Joey Hughes

STARTED HOCKEY at the age of 11 here at Oakleigh. A two week stint at Banff Hockey School in Calgary, Canada, at the age of 13, led to the Delphi Hockey Academy, a private school in British Columbia. After 18 months there he caught the attention of Cowichan Valley Capitals in the Junior A League (BCHL), where he spent the remainder of his junior years, except for a season and a half with the Trail Smoke Eaters. An NCAA scholarship at the College of St Scholastica followed. Joey was alternative captain and played in the NCHA All-Academic team in back-to-back seasons in his final years. He signed his first pro contract with the Pensacola Ice Flyers of the Southern Professional Hockey League in 2009-10. Back home he played for Melbourne Ice in the Australian Ice Hockey League.

Tony Theobold

HIS PASSION for the development of the sport comes from a long bloodline in local hockey history. Tony was mainly influenced by his father Eric, a former captain of Hakoah IHC, before it morphed into Melbourne Jets. In the early 1980s, he played for Oakleigh Golds in the NIHL, a rebel pro league and a forerunner of the AIHL. Tony started the game very young and has now been involved for 35 years, 20 of them as coach. He coached both Joey and his brother Vincent in the early years in Melbourne, along with many other successful Victorian players.

Martin Kutek

MARTIN KUTEK started hockey at age 6 in Frydek-Mistek, Czech Republic, and made senior Czech division II at age 16, where he signed his first pro contract. He graduated in 2011 from Masaryk University Brno with a Masters Degree in Physical Education + Sport, and two BA degrees in sports rehabilitation — Strength Training and Regeneration. Now an accredited IIHF Level II coach, Martin is a qualified personal trainer who has worked with top athletes from around the world. Highly respected back home, he now plays for Melbourne Ice and joins NLHA in taking hockey down under to the Next Level.

Vinnie Hughes

VINNIE HAS been captain of Melbourne Ice for the past few seasons and a player since 2004. He represented Australia in the Junior Team in 2000 and Men's Team in 2002 and 2003.

Scott Corbett

SCOTT CORBETT is from Ontario, Canada and first played for Sarnia Sting in the OHL, then many US and European leagues. He played for Melbourne Ice in the AIHL, coached the local IHV Tigers ice hockey club, and helped to build the Melbourne Mustangs IHC from inception in 2009 to 2011, as a player with leadership and coaching roles.

Jack Carpenter

JACK CARPENTER is a Melbourne-born, home-grown player who began hockey at the age of 10. He has represented Victoria and Australia and he was a founding player of Melbourne Mustangs IHC at age 17. He joined Melbourne Ice in 2013.

Special thanks

TO   JACK GERAGHTY for permission to use some of his marvellous photos.

Jack's website Jack Geraghty