Turkish ice hockey league wraps up with All-Star game

The Turkish ice hockey Super League wrapped up its season Saturday with an All-Star game featuring the best players from the league.

Players were divided into Team Europe and Team Asia for the match, which entertained a full crowd in Ankara.

Although originally from Vancouver, Canada, Tyler Bilton played goalie for Team Europe, which won the game 9-4. Bilton, who also won the league’s awards for top goaltender and most valuable player, spoke recently with the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review in an interview about his time playing ice hockey in the Turkish Super League.

After graduating from St. Michael’s College in the United States, Bilton signed with a hockey agent to ensure he would find a team to play with professionally, but the economic downturn affected the lower-level pro leagues, he said, creating an influx of goaltenders.

“My best option to play professionally was overseas. I had a deal set up in Belgium and even got my work visa, but the contract fell through over financial differences, and with it being so late in the summer, my best option was Turkey,” he said. What really helped him decide to come to Turkey, though, was his club’s offer of a contract to his girlfriend to play on its women’s team.

Bilton’s club, Başkent Yıldızları in Ankara, lost 7-3 in the Super League finals to Ankara University on Feb. 28 in an intense game. “It was the fiercest game I have played in Turkey,” he said. But, he added, he thinks the better team won.

“Ankara [University] put together a great squad, and all season the club was run like a true professional hockey club. They deserved to be champions,” he said, adding that if the championship was played as a series, the outcome might have been different. Bilton was recognized for his efforts, though, by taking home the league’s awards for top goaltender and most valuable player.

Though import players from abroad really bring up the caliber of play of ice hockey in Turkey, Bilton said, he was disappointed in the level of play overall.

“It was tough adjusting to the level of hockey with it being lower than the level I played at in the previous season,” he said. Although he thinks there are some great Turkish players, he believes the league would benefit from having fewer teams in order to increase the quality of play.

“As a sport, hockey has the opportunity to flourish wherever it is played providing that it is marketed to the public properly and managed by people who understand and appreciate the sport,” Bilton said. “It is one of the fastest paced games and is also one of the most physical games.” He added that he believes it would be difficult for the sport to rival football in Turkey but said it could become one of the top sports in the country in time.

When asked for his recommendations for younger Turks interested in the game, Bilton said: “Play street hockey. There isn’t enough ice time in Turkey because of the lack of rinks, so the best option is to find a vacant parking lot, gymnasium or basketball court and get some friends to play street hockey.”

All one needs are some sticks, a ball and something to use as a net, he added. “Another thing is to watch the NHL on the Internet,” he said. “See what the best players in the world are doing and study how they play the game.”

The All-Star game, which was promoted as the biggest game of the year for the Turkish Super League, included a show by famous Turkish pop star Nil Karaibrahimgil. “My girlfriend and I are big fans of Nil,” Bilton said. “The first music video we ever saw on TV [in Turkey] was one of hers.”