My Story: Hockey, Life & Old Time Hockey UK

How does a spare ticket to an ice hockey game end up changing the course of your life?

In my case, that's exactly what happened.

What started with a night at the old Nottingham Ice Stadium eventually led to hockey shops in Sheffield, Manchester and Nottingham — and, years later, to the creation of Old Time Hockey UK.

This is my story.

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.

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 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 Sheffields' 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…

That's where the first chapter of my hockey story ends.

But hockey hadn't finished with me.

Years later, another idea would bring me back to the players, characters and stories I'd grown up with — this time with a microphone.

That idea became Old Time Hockey UK.