Howell, Ross William

BORN NOVEMBER 4TH 1979, in Melbourne Australia, the son of Michael who played 143 senior games with the Demons, and nephew of Alan, who played for Lions-Hakoah, Bendigo Raiders and the Demons. His brother Mark and cousins Adam and Andrew also played with the Demons, and so it is not surprising he began his hockey there. Collectively, the "clan" has played over 1,450 junior and senior games in the Victorian league up until 2017. He won the state's Junior A-grade Best Defenseman award in 1997, having already graduated to senior hockey with the reserve grade in 1995, then the A-Grade from 1996 where he remained for 9 seasons until 2004

Ross Howell is a 183 cm (6') 100 kg utility player, who began ice hockey at five and organised hockey in 1991. Seemingly equally at home both ends of the ice, in 1999 he won the Ken Wellman Trophy, the Junior A-grade MVP, and the Blackhawks Trophy, for the Highest Point Scorer in the same grade. In 2001, he won the Hugh Spot Lloyd Trophy, the state's senior A-grade Highest Point Scorer. In 2000, he was a foundation forward in the Australian Ice Hockey League with the Adelaide Avalanche, on loan during the early years Victoria did not participate in the League. Considered a "big presence on the ice and able to put the puck in the net," he won the League's very first title (Goodall Cup) with the Avs.

He joined the newly-formed Melbourne Ice in the AIHL as a defenseman, remaining there until the end of the 2004 season when he moved to Queensland for work. In 2006, he was the Brisbane Blue Tongues highest scoring local defenseman and remained in the top one or two, averaging around 0.7 points per game. He was Club captain in 2011 and played the Club's last AIHL season as the Gold Coast Blue Tongues in 2012, finishing on 6 goals 10 assists. He returned home that year where he played one last AIHL season in 2014 as an Alternate Captain of the Melbourne Ice. Retiring on 194 AIHL recorded games, he produced 26 goals and 60 assists for three different clubs, in three different states; an average of 0.44 points per game.

He represented Australia as a forward in the IIHF Division 2 Worlds in Majadahonda Spain in 2001 where the nation won the bronze medal under Coach Kelly Lovering. He represented Australia again at the 2003 Worlds in Seoul, Korea, producing 1 goal and 4 assists for his country. He returned to local hockey with the Demons in 2013, passing his 200th IHV game, mostly in the No 27 jersey, and scoring 234 points, including 8 hat tricks and 6 senior premierships. Still relatively young, his ice hockey career has now spanned almost 3 decades.