The Melbourne Whalers are an Australian

junior ice hockey Junior hockey is a level of competitive ice hockey generally for players between 16 and 21 years of age. Junior hockey leagues in the United States and Canada are considered amateur (with some exceptions) and operate within regions of each cou ...

team based in

Melbourne, Victoria Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung–Taungurung language, Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the St ...

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 Victoria 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.

History

AJIHL

The Melbourne Blackhawks 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 190 ...

of the formation of the

. The team is controlled by the

Victorian Ice Hockey Association The Victorian Ice Hockey Association, currently trading as Ice Hockey Victoria is the governing body of ice hockey in Victoria, Australia. The Victorian Ice Hockey Association is a branch of Ice Hockey Australia. History Ice Hockey Victoria is ...

. On 14 October 2012 it was announced that former

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

n player Doug Stevenson had signed on 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 ...

. The Melbourne Blackhawks played the first ever

game against 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 ...

at the Medibank Icehouse on 21 October 2012. The Blackhawks defeated the Lightning by a score of 5-3. The first goal ever scored in the AJIHL was by Daniel Pataky of the

. 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 Melbourne Blackhawks were renamed the Melbourne Whalers in September 2013. The changes were made in response to the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

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 capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

, the Sharks and the Pelicans, joining for the start of the 2013–14 season.

Logo and uniform

2012-2013 Melbourne Black Hawks

In their first year, and the inaugural

season, the Melbourne Blackhawks wore a uniform that resembled the

NHL The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

namesake

Chicago Blackhawks The Chicago Blackhawks (spelled Black Hawks until 1986, and known colloquially as the Hawks) are a professional ice hockey team based in Chicago. The Blackhawks compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division i ...

. The jersey design and uniform bore close resemblance to the Chicago Blackhawks design, with the

logo used for shoulder crests. On August 22, 2013 it was announced that the Melbourne Blackhawks would change their name to the Melbourne Whalers, which avoided the close resemblance with the

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

of the

after the NHL had made complaint about a breach of copyright and it also allowed the team to develop its own brand identity. On September 13, 2013, the new Melbourne Whalers logo design and branding was created by Ross Carpenter and his son, Jack Carpenter, who was largely involved in the creation of the uniform design. The suggestion to use Whalers as a new name for the Melbourne Blachawks was made by Wayne McBride as an honor to the modern day Melbourne Coat of Arms, which has black and blue spouting whale. The

selected a new colour scheme which was a watery blue and green.

Season by season results

Players

Current roster

''For the 2015–16 AJIHL season''

Captains

The first team Captain for the Melbourne Blackhawks in the inaugural year for the

was Marcus Wong, his Alt Captains were Jack Carpenter and Austin McKenzie. * 2012-13 Marcus Wong (C), Jack Carpenter (A), Austin McKenzie (A) * 2013-14 Austin McKenzie (C), Christopher Wong (A), * 2015-16 Harrison Jaunozols (C)

Head coaches

The first Head Coach for the Melbourne Blackhawks in the inaugural year for the

was Doug Stevenson. * 2012-13 Doug Stevenson * 2013-14 Michael Flaherty * 2014-15 Michael Flaherty

References

{{Melbourne Sports Teams Australian Junior Ice Hockey League Sports clubs and teams in Melbourne Ice hockey teams in Australia 2012 establishments in Australia Ice hockey clubs established in 2012 Sport in the City of Melbourne (LGA)