Steve Thornton

Steve Thornton (born March 8, 1973 in Gloucester, Ontario) is a Canadian ice hockey player who is currently player/coach of the Belfast Giants of the Elite Ice Hockey League.

Career
Apart from playing junior hockey with the Gloucester Rangers, college hockey with Boston University and one season in the International Hockey League with the Peoria Rivermen, Thornton's career has been played in Europe. He has single season spells in Austria with Klagenfurt and in Germany's Deutsche Eishockey Liga with the Adler Mannheim before moving to the United Kingdom, spending five seasons with the Cardiff Devils. He also had spells with the London Knights and the Belfast Giants where he won the playoff cup in 2003. He then moved to Italy, spending two seasons with Val Pusteria Wolves and the had spells in Switzerland and Sweden before returning to Britain, joined the Basingstoke Bison.

Coaching career
On April 7, 2008, Thornton was confirmed as the new player/coach of the Belfast Giants, replacing Ed Courtenay.

Personal
Thornton has acquired British citizenship.