AIHL: Canberra Brave names new skipper Kai Miettinen for long-awaited AIHL return

This season will see many returning faces from the 2019 side that was just one win away from making the Australian Ice Hockey League final and achieving the ultimate goal of lifting the Goodall Cup.

In their season-opener in Melbourne on Saturday the Brave will have a new captain in Kai Miettinen after Mathew Harvey departed the club during the two-year hiatus.

The born and bred Canberran of Finnish descent now gets to lead out his hometown team after representing the now-disbanded Knights, before becoming a key figure at the Brave.

"Kai is a Canberra guy," coach Stuart Philps said of Miettinen.

"He's always been a dedicated Canberra player and he knows how thick the roots of ice hockey are in this town.

"He respects the history and he plans to lead the team into the future in a way that's going to set us up for success.

"He has a strong set of morals and he likes to lead by example. He has high expectations of everybody but they're realistic expectations at the same time."

Their new skipper spoke about the team's preparations heading into the first game of the season, saying they were ready to go but taking it one game at a time, resisting the urge to look too far down the road.

"The preparations have been going really well and training has been ramping up the last few weeks," Miettinen said.

"We've been on the ice a bit more and I think everyone has more or less shaken the rust off."

A few of the Brave players who could be ready to set the ice ablaze this year are forward Jordan Brunt and youngster Nick Christensen, Miettinen said.

The 2022 season begins for the ACT outfit in a two-game series this weekend against the Melbourne Ice in Victoria, on April 30 and May 1.

The Canberra team then returns home the following weekend to play its first home league game in 980 days when they host the Sydney Ice Dogs.

Saturday, April 30: Melbourne Ice v Canberra Brave at O'Brien Icehouse, Docklands, 5pm.

Sunday, May 1: Melbourne Ice v Canberra Brave at O'Brien Icehouse, Docklands, 2pm.

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