When County Down boy William-John Hanna stepped onto the Ice at the age of six, little did he know that just over six years later he would be standing in Dumfries belting out ‘O’ Flower of Scotland’ as he picked up his first cap for his adopted nation.
His international bow was against England, in a series of games that saw him concede only six goals over the whole weekend, with Scotland winning in sudden death to claim the spoils.
Having played both netminder and defender for the Belfast Junior Giants until the age of nine, it was between the posts where the Dromore boy began to develop his game and started to see some early success.
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In 2023 as well as breaking into the team Scotland set-up, William-John also picked up two All Stars Awards at big Scottish tournaments, a number of player of the match awards, seven clean sheets (shut outs) but importantly he helped his beloved Belfast Junior Giants to lift the Ensign Ewart Cup in May by saving all the penalties in the sudden death shoot-out.
William-John said: “I always wanted to be a goalkeeper and when I turned 10, I was really lucky to start getting coached by Jackson Whistle, the Belfast Giants goalkeeper. He really helped me develop both my position and my mind set on the ice.
"Unfortunately coronavirus >Covid came along, and it took me away from the ice and the valuable coaching time, but I just had to find other ways to keep developing. My Dad would throw pucks and balls at me to try and keep my skills up and I would practise each day on my roller blades.”
He added: "It’s very different growing up as an Ice Hockey player in Northern Ireland as you feel different to everyone else who are playing more traditional sports, but people have a real interest in what you are doing because it seems alien to them and they want to understand how you do it."
Shane Johnson, head coach of the Belfast Junior Giantssaid: "I have coached William-John from he was aged six and it is a great pleasure to see him grow into the focused and successful player he is becoming. His positive attitude and commitment to his team is recognised and respected by both teammates and opponents.
"Having played for the Belfast Giants from 2000-10, when I retired, I wanted to be able to put something back into our young people and help support and sustain Ice Hockey here. It’s great when you see some of our young folk coming through training each week and being able to compete at the highest levels.”
Belfast Giants netminder Whistle hailed the progress of William-John.
He said: “It’s great to see William-John's hard work paying off with getting the opportunity to represent team Scotland. He’s a good goalie with a lot of potential and has been putting in the time to improve his game any chance he gets on and off the ice.
"I’m looking forward to getting to continue to coach him in the new season and can’t wait to see his progression and development.”
Steve Thornton, Head of Hockey and Commercials for Belfast Giants, added: “Its great to see young players like William-John coming through the junior set-up and getting their opportunity to play internationally and compete against some of the top nations across Europe. Rob Stewart and the team of coaches work hard to help nurture and support our local talent, as we have seen with both Kell Beattie and Mac Stewart, who have contributed to our successes in the senior team.
"Importantly, it’s great to see the success of the elite team carrying momentum down to our young players to push on and aspire to play at the highest levels and hopefully continue on a journey which could see them playing at the SSE."
William-John stated: “I want to thank all my coaches, Shane Johnson, Glen Ferguson, Jackson Whisltle, Colin Lees and Barry O’Hara, for all their help and guidance. The teachers and staff at Banbridge Academy for their support and importantly my family who have given up a lot so I can follow my dreams.”
William-John will now head out to Riga, Latvia, with the Scotland team to face some of the best teams in Europe from August 9-16.
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