Queenstown's SkyCity Stampede may be without two of its superstar stalwarts this year, but coach Cam Frear’s confident he’s got a team that could conceivably lift the Birgel Cup for an unprecedented 11th time.
The Stampede’s 2026 New Zealand Ice Hockey League campaign gets under way in Dunedin this weekend, but the national champs won’t have Colin McIntosh, the second-highest scorer in last year’s league, or Callum Burns, who pulled up his 200th game in the league last year, every single one of which he suited up for Stampede.
Both have hopped the ditch where they’re playing for the Melbourne Mustangs in the Australian Ice Hockey League.
They are, Frear says, "huge losses".
"It’s hard to ever replace people like Colin and Callum — and you never will — just in terms of how good as players they are, and how big a part of the culture they were.
"But it just gives a huge opportunity for some of the younger guys, and some of the other ones, to step into bigger roles as well."
The good news, though, is Stampede is welcoming back local Jackson Flight, 23, who’s spent the past few years at uni in Dunedin, playing for Dunedin Thunder.
Frear says having him back’s massive for the team.
"Flighty’s just come off a really good Ice Blacks tour — he played great at worlds ... I think he’s going to have the biggest season that he’s had in the NZIHL."
And adding even more firepower to the roster are two United States-born imports, defenceman Max Roth and forward Conner Jean, both 29.
Roth, who arrived in Queenstown last Friday, went through the North American junior system and played for Worcester State University before one season in Australia with the Brisbane Lightning where he played with Harley Anderson, who had a season with Stampede a decade ago.
He’s jetted in from France where he’s been for three years, most recently playing for Toulouse-Blagnac.
Jean, meanwhile, is soon arriving from France — he’s spent the last two seasons with Tours — and also had one Aussie season, suiting up for Perth Thunder alongside some former Ice Blacks, prior to which he was in the US pro ranks.
"I think they’re going to be game-changers for us," Frear says.
Meantime, Jaden Skipper’s back as an assistant coach, alongside Steve Reid, while Matt Swirtz is taking on a "coaching and mentor role".
"We just have a fun group to, hopefully, lead us towards the Birgel Cup again," Frear says.
The Stampede play Dunedin Thunder in Dunedin tomorrow (7pm) and Saturday (6.30pm) before their first home games next Friday and Saturday, at the Queenstown Ice Arena, against Canterbury Red Devils.
Meantime, the Wakatipu Wild women’s ice hockey team opens its 2026 campaign at the Queenstown Ice Arena this weekend, taking on Auckland Steel tomorrow and Saturday nights — puck drop’s 7pm both nights.
