About Me
Most bloggers will tell you that the About page is second only to the content itself. People come for the stories, but they stay because they want to know who is telling them.
With that in mind, this is my story — told honestly, without polish or pretence.
Discovering Ice Hockey
I’m Ken Abbott, and I “discovered” ice hockey in the early 1980s.
(For our North American friends — yes, in the UK we also have field hockey, so we have to add the ice bit.)
It all started when a friend offered me a spare ticket. I said yes, took my seat on a long wooden bench in Block One at the old Nottingham Ice Stadium, and unknowingly found a second home. From that night on, hockey became part of who I am.
Ken Abbott
Pivotal Moments
Looking back, it’s fascinating how small decisions can shape an entire life.
In 1984, the same friend who introduced me to the Panthers moved away from Nottingham for work. We were in the same industry, I wanted a change, had the experience — and took over his role.
A year later, a work colleague suggested a short drive north into Derbyshire to meet the “boys” from the Chesterfield branch for a drink… or three.
That night I met my future wife, the mother of my children. A truly pivotal moment.
Two years later I was married and transferred to a run-down depot in Sheffield. As manager, I grew the business by 800% over five years.
Right place. Right time.
Right Place, Right Time
Then came 1991, the World Student Games, and the construction of the Sheffield Arena.
With it arrived a new ice hockey team — the Sheffield Steelers — a club that would take the UK by storm.
Hockey nights in Sheffield were like nothing I’d ever seen. There was razzmatazz, glamour, and glitz. Within months, an 8,300-seat arena was packed to capacity with brand-new fans soaking it all in.
And there was me — a lifelong Nottingham Panthers fan — watching my team suddenly become “the enemy”.
But I also saw opportunity.
I’d already done a little business supplying jerseys to Nottingham’s junior development section, and I knew this sport was about to explode. I met with the Steelers’ General Manager — and #7, Ronnie Wood — and we talked business.
From that point on, I supplied the Steelers with hats, scarves, t-shirts, jackets, replica jerseys… even puzzles.
Ronnie would ask, “Can you source this?” or “Can you get that?”
And I’d always reply, “Sure — leave it with me.”
The Hockey Shop (Sheffield)
The HockeyShop – Sheffield
By the end of the Steelers’ first season, the club wanted to clear surplus stock with a sale.
A Steelers fan named Les, who owned a Motorist Discount shop, offered the use of an empty upstairs room.
Les — I’ll always be grateful.
The doors opened at 10am on a Sunday morning. Fans were already queuing outside.
That was the moment the idea of a hockey shop truly began.
Sheffield had become a hockey town. I could see fans wanting to emulate their heroes, take up the game, and buy the equipment to do it safely.
By the start of the following season, I’d quit my full-time job and opened Sheffield’s first HockeyShop.
I spent three months upstairs in Les’s shop before moving into larger premises, selling Steelers merchandise, skates, sticks, protective equipment, and NHL replica jerseys.
I was finally working full-time in a sport I loved.
Manchester and Nottingham
After establishing Sheffield, I moved quickly — opening the Altrincham HockeyShop in Manchester, and in late 1997, a third shop in Nottingham.
I was home.
I was my own boss, immersed in ice hockey every day. It felt like it couldn’t get any better.
Then life changed — dramatically.
In October, I sold the business.
Just one month later, my first wife Maggie lost her brave battle with breast cancer, leaving me to raise our two young daughters, aged three and eight.
Life, like hockey, can turn in an instant.
To Be Continued…
This podcast — and Old Time Hockey UK — is my way of giving something back to the game that has given me so much.
The stories, the characters, the emotion, the memories — they deserve to be remembered.
And this story?
It’s not finished yet.
To be continued… 🏒