New Nottingham Panthers forward Dustin Sproat says the club came highly recommended by those he talked to in the game.

The 28-year-old signed for the Panthers at the weekend, after winning the East Coast Hockey League play-offs in North America with Cincinnati.

Sproat told BBC Radio Nottingham: "I talked to a number of people who had been over in England and Europe.

"They suggested Nottingham as one of the best places you can play."

Sproat grew up with Panthers forward Jade Galbraith and also sought out the views of another former player.

"A close friend of mine called Casson Masters played for Nottingham back in 2001 and I got talking to him and he had a great experience," Sproat added.

"The decision happened really quick but I am happy. I am not a gifted offensive player like Jade Galbraith but I like to think I take care of both ends of the rink, defensively and offensively.

"The goals that I get I usually get by going to the net really hard and I just try to be in the right place at the right time."

Sproat has also set up his own hockey foundation, 'Hockey Players for Kids'.

"It was started about a year ago by myself and a number of close hockey friends," Sproat said. "It started as a basic idea to help guys get more involved in different communities.

"We set up a network and shared ideas. It started as a group of 10 of us and that wasn't even two years ago and now we have 50 members and 25 cities with most in North America, but a couple of guys are in Italy and Japan.

"It's going really well and I am hoping Nottingham will be a great place for me to continue that."

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