Last Sheffield performance for Steelers' 'Sir' Tony Hand, Britain's best ever ice hockey player

Players like fellow NHL-draftee Liam Kirk and Robert Dowd went on to follow in his Sheffield Steelers and international footsteps.

Many think the man they called 'The Scottish Wayne Gretzky' was the best British player of all time, bar none.

Now Tony - who underwent a hospital procedure on his heart yesterday - may be set for one last, public performance in Sheffield.

An American production company, Slater Brothers Entertainment, has created a documentary on his life and times.

And they are pinning their hopes on it being screened at the Sheffield DocFest, the international film and arts festival, June 12-17.

The film chronicles his adventures in ice hockey, a sport in which he played a leading role in piloting Sheffield and Great Britain towards the 21st Century.

Arena fans were bewitched by his ability to transition the puck, glide down the wing and cut back to produce an inch-perfect pass to a team-mate, or wrist shoot home the puck from a ridiculously difficult angle...often finding the sweet spot at the angle of bar and post.

It was his uncanny ability that helped Sheffield (1995-99) towards a league title, an Autumn Cup, a Challenge Cup and three Play Off wins.

Apart from Sheffield, he was a regular Great Britain forward, (and subsequently coach) and iced for Manchester Phoenix, Murrayfield Racers, Edinburgh Racers, Ayr Scottish Eagles, Dundee Stars, Edinburgh Capitals and Belfast Giants.

The 56-year-old's story is rolled out in the feature documentary film, 'The Other Side of Edinburgh,' the title being a nod to him growing up in estate housing in the Muirhouse area of Edinburgh before going on to become the first player from the UK to be drafted by a National Hockey League team; he was selected by the Edmonton Oilers in the 1986 Entry Draft.

He was inducted into the IIHF Hall of Fame in 2017 and is the only hockey player to be awarded the MBE medal by the Queen for his services to his sport.

“This was such a terrific story and one that we knew we had to tell,” said Grant Slater, founder of Slater Brothers.

“I have said it before but Tony’s story will have you re-evaluating how you measure success in sport and life. It is so much more than just a hockey story.

“Tony and UK ice hockey in general was and still is extremely popular and it would be great to be able to share the film in those communities.”

Hand, the current Whitley Warriors coach, told The Star: "I've not become David Beckham all of a sudden, but it was great to have this quality, professionally-made film made about me.

"The film will hopefully be shown in north America.

"But I would love to see it do well in the UK. Sheffield DocFest is the type of place where big hitters like Netflix go to find material and I'd love to see the film screened in a place that meant a lot to me."

'Sir' Tony is the Steelers' seventh top all-time points scorer, with 424 points from 245 games.