Devlin’s Cairns Hockey stint on hold
THE opportunity to explore more of Australia and play hockey in a new part of the world attracted Kayla Devlin to Cairns at the start of the year.
But the defender may have played her last game for Saints after a near total shutdown of sport in Far North Queensland, and across the country.
The American has spent the past two years playing in Melbourne, but a desire to explore FNQ led Devlin to reach out through her contact base for a new home in 2020.
“I wanted a change of scenery and thought hockey could take me somewhere else and I had a couple of connections up here so I reached out to them,” Devlin, 24, said.
It worked out, with Devlin moving to FNQ to play for Saints and work with Cairns Hockey until at least the expiration of her current visa.
That work included delivering school programs, clinics, and tutoring maths – two of which now appear off the table. Her stint may have lasted just two games, with Cairns Hockey postponing the season until at least May 6, as recommended by Hockey Queensland.
In taking such action, Cairns Hockey general operations manager Kym McPheeSmith said in a statement that the health and wellbeing of the hockey community was the main goal, and competition would only resume on the advice of health authorities.
“This is an extremely challenging time for everyone involved within the Cairns Hockey community,” she said.
For Devlin, who is from Maryland, Washington, and played college hockey at Delaware, her brief experience playing in Cairns allowed a deeper understanding of the difference in playing style between her country and Australia.
“Australians have a bit more … attacking mindset,” she said. “It’s more of a chess match in the US, here, it’s still calculated but attack-driven.”
Her future, and that of Cairns Hockey’s other imports, is now up in the air as the coronavirus crisis continues. Some players have returned home, while other players’ travel is uncertain.