A journeyman by professional hockey standards, John Snowden of the Central Hockey League’s Allen Americans has played for 15 different franchises over the course of his 11-year professional career, and still has plenty left in the tank.

“The amount of movement is tough at first but once you get into the lifestyle and do it year in and year out, you learn how to adjust and adapt,” explained Snowden.  “Making things comfortable for you as an individual is important especially as you get older and progress in your career, as well as family coming into play.  I’ve been in the game over ten years now and it doesn’t change.”

Snowden has produced 521 points in 677 professional games played to date, something the forward contributes to his long-standing regimen.  “The inconsistencies of living and moving is tough, but wherever I go I try to stay consistent with who I am as a player.  I do the same things no matter where I am, what team, what city.  I do what makes me feel comfortable when I go to the rink.  I can only control what I can control.  I am a simple guy, I don’t change my regimen, and stick with what has worked for the last 10 years.”

Despite all the movement, Snowden has been known as an impact player throughout his career.  As a proven goal scorer, he looks to bounce back from a slow start to the 2013-14 season.

“I’m staying here with Allen after re-signing.  I started off really slow this year and haven’t lived up to what people have probably expected of me.  That’s 100% on me. I’m going to fix that and work hard to bounce back.  I love challenges and I’m going to run with it.“

A slow start to the season is not the first time Snowden has faced adversity in his career.  The reality of professional hockey is that stability is never certain.

“I’ve encountered some circumstances in my career with teams folding.  I don’t know what it is but I’ve been on four teams that have ceased operations.  The first time it happened to me I was in Greenville, and to be honest, the team folding was shocking.  I had already signed a contract, and in my mind I was set to stay there for as long as I could.  I think the coach and the General Manager had the same idea.  One day I get a phone call from Ryan Stewart (GM) who told me we were done, and that I was free to go where I want.  On the other hand, with the Amarillo Gorillas and the Fort Worth Brahmas, you saw it coming for sure.”

“I don’t think there is anything you can do to ease the effect that a team folding has on a player.  It is a tough life; it’s a day-to-day job.  The only thing you can really do as a player is to make sure you are successful on the ice.  At the end of the day it’s another move for my family.  It’s never easy, but it is the life we chose.”

Earlier this season, the PHPA and CHL reached a settlement that saw a number of past and present CHL players receive their respective portion of approximately $116,000 in various outstanding obligations.

“With all my troubles of being on teams that have folded, in 2013 the PHPA came through for the guys, especially me.  I had some outstanding debts owed to me from some of the teams that had folded.  I wrote that money off a long time ago, then got a phone call from the PHPA that said it was all settled.  For my family that was massive.” 

With this being Snowden’s sixth year in the League, his veteran presence and leadership have allowed him to see a different viewpoint of the game.  The forward has been included in several collective bargaining sessions as a member of the PHPA negotiating committee. 

“That was a big eye-opener for me.  There is so much more that goes into negotiating a Collective Bargaining Agreement than a player really understands on both the players and owners respective sides.  To be apart of that and negotiate terms that the players will receive is so interesting to me and an extremely valuable experience.  It is a part of the game that often goes unnoticed.  When hockey is all over for me, I would love to be apart of that aspect of the sport.”

Hockey has not only allowed Snowden to experience both sides of the game, it has also given him the opportunity to travel abroad.  

“For me I always wanted to go to Europe.  When I went it was back at a time when playing overseas was becoming popular and there was good money available.  I wanted to experience something else.  I had played five years in the ECHL and the AHL. Germany seemed like a good change for me.”

Snowden’s 2007-08 season saw him play for the Rosenheim Star Bulls of the German Oberliga, where he racked up 55 points in 38 games.  Rosenheim is located near the Austrian border with a population of over 61,000.  While the experience allowed Snowden to experience a lot, playing in Rosenheim did not come without its difficulties.  

“I wasn’t a big fan of it.  I was alone over there and didn’t have a wife and kid back then, and the place that I played was a tough place to play in.  No one really spoke English or wanted to speak English.  It was a tough transition for me, and most of the other imports were married with families so I didn’t really have anyone to hang out with.”

The gifted forward knew he wanted to return to North America and that it was going to be hard to make the jump back into the North American style of hockey.  “It was a really tough adjustment coming back.  The rinks were smaller, the game was faster, and it was a much more physical game.  Over in Germany I think I may have got hit once.  That was a huge adjustment.”

Years later and now well acclimated to the CHL, Snowden feels he is in the right place.  “I like the North American game.  I grew up playing it; it’s the one I know, it’s the one I love.  I like physicality and having to battle the whole game.”

Feeling renewed, the Everett, Washington native wastes no time in stating his ambition for the season ahead.  “I’m in Allen right now and I expect to win a championship.  I think everyone in our locker room to our front office and fans expects to win a championship this year and we are definitely working towards it. That’s my goal.  I’m in my 11th season and I haven’t won yet.  I want to win and whatever I have to do to help this team win I’m going to do.”

The 2013-14 season will be an important one for the defending Ray Miron Presidents’ Cup Champion Allen Americans squad that currently sits second in the Central Hockey League standings with a 9-3-1 record, and are fortunate to have a leader like John Snowden in their line-up.