Global Series, Kings, Coyotes have Australia hockey players 'starstruck'

DOCKLANDS, Australia -- Tommy Powell pushed a net into position after the ice was resurfaced at O'Brien Icehouse on Tuesday, trying to look cool in front of Anze Kopitar, Drew Doughty, Pierre-Luc Dubois and the Los Angeles Kings.

His eyes were wide. His phone was ready.

"Starstruck," he said with a smile. "Oh, yeah. Big time. When am I ever going to be on the ice with Kopitar, Doughty, PLD? It's crazy. I'm out there sneaking a little picture with my phone. I got one, of course. I waited until no one was looking, but I'm sure one of them saw it."

To understand the impact of the NHL's first event in the Southern Hemisphere, look through the eyes of the people here who love hockey and have never seen anything like this in their home country.

The Kings and Arizona Coyotes will play two preseason games at Rod Laver Arena in the 2023 NHL Global Series -- Melbourne. The games are Saturday and Sunday at 12 a.m. ET and will be available on NHL Network and ESPN+ in the United States, Sportsnet and Sportsnet+ in Canada, and 9Go, 9Now, ESPN and the ESPN App in Australia.

"I never thought I'd see this day, to be quite honest with you," Matt Armstrong said. "You always dream of something like this happening, especially in a foreign country like Australia where the sport's just such a novelty. To see these guys skating out there, it's just phenomenal. It's going to be amazing for the game here in Australia."

Powell and Armstrong each won the Goodall Cup as champions of the semi-pro Australian Ice Hockey League with the Melbourne Ice in 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2017. The banners hung on the wall while the Kings and Coyotes practiced Tuesday.

Each works at O'Brien Icehouse trying to grow hockey here -- Powell as a schools and community groups manager, bringing kids to the venue; Armstrong as the hockey academy director, running programs for kids and adults. They will help the Kings run a clinic for kids after practice Wednesday.

Powell was born in Sydney, started playing hockey at age 7 and moved to Melbourne at age 10. Starting at age 13, he spent some of his teenage years playing in Colorado and British Columbia.

"As a kid from Australia, it's pretty rare to live the hockey dream and be able to play hockey every day, because it's just not something you can do here," he said. "The hockey dream wasn't really making the NHL. It was enjoying my hockey and trying to do the best I could for [an Australian] trying to make the national team."

The forward represented his country many times including 2011, when he was teammates with Nathan Walker and Australia won the IIHF World Championship in Division II Group A at O'Brien Icehouse. Walker became the first Australia-born player to skate in the NHL when he debuted with the Washington Capitals on Oct. 7, 2017.

Powell played for the Ice from 2004-19, winning those four AIHL championships.

"It's good stuff," the 37-year-old said. "It's obviously the highest level we have here. Just a blast to be able to play here and live the dream."

Armstrong was born in Canada, played four seasons in the Ontario Hockey League for Kitchener, Peterborough, Plymouth and Barrie, and two seasons at Concordia University.

After four seasons mostly in the Netherlands and Germany, the forward made his way to Melbourne in 2010. He played for the Ice from 2010-19 and became an Australian citizen, representing the country twice in the World Championship.

He played for the Melbourne Mustangs of the AIHL the past two seasons.

"It's been an amazing experience," the 41-year-old said.

Armstrong said hockey faces challenges in Australia because of the lack of ice rinks and competition from other sports. The country has 6,150 players and 20 indoor rinks, according to the IIHF, but Powell said O'Brien Icehouse had 28,000 school kids come through the venue to try winter sports last year and they're hoping to have 30,000 do so this year.

Kids can watch the Kings and Coyotes at an open practice at Rod Laver Arena on Friday, then the two preseason games there Saturday and Sunday.

"Convincing kids to come down and play is a difficult task, but it's been growing ever since I got here, and having this, it's just going to be that much better," Armstrong said. "There are a lot of passionate hockey fans here in Australia. They'll all be down there."

Powell wants kids to look at the Kings and Coyotes the way he did.

"I hope they just see how great these players are, their talent and their work ethic, how much dedication they put into the game and their craft to really make it," he said. "It'll be a great experience for the kids, and I think I might be the biggest kid of all of them."