NHSL Head Coaches revealed!

It's Head Coach signing day! All teams will be submitting who they have signed as their Head Coach for the inaugural NHSL season. 

Stay up-to-date below as the signings come on in...

So far our coaches confirmed are:
- Sami Mantere, Noarlunga Stars
- Eric Lien, Adelaide X-Treme
- Mitch Villani, Port Adelaide Brewers

What do you think of the signings? 

Each team is now tasked with signing two marquee players ahead of next month's draft!

5:00PM - Former Senior Men's Team player Mitch Villani named Head Coach of the Brewers 

It appears to be a match made in heaven for the Port Adelaide Brewers.

General Manager Bill Newbound has signed long-time Red Wings, South Australian State teammate and friend Mitch Villani to be the Brewers’ first head coach. 

Villani brings with him some serious hockey pedigree and respect from everybody across the state. Newbound said his accolades are as impressive as anyone else. 

There’s a long list of accomplishments to rattle off. Villani captained the SA Browns Team to their first undefeated gold medal in 2013 whilst receiving MVP and highest point scorer. He also played five seasons with the Adrenaline (2005-2010) where he won a Goodall Cup. Villani played for Team Australia in 2009 and 2010.

Locally, he coached and won two championships with the Adelaide Red Wings and is currently pursuing his third. He has coached SA’s Tange and Defris teams, too. 

Newbound and Villani found instant chemistry when talking about the new Australian pro league.

“Bill asked me how I would build one of the Pro teams and my response was exactly what he had written down on paper. Right then and there I know we were on the same page and would make a great team,” he says. 

“Bill is lifelong hockey friend and teammate from our time with the Red Wings. He knows how to build teams and community. He lives and breathes this stuff more than anybody else in Adelaide.”

Newbound says Villani was an easy choice to work with.

“Mitch’s past experience with the Australian team gives him insight to the game at the top level to pass on to our players. He’s also so well respected in the Ice Hockey community,” he says. “Mitch has an outstanding ability to challenge and motivate his players to dig deeper and find that next gear.” 

Both Newbound and Villani will now get to work in scouting and preparing for the upcoming draft, as well as focus on signing two marquee players. Newbound says there will be a focus on “locker room guys.” 

“Mitch and I are on the same page about how we want a team to look. We want to target good locker room guys to build a club culture around, but also guys with a real ‘grunt’ and competitiveness – two way players that desire to win in all three zones,” he says. 

Villani adds he’s not afraid to take a somewhat hard-nosed approach to this all.

“Egos will be crushed in this league and that’s what we need back in hockey in South Australia. We need healthy competition to push our athletes to a higher level and that’s what the NHSL will do. Ice time should be deserved – not given.” 

“I’m looking forward to the posture this league will bring to the competitive hearts of our players young and old,” he says. 

1:00PM - Eric Lien takes charge of Adelaide Xtreme

Xtreme General Manager Tash Farrier says she wanted to find a head coach that could embody the professional vision of the league.

She believes she has that with Eric Lien.

"When reaching out to the hockey community there was nothing but good things said about Eric," says Farrier.

"Someone told me that 'a key strength is his ability to see the big picture in any scenario and think well ahead when forecasting issues or opportunities'. He can explain complex information in a simple and clear way for anyone to understand both on and off the ice," she says.

Lien has an extensive hockey background both as a player and a coach. He originally came to Australia from Canada to be the Adelaide Avalanche's goaltender in 2000 and eventually helped lead the team to back-to-back Goodall Cups. 

He eventually transitioned to coaching. He was the Adelaide Adrenaline assistant coach from 2011-2015, the National Senior Team assistant coach from 2014-15 and a coach at the National Development Camps (16) from 2013-2015.

Lien was also the interim bench boss of the Adrenaline in 2016. 

He says it didn't take him long to know he wanted to coach the Xtreme.

"It took one meeting with Tash Farrier to know this was someone I wanted to work with. Her passion is infectious," he says. "The coaches will know, and the players will know, that we have the hardest working G.M in the league so it will challenge everyone else on this team to match her commitment."

"I am appreciative that Tash has trusted me with the responsibility to coach this team and I hope I can reward her trust with a championship season," he says.

Farrier says she's really looking forward to building a strong team with Lien. 

"I have no doubt that I have one of the most knowledgeable, experienced and respected coaches that SA has to offer," she says.

Lien says he is excited by joining the NHSL. 

"The people who have had the vision to start this competition must be commended for putting South Australian hockey back on the map, for too long our top players have not been given the tools to succeed. It has been difficult to watch South Australian hockey lose its status as a state that punches above its weight," he says.

"But with a league like NHSL it should galvanise the playing group to lift their game to a higher level. My hope is that I can be one of many who can make this league succeed."

10:15AM - Stars lock in Mantere as their Head Coach 

The Noarlunga Stars have locked in one of the biggest names in South Australian Ice Hockey as their head coach for the 2021-22 season.

Sami Mantere will be the man behind the bench for the Stars. 

Team General Manager Matt Lothian says signing Mantere was the first thing he wanted to do.

"Honestly, when broached with the offer to become a General Manager the first thought that came into my mind was 'Get Sami'. Not thinking about players, or lists, or what sort of team I wanted to craft...I wanted to get Sami," he says.

Mantere's coaching experience is vast. Highlights include behing the head coach with the Adelaide Adrenaline (AIHL), the U18 State team, the Adelaide Jokers and the Ice Factor Program. 

"He's one of the best hockey minds in the country," says Lothian. "

Mantere - a Finn turned Australian - came to Australia in 2009 to help out with the Ice ArenA's Ice Factor program.

He has experience with HC Jokerit in Finland and was an import player on the Adelaide Adrenaline's last championship winning team in 2009. 

Mantere says he had some good discussions with Lothian before agreeing to coach the Stars.

"I think Matt is a top bloke on and off the ice and he knows his hockey. I just wanted to make sure our visions align. Us working as a team should give us a great chance to succeed," he says.

Mantere says he is energised by the new NHSL format. 

"The number one thing I'm looking forward to is giving a chance to see our young guys take the next step and see if they are ready to compete at this level," he says. "It's great to see something new and exciting in the South Australian hockey scene. This project has a great chance of kicking serious hockey development in the state."

Lothian and Mantere will now combine to try to sign two marquee players. Each team can sign two players to build their teams around before an anticipated October draft to fill out rosters.

Lothian says the team is close to locking in players.

"Sami and I have very similar opinions in terms of how we see this team shaping up and what characteristics we want from our players," he says. 

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Players must nominate for the draft if they wish to be selected. They can nominate by clicking here.