The Sydney Sabres are an Australian

junior ice hockey Junior ice hockey is amateur-level ice hockey for 16 to 20 year-old players. National Junior teams compete annually for the IIHF World Junior Championship. The United States men's national junior ice hockey team are the defending champions from ...

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 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 ...

, 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 1 ...

of the formation of the

. The team is controlled by the New South Wales Ice Hockey Association. 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

game against the Melbourne Blackhawks at the

Medibank Icehouse The Icehouse (also currently known as O'Brien Icehouse due to naming rights) is an Australian ice sports and entertainment centre, located in the Docklands precinct of Melbourne, in Victoria, Australia. 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 th ...

. 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; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

s concern about the

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 city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

, the

Sharks Sharks are a group of elasmobranch cartilaginous fish characterized by a ribless endoskeleton, dermal denticles, five to seven gill slits on each side, and pectoral fins that are not fused to the head. Modern sharks are classified within the ...

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 before ...

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

Logo and Uniform

2012–2013 Sydney Lightning

In their first year, and the inaugural

season, the Sydney Lightning wore a uniform that resembled the

NHL The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

namesake

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

. The jersey design and uniform bore close resemblance to the Tampa Bay Lightning design, with the

logo used for shoulder crests.

2013–present Sydney Sabres

Season by season results

Players

Current roster

''For the 2016–17 AJIHL season''

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

was Jason Kvisle. *

2012–13 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

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