Legends of Australian Ice

[Top] Captain of Australia [Beneath] Rylie and Rocky, courtesy Sandi Logan.

CAREER SUMMARY

Birth
23 Jan 1988
Canberra ACT Australia

Clubs
IHACT Ice Caps, ACAC SAIT Polytechnic Trojans, IHV Melbourne Jets, AWIHL Adelaide Adrenaline, AWIHL Melbourne Ice

McKowen Trophies
2012 to 2019 [8]

Women's World Championships
2004, 05, 07, 08, 11-14, 16, 18, 20, 22 [12]

AWIHL 100 Games Club, 2019
Daughter of Rocky Padjen, HHOF Australia

BORN ON 23 JANUARY 1988, in Canberra, Rylie Ellis, daughter of Rocky and Kathleen Padjen, learned to skate at three years of age and started hockey at eight. She played in Canberra in Pee Wee and Bantams and with the Ice Caps from age 15 to 18. Her father was a Director of the National Women's Program and a co-founder of the Canberra Senators ice hockey team, the Women’s Showcase Series, and the Australian Women’s Ice Hockey League (AWIHL).

The D first made the National Team at 16 in 2003-4, when Kathy Berg was in her fourth term as Head Coach. In 2006, at the age of 18, she left for Canada to further her experience under Berg. Ellis played in a Tier 1 women's team and was accepted to play with the SAIT Polytechnic Trojans in the Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference from 2008 to 2011. From around 2008, she represented South Australia but lived in Calgary, Canada, when Georgia Moore was there, a teammate in Australia’s National Team.

Since then, the 175cm D played 64 IIHF World Championship games and four in the 2014 Asia Oceania Championship. She averaged 0.54 points and 1.2 PIM per game with a plus-minus 25. Captain of Australia in five straight championships (2016-18, 20, 22), she also wore the Alternate Captain badge four times.

Ellis had the Best Plus-minus (+6) at the 2007 Worlds and Most Assists By Defender in 2022. Voted Best Defender by the IIHF Directorate in 2020 and 2022, she won a total of seven medals from 12 Worlds: two D2A Bronze, a D2B Silver, two D2B Gold, and two D3 Gold Medals.

In Melbourne, she played in the local B-grade for the Jets. In 2012, she won a McKowen Trophy with the Adelaide Adrenaline in the Australian Women’s Ice Hockey League, then joined the AWIHL Melbourne Ice, winning another seven AWIHL titles from 2013 to 2019. The D won every national league championship for eight seasons straight, averaging a point and 1.9 PIM a game.

A member of the AWIHL 100 Games Club in October 2019, Ellis represented Victoria for the first time in 2022, winning the Women's National Ice Hockey Championship. She has also coached ice hockey and holds a Master's degree from Deakin University. Now married and raising a young family, she has been Head Nutritionist for Werribee Football Club and Dietician at the AFLW Melbourne Football Club.

Ellis’ father Rocky is an Honoured Member of the Hockey Hall of Fame Australia.

01. Historical Notes

1. AWIHL players who don’t have Permanent Residency are imports, including New Zealanders. In 2015, 3 imports were allowed per roster. In 2016, the rules permitted four imports per team, with only two playing per game.

2. The Melbourne Ice Women drew criticism for playing overseas goaltenders. A Canadian played three-quarters of games in net in 2015 when the Club easily defeated the Sydney Sirens 6-0 in the Final. The Adrenaline also played a Canadian, with both imports topping the leaderboard. A local took over the following year, and import goaltenders were no longer permitted to play in support of the National Women’s Team. Teams must ensure each tender receives no less than one-quarter of the regular season game time.

02. Citation Details

Ross Carpenter, 'Ellis, Rylie (1988 - )', Legends of Australian Ice, Melbourne, Australia, http://icelegendsaustralia.com/legends-2/bio_ellis.html, accessed online .

03. Select Bibliography

04. Citations

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