The Sydney Sabres are an Australian junior ice hockey team based in Sydney playing in the

Australian Junior Ice Hockey League The Australian Junior Ice Hockey League (AJIHL) is an elite amateur national ice hockey league in Australia, open to players 20 years of age or younger. History The Australian Junior Ice Hockey League was first announced on 18 September 2012 by ...

. They represent one of the two junior ice hockey teams from New South Wales currently playing in the AJIHL, which is the most elite level for ice hockey at a national level for ages between 16–20 years old.

Team history

AJIHL

The Sydney Lightning were founded 18 September 2012 following the announcement by

Ice Hockey Australia The Australian Ice Hockey Federation, currently trading as Ice Hockey Australia (IHA), is the official national governing body of ice hockey in Australia and is a member of the International Ice Hockey Federation. It was first established in 190 ...

of the formation of the

. The team is controlled by the

New South Wales Ice Hockey Association The New South Wales Ice Hockey Association, currently trading as Ice Hockey NSW is the governing body of ice hockey in New South Wales, Australia. The New South Wales Ice Hockey Association is a branch of Ice Hockey Australia. History 1911: Clu ...

. On 14 October 2012 it was announced that Jason Kvisle as coach for the

2012–13 AJIHL season The 2012–13 AJIHL season is the first season of the Australian Junior Ice Hockey League. It ran from 20 October 2012 until 17 February 2013, with the finals running from 3 March 2013 until 10 March 2013. The AJIHL is the highest Australian nat ...

with Jimmy Dufour as his assistant. The Sydney Lightning played the first ever AJIHL game against the

Melbourne Blackhawks The Melbourne Whalers are an Australian junior ice hockey team based in Melbourne, Victoria playing in the Australian Junior Ice Hockey League. They represent one of the two junior ice hockey teams from Victoria currently playing in the AJIHL, w ...

at the Medibank Icehouse on 21 October 2012. The Lightning we defeated by the Blackhawks by a score of 5–3. The first goal ever scored in the AJIHL was by Daniel Pataky of the

Sydney Lightning The Sydney Sabres are an Australian junior ice hockey team based in Sydney playing in the Australian Junior Ice Hockey League. They represent one of the two junior ice hockey teams from New South Wales currently playing in the AJIHL, which is ...

. The first team in club history: ''For the

AJIHL Expansion

The follow-up season in the

saw a lot of change via expansion and renaming of its existing teams. The Sydney Lightning were renamed the Sydney Sabres in September 2013. The changes were made in response to the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey sports league, league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranke ...

s concern about the AJIHL using their team names and logos but also recognised the opportunity to create a new history for the teams through creating their own identity. In October 2013 the league expanded to six teams with two teams from

Perth Perth is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the Australian states and territories of Australia, state of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth most populous city in Aust ...

, the

Sharks Sharks are a group of elasmobranch fish characterized by a cartilaginous skeleton, five to seven gill slits on the sides of the head, and pectoral fins that are not fused to the head. Modern sharks are classified within the clade Selachi ...

and the

Pelicans Pelicans (genus ''Pelecanus'') are a genus of large water birds that make up the family Pelecanidae. They are characterized by a long beak and a large throat pouch used for catching prey and draining water from the scooped-up contents befor ...

, joining for the start of the 2013–14 season.

Logo and Uniform

2012–2013 Sydney Lightning

In their first year, and the inaugural AJIHL season, the Sydney Lightning wore a uniform that resembled the

NHL The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

namesake

Tampa Bay Lightning The Tampa Bay Lightning (colloquially known as the Bolts) are a professional ice hockey team based in Tampa, Florida. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. They play th ...

. The jersey design and uniform bore close resemblance to the Tampa Bay Lightning design, with the AJIHL logo used for shoulder crests.

2013–present Sydney Sabres

Season by season results

Players

Current roster

''For the

2016–17 AJIHL season The 2016–17 AJIHL season is the fifth season of the Australian Junior Ice Hockey League. It will run from 17 December 2016 until a yet to be determined date in 2017, with the formal structure of the league having been changed to incorporate 3 ...

Captains

* 2013–14 Cameron Todd (C), Hayden Sheard (A), Casey Kubara (A) * 2014–15 Daniel Pataky (C), Joshua Hansen (A), Chris Shepherd (A) * 2015–16 Daniel Pataky (C) * 2016–17 * 2017–18

Head coaches

The first Head Coach for the Sydney Lightning in the inaugural year for the AJIHL was Jason Kvisle. *

2012–13 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. ...

Jason Kvisle * 2013–14 Jason Kvisle * 2014–15 Jason Kvisle * 2015–16 Jason Kvisle * 2016–17 Jason Kvisle * 2017–18 Jason Kvisle

References

{{Sydney Sports Teams Australian Junior Ice Hockey League Ice hockey teams in Australia Sports clubs and teams in Sydney 2012 establishments in Australia Ice hockey clubs established in 2012