The Canberra Brave ice hockey team has begun legal proceedings in the ACT Supreme Court over one of its contracted players. Photo: Paul Furness.
The Canberra Brave ice hockey team has started legal proceedings against the body representing the sport’s top national competition over the status of one of its contracted players.
The civil case against the Australian Ice Hockey League (AIHL) began last month in the ACT Supreme Court.
In their statement of claim, the Brave asked the court to prevent the AIHL from taking steps to penalise or sanction them over the latter’s treatment of their player Dominic Čanić.
Mr Čanić, a New Zealand citizen, started playing for Croatia before stints in the US, Canadian and European leagues.
He joined the Canberra team for his inaugural season in the Australian competition earlier this year.
According to the statement of claim, the Canberra Brave is arguing that Mr Čanić should be viewed as a domestic player under the AIHL’s regulations and policies.
Also, if he is considered an import player, they argue the AIHL should not be able to deny them an exemption to play in the competition.
Canberra Brave argues it will “suffer prejudice” if the AIHL refuses to treat Mr Čanić as a domestic player or grant them an exemption.
“These penalties could jeopardise [the Brave’s] ability to participate in the finals,” the team wrote in the statement of claim.
The matter returns to court on 21 August.
Canberra Brave CEO Stephen Campbell was contacted about the case, but said it was not appropriate to comment at this stage.
The AIHL issued a statement last month saying it would not be making any comment at this time as the matter was still before the courts.
“We want to assure everyone that the AIHL is working hard to ensure a fair and equitable game across our league,” the league 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 took out the title in 2024.
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