KURT DEFRIS TOURNAMENT
The Kurt DeFris State Tournament, an eagerly anticipated event within the realm of ice hockey, serves as a showcase for the extraordinary talents and relentless dedication of 15U players. This highly competitive tournament brings together aspiring young athletes from various States, providing them with a platform to exhibit their skills, test their mettle, and forge lasting memories.
The Kurt DeFris Tournament
The Kurt Defris National Championship is named after Kurt Defris. who was President of the Victorian Ice Hockey Association for a record 17 years from 1962 through 1978.
Hockey historian Paul Rice said, “The influence of Kurt Defris on grassroots ice hockey in Victoria is unmatched. During his time as president, Defris was instrumental in creating a thriving junior hockey program at both a state and national level”. It is thus fitting that the national U15 tournament is named after Kurt Defris.
Last year’s Kurt Defris Tournament was held in New South Wales, where New South Wales defeated Western Australia in the gold medal game and Victoria rounded out the medal winners with bronze.
The National Championships are critical for our programs and allows the states the opportunity to benchmark their programs, to see how they’re tracking against other states. This age group is also where selections are made for Men’s U16 camps, and the girls that are involved may be selected for Women’s U18 development camps.
Five teams will challenge for the tournament in 2023: New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Victoria and Western. The tournament format will see each team play each other once in a round-robin format.
The last-placed team will be eliminated after phase one, and the remaining four teams will progress to the semi-finals on Saturday afternoon. The losers will fight for bronze on Sunday afternoon, followed by the gold medal match between the semi-final winners.
The tournament is an opportunity for fans to see high-level hockey.
The players competing will likely progress to be a part of the Australian Ice Hockey League and ultimately represent Australia in their National Teams in the future.
2023 Kurt DeFris Team Listings
New South Wales Team
| #2 | Hugo Arps |
| #5 | Daniel Dmitriyev |
| #9 | Cohen van Epen |
| #11 | Henry Kim |
| #12 | Kai Stolee (GK) |
| #17 | Cheslav Kulinich |
| #22 | Aiden Downie |
| #24 | Byron Faber |
| #25 | Gustav Remler-Jensen |
| #27 | Oliver Eason |
| #30 | Angus Sundqvist |
| #31 | Bryce Kitching (GK) |
| #35 | Aiden Li |
| #45 | Hannah Cryan |
| #59 | Declan Downie |
| #64 | Liam Waters |
| #73 | Ethan Elford |
| #76 | Will Waters |
| #77 | Jacob Zyl |
| #91 | Clayton Ballard |
Queensland Team
| #2 | Nathan Fixter |
| #4 | Barrett Mannix |
| #7 | Dain Arthur |
| #10 | Sami Rippon |
| #11 | Fred Hawes (A) |
| #14 | Ozzy Partridge (C) |
| #17 | Kaiden Schlencker |
| #31 | Katie Meyer (GK) |
| #34 | Pheonix Wall |
| #42 | Oliver Smith |
| #45 | Liem Robinson (GK) |
| #49 | James Gillitt |
| #58 | Alex Corser |
| #61 | Mason Bugden |
| #67 | Alexandro Petrides |
| #71 | Ethan Ferris |
| #81 | Saxon Cannon (A) |
| #87 | Mason Lupton |
South Australia Team
| #8 | Ilya Truuse |
| #11 | Hudson Elze |
| #12 | Jack Fode |
| #16 | Anika Mojzisek |
| #21 | Jasmine Chen |
| #22 | Mickey Nottle |
| #26 | Eleanor Bartter |
| #29 | Brodie Clarke (GK) |
| #33 | Max Marquardt |
| #38 | Zac Hanin |
| #42 | Gabriel Koudelka |
| #46 | Etienne Janovsky |
| #47 | Anika Wegund |
| #49 | Luka Loria |
| #51 | Yongen Song |
Victoria Team
| #2 | Costa Houdalakis |
| #4 | Tom Papas (GK) |
| #6 | Leo Lin |
| #9 | Julian Lau |
| #10 | Mitch Collins |
| #12 | Anson Chan |
| #15 | Alvin Chan |
| #16 | Matheus Baldwin |
| #18 | Joseph Zanlunghi |
| #20 | Nico Termonen |
| #24 | Luca Lombardo |
| #27 | Lukah Ceh |
| #35 | Lucas Hunter |
| #40 | William Simmonds |
| #42 | Tara Baker |
| #44 | Artem Astafiev |
| #46 | Alex Mufale |
| #49 | Johanna Meissner |
| #50 | Olivia Gargano (GK) |
| #52 | Rowan Barrett |
Western Australia Team
| #1 | Taj Siah (GK) |
| #2 | Ville Maki-Kuutti |
| #4 | Madden Kenzle |
| #7 | Joseph Binetti |
| #8 | Kobe Hoang |
| #9 | Colby Salmon |
| #11 | James Koroll |
| #12 | Sophie Reader |
| #13 | Isaac West |
| #14 | Tyler Rodden |
| #15 | Easton Shearer |
| #16 | Kalle Maki-Kuutti |
| #18 | Lewis Jenner |
| #20 | Finlay Morris |
| #22 | Leonardo Braga |
| #24 | Brayden Hogan |
| #27 | Benjamin Shearer |
| #30 | Cohen Baron |
| #31 | Madelyn Reid (GK) |
| #57 | Max Hrico |
| #71 | Samuel Sywak |
| #88 | Joshua Macnamara |
Live Stream Links
Day 1 – Thursday 20th July
Opening Ceremony & Game 1 – 8.30am AWST
Game 2 – 11.00am AWST
Game 3 – 2.30pm AWST
Game 4 – 4.30pm AWST
Day 2 – Friday 21th July
Game 5 – 9.00am AWST
Game 6 – 11.00am AWST
Game 7 – 2.30pm AWST
Game 8 – 4.30pm AWST
Day 3 – Saturday 22nd July
Game 9 – 10.30am AWST
Game 10 – 12.30pm AWST
Semi Final T1 & T4 – 5.15pm AWST
Semi Final T2 & T3 – 7.15pm AWST
Day 4 – Sunday 23rd July
Bronze Final – 1.00pm AWST
Gold Final & Closing Ceremony – 3.00pm AWST
Tournament Merchandise
There will be a range of Tournament merchandise available at the Merchandise Stand rink side.
Merchandise Available:
Tournament Auction
Bid on a piece of 2023 Kurt DeFris history with a game puck! Each game puck is up for grabs to the highest bidder, don’t miss out on getting your hands on one!