Mr Versatility: Mario Passarelli

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For Mario Passarelli, this year was certainly a strange one. He started the season in goal for the Sydney Bears and ended it having not only skated for the Ice Dogs, but as their head coach.
 
“It’s most likely weirder than any season anyone has had,” says Passarelli, still slightly bemused by the way the year panned out. “Initially, I had intentions of going there [to the Ice Dogs] and playing, because first and foremost I wanted to play. With imports leaving and the youngsters struggling with injuries, it opened the door to get back into the line-up. This was a personal win-win for me, to stay on the ice and compete.”
 
In pulling positives from his time as the Ice Dogs’ head coach, Passarelli said the young team would be a team to watch in the future.
 
“The Dogs’ season was tough but it was an opportunity for me to stay in the game and was a positive door to walk through,” Passarelli said. “I think the big positive is the team has young players who want to play and compete.
 
“With that said though, they need a more stable foundation before the team will regain its previous success from year’s past; not just rebuilding on the ice but off the ice too.”
 
Looking back at his AIHL year, he said it was a unique opportunity to be able to play both as a skater and goaltender.
 
“I switched to goaltending late as a kid, so had a skillset foundation as a player before making the switch,” Passarelli said. “No one has ever really seen someone make the change from being goaltender to lacing the skates as a forward.”
 
Although goalkeepers stepping out as skaters has happened several times in the AIHL previously, Passarelli’s role as coach as well made his story unique.
 
He doesn’t understate the distinct challenges with being such a “hybrid player”, as he puts it. His next opportunity with IFK Tumba in Sweden is representative of that. The team granted him a tryout as a defenceman.
 
“It’s a hard situation to be in, having a professional resume as a goaltender and trying to convince and show a team that I have the skillsets to be a player,” the Illinois native said.
 
Mario is more than happy to admit, despite the tough season he’s endured, that he’d more likely have stayed in Sydney if it weren’t for visa regulations preventing a longer stay.
 
Passarelli was certainly a character, as Bears and Ice Dogs fans will attest, and possibly one of the most multi-faceted people we’ve seen in the Australian hockey community.