Matt Enright was in good mood for a guy with his leg in a cast.
The Dunedin Thunder forward fractured his ankle in two places during a match against the Canterbury Red Devils late last month.
Despite jokes about sticking a blade on the bottom of his cast, the former England age-group representative will not be competing on the ice again this season. But that does not mean the 30-year-old cannot contribute.
He plans to be ice-side this weekend when the Thunder hosts the Southern Stampede in the local derby and hopes to travel to the Thunder's remaining away games.
''They want me to travel with the team and still want me to be part of what is going on,'' Enright said.
''I've been in the side four years and I'm one of the older guys ... on the team now. So even though I won't be on the ice, I can play a part off the ice.''
Ever the optimist, Enright was looking at it as an opportunity to work on his leadership skills. But, that said, he still feels a pang of disappointment.
''I've started off [well] and was averaging about a goal a game but have been stopped at the fifth game. So that is frustrating because I feel like I had lot more energy and momentum to give.''
Enright moved to Dunedin with his New Zealand partner, Jazz Graham, about four years ago and has been a regular fixture in the Thunder line-up since, although it was more by chance than design. Shortly after shifting to the city, he drove past the Ice Stadium. As a teenager he represented England under-19 but had not played the sport ''for about five years'' and decided then and there to give it another go.
The Thunder was not a terribly successful team when he joined but has made tremendous progress in that time.
''It is amazing to see the growth in the younger players coming through and nice to be part of that.
''It is a real close community in Dunedin and all the boys are so focused and have so much time to actually focus on sport over here, as opposed to living in London where it is chaos.
''You get one hour on the ice and you're off. Here we get to take advantage of the ice.''
The Thunder made the final last year but was outplayed by the Red Devils.
''I feel confident the final will be a Dunedin Thunder-Christchurch final again, just because of the depth of both of the teams.''
As for this weekend's derby against the Stampede, Enright feels the Thunder will be the favourite. The bigger rink at the Dunedin Ice Stadium suits the Thunder's style more than the Stampede's home ice in Queenstown. Enright also felt the Stampede had ''been roughed up a bit'' in the past few weeks and was struggling for depth.
