Adelbert St. John

Adalbert Saint John (born 6 October 1931 in Edmonton, Alberta, † December 18, 2009 in Klagenfurt ) was an Austro- Canadian professional ice hockey player who spent much of his career in the Austrian first division club EC KAC, with whom he 1964-1971 as player and player-coach every year to win the league title in a row.

Career

After Saint John began his career in North America, he came after several years in Bolzano in the early sixties the first time in Austria and won with the Vienna EV and his strike partner Jerry Hudson for the first time an Austrian league title there. A little later, he joined the EC KAC Klagenfurt. There he lived in from 1964 to 1971, still not surpassed series, brought as a player and player-coach eight more titles in the Carinthian capital. He achieved some remarkable season balances: 1964/65, he scored a total of 40 goals, a year later he scored 20 goals in just 12 games.

Later in his career he moved, among other things to Innsbruck, Villach and Salzburg, where he played supporting roles in each of the teams and could equally convincing as a coach and as a player. Saint John compensated its relatively small size with a technically very strong and elegant style of play, which he many opposing players was at that time in the Austrian league ahead. In total he scored in Austria at four teams 203 goals and 149 assists in 284 games, which he spent 217 minutes in the penalty box.

Adalbert Saint John married in Klagenfurt also the sister of his fellow striker Josef puschnig, Erika, with whom he lived until his death. After his active career as a hockey player, he devoted himself to the sport and worked among others as a ranger at the Golf Club Rare home near Klagenfurt.

Saint John was the first foreign hockey player, who was naturalized in Austria. Since 1962 he had the Austrian passport. As a result, he was also 59 times for the Austrian national ice hockey team, scoring 52 goals and 33 assists.

Awards and achievements