Sands, Kevin

BORN JUNE 17TH 1959 in Kingston, Ontario Canada, the son of Earla Mae and Gregory, he began playing hockey with the Kingston Minor Hockey Association at the age of 9 and quickly rose through the minor leagues to become a top amateur. In 1977, he was Rookie of the Year on 8 goals 12 assists from 30 games with the Kingston Voyagers in the Ontario Metro Jnr B League and played a handful of games with the Kingston Canadiens in the OHL Major Jnr A league.

In 1978, he was the top point scorer and MVP for the Voyagers and an All Star. In 1979, he played for Concordia University, the CIAU Quebec Conference league and playoff champions. After the Uni season, he joined the Hawkesbury Hawks in the Central Jnr Hockey League Tier 2 Jnr A playoffs, winning the CJHL Championship in 1979 and '80.

In 1981, he played with the Verdun Maple Leafs in the Quebec senior league and the Valleyfield Braves in the Quebec Junior Hockey League in 1981-2. He arrived on the Gold Coast in August 1982 with his best mate, Dave Emblem, to find the Queensland league split between Brisbane (Blackhawks and Blues) and the Gold Coast (Vikings and Boomerangs). He was 25 and played his first game with the Gold Coast Vikings in the Gold Coast-Brisbane League in December 1982, defeating a combined Brisbane line-up.

Based at Skateworld in Benowa, he became a regular on the ice on a line with Dave Emblem. Rarely a game went by when he was not named in the best player list thanks to their precision teamwork. One of the fastest players in the league, he could change the face of the game in a matter of seconds and he dominated the league scoring. He won the Hanimex Cup in Sydney in 1984 representing Queensland.

He scored a goal for a combined Gold Coast team made up of Blues and Vikings in the narrow 4-3 defeat of the touring Vancouver Flames in '84, which included professional players. His team defeated the Blues in the 1984 Grand Final 4-1, and he was selected for the Gold Coast Vikings team in the Miller's Slapshot 84 series in Sydney. He was captain of the Queensland Goodall Cup team in Melbourne in 1984 and Canberra in 1987 where he was selected a 1st Line All Star. He joined Hakoah in 1987, Victorian League runners-up, and the Macquarie Bears in 1989, the NSW Super League champions.

Affectionately nicknamed the Sandman, he represented Australia in the inaugural D-Pool of the 1987 IIHF World Championships hosted in Perth Australia, scoring 14 goals 14 assists from 7 games against South Korea, New Zealand and Hong Kong, and winning the gold medal. In 1989, he won a Goodall Cup representing New South Wales and captained Queensland to runners-up in Newcastle in 2001. He coached the Kingston Frontenacs traveling team in the Eastern Ontario AAA Division in 1993 and '94. He was Head Coach of the AIHL Gold Coast Blue Tongues (2007- '09) making the playoffs for the first time in 2008.

Married to Pauline, with a daughter Jaime Mae, in 2017 he was vice president of Marketing Operations at the Anantara Vacation Club based in Phuket Thailand.