Lynch, Glen Frank

BORN 3 JULY 1963 IN AUSTRALIA, Glen Lynch began his hockey career playing forward in the Victorian junior leagues a few years after the Victorian Development Council started. He consistently represented his state, winning three consecutive Tange Trophy Championships (Under-16): first with the Newcastle team coached by Steve Duncan in 1979, then as captain of the 1980 squad coached by Terry Theobald, and finally with the 1981 team that competed against the touring Langley side from Canada. In the early 1980s, he participated in the Brown Trophy (U21) at Narrabeen alongside the Rice brothers, John Jugum and Andrew Petrie, where he was named to the 1981 Australian Allstar Team.

Lynch began his senior hockey career at just 16 years old, playing forward for the A-grade Pirates from 1980 to 1982, participating in 32 games. In 1983, he represented Australia in the National Junior Team at the IIHF Under-20 World Championships under the guidance of coaches Glenn Williamson, Scott Davidson, and Ivan Brown. He returned to the squad in 1984, competing in Varese, Italy, with coaches Davidson and Craig Campbell.

That same year, he joined the Blackhawks, leading to a victory in the 1984 VIHA Premiership, which was the club's last championship until 2002. Lynch played with the Blackhawks until 1997, participating in 195 games in both A-grade and Reserve divisions. Although a forward, in 1987 he was awarded the state’s Best Defenseman award (Ben Acton Trophy). Coach Gary Croft started Lynch in defence to give him some more room, and so he was likely recorded on game sheets in that position. In 1993, he tied with Paul McCorquodale of the Saints for the Top Point Scorer award (Hugh Lloyd Trophy).

Over his 17-year senior career, Lynch played 236 local senior games, including nine for Hakoah in 1988. He maintained a physical playing style and represented his state in the Goodall Cup well into the 1990s, although he never won the trophy.

Around 1984, Lynch played for Assiniboine Community College in the MCAA in Brandon, Manitoba. He later played professional hockey in the German Oberliga Süd with EV Stuttgart during the club's second season in 1985-86. During that time, he scored 22 goals and provided 12 assists in 13 games, averaging 2.6 points per game and matching that in penalty minutes.

In 1986, Lynch contested the Goodall Cup coached by Charlie Grandy and represented Australia in the senior C-Pool of the IIHF World Championships, coached by David Fehily and Chuck Naish. On their way to Spain, the team competed against the Burnaby Beavers of the Royal City Hockey League, Canada. Lynch has faced criticism for prioritising his interests over his team in international competition, which contradicts the standards we promote.

The following year, Lynch returned to the Goodall squad and coached the Victorian under-18 team to the Tange Trophy, assisted by Tim Grandy. The Southern Californian Allstars from the USA participated by invitation. The Victorians defeated the ACT in the first semi-final, 8-0, and then triumphed over NSW, 6-4, in the Grand Final.

As a state inline hockey representative in 1995 and likely in other years, Glen Lynch's playing career spanned about 20 years. Considered by contemporaries Craig Campbell and Andrew Petrie to be the best locally born ice hockey player of his era, Campbell remarked in 2019, "If he had the chance to develop his game under a system designed to nurture players to reach their full potential, there is no telling how far he could have gone."