The Canberra Brave ice hockey team has been involved in a civil case in the ACT Supreme Court over a player’s eligibility. Photo: Paul Furness.
A dispute over player eligibility between a Canberra ice hockey team and a national competition has been resolved, days before finals.
Player Dominic Čanić had joined the Canberra Brave in 2025, but the Australian Ice Hockey League (AIHL) raised concerns about how the team classified him.
Earlier this year, the Canberra Brave launched a civil case against the AIHL in the ACT Supreme Court to keep Čanić on its roster.
In a joint statement released on Thursday evening (28 August), the club and AIHL said the matter had been settled.
“The parties consider this settlement outcome to be the fairest available outcome for the teams in the AIHL and the competition as a whole,” they said.
“The AIHL and Canberra Brave look forward to putting this litigation behind them and are focused on the remainder of the 2025 regular season and delivering an entertaining finals series.”
According to the statement, this means Čanić can play as a domestic player for the rest of the 2025 regular season and finals series of the AIHL competition.
“The AIHL has sought to maintain parity and fairness across the competition, with the terms of the settlement being designed to achieve that objective, including a review of the AIHL Competition Regulations and related policies and procedures,” they said.
The dispute had centred on whether Čanić, a New Zealand citizen, should be considered a domestic player or an international import.
Before coming to Canberra, he had played for Croatia and competed in the US, Canadian and European leagues.
Region has previously reported that, in its statement of claim, the Brave argued that Čanić should be classed as a domestic player under AIHL’s regulations and policies.
Canberra Brave had argued it would “suffer prejudice” if the AIHL refused to treat Čanić as a domestic player or grant it an exemption.
“These penalties could jeopardise [the Brave’s] ability to participate in the finals,” the club wrote in the statement of claim.
If he were classed as an import, the Brave had also argued the AIHL should not be able to deny the club an exemption to play in the competition.
According to the joint statement, other AIHL clubs will be given a chance to contract with a player in a similar situation to Čanić’s.
“That is, each team in the AIHL can contract with and play ‘on the ice’ an additional player for the remainder of the 2025 regular season and finals series of the AIHL competition, so long as that player holds dual citizenship with New Zealand and another country and is not presently eligible to play for the New Zealand national ice hockey team under the International Ice Hockey Federation eligibility requirements,” they said.
The AIHL was founded in 2000, with 10 teams competing for the Goodall Cup.
Canberra Brave has competed in the league since 2014 and snared the title in 2024.
The team currently has 51 points, behind the Melbourne Ice, according to the AIHL website, with finals being played over three days from Friday (29 August) to Sunday (31 August).
