FORMER Braehead Clan and Dundee Stars defenceman Craig Cescon says the biggest regret of his time in Scotland was not coming away with something shiny to show for his efforts with the two clubs during his career.
The no-nonsense blueliner announced his retirement a couple of weeks ago, bringing the curtain down on a 17-year career that saw him play in Poland, Romania, France, North America as well as in the UK, where he also played for Coventry Blaze.
But the Canadian loved his time in Scotland where on-ice achievements were a little mixed. However, he intends to return and enjoy the role of a tourist when it’s safe to do so, including bring his oldest son back to the place where he was born.
“Looking back, there’s not much I would change from my time in either Braehead or Dundee other than not winning any silverware,” Cescon said.
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“That’s the goal of any athlete at the start of a season and I was disappointed I wasn’t able to do it.
“I loved every minute of playing in Scotland for sure. It’s a beautiful country with great people plus we had our first-born son, Cavan, there so, now that I’m no longer playing, we plan to come over and visit, once we can, of course.
“I knew playing in Florida last year would be my last season. My wife, Kelly and I started off 2019-2020 season as a family of three with Cavan and ended off as a family of four with our newest son, Caen. We always wanted to do a hockey season living on the beach and we were able to do that.”
Cescon, now trained as a firefighter in Toronto, first arrived in Scotland with Braehead Clan in 2013, playing under Paul Gardner and a team that had struggled before going on to win the Gardiner Conference, however there was disappointment in the play-offs when they lost to Cardiff Devils.
The 34-year-old returned to join Dundee Stars under Marc LeFebvre three years later, where they reached the final four weekend in 2017 before he was back in Glasgow and with the Clan, this time under John Tripp in a largely forgettable season that saw them miss the play-offs.
“My first stint in Braehead was great,” he said. “I began that that season in Poland and things didn’t work out so Paul reached out to me. He coached me the season before in the States with Bloomington Blaze so I knew what to expect of him.
“It was a tough way for us to lose out in the playoffs like we did. We had won the Conference and matched up in the quarter finals against Cardiff. We had a two-goal lead going into the second game and lost so it was a disappointing loss to say the least.
“Dundee was a great year for the club as we advanced to the play-off weekend in Nottingham and had a great battle with Cardiff. Unfortunately, we lost that game but it was special to be in the first Stars team to achieve that.
“Returning to Braehead the following season didn’t go as I’d liked. We had a lot of talent in that locker room. It wasn’t the season we hoped for and it showed that you had to be consistent game in and game out.
“But the last couple of years, I’ve worked to get my firefighting certificates, which I now have. I’ve also been getting Cavan on the ice once or twice a a week so it’s looking like I’m going to be spending a lot more time at the rinks, which I’m definitely not complaining about.”
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