2023 in review

• 2023 record – 5^th in Rurak Conference, 10^th overall (1W – 1OTW – 0OTL – 24L)

In their first season rejoining the AIHL, the Rhinos had a rough welcome back – finishing the league in last place with only two wins, and lots of blowout losses. Unfortunately for the Rhinos fans, neither of these wins were at home – so they will be hoping for a first home win in over a decade in 2024. On the plus side, the only way is up for the Rhinos.

Figure 1: Central Coast Rhinos key stats from 2023

A small bright spot for the Rhinos was the play of Xander Wardlaw, who took on additional responsibility along with captain Bert Malloy and import forward Joakim Erdugan to provide most of the offensive threat. He was rewarded with his first AIHL season over a point-per-game, and is a positive sign for the future.

Table 1: Central Coast Rhinos top 5 scorers in 2023

Table 2: Central Coast Rhinos 2023 goalie stats

History

The short recent history of the Rhinos doesn’t make for particularly happy reading, with their two wins in 2023 coming in Adelaide against the Adrenaline. Across the 26 games, they allowed their opponents to put the puck on net over 55 times per game, and gave up over 9 goals per game, while scoring less than 3 themselves.

The reality is that not much can be gained from looking at the history of one season, so we’ll use the captain as a proxy.

With 3 Cups to his name, and many years of national team performances, Bert Malloy has been a long-time star of the AIHL and in moving to bring the Rhinos back took on a new challenge. In the past decade (since 2013), he has 263 points in 223 regular season games, and averages at least a point per game against every opponent he has played more than once – except the CBR Brave, where he averages 0.967 points per game.

In recent years he has played more time as a forward (especially in 2023), with his 32 points in 19 games the best per-game return across his AIHL career, showing at 37 he isn’t slowing down yet.

The tables below show the top scorers for the Rhinos, goalie performances for the 2023 goalies, and the top scorers against the Central Coast.

Table 3: Central Coast Rhinos top 10 scorers, 2023

Table 4: Central Coast Rhinos key goalie stats, 2023

*Per game calculations based on 60 minutes, not 50.

Table 5: Top 10 scorers against Central Coast Rhinos, 2023

New players/imports

• Anand Oberoi (G, EOSHL) in net is in for a big season ahead, with big skates to fill – replacing reigning AIHL Goaltender of the Year, Andrew Masters. He comes with solid pedigree, even if he hasn’t played in a particularly high-level league in the season immediately prior, stints in the OHL and with the University of Ottawa show he has the calibre to stand up for the Central Coast.
• Samuel Hou Gustafsson (D, France3) – coming out of the 3^rd tier in France most recently, but with lots of experience in HockeyEttan in Sweden, he will be an important part of shoring up the Rhinos blue line. We project him to have his hands a little full with defensive duties, but to score between 20 and 25 points for the season.

Player to watch

Xander Wardlaw built on his strong 2023 AIHL season by spending the offseason playing in Scotland and further developing his game. Much of the Rhinos fortunes will rely on his production again, but he has shown that he is comfortable with that responsibility and looks to be a key leader.

Keys for 2024

2023 for the Rhinos was largely about existing and getting a team on the ice. With that achieved, and a new coach on board, the goalposts evolve a bit in 2024.

For their benefit, they will hope to entice some new local signings, and develop some of the younger kids. If the exhibition games against the Northstars are any guide, there have been some key steps towards the former at least. In contrast to the 2023 season which saw the Rhinos roster being filled out by some players who had been in and out of the AIHL for a few years, the Rhinos will need to blood more of the next generation to develop them.

Some key import signings will help this development too – and ease the pressure on Xander Wardlaw and Bert Malloy in particular.

The first goal for this season will simply be to compete – and the league will be better off if the Rhinos can take that step too.