With ANZAC Day approaching this week, and the fact that I live in the ‘Realm of New Zealand’, it’s a useful excuse to have a look at the contribution to the Australian Ice Hockey League by our friends from across the ‘dutch’ – the kiwis.

Not counting against import quotas (with some caveats), the option for teams to recruit out of Aotearoa has long looked attractive – and many players have made a substantial impact on the league over the past 25 years. Now because I am too lazy to go back further than 2013, this will only look at the past 10 completed seasons – so apologies for the big kiwi fans of the mid 2000s AIHL.

Which clubs have used Kiwis in the AIHL the most?

Not surprisingly, given the connections within the club, the Mustangs with 284 games are the most common home for kiwis in the AIHL, across the broadest range of players as well. Thanks largely to the contributions of now GM Andrew Cox, Perth are in second, with 272 games played (Cox himself plays 209 of those). Similarly reliant on contributions from a particular stalwart, the Brave have 223 games from kiwis – led by former captain, and native of the far-North Island occasionally known as Canada, Matt Harvey.

At the other end of the spectrum, the Newcastle Northstars have not had a single kiwi play during the period, and the Lightning and Rhinos are yet to since their admission and readmission in 2023.

Table 1: Games played by Kiwis since 2013, by team

Who have left Jonah Lomu[i]-sized marks on the AIHL?

The largest contribution has almost certainly came from Andrew Cox, with 209 games and 186 points as a leader for the Thunder for over a decade – and even though he ‘retired’ before the 2024 season, pulled the skates on while the team was short during national team duties.

Matt ‘Wombat’ Harvey has also collected two Goodall Cups, one as captain, across a decade with the Brave, and the only other 100-point scorer from NZ also has two Cups – Jake Ratcliffe making the most out of 3 seasons in the league, taking a Rookie of the Year award and a Finals MVP to pair with those Cups.

Table 2: New Zealanders scoring in the AIHL, 2013 to 2024.

Looking at long-running contributions, Mustangs pair Brad Apps and Jaxson Lane both have an eye on their 100^th AIHL game in 2025, with Apps due to play his this weekend against the Rhinos in Erina. As well as the skaters, Jaden Pine-Murphy has made Australia his home now, and racked up 83 games across both Melbourne teams, along with one of the most impressive sets of goalie stats for a ‘local’, which includes a goal against the Newcastle Northstars – which he can thank JFK for.

For players with over 50 games in the league, Kahu Joyce has collected 69 games playing for both the Ice and Mustangs, and many more penalty minutes (184 in total).

How about the goalies?

As mentioned above, Jaden Pine-Murphy has led a small brigade of kiwi goaltenders in the AIHL. Along with his long career, there have been shorter stints by Ice Blacks tenders in Rick Parry (at the Adelaide Adrenaline) and Aston Brookes (at the Bears).

Table 3: New Zealand goalies in the AIHL, 2013 to 2024

What about those Aussie Kiwis?

While I’m sure there have been plenty of Australians with kiwi heritage play in the AIHL, a particular shoutout to two players. One is the all-time AIHL PIM leader, and long-time stalwart of the league – Dave Dunwoodie. Dunwoodie was born in Hamilton in NZ, and left a huge impact on the league as well as many appearances in the Australian national team.

Following a similar path after being born in Aotearoa and moving to Australia, Tommy Steven has picked up two Goodall Cups (one each with the Bears and Brave), and is part of the Australian national team currently in Serbia (and copping heat from at least one kiwi fan of the AIHL for choosing to wear green and gold over black).

---

[i] Or Steven Adams if you prefer. I’m Victorian, so I guess I’d go for Kurt Heatherly?

For more coverage like this look at Kiwis in the AIHL please visit our AIHL news section.