Todd Dutiaume, or Dutes as he affectionately became known, arrived in Kirkcaldy midway through the 1998/99 season and became an integral part of a halcyon few years for the Flyers in the British National League. A goal in the semi final and a double in the Play Off final at Hull against the Slough Jets helped secure the Flyers first British Championship crown since the mid 1980’s. For the next few seasons he formed a formidable partnership with Russell Monteith as the pair terrorised defences on the way to the Flyers landing a Grand Slam with Todd grabbing the game winning goal in the clinching game against the Basingstoke Bison. The following season Todd won the top scoring accolade for the club with a career best 136 points. Soon another successful partnership was forged with an old friend in Karry Biette as Todd helped the club to Findus Cup success in season 2001/02 where once again he was the club’s leading scorer with 108 points on the season as well as a league Championship win in 2003/04. As the Flyers slid into the lower hockey echelons following the demise of the BNL Todd remained with the club and became player-coach in a new era of hockey that was all about the development of local talent. After the club stepped up to the Elite League in season 2011/12 he played his final game in season 2014/15 marking 17 seasons as a player which is 4th most all-time for the Flyers.

He was the club’s 29^th appointed head coach in history and became the longest tenured with 985 games on the bench as he stepped down in the summer of 2023 following 25 seasons of service both as a player and head coach.

With a total of 467 goals he is 4^th all time in Flyers scoring, his 577 assists places him 4th all time in the club’s history and 1044 points is also fifth most all time.

The following is an extract from the commemorative programme celebrating his achievement which is available from the rink or the Flyers online shop.

Ahead of coming to the Flyers he had been with Ayr Scottish Eagles for their European games in Mannheim. In the four meetings between the Flyers and Tigers that season Todd had scored in three of them and so the Flyers fans already had some idea of the wingers capabilities.

The 25-year-old was finally able to train with his new team-mates in the first week of January after lengthy negotiations between the rival BNL clubs had delayed the move.  He also found a familiar face from ‘back home’ in Bill Moody. “Bill and I had known each other since we played in the same league in Manitoba and whenever I spoke to him he always spoke highly of the organisation in Fife,” Dutiaume said. “I was generally unhappy in Telford and it was an uncomfortable situation to be in which was a pity because I have only good things to say about the people  there. However, it came to the point where my personal happiness was being affected and I needed some stability in my life so when Flyers showed an interest it didn’t take me long to make up my mind, especially with Bill telling me how well you were treated here.” When asked about his time at Swindon he admitted that he had a very special time there. “All the players were very well looked after and it was quite an exciting time to be playing. I know the Flyers fans won’t want to hear this but I really enjoyed the final at Manchester, although I have to say that we were actually nervous beforehand because we didn’t know what to expect from Fife. We had a pretty good team in Telford and like Fife we had one the best crop of youngsters in the league. One thing Dutiaume was looking forward to however was playing in front of a noisy Fife crowd for a change! “I loved the big ice here but hated coming up to play because after an eight hour bus trip the last thing you needed was a huge crowd of people shouting at you! Seriously, there was always a great atmosphere in the stands and I know I am going to have great fun playing here.”

He made his debut for the Flyers on Jan 9^th 1999 at the Hangar in Slough as the Flyers slumped to their tenth league defeat of the season but put up a battling display before going down 4-1 to title chasing Slough. The damage was done midway through the middle period when Jets scored three times within the space of 71 seconds to blow what had been a very tight game wide open. It was tough luck on Flyers, who adopted a strong defensive game with good forechecking and apart from that crazy spell, they more than matched the import-laden Jets on their small, narrow rink. The debutant had a quiet start but as he admitted before the game, Slough was not the easiest of places to go to try and get used to his new team-mates and different coaching systems. Ricky Grubb had another good game in the nets as Flyers were out-shot 33-20, while man-of-the-match David Smith never stopped working and notched his side’s only goal of the game after 12 minutes. Slough had taken the lead after just 88 seconds, catching Flyers cold after their mammoth bus trip, with Derek Higdon hitting the first of his hat-trick. Smith’s equaliser tied things up, assisted by Steven King and Mark Morrison and Flyers continued to play a clever tactical game which frustrated Jets and left the game tied at the first buzzer. Things seemed to be following the same pattern in the middle stanza but when Higdon finally beat Grubb again at 32.09 Jets suddenly clicked into a higher gear and by the time the shell-shocked Flyers managed to regroup the damage had been done and the game was won. Perry Pappas scored the third just 16 seconds after the restart and with Fife reeling Jets struck again inside a minute, Higdon completing his hat-trick with a fine finish. Amazingly, normal service was then resumed and the game reverted back to the tight defensive struggle it had been before. For all Flyers tried they could find no way past Richard Gallace but at the same time, they kept Jets from extending their advantage, the final goal-less period having little in the way of action as the home side seemed happy to defend what they had. Player-coach Mark Morrison was not too downcast about the result and believed there were a lot of positive things to take from the game including his newest recruit of who he said: “Todd coming in gave everyone a boost and he worked so hard at both ends and created chances. He is an impact player and is capable of doing a lot of damage for us.”

Todd got his first Flyers goal (below) in his third game, a 3-2 overtime home win against the league leading Slough Jets.

The Flyers seasons took off and that spring they were now backstopped by the kids in goal. Joe Watkins who also migrated north from Telford aged 19 and Stephen Murphy aged 16 who helped Flyers win the Scottish Cup in a game at Kirkcaldy in front of 3000 fans, the biggest attendance that season in Scotland. It was a 5^th place finish in the league and in their playoff group, which included the Champion Slough Jets, the Flyers second place finish saw them make a return to the Finals in Hull. Clearly the underdogs going into the weekend and having to overcome the loss of Morrison who had a broken ankle the Flyers upset all the odds. Todd opened the scoring and they were never behind against Guildford in the semi and hung on to win 4-3 to set up a winner take all with the seemingly unbeatable Slough Jets. If you were to script a movie then this one would probably have all the drama you’d expect from a Hollywood portrayal of a sporting final. Flyers came tearing out of the blocks in the first period and were 4-1 up. They maintained that advantage after two period leading 5-2 which included a double by Todd. Jets got a couple of quick goals in the third period and the Flyers nerves were shredded. They tied the game with just over five minutes to go. Next goal wins. It didn’t arrive in regulation nor did it in overtime. Sudden death penalty shots would decide the outcome and up stepped John Coyle, who had also arrived like Todd from Telford, to coolly deliver the winning goal and with Joe Watkins denying Derek Higdon Fife were British Champions. A couple of days later 1200 or so fans turned up at Fife Ice Arena for the Championship party.

Season 1999/2000 saw coach Morrison assemble one of the greatest ever Fife teams and steer it to an incredible Grand Slam:  British National League, Championship play-off crown, NTL Cup and a fifth Scottish Cup. Todd returned along with Frank Morris and the Flyers added Ted Russell on defence from Peterborough and Russell Monteith in his first season outside of North America. The chemistry in the team was almost instantaneous and that appeared to be the deciding factor over other challengers such as Stan Marple’s Guildford Flames and Randy Smith’s often out of control Peterborough Pirates. The Benson and Hedges competition was even more convoluted than the previous season. Suffice to say the Flyers lost to Basingstoke in the Plate semi. In the league the Flyers were chased all the way by Guildford and by the narrowest margin of two points from a couple of OT losses the Flyers won the title. They were helped along the way by the record breaking Russell Monteith who shattered the club record for powerplay goals with 38 on the season. The partnership between Montieth and Dutiaume terrorised defences every night and along with Steven King all three enjoyed a 100 plus points season with Todd returning 51 goals and 68 assists to be the club’s second top scorer. Bill Moody re-joined the team early in the New Year and by that time the Flyers had added the Christmas Cup to the trophy cabinet when they beat Basingstoke 6-5 on aggregate. Peterborough remained dangerous opponents but Fife topped their playoff group to go through to meet Solihull in the semi. Fife won both legs with Dutiaume scoring five of the ten goals to qualify to meet the Bison in a best of five series which was over in quick fashion. A 6-3 win in Kirkcaldy in game one was followed by a crucial 2-1 win on the road the following night. The following Friday night Fife clinched the trophy in another low scoring game. On a night of outstanding drama in which the game was even in threat of being abandoned due to ice conditions that prompted player-coach Mark Morrison to simply say we’ll play at that end and let’s get this thing going ended with a game winning goal at 48.59 when Todd netted from a tight angle with the touch of an artist in a 2-1 win. Morrison won a post war equalling third Coach of the Year, Murphy cleaned up in all the categories in his rookie year and John Haig once again topped the list of British points scorers.

The following season unsurprisingly Fife returned all but one of their imports from the Slam season, Moody deciding to ‘hang em up’ but more importantly perhaps was the loss of the Haig and Smith double act to Guildford. The Flyers topped their Benson and Hedges Cup group, then got whacked by ISL Newcastle Jesters. The league however was effectively lost early on as Flyers struggled to pick up points on the road and eventually they finished 3^rd four points behind the Flames despite Todd and Russell Monteith top scoring in the league. This time the order was reversed in team scoring as Todd ended 10 points ahead of his line mate with 136 points, his best points total for a season with the Flyers. Craig Nelson and Bill Morrison had arrived mid-season from Paisley. In the Christmas Cup the Flyers qualified out of the group and ‘smoked’ the Peterborough Pirates in a second leg come back to reach the Final where the Guildford Flames won both legs. A Dutiaume double helped the Flyers retain the Scottish Cup against the Edinburgh Capitals. In the playoffs there was disappointment as they finished third in their group to be eliminated. At the end of the season the club organised a celebration match for Mark Morrison and it presented a first glimpse of the brothers Dutiaume on the ice at the same time as Mark lined up at least initially for the Mighty Mo’s against Todd’s Flyers before the brothers swapped sides and even engaged in some good natured fisticuffs later in the game.

Could they possibly both be united in the Flyers line up in the future ? The answer came in the summer when Mark signed for the Flyers turning his back (at least for the moment) on the ISL for the 2001/02 season. Todd would also have Karry Biette as a team mate again as the two had locked horns over the previous two seasons in the bitter rivalry between the Flames and Guildford Flames with the three times Grand Slammer added late in the summer and switched to defence. The brothers first game together was against the Dundee Stars on September 1^st in a 3-2 home win. Mark’s first points, 2+2, came the next night in Edinburgh as the Flyers dismantled the Capitals 8-1. Only 9 games into his Flyers career however Mark was to suffer a horrific facial injury in the home game against Dundee Stars on 29^th September, those there will remember well, there was so much blood. His return to the team on October 27^th at home to the Coventry Blaze was faster than many had hoped for as he looked to pick up on his 10+6 from his first 9 games. Todd at that point was at the top of the Flyers points chart with 14+14 from his 16 games played. The Blaze took the points but the following night down in Guildford Mark snatched a double to help the Flyers to a 6-3 win. Moving into November the Flyers had one eye on the end of the month and the Findus Challenge Cup final weekend in Nottingham. Both brothers continued to put up good numbers and Todd added to his team leading points tally with a double in the semi-final against the Peterborough Pirates in a lopsided 10-2 win to set up a Sunday afternoon showdown with the Coventry Blaze who had already beaten Fife twice on the season. Mark was on target as the Flyers lifted the silverware in a match dominated by the exploits of Karry Biette who bagged a hat trick. The Flyers having failed to keep pace with Dundee who captured the BNL crown were looking to shake things up in the final run in to the playoffs and one of the moves made was the release of Mark who was offered a return to the ISL with the Sheffield Steelers. His last game was a 3-2 win down in Guildford on 27^th January 2002 where he picked up the MOM. He left the team having scored 28+42 in his 40 games which was 5^th on team scoring.  Blueliner Bob Quinnell was added and Fife remained on course for the playoffs until a knee injury in a nothing league game in Milton Keynes ended Monteith’s season. Playmaker Nick Poole had already signed up for the post-season schedule and after watching him skate many fans were left wondering how well he would have complemented ‘Monty’. In the end the loss of the league’s best centreman was too much for the team to overcome. Steven would end the regular season tied with Todd Dutiaume with the most assists on the team (48) and was once again top British points scorer.

More silverware (ok it was made of glass) followed in season 2001/02 but for Fife Flyers there was the nagging feeling that it could have yielded more. Mark Morrison returned for a ninth consecutive season in Kirkcaldy and bolstered his team with proven hockey players – the evergreen Frank Morris, the razor-sharp Todd Dutiaume and the outstanding Russell Monteith. Three times Grand Slammer, Karry Biette, was added late in the summer and switched to defence, while Dutiaume’s younger brother, Mark, joined his London Knights’ team-mate, Shawn Silver, north of the border. The season started with a capacity crowd and the rebirth of the Fife-Dundee derby which has a pedigree spanning six decades. Fife won 3-2, but Stars were to be their nemesis as the season reached its climax, taking the Caledonia Cup from them, and eliminating them from the semi-finals of the playoffs. Flyers scored one win on Dundee ice – the only team to do so – to dump Stars out of the Findus Challenge Cup, and in November they went to the Cup final and produced their finest hour, crushing Coventry Blaze 6-3. Steven had four helpers in the semifinal win with Derek getting an assist in the final. Morrison won the coaching battle while his on-ice leader, the never-say-die Biette, produced a stunning solo goal to set the Nottingham Ice Centre alight. In the league Fife were always in the top three, but, like everyone else, found Stars’ consistency just too hot to handle. Their four-man defence put in some sterling work with Derek King immense and Morris a model of consistency, while Silver enjoyed a solid season between the pipes. Mark Dutiaume was cut mid-season and went to Sheffield, while blueliner Bob Quinnell was added. Fife remained on course for the playoffs until a knee injury in a nothing league game in Milton Keynes ended Monteith’s season. Playmaker Nick Poole had already signed up for the post-season schedule and after watching him skate many fans were left wondering how well he would have complemented ‘Monty’. In the end the loss of the league’s best centreman was too much for the team to overcome. Todd would end the season once again as the club’s top scorer with 108 points , 60 of which were assists.

Flyers kept up their record of silverware every season since 1996, but the capture of just the Caledonian Cup couldn’t put a shine on a disappointing 2002/03 season. Injuries to key players shackled the team and left players, officials and fans frustrated as the main prizes went elsewhere. Mark Morrison returned for his tenth straight season and he brought back forwards John Haig and David Smith from Guildford and added another former Flame in the shape of defenceman Jason Dailey. Andy Finlay returned from Dundee with forward Gary Wishart making the move in the opposite direction. Karry Biette and Todd Dutiaume re-signed but the import berths remained fluid as Mike Bishop, Jeff Trembecky and Scott Campbell all passed through the dressing-room at various points. Frank Evans came on board late to shore up the blueline. While many grafted and did what they could to drive the team forward, it wasn’t to be Fife’s season. Hopes of a bright start crumbled on the very first night when rivals Dundee crushed a home team than looked less than fully prepared. Within weeks the Findus Cup had been prised from their grasp, and, out of the title race, Flyers found themselves stuck in mid-table. It wasn’t all doom and gloom, however as on the 17th December in a Caledonian Cup match at Kirkcaldy against the Dundee Stars Steven collected two assists the second of which saw him register 1000 points for the Flyers. Jonathan Weaver signed late in the season to add some much needed offensive and then there was Steve Briere, many fans choice as goalie of the year. For the third consecutive season Todd ended the season as the Flyers top scorer with a 40+44 return.

The 2003-04 season marked a return to the top for Britain’s oldest surviving club but ahead of that  came a personal nightmare when Todd was diagnosed with a brain tumour, that threatened his life, let alone his career and it was a visit home to Winnipeg that led to him coming through one of his biggest battles. Looking back on that chapter in his life he claims to be fortunate, not only about the fact he’s here to even tell the tale but from benefitting from being in the right place at the right time. “It was lucky as I’d been at home for a couple of weeks and hadn’t felt right,” he said. “It so happens one of the top brain surgeons happened to be in town on a conference and he was the one who performed the surgery on me. I remember laying in my hospital bed in Winnipeg recovering, worrying that I had to get back to Fife because it was getting to a new season. The first thing I was told was I’d be lucky to play again. This came as a shock and gave me the motivation to start working again which ultimately got me through it. I didn’t come back in a good way and the Flyers could have made the easy decision and let me go. My team-mates basically carried me until I got back to my playing weight and my form had improved. Whatever loyalty I had for the club increased tenfold on the back of that.”  Under the leadership of long-serving coach Mark Morrison, Flyers held off stiff competition to win the Findus British National League title on the second to last day of the season. Around 200 supporters invaded Hull on 28 February for a nail-biting overtime victory that wrapped up their second title in four attempts. The season started with disappointment as a penalty shoot-out defeat to Newcastle Vipers robbed them of a place in the Findus Cup final. But they recovered to win their opening league match 4-1 at home to Stingrays and didn’t look back. Within two months they had raced to a ten-point lead and there was talk of them winning the Championship before Christmas. With new front man, ex-New York Ranger Dan Goneau, firing on all cylinders and fellow Canadian Greg Kuznik emerging as one of the most consistent defencemen in the league, the side were unstoppable. They enjoyed an amazing run of 12 games without defeat, 11 of which were victories. Guildford Flames were the Fifers’ fiercest competition and they reduced the gap at the top of the table to just one point. But Flyers held their nerve to cross the finish line in first place. Naturally, Morrison had hoped to add the playoff title to the league championship. Fife finished strongly in the quarter-finals but their semi-final draw against Bracknell Bees was not the one they would have chosen. With a number of players unable to travel due to work commitments, their away form against the southern clubs had been shaky with only three wins all season. But apart from a hiccup in the Cup, Flyers had always handled Bees at home, so it was a huge disappointment when Bracknell won 3-2 in Kirkcaldy. Another defeat in the return leg, though not as surprising, was just as depressing. Todd lead the team in helpers with his 52 assists in his 86 points which was joint second with Dan Goneau and behind Biette’s leading 96 points. For Morrison there was the reward of post-war club record equalling third Coach of the Year title from the BNL and the hockey writers.

Season 2004/05 promised much yet sadly delivered only disappointment for the Flyers. Coming off a Championship season, expectations were high, but a spectacular series of injuries to key players and the obligatory mid-season roster changes combined to ensure that the Flyers would be unable to ice a full team for several weeks. One of the players most missed was assistant coach Karry Biette. The gritty forward suffered the double whammy of a knee injury and a puck to the face during a game in Edinburgh which left him with temporarily restricted vision in one eye. Others were Todd who ended the season once again as leading scorer with 94 points and Dreu Volk, who had joined the team, during the summer. They were ruled out for the season though Dutiaume confounded expectations and resumed playing after only a few weeks. The early signs had been good. The return of Fife hero, Greg Kuznik, was hailed as one of the best signings of the summer, and he was joined by former Edinburgh golden boy, Adrian Saul. Incoming netminder Scott Hay was hampered by a slow start but he picked up his form as the season progressed, but Chris Sebastian, supposedly the final cog in Flyers’ attack, failed to settle and was released back to Canada. After a good start with 14 points from their first 8 games, the team dissolved into a mire of inconsistency. One week they would be at the top of their game, beating the likes of Belfast, Nottingham and Sheffield from the Elite League, the next they would be shipping goals in double figures against runaway league champions Bracknell, Newcastle and the Elite’s Cardiff. Soon the losses outweighed the wins and Fife were at the wrong end of the table. Coach Mark Morrison made changes to his roster, some expected, some surprising. Most surprising was his decision to axe goalie Hay and bring back Steve Briere, who had been stagnating in Texas. Morrison hoped he would galvanise the defence which had been short of experience since Volk’s departure. The return of Paul Spadafora, another cult hero, and the arrival of attackers Judd Medak and Kent Davyduke from the ECHL had an instant impact. Flyers’ fortunes turned around and they marched to the Playoff semi-finals. But this was halted when Morrison suffered an horrific spiral fracture in his leg during Game One of the three-game series. The team were unable to regroup and fell to the Flames.

NORTHERN LEAGUE AND SCOTTISH NATIONAL LEAGUE

The collapse of the British National League in 2005 saw Flyers descend into the amateur ranks, but both brother’s loyalty to the club remained strong. Numbers weren’t necessarily important during this time, it was more about keeping hockey going in the town as the league attempted to stabilise after the most recent boom and bust period in British hockey.

Experienced pros such as John Haig and the King brothers who had all played and won titles at the highest level stood out like sore ‘thumbs among players from teams who although trying their best were nowhere near Fife’s level. Guiding the club through unchartered waters was  the job given to Todd as he stepped down from playing and took over Head Coaching duties.

Flyers’ first ever season in the Scottish National League was hugely successful in terms of silverware but it was also the toughest for decades as they hoovered up all the trophies on offer in front of their lowest crowds for a generation. The loyal fans who did turn up, saw the team secure an unprecedented clean sweep, with a roster made up entirely of talented local players.

After coaching solely from the bench for a season Todd returned to the ice for the 2006/07 season and would regularly lace up over the course of the next few seasons as he combine part-time hockey with his new job with the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service. He was even on shift the night the rink went on fire later on that season. Over the course of those years he would score another 351 points as the silverware continued to be stacked in the Flyers trophy cabinet.

After six years of total dominance in the second level Northern League the Flyers would once more step back up into the top flight with their successful application to the EIHL for the 2011-12 season.

ELITE ICE HOCKEY LEAGUE

The club struggled in the first season to adjust to the higher level as their team was understrength and failed to reach the play-offs. For Todd that maiden campaign ended in the most tragic way when his wife, Kelly, passed away along with their unborn twins. The outpouring of grief and support from around the league was overwhelming. The community in Kirkcaldy rallied round their adopted son in his darkest hour. “I remember going to the last game of the season and it was a very emotional time. That year, we were short of imports and the ownership weren’t sure it was the right direction, with the costs rising and uncertainty over whether the crowds would come back. I was still fragile, but going back and planning for the next season also gave me a purpose. I got back to work and relied on hockey to give me a crutch again and it’s got me through some very difficult times.”

2012/13 would be the then 39 year old’s final “full” season as a player for the Flyers although Todd’s season was ended prematurely in March after he broke his knee. He spent the following season solely on the bench but would return in an emergency capacity playing three games in the 2014/15 season. His final goal for the club came on 1^st November 2104 as the Flyers defeated the Hull Stingrays 8-3 in Kirkcaldy with his final game in his number 11 jersey being on the 13^th of December 2014 in a home 8-2 loss against the Braehead Clan.

COACHING

Having served the Flyers as a player over 17 seasons that alone would have been an outstanding legacy for the club but as his playing days came to an end Todd would spend another seven seasons on the Flyers bench until the end of the 2022/23 season.

He was the club’s 29^th ever coach and his 985 games in charge is the most of any Flyers coach. With over 500 wins he has a winning percentage of 52.2% which of course leans heavily on the first six years of his tenure where his teams had an 82.2% success rate.

The undoubted coaching pinnacle, certainly in the club’s Elite Ice Hockey League era, came in season 2017/18 as the Flyers won the Gardiner Conference title, to date their only EIHL silverware, in a group with Scottish rivals Braehead Clan, Dundee Stars and Edinburgh Capitals following a weekend that saw them beat the Clan and the Stars twice to trigger celebrations at the club not seen since making the step up.

At that time Todd summed up exactly what the club meant to him after standing with him through good times and bad as he said: “Fife Flyers are fully integrated into my life and being somewhere for the length of time I’ve been here is very special with the amount of players I’ve played and worked with and made many friends. The ownership have been more than supportive to me throughout my time here and have been there for me through good times and bad. I’ve been able to turn to them at difficult points of my life and some great celebratory moments too so Fife Flyers are intertwined with all my life”.

In the summer of 2023 Todd made the decision to step away from the playing side of the club and in a statement said: ‘’After much consideration and with the support of my family, I have come to the decision to move on from my role as Head Coach of the Fife Flyers.  This has been one of the most difficult decisions in my hockey career to make.  It has been an honour and privilege to have been involved with the oldest UK ice hockey club.  Over the past 25 years, I have worked and played alongside terrific players and even better people. ’The Fife Flyers fans are incredible, and I would like to thank them for their support over the years as a player and a coach. I want to thank the Directors for all their unwavering support over the years.  Thanks to all of the management and staff that work hard to make the Fife Ice Arena a great place to be. The old barn is a special place to me and I hope to be able to continue to support the Fife Flyers as they grow, both on and off the ice.’’

Following the departure of his successor as Head Coach, Tom Coolen in December 2024, Todd stepped back onto the bench to assist interim coach Johnny Curran as the club lurched through arguably its most difficult season in its 87 long years.