The 20-year-old Canadian has brought slightly more than a change of undies and socks along with him on his big OE in New Zealand.
He packed his ice hockey kit and that is a considerable load.
When he was planning to come out for an adventure, he decided to contact the New Zealand ice hockey teams to see if there was any interest.
The Dunedin Thunder took the bait, and it was a lucky play.
In eight games, the talented forward has slapped in three goals and made three assists.
He is loving it, too.
"I finished school in February and I just really wanted to travel the world and do some backpacking," he said.
"New Zealand was No1 on my list.
"I got in touch with Gui [Thunder coach Guillaume Leclancher] just a few weeks before I came over here and he said I could try it out and see what it is like.
"So I thought I may as well haul my hockey bag across the world."
He was not sure whether it would work out, but it certainly has.
The Thunder struggled earlier in the season but has put in some competitive performances in the past few games.
The team registered a breakthrough win over the Admirals in Dunedin earlier this month and was competitive against the same opponent in Auckland last weekend.
The Thunder experienced some travel delays but rallied, losing 1-0 and 7-5.
The Thunder will host the top-of-the-table Swarm in games tonight and tomorrow.
It will be a stiff challenge for the home team but Ellis felt it had made real progress.
"They are definitively going to be two of our tougher games, probably. It is nice that we are home for these ones.
"I think we’ve been playing really well recently. I’ve seen a lot of good things out of our team in the last couple of weeks and I think we are really going to give them a good run this weekend."
Ellis has been impressed with the standard of the league.
"It is a lot different than I was expecting, actually. It is really competitive.
"The league back home is pretty physical and it is pretty similar here.
"I guess it is a little less skilled but it is still really competitive and I don’t really notice it that much."
When Ellis is not on the ice, he is on the golf course or chasing waves.
"I’m just kind of hanging out with the guys and living the college life without going to college."
Come to think of it, he is actually pretty unencumbered.
