(Photo: Nicholas Badders/WCSN)
Two years into her collegiate career at Arizona State, forward Abby Steinman’s support from her father remains as strong as ever before.
Every game at Oceanside Ice Arena, you can find Scott Steinman by the glass with his familiar sign showing support for his daughter.
“It means a lot, especially because I don’t even remember a game that he missed just to not go,” Steinman said. “He’s either been out of town that he’s missed a game or something. He’s always just there, always excited to go, he pumps me up, always sends me a good luck text. He calls me ‘doodle-bug.'”
The Steinman family grew up in a small town in Ontario called New Hamburg. Her Dad played hockey when he was younger, which is where the passion for hockey stemmed from.
The unique part is Steinman didn’t play hockey in Canada, she started playing once the family moved to Arizona when she was 13 years old.
“I got a pair of figure skates and I thought I was going to be a figure skater,” she said. “When we moved here, my brother was like I want to play hockey. So, I was at school, and someone said your brother plays hockey and I was like ‘yeah’, they asked, ‘do you?’, and I said yes.
“Turns out they were like when’s your next game and I made up a fake date and then I went to the store and bought gear. I never told my parents, I just said that I wanted to play. But then I went, and I played I’ve never turned back.”
However, playing hockey in Arizona wasn’t easy. There were very few girl’s hockey leagues and when there was one, practices were played at inconvenient times.
“I tried out three years in a row, the third year I made practice player,” Steinman said. “It was hard playing here just because sometimes we have the 6 a.m. Peoria ice slots. Just because the boys already had it and there’s only one girls’ team in Arizona when I played. Now there’s so many.”
Through all that trouble of trying to make it on to a team and eventually doing so, her dad was right there with the support she needed.
When Steinman was on a U16 team, she played against her brother, who was on the 14U team, in the semi-final round for the Arizona cup. Her team ended up losing to the 14U club and hated that her brother’s team beat them.
When describing their relationship, Steinman looked back to this moment and how her dad helped her cope with the loss.
“I just remember my dad hugged me and told me I was fine and everything like that,” she said. “He always takes me underneath his wing, no matter how upset I get, and he just always knows what to say, he grew up playing, so he knows what it’s like to lose sometimes.”
Whether it’s watching every away game stream or being at the hockey rink, their love of hockey keeps them together.
The rest of the team even enjoys it and know how much her dad’s support means.
“They think he’s just like me and their really happy that my dad’s able to come out and see me play,” Steinman said. “Because my dad always works and I always have class, it’s the time we get to spend together is at hockey I feel is the number one place because he’s always there to support it.”
