The 23-year-old, from Georgetown, led the ice hockey club on the ice last season as they narrowly missed out on securing a coveted play-off spot in the National Ice Hockey League (NIHL).
Despite his age, Stenton is vastly experienced. He has played in the top tier of UK ice hockey – the Elite League – with the Glasgow Clan and Nottingham Panthers.
He moved back to the Sharks on a permanent basis in the summer of 2023 as they turned professional and entered into the NIHL – the second tier of UK hockey.
Last year the defenceman extended his stay in Dumfries for a further two seasons and was named captain of the club.
On the captaincy, Stenton said: “It’s a massive honour. I spoke to Martin (the head coach) and the general manager at the time and they assured me that they had no other option but me for the captaincy.
“I’m the youngest captain in the league as it stands. I don’t let that affect me. I feel like I’m quite mature in my game and in life.”
As the Sharks continue to find their feet at the new level, their first two campaigns in the NIHL have been scarce of silverware.
On the most recent term, which ended with the team narrowly missing out on a play-off place, Stenton added: “We were really inconsistent which was probably our main issue.
“We had so many games that we were ahead in and we ended up getting beaten by one goal. If we turned those into wins then it would’ve been a completely different story.
“I think we were 12 points clear in a play-off spot and kind of ended just falling away.”
On top of training three nights a week and playing games on Saturday and Sunday, Stenton also holds down a job as a personal trainer for Mark Gallagher out of Synergy Performance.
He said: “I do that on top of all the hockey stuff. Mark’s really flexible, he’s really good if I need days off or if I’ve got events on with the club.”
With the off-season is in full flow, Stenton plans to use his free time to see family, go on holidays and have some well deserved downtime.
But he cannot wait to get back out on the ice in front of the fans with a determination to help his hometown club achieve success.
He said: “I love it (playing at Dumfries Ice Bowl), I feed off it. I love playing in front of as many fans as I can.
“I signed a two year contract last year, so my second year is coming up. I’m looking forward to it, I definitely want to make some improvements on this year and the year before.
“Hopefully we’ll bring some new faces in and some faces back. We’ve got a good squad but adding bits to that will definitely help.
“This year I’ve done personally a lot better than I did the year before. I think I got five goals last year; this year I got 13.”
However, echoing the words of the head coach, Stenton knows if you are not having fun then there is no point.
He said: “You’ve got to enjoy it. People say if you enjoy your work then you’ll never work a day in your life and that’s what I do.”
