Bayley Kubara - The serious side of Bayley - Photo Credit: Verity Griffin
Bayley Kubara has been chasing hockey seasons since 2016, playing across the United States and different parts of Europe. Often spotted retrieving his crystals (after ensuring they’ve been charged the night before a game) and chasing down every member of the team pre-game (without fail) to get an energy touch in, Bayley is the guy you can rely on to bring the fun and good vibes, while being equally willing to do whatever it takes to win.
FROM CANBERRA TO GERMANYSpending up to six months of the year playing in Europe across German, Polish and Finnish leagues, Bayley has the opportunity to develop his game year-round without being confined to the AIHL season. “It’s huge to be able to play during the Australian summer, and such an advantage for World Championships too. To be on the ice all season when guys at home have limited access to the ice, and being able to go over and play at a pretty high level and stay fit and game ready is massive. Over there you get a mixed bag of guys who have played in all different leagues, and they have some really talented players which allows me to learn lots and add things to my game. Every time I go overseas, I get a little bit better and that’s the goal – hopefully it all adds and I can continue to contribute over there and back here at home as well.
"However, there are downsides to being away for such a long period of time. “I get so much FOMO when I am overseas and seeing the guys hanging out together all the time in the off season. It’s definitely tough sometimes, being away from friends and family are the two hardest things about it – you get lonely for sure and you miss the guys."
"They’re all my best friends, but it’s also so exciting because I’m always so happy to come back, see everyone and get back into the swing of things here in Canberra. We all talk when I’m overseas and have group chats and FaceTime a bunch, so it isn’t too much of a disconnect, but it’s always nice to come home and have a few beers with the guys and just catch up with what’s been happening in their lives. We’ve got guys popping out kids and reaching major life events so it’s just an exciting thing to come home to and catch up on.”
Bayley Kubara - The last Line of Defence - Photo Credit: David TateLEADING THE TEAMBayley has had the privilege of leading the Brave as an Alternate Captain for the past 4 seasons, yet he doesn’t find the additional responsibility impacts the way he plays or adds pressure to his performance each game, for better or for worse. “It’ s a huge honour to be voted by on by the boys, the guys that you love, to wear the letter; but at the end of the day I think the reason you get selected is because of the way you act, who you are and what you do. So, I try to keep doing that and just focus on that. Special players have worn letters for the Brave in the past and it’s cool to be recognised by the guys with that group, but I just keep doing whatever I do, keep things light in the locker-room and help lead the boys anyway I can.”
Leading alongside older brother Casey Kubara, and captain Kai Miettinen, Bayley finds the dynamic amongst leadership open, collaborative and full of support. “I think as far as helping steer the ship, we do a pretty god job of communicating with each other and doing our best to represent the rest of the playing group. We all have different opinions and thoughts on things, but we have really great communication between the three of us and I think we work really well together. It doesn’t matter who it is, if someone needs to say something any of us are happy to put our hands up to say what needs to be said or do what needs to be done. It’s really comforting for me knowing those two guys have my back all the time. This team is an easy team to lead because we have so many leaders within the locker room and on the ice, so for lots of the decisions relating to the team we basically just talk about it as a playing group anyway. Everyone is really mature and we don’t have any bad eggs in the room so things take care of themselves for the most part.”
Bayley Kubara - Eyes on the Prize - Photo Credit: George HainREPRESENTING AUSTRALIA AT THE WORD CHAMPIONSHIPSEarly in the season, Bayley joined his older brothers Casey and Tyler, and three other members of the Canberra Brave on the Australian team at the World Championships. Having been a member of Brave’s playing group since 2017, Bayley understood the risks having such high Brave representation in the Australian team may have had on results back home. “It is a difficult decision players have to make - stay home and play for their team or fly over and represent their country which is obviously a huge honour. It’s hard with the way that our season and the World Championships line up in terms of missing games, but in the same breath it’s the highest level you can play at in Australia and it’s even more special to be able to do that with my brothers too."
"Watching the games back home and not seeing the results we’re used to was tough but all of us overseas knew what we had in that locker-room back home. We knew we weren’t coming back to a panic in the room despite hearing about what people outside the team were saying about the Brave. At the end of the day, there was no doubt we’d be in the position we are in now with a finals spot. None of the players were panicked and it was a great chance for guys who don’t normally get as much ice time to step up and play a bigger role which is good to see - that’s how you get better as a player."
"Coming back into it, it was just about finding a way to contribute straight away and help the team get rolling. It didn’t happen right away like we planned, but once we had the team back together, we built up momentum and got back into the groove of things pretty quickly."
Bayley Kubara - Worshipping Bayley - Photo Credit: Verity GriffinADJUSTING HIS GAME"It’s always tough to come back from Worlds. You get used to playing with different players on the bigger ice and different systems on top of that. Finishing a season overseas and going straight into Worlds with 60 hours of flying in 2 weeks is also tough on the body and the mid but it just takes some time to get back into a groove and used to Australian hockey style again. For me, I think everyone on the team makes my job pretty easy. All my individual successes come from connecting with great players who make the most of our opportunities together. It’s such an easy team to play with and play for so I just get out there and do what I normally do, play good defence, support the offence where I can and just try get the puck to the guys who put it in the back on the net. I think we’ve been doing a pretty good job of that so far and the team is getting some wins.
ADRENALINE
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