Point Mallard Ducks enter hockey ice

Madison residents Steven Butler, left, and Cameron Hamblett are members of the North American 3 Hockey League team the Point Mallard Ducks, off to a 13-2 start and leading the Southern Division. (Photo by Don Hamblett)

By Mike Easterling

For the Record

MADISON – Point Mallard’s entry in the North American 3 Hockey League has a roster with strong national and international flavors.

The Decatur-based Ducks feature players from the likes of Florida and New Jersey and one from Hungary.

There are also three players from Madison who helped the Ducks skate into first place in the league’s South Division with a 13-2 record heading into a Veteran’s Day 1 p.m. game against Nashville at the Point Mallard Ice Complex.

“We have so many players with different strengths and we work well together,” said former Bob Jones High School student Cameron Hamblett, a 19-year-old forward for the Ducks who graduated from prep school.

Other local players on the Point Mallard roster are forward Stephen Butler, 19, who attended Discovery Middle before heading north for hockey-playing schools; and goalie Gary Glassman, 18, a Bob Jones graduate.

The Ducks are owned by Total Package Hockey and its president is former UAH player Nathan Bowen. The team’s coach is junior league veteran Tim Winkler.

The NA3HL is a 34-member Tier III junior league that Butler said is “one of the very best in the country.” Squads range from New York to Montana.

Don Hamblett, the Ducks’ director of communication, said the program’s goal is to help the players move on to college by providing competition and preparation for entrance exams.

“Player development doesn’t just include ice time,” he said.

The Ducks have 19 more home games before the national playoffs begin in March.