Bakatsoulas's Hockey Journey

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Like many kids of the 90s, hockey caught Phillip Bakatsoulas’s attention through the Disney movie The Mighty Ducks. After repeatedly watching the movie he hassled his parents to join an ice hockey team, but living on the wrong side of town it meant it was not feasible. Instead he began playing roller hockey with the Campbellfield Cannons. 

“I remember coming home every day from school, my brother Nick, his mate and I would strap on the skates and play street hockey until dark. When it rained we loaded up NHL94 on the Super Nintendo, we were addicted. Eventually we joined the Campbellfield Cannons and were employed by the rink.”

During his time playing roller hockey he represented Victoria once as a junior defenceman winning the bronze. He ceased playing at age 17.
In 2010 Phillip’s interest in hockey was sparked again with the construction of the then-named Icehouse, and once it was complete, he joined the Development Hockey School at O’Brien Group Arena in the opening year of 2010.   

“I had heard of a rink being built in the Docklands area but was unaware of the details. Driving past on the freeway every day I noticed a development which got me curious. I researched online and was excited to find that it was the ice rink. Right away I enquired about the hockey programs and signed up myself and Nick for the first ever group.”

With teachers such as Matt Armstrong, Jason Baclig and Tommy Powell, the newly built rink was the perfect proving ground to reignite and develop the skills Phillip had gained in his younger years playing roller hockey. 

“Learning to ice skate had its challenges. Not having skated on rollerblades for 10 years I had to begin from scratch. The coaches of the hockey school made the learning experience quite personal, teaching the fundamentals of skating and hockey, but I wanted more, so made the effort to get to as many stick and puck and drop in sessions as I could to hone my skills. I just wanted to be on the ice!”

His enthusiasm for the sport showed with the creation of the Melbourne Ice Wolves. 

“After one of the development classes one of the students jokingly mentioned we should create a team and participate in the Ice Hockey Victorian league. Thinking it was a great idea I took it upon myself to ask around who would be interested in joining a team and contacted Ice Hockey Victoria (IHV). With the help of two other students, Arron Elson and Emma Poynton, the Ice Wolves were born.”

The Ice Wolves joined summer league in their first season in Division 3, it pushed the team to use the skills learnt from the Development programs. Phillip was a standout player and was awarded both the player and coaches MVP awards. 

After two seasons with the Ice Wolves, Phillip wanted to push his hockey further. With the desire to see how far he could progress through the IHV divisions, he joined Saints-Monarchs in C1. 

“Joining the Saints in C1 was a big turning point. Playing with players who have been in the sport for years helped my hockey sense and taught me positioning and plays. The flow of the game became easier and I began to understand what type of player I was.”

During the season Phillip’s determination helped the Saints win the C1 division, and he was awarded team MVP and best defenceman by the league (although they announced his brother Nick’s name during the presentation, a Saints’ forward.) Having reached this achievement so quickly, Phillip’s objective for the following season was to join the Reserves Saints team and understand the physical contact side of the sport. 

During the offseason he sought help via the contact program ran by Joey Hughes at Next Level Hockey at Oakleigh.

“This program really opened my eyes to some of the things I was doing wrong, not only on the ice but in my preparation off ice. My awareness got better, my vision on making plays got quicker and I was aware of the safety aspects on taking and receiving hits. I refined this by asking a few good mates to play contact on me during drop in so I’d be ready for the upcoming season.”

Phillip played two seasons of Reserves with the Saints, being named best team defenceman on both occasions. He then was given the opportunity to take the step up to Premier A for the 2015 season and was named on Victorian team to compete for the Jim Brown trophy.

“The difference in Premier A to Reserves is the speed. Players move the puck a lot cleaner and hit the tape more often. It makes for clean hockey and is a real thrill to play. It surely helped me in making the Victorian team coached by Buddy Spohn, where we were undefeated in taking the gold. I was especially proud that my defensive partner and I did not conceive a goal all tournament.”

In early 2016, a post on tryouts for the Melbourne Mustangs caught Phillip’s eye. He attended the long and enduring preseason, making it to the final cut round. 

“It was a tense moment, having gone through 2 months of preseason, both on and off ice sessions and giving it all I got. When Coach Michael Flaherty asked me how I thought how I went, I stated I knew I had the determination and skill but was lacking experience. When he agreed with me I thought I was done. Instead, he said they were willing to give me the experience. At that moment my excitement went through the roof. There was no way when I thought I would have made an AIHL team roster this quickly. On the drive back home I reflected back on my young hockey journey and I realized that the more you give to hockey the more you get back, not only on the ice but off it too.  Hockey has given me life experience in hard work, accountability, relationships and rewarded me with good health, opportunity and friendships. It’s truly the greatest game on earth!”