Knoxville Ice Bears

Origins - Kevin Swider

date: 10/17/2011

 

Origins – Kevin Swider

 

                Every fan of the Knoxville Ice Bears knows who Kevin Swider is. He joined the team for our inaugural season in 2002, and ten years later, he’s still with us; becoming the face for the team in the process. We all know his list of achievements after joining the team – 676 regular season points in 374 games, 3 SPHL Championships, etc. but the background story of how he became our player is not as well known. So, being the inquisitive person that I am, I had to ask him this question: How exactly did you get here?

                The story begins after Kevin’s 2001-02 season with the Asheville Smoke. He had been released from trying out for a team in Bossier-Shreveport, LA and on his way back home to Michigan. Right when he was going through Knoxville however, he received a call from Tony Martino, the coach for the Knoxville Ice Bears at that time, asking if he wanted to join the team: “Jim Bermingham, Todd MacIsaac, and K.J. Voorhees recommended you to me.”

                Now we wonder, how are these three players related to Mr. Swider? Kevin Swider and K.J. Voorhees go way back – like 1995-96-season back – when they both played for the Omaha Lancers, a junior hockey team in Omaha, NE. Then there is MacIsaac, who was Swider’s teammate for the Asheville Smoke in the 2001-02 season, and Jim Bermingham, who was not only Swider’s teammate, but also his roommate when they played for the Rockford IceHogs together in 2001-02.

                So thanks to Mr. Bermingham, Mr. MacIsaac, and Mr. Voorhees, Kevin Swider came to our team, and the rest, as they say, is history. With this, my deed is done: now you known the origins of the Ice Bears main man. It doesn’t look like he will be going anywhere anytime soon either. When asked why he’s staying, he just shrugs and gives me the best three-word reply ever: “I like Knoxville.”

 

~ Sookie

 

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