Del St. John

Adelbert St. John - Del to all who knew him - is a legend of hockey in Austria. Hey, what more can a kid from Pincher Creek, Alberta ever dream of?

Del was born in Pincher Creek (some sources say it was Westlock) on October 6th, 1931. He played junior hockey in Edmonton with Oil Kings and went on to a professional career in the minor league circuit for the 1953-54 season, bouncing around from places like Johnstown, Louisville, Toledo and Milwaukee.

The minor league life must not have been to the liking of the pint-sized St. John. There is no statistical record of him playing anywhere for the '54-55 season. Then in 1956 he headed overseas to embark on a long professional career before it was all that common for Canadians to do so.

The first three seasons he jumped around, trying out Britain then Holland then Italy. In 1960 he moved to Austria and he never left.

St. John played 20 more seasons in Austria, retiring in 1980 at the age of 49. Twice he represented Austria at the Olympics, and six times he led the nation at the World Championships (albeit it was at B and C pool levels).

Del St. John passed away at the age of 79 in Klagenfurt, Austria.