and my wife is the most difficult part of my comeback. I have become a real family man since Myla was born. Fortunatelly we can keep in close contact through internet and skype."