Bill Kinkel is a retired ice hockey

Ice hockey

Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...

 player who currently works as an EMS

Emergency medical services

Emergency medical services are a type of emergency service dedicated to providing out-of-hospital acute medical care and/or transport to definitive care, to patients with illnesses and injuries which the patient, or the medical practitioner, believes constitutes a medical emergency...

 for the Estero, Florida

Estero, Florida

Estero is a census-designated place in Lee County, Florida, United States. As of the 2010 census, the CDP population was 18,176. It is the home of Germain Arena, which hosts the home games for the Florida Everblades ECHL hockey team and the Florida Firecats af2 arena football team...

 Fire Department

Fire department

A fire department or fire brigade is a public or private organization that provides fire protection for a certain jurisdiction, which typically is a municipality, county, or fire protection district...

.

Career overview

Kinkel began his career playing major junior hockey in Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

, for the Kitchener Rangers

Kitchener Rangers

The Kitchener Rangers are a major junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey League that have called Kitchener, Ontario, Canada their home since 1963. The Rangers are a publicly owned hockey team, governed by a 40-person Board of Directors made up of season ticket subscribers. The Rangers hosted...

 and Kingston Frontenacs

Kingston Frontenacs

The Kingston Frontenacs are a junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey League, based in Kingston, Ontario, Canada. The team is coached by Todd Gill and Doug Gilmour is the General Manager. The Frontenacs play home games at the K-Rock Centre, which opened in 2008.Team history predates the OHA,...

, before making a move into the ECHL

ECHL

The ECHL is a mid-level professional ice hockey league based in Princeton, New Jersey with teams scattered across the United States...

 with the Pensacola Ice Pilots

Pensacola Ice Pilots

The Pensacola Ice Pilots were a minor league ice hockey team located in Pensacola, Florida. The team was previously affiliated with the Tampa Bay Lightning, Toronto Maple Leafs, New York Islanders , and the Chicago Blackhawks. They have also had a working agreement with the Houston Aeros of the...

. He then moved up to the American Hockey League

American Hockey League

The American Hockey League is a 30-team professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary developmental circuit for the National Hockey League...

 with the Houston Aeros

Houston Aeros

The Houston Aeros are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League. The team plays in Houston, Texas, at the Toyota Center. They are the AHL affiliate of the NHL's Minnesota Wild.- History :...

 for a season and a half, before returning to the ECHL. In his second ECHL career, he spent roughly half a season with the Florida Everblades

Florida Everblades

The Florida Everblades are an ECHL ice hockey team playing in the Southeast Division. The team is based in Estero, Florida and plays at Germain Arena . The team has existed since 1998...

, the Utah Grizzlies

Utah Grizzlies

The Utah Grizzlies are a professional ice hockey team in the ECHL. They play out of West Valley City, Utah, United States, with their home games at the Maverik Center.- Franchise history :...

, the Mississippi Sea Wolves

Mississippi Sea Wolves

The Mississippi Sea Wolves were a professional hockey team based in Biloxi, Mississippi and playing in the Mississippi Coast Coliseum. The Sea Wolves were members of the ECHL....

, and the Idaho Steelheads

Idaho Steelheads

The Idaho Steelheads are an American professional minor league ice hockey team based in Boise, Idaho. The team began playing in 1997 and has been a member of the ECHL since 2003....

, before deciding to retire into a career with the Estero fire department as an EMS.

However, after retirement, Kinkel has still managed to play a little professional hockey, filling in a roster slot for the visiting Cincinnati Cyclones

Cincinnati Cyclones

The Cincinnati Cyclones are a professional hockey team based in Cincinnati, Ohio. The team is a member of the ECHL. Founded in 1990, the team first played their games in the Cincinnati Gardens and now play at U.S. Bank Arena....

 in 2008-2009, and also filling a slot for the Everblades, at whose home games Kinkel works EMS, in the 2009-2010 season.

External links