When Billy was a young Dutch boy, himself and his friends mostly played soccer. That changed when he was 7 years old and his father Willem took him to an Rotterdam raiders game. He was instantly awestruck by the speed and the force that the players were flying around the ice at. That was when he started playing hockey and following the teams of the Dutch national hockey league. He was the number one fan of his local team, the raiders and his favorite player was Hany Deatley who famously scored 50 goals in the 2007 season. This adoration was made even greater when his minor league team won the chance to go watch a game and meet the players afterwards. The raiders won a commanding 7-3 game with Hany potting 2 goals and an assist. Post game Billy met with Hany and got his picture taken with him and got his stick autographed. They also talked and Hany told Billy that he was certain he would grow up to be a fantastic hockey player, and that promise drives Billy to not disappoint his idol