In this week’s Q&A, we catch up with one of the Brave’s hard-working Defencemen, Mike Giorgi..
Congratulations on your play this year! How do see the team’s performances so far?
We’ve definitely had more ups than downs, which is always a positive thing. But I’m also happy we’ve been able to experience some moments of adversity. I think those moments will serve us well when Finals weekend comes around.
You’ve been with the Brave for a couple of seasons now - having played with the team in the early days and then taken some time off. What made you come back to playing for the team?
I don’t think I ever *really* left, but life circumstances kept my time with the team extremely limited.
Doing my Master’s in Law full time and working at the same time turned out to be tougher than expected so it was hard to commit full time for the Brave. After graduation, I was travelling back and forth from Canada for a few years - usually during the hockey season. My future in Australia was a bit up in the air.
Once I got my permanent residency and started my career as a Lawyer, I found myself a little more settled here in Canberra. I felt the timing was finally right to commit full time to the team.
What changed the most in the time you were away from the Brave?
Well I think the most obvious answer is the people. I think just myself and Kai remain from the original Canberra Brave team, which I think demonstrates the transience of this sport. From the ownership group right down to the players most of the people have changed.
I think the other big change would be the expectations around the club.
In that first season, we were lucky just to field a team. I remember in that first game against Newcastle, everyone was just hoping we were going to be competitive. We ended up winning our second game against the Ice Dogs and went on a bit of a Cinderella run to finals that season. We surpassed everyone’s expectations.
Now with the culture of winning that we’ve slowly built since that 2014 season, winning is no longer a hope of ours, but an expectation. Ownerships expects it from us. The fans expect it from us. Coach Stu expects it from us. And we expect it from each other.
You mainly play as a Defenceman. What is the key to good defence?
I’m still figuring this question out for myself!
Obviously there are physical traits like speed, vision, or a hard shot that can really help a D-man. But I think for me, the trait I’ve come to value above all others is grit. Being tenacious. Having a bit of venom in your bite. Just being a guy the other team’s best players hate to play against.
There’s a lot of things you can’t control out on the ice. But embracing your inner grit, putting your body on the line for your team, that’s something you can choose to do every shift. That can mean throwing a hit, taking a hit, or stepping in front of a slap-shot.
Strip a Defenceman down to his bare essence - if there’s a warrior underneath, he’ll always be tough to play against.
You nearly always always look like you’re enjoying yourself on the ice. What is the best part about Hockey?
Hockey is the greatest game in the world – but it’s still a game at the end of the day. It’s a game I get to play with guys that I love. That’s the simple truth of the sport.
I think for a lot of kids growing up in Canada, that simple truth is taken away from them too soon. I played my first game of Junior A as a 15-year-old, and at that level the game becomes a business and feels like a job. I think I was a bit too young and immature to handle the change. The innocence of the sport was lost in a lot of ways, and I found myself quickly falling out of love with the game.
It was no longer fun showing up to the rink every day, and I quit the sport altogether a few years later – despite probably having a lot of hockey left in me.
But I guess time has the unique ability to shift perspective and heal wounds at the same time. My first season with the Brave was my return to the sport after nearly a decade away from the game. My views on sport and life had changed dramatically.
And now, I am constantly reminded of why I love this sport. I love the speed, the physicality, and the intensity. I love the guys I play with. Hockey feels like a game again and I feel extremely lucky I can still play at a high level with guys I enjoy being around.
So I think just being grateful for the chance to play hockey and grateful for the teammates I get to do it with, makes it easy for me to enjoy every moment I have on the ice.
Do you have any message you’d like to give to the Brave Fans?
Unfortunately, I’m not articulate enough to accurately describe what you guys mean to the team.
We play all over Australia and are constantly reminded that we have the best fans in the league. I think people underestimate just how important it is – in both life and in sport – for people to know they have a strong community supporting them. Whether it’s a frosty Saturday evening in the Brave Cave or a rainy Sunday in Newcastle, we know you’re with us – and that means more to us than you know.
The Brave travel to Macquarie Ice Rink on Sunday - for their last meeting with the Sydney Bears for the AIHL Regular Season. Puck drop is 5pm.
If you can’t make it up the Hume for the game, you can catch it live and free on Kayo Sports - https://kayosports.com.au/freebies.
Go Brave!