Goodbye Scottish accent, hello English intonation.

That’s the storyline for Steamboat Springs-raised, professional hockey player Ryan Dingle, a goal-scoring forward who recently signed a new contract to play for England’s Coventry Blaze.

After helping lead the University of Denver Pioneers to a national championship in 2007, Dingle, 33, played in the AHL and ECHL for four seasons before heading to Europe to play for SG Cortina in Italy in 2011. After four seasons there, he moved to Scotland to play for the Fife Flyers, where he’s spent the past two seasons. Now he’s on to England.

“I had a very successful season and had a lot of offers on the table,” said Dingle, who returns to Steamboat every summer to run his Elite Hockey Training camps, which begin next week. “There was some uncertainty if the Fife Flyers were still going to be in the league — they were considering moving back to mainland Europe. We were having our second child and wanted English as the primary language. “

Dingle is coming off his most successful season in 10 years as a pro hockey player. He was the league’s second highest goal scorer last season despite playing 11 fewer games than the top goal scorer. In 41 games, Dingle scored 31 goals and had 23 assists for 54 points.

Dingle is no stranger to his new coaching staff. Coventry Blaze head coach Danny Stewart was the one who recruited Dingle from his team in Cortina, Italy, to play for the Fife Flyers. Now, he’s brought him to England.

“Bringing Ryan to Coventry was a no-brainer for me,” Stewart said. “I played with him in Fife a couple seasons ago before I retired and saw first hand what he brings. He’s an engine that plays as hard as anybody and does it in all areas of the ice. He has great scoring ability and a knack for goals, which is something that’s hard to teach. He loves to win, and he makes players around him better.”

Stewart also commends Dingle’s attitude when his skates are off.

“Off the ice, he’s a true professional,” Stewart said. “He takes great care of himself and is consistently working to make himself better. He brings a lot of positivity and energy to the dressing room and will play an important part for us this season.”

Dingle’s new team is located an hour-and-a-half drive from London, with the eight-month season beginning in mid-August. Each team in the United Kingdom league — consisting of four teams from Scotland, one from Ireland, one from Wales and six from England — is allowed 14 imported players from outside the country, of which Dingle is a star forward.

At 33, he realizes he’s in the twilight of his playing years, and that the next step in his career is coaching.

He also plans to continue running his Elite Hockey Training camps, which enter their seventh season next week at Howelsen Ice Arena in Steamboat Springs. As well as offering camps for high school/bantams, peewees, squirts and girls, this year he’s also introducing a special camp for mites, ages 5 to 7, and offering private instruction and training,

“It’s been a fun ride, and I’m happy with where my career has taken me,” said Dingle, whose wife, Sophie, gave birth to their second son, Oliver, in Steamboat this May. “I’m proud of it and not afraid of retirement. To play 10 years professionally is no small feat, and I’m proud of what it’s given me both on and off the ice. I love both coaching and playing.”

In the meantime, there are still games to win, scoring titles to chase, and, of course, diapers to change.  

“It should be a great season,” he said. “The Coventry Blaze is re-building a bit this year, but I feel confident and comfortable, and I’m coming off my best season yet. And I want to make my kids proud.”