Ice hockey goalie Stefan Steen and his wife. © Instagram

Because his wife is pregnant: Ex-ICE goalie fired

A bizarre case is currently occupying the ice hockey world. At the center of it is an old acquaintance from the ICE Hockey League, to whom something unbelievable happened at his new employer.

September 12, 2024

From: det

Anyone who regularly follows HC Bozen or HC Pustertal will probably be familiar with the name Stefan Steen. The Swede played for the Vienna Capitals in the ICE Hockey League for the past two and a half seasons. Before that, the goalie was under contract in the top Finnish league, and he also guarded the goal for various clubs in the first and second Swedish championships.

In short: The 31-year-old has already experienced a lot in his career. But what happened to Steen in the past few weeks has thrown even a man as experienced as him off his feet. The Swede was signed by his new club, the Dundee Stars from the English Elite Hockey League, fired shortly before the start of the season because he is about to become a father.

Stefan Steen (right) was also in goal against HC Bozen. © APA / EXPA/JOHANN GRODER

But first things first. Stefan Steen's wife Emma is heavily pregnant and will soon give birth to their first baby. After the goalie's contract with the Vienna Capitals was not renewed, Steen wanted to take it easy until the child was born. But then at the end of July he got a call from Scotland: The Dundee Stars, for whom the ex-Bolzano player Domenic Alberga has been playing since this year, were interested in signing him.

One thing was puzzling

The offer sounded interesting and Steen decided to accept the offer. "We immediately made sure to specify that Stefan's wife was expecting a child," says Michael Latschenberger, Steen's agent, to Värmland Folkblad. "So they need their own apartment, their own car. For Dundee, that was no problem in the talks." Consequently, a contract was signed, Steen conducted initial interviews with the media manager, the goalkeeper prepared the move and - after consultation with his new club - also ordered new equipment for the season.

Steen played for the Vienna Capitals for two and a half years. © APA / ERWIN SCHERIAU

But one thing made Steen and his agent suspicious: the Dundee Stars never made the transfer public. When Steen's agent asked general manager and trainer Marc LeFabvre, he said that everything was fine and there was no need to worry. Then one evening there was a call from Scotland - and on the other end of the phone was one of the club's owners. "He said that he wanted to terminate the contract. The trainer did not want to expose himself and the team to the stress of having a goalkeeper whose wife is pregnant," said agent Latschenberger.

“This violates every rule imaginable.” Stefan Steen

Dundee made use of a cancellation clause in the contract. Clubs can usually invoke this clause within two weeks of signing the contract if they have an arbitrary reason for doing so. But a wife's pregnancy? "That violates every conceivable rule," Steen and his agent are outraged.

The two went public with their story and several Swedish newspapers were sent screenshots as evidence. The Dundee Stars did not respond to requests from various media outlets. Steen is now considering legal action.