AUCKLAND – Bert Haines holds the record. He is the most capped captain of the New Zealand Ice Blacks.

By the end of the 2017 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship Division II Group B on home ice in Auckland, Haines captained New Zealand in 30 games and been in charge for six World Championship campaigns.

Haines, a 36-year-old business owner in hospitality at Queenstown, became captain of the Ice Blacks at the World Championship event in Iceland in 2012.

“It’s a huge honour whether you have one game or 30 as captain,” Haines said.

He was told the news during a training camp in Austria before the championships started at Reykjavik.

“It came as a surprise because it was only my third year in the team,” Haines said. “It was an amazing feeling to put the “C” on my sweater.”

The Ice Blacks lost that first game 4-0 to the host country at Reykjavik.

Haines, a defender, was given sound advice after he was named captain and he has adhered to it.

“I like to lead by example and try not to change who I am,” he said. “I let the boys do their thing and prepare the way they are used to.

“But I demand a high work rate from them on the ice and make sure that everybody is ready to compete and in the right frame of mind for the match.”

The tactics for any game have been worked out beforehand by the coaching staff but he is aware if any change is needed on the ice.

“We just go about our business,” Haines said. “I have not yet decided if I will make myself available again next year.”

Haines, who grew up at Saskatoon, Canada, visited New Zealand as a tourist 14 years ago, liked it, and stayed.

“When I was growing up in Canada my best mate’s Dad was a Kiwi who immigrated to Canada,” he said. “I always wanted to travel to New Zealand.

“I visited Queenstown for the alpine and snowboarding experience.”

But to his surprise Haines discovered that Queenstown had its own ice hockey team and he ended up staying in the tourist town.

He was a member of Southern Stampede that won the first two New Zealand Ice Hockey League titles in 2005 and 2006.

But it was a long wait for his third title when he captained the team in 2015. He added a fourth last year.

“It was a lot of years between wins,” Haines said. “The third win was special for me and I was really excited.”

Haines will captain the Ice Blacks in a home town test series against Australia at Queenstown during the New Zealand Winter Games later this year.

“Ice hockey is the top sport in Queenstown,” Haines said. “We are the only sport that represents Queenstown on a national scale and we have a good following and get very good crowds for home games.”

When he was growing up in Canada, Haines dreamed of competing for Canada at the Winter Olympics.

If New Zealand qualified one day he would jump at the chance of competing. And he backs the players in North America who want to go to the Olympics.

“Yeah I would be in 100 per cent,” Haines said. “I think the NHL is making a very poor decision in not letting its players compete next year.

“The best players in the world should be competing on the best stage in the world. I really feel for those players. It is a greater honour to play for your country than just for a team that pays you money.”

The most experienced player in the New Zealand team is Andrew Hay, who has now played a record 62 games for the Ice Blacks.

The previous record was held by former captain Corey Down who played 51 tests.

Hay, 31, first represented New Zealand at under-18 level in 2001/02 and is playing in his 13th successive senior world championship.

He was the Ice Blacks alternate captain for seven campaigns and was named the best defenceman at the 2007 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship Division III.

“I’m a stay-at-home defenceman. My job is to make sure the other team does not score,” Hay said. “I like the physical stuff but try to play smart. I think I have a typical defenceman’s mentality.”

Ice hockey is an amateur game for most members of the Ice Blacks team and Hay has to fit hockey training and games around his 40-hour week job at the bank.

He lives at Auckland and relished the chance to play in the World Championship on his home ice at the Botany Swarm club.

“Andy is an amazing contributor to our team,” Haines said. “He has a lot of experience and knowledge and is very good at keeping the atmosphere in the team light-hearted and the camaraderie alive.

“He’s the best definition of a team guy I know. He always puts the team first. Andy’s a great guy for hockey.”

Three of the Hay brothers were in the Ice Blacks squad at Auckland. The others were Josh, 28, and Oliver, 19.

A sister, Libby-Jean, plays for the Ice Fernz as the New Zealand women’s national team is called.

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ALISTAIR MCMURRAN