Belfast Giants to retire Adam Keefe's #47 jersey: ‘I am truly humbled'
It is the highest honour that can be bestowed in hockey and a wholly deserved one for Keefe, the team's most successful coach and an individual who is described as the "heartbeat" of the organisation.
Commenting on the retirement of his 47 jersey, Adam Keefe said: 'It's hard to put into words what this means to me. Belfast has become my home, and the Giants have been my life for over a decade. To see my jersey raised to the rafters, in front of my family and friends, and our incredible fans who have supported me all these years before my testimonial, will be truly humbling. I'm very honoured and proud.'
Joining the organisation in 2011 as a hard-nosed forward and quickly establishing himself as captain in only his second season in Belfast, Keefe would win two Elite League titles with the Giants as a player but it is as coach that his legacy has been taken to another level.
In his seven seasons in charge, Keefe has delivered ten trophies to the Giants out of a possible 19, including the Grand Slam in 2023 as his all-conquering side swept all before them to secure League, Challenge Cup and Play-Off glory.
Last season the Brampton, Ontario native led the Giants to their fourth League title under his stewardship, winning a dramatic final day race to clinch the crown, as well as a fifth Cup, and is now preparing to take the team into the Champions League for the fourth time next season.
And on Sunday he will be honoured not just with the jersey retirement but with his testimonial game which features a plethora of friends and former team-mates, who will gather at the SSE Arena to celebrate a remarkable career in Belfast.
Keefe's name will join a list of legends whose jerseys hang from the bridge already, the likes of Todd Kelman, Colin Shields and Graeme Walton already immortalised - and now the Giants' "heartbeat" joins them.
Not just the team's coach, Keefe has now built his life in Northern Ireland having married wife Colleen, with the couple welcoming their daughter Cora in 2021.
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