This week's Big Interview sees Dundee Live sitting down with the city’s hugely popular ice hockey coach, Omar Pacha.
The Canadian born general manager of the Dundee Stars is juggling a newborn son with life running Scotland’s leading pro team.
Here he talks about life in the city and the culture shock he had arriving from Canada.
He also lets us into the background of the recent Squid Game spoof video that became an overnight online viral hit.
Omar, hails from Boucherville, Quebec - a small town just outside of Montreal and is now in his eighth full season of coaching.
The 34-year-old hung up his skates three years ago, as a player-coach during his time with Hull Stingrays and Manchester Storm.
He was forced to lace-up again during his first two years in Dundee due to injuries.
After playing his way through the Canadian junior leagues and American college programmes, Omar's pro career first brought him to the UK and Elite League in 2013, when he signed with Hull - a year before he would become their coach.
What's life like in Dundee. How has the city taken to you and your family?
I really enjoy life in Dundee. My fiancée is from here and I guess our new born now is officially Scottish and Canadian - a great combo!
I have learnt pretty much most of the slang here which probably has taken me longer than expected.
I think Dundee is a great city with great people.
Any major differences between Canada and Scotland?
The biggest thing when I came to Dundee was that I drove only once or twice before in my life.
In Canada, you can pass your licence by driving an automatic car so I always just drove automatic.
My first day here I received my team vehicle and unfortunately for me it was a manual gear change. I thought it was going to be quite easy but that day I singlehandedly became the worst driver in Scotland!!!
I was getting beeped at, stalled and got a few unfriendly gestures. After that day, there was no way I could drive a manual, especially on the other side of the road - for us North Americans, anyway!
But the next day I received my automatic car and I was good to go!!!
Where's your favourite places to visit locally when you're not thinking about ice hockey?
Ouff, that's a tough one!! Unfortunately, I am lucky that I do something I love and am extremely passionate about it - the sport side and business in equal measure - so I am constantly thinking about it!
I am still trying to improve my life/work balance and I am getting better with the aid of my fiancée.
So we go for walks all around Dundee and St-Andrews and at times for meals out, the Milton Inn is probably our favourite spot.
You're known as a free thinker who looks out-of-the-box for solutions - why is this important as a leader?
I think it's really important to think differently, especially in the hockey world, as I believe hockey is a great sport but in this country it should be treated in equal measure as an event.
I believe fans want content and it’s important to always give them as much as possible.
As a leader, you always have to show initiative and not be afraid to try different ideas to see what works and not, sometimes.
The Squid Game spoof was a great success - our readers loved the idea! Can you give us a bit more of an insight into how it came about?
We have always done a Halloween video and this year, we had a few ideas but the Squid Game one was brought in by the Stars TV group.
We all loved the series and thought it was an absolute no brainer for us.
It was a great video and got a lot of attention. It made it a great night when we won and were able to replicate this on the ice during the winning celebrations!
What's the long term goal for yourself and the team?
Our long term goal is to keep growing so we can eventually be as competitive as possible for trophies.
I just go day by day and try to improve on a daily basis. I am hoping the team will be getting sell-outs more regularly and competing for Trophies.
Visit the Dundee Stars website here and the team's Facebook page here.
Get the latest DundeeLive news sent straight to your inbox. Sign up for our daily news updates.
