The Australians won five of their seven games, which included victories over powerhouses Germany, Holland and Belgium.

But it was Paterson’s performance early in the tour that set tongues wagging when he was voted best on field in a 4-2 win over the Germans.

“In the first practice match I got man of the match for the game,” he said.

“Goalies don’t usually get man of the match so I was pretty shocked and didn’t know what to do when they announced it.

“But overall, the boys played pretty good and I was just lucky enough to get voted by my teammates as players’ player.”

His overall performance throughout the tour also impressed other team’s coaches.

Now, the teenager has been offered a position to return and play once his school commitments in Port Macquarie are over.

“We found one of the German blokes who asked me to come back and play a bit over there,” he said.

“I’ll have to get in contact to find out when I can go back after school which will be in a couple of months. It will be a good experience to go back.

“I never thought something like that would happen, but now the opportunity has come up I’d like to go over there and play some more hockey.

“I know you’ve got to travel if you want to be good at this sport.”

The overall hockey experience was “completely different” to what Paterson was used to on the Mid-North Coast of New South Wales.

“Hockey is pretty much their life which is a lot different to here,” he said.

“The games had atmosphere, there were flares and music during some of their games which was a bit wild.”

Throughout the entire tour, the 17-year-old only conceded five goals – two of which were in the first game.

He said the three-week tour also included other aspects outside of hockey and there was one experience he will remember for a long time to come.

“The Nazi concentration camp stood out because you got to see the real story of what happened which was pretty eye-opening,” he said.

“We also went to different war sites which was pretty good.”

For now, the talented goalkeeper was focused on completing the season for Tacking Point Thunder.

Who knows what the 2018 season will have in store.