Yoonho Chung, 18, is representing Korea for the first time. "it's special," he says.
photo: © INTERNATIONAL ICE HOCKEY FEDERATION / JANA PIPAR
Keeping up with the Korean team is not easy. First of all, the players are very fast, and they move the puck well, but there are also cultural differences that can be hard to track from the stands (or the press box).
For example, there are five players with the last name “Kim” on the team, and two more behind the bench. And then there are six Lees (and another one on the staff).
And yet, on the team’s sweaters, the names are what the IIHF, for example, lists as the players’ first names.
“I know,” says Korea’s GM Kwangeun Choi with a chuckle. “But we have so many players with the same last name, and even with first names beginning with the same letter so we did it this way.”
Naturally, for a team that got relegated from the Division 1A last season, the goal is to make a swift return there.
“Of course,” Choi says. “I have to say that before the tournament, I thought we’d make a trip to Estonia and earn our promotion without too much trouble but having seen the teams here, I’m not as confident. I mean, I still believe we’ll win the group, but maybe not as easily as I expected. The level of play has been very good.”
The Korean GM can certainly be pleased with his team’s play in the first half of the tournament. He can also afford to give compliments to the other teams. After all, Korea is one of two undefeated teams still standing – the other one is Lithuania – and even the early problems with scoring were wiped away in their game against Spain in which they scored nine times.
And yet, Korea has outshot its three opponents, Croatia, China, and Spain, 131-49. Oddly enough, in the game in which the shot difference was the narrowest (32-18 against Spain), they scored nine goals.
Currently, only three skaters on the team haven’t been recorded with a point in the tournament, with Sangwook Kim leading the team in scoring, with six points in three games. The 37-year-old team captain finished third in the Asia League scoring, with 41 points in 32 games with HL Anyang.
Sangwook Kim has another twelve HL Anyang teammates on the Korean team in Tallinn. Seven of the players play in North American leagues, and two in Korean universities.
One of the new faces in Tallinn is 18-year-old defenseman Yoonho Chung who plays in the NAHL, a US junior league just below the USHL. He made his national team debut in the team’s pre-tournament games and now has five games under his belt. With two assists in the three games in Tallinn, he’s looking to score his first goal for Korea.
His career path has been the opposite of a long and winding road.
“I was playing roller hockey and when a friend of mine wanted to play ice hockey, I tagged along,” Chung says. “I was in the third grade then.”
A few years later, the family moved to the US, partly due to his father’s work, but also for Yoonho to be able to pursue his hockey and academic dreams. He switched from forward to defenseman, and is now in the IIHF Div1B tournament, building on a resume that he hopes will take him on an Ivy League school.
“It’s special to get to represent my country. I’m the youngest player on the team so I have a lot to learn, and have learned a lot already,” Chung says. “Our style is similar to the one I’m used to but here everyone’s stronger. The coach has been helping me a lot, too.”
Chung’s path to the Korean national team is something GM Kwangeun Choi would like to see even more players take.
“With Yoonho, we had only watched him on video, but we knew he was good, He’s calm, and he moves the puck well,” he says.
“We keep track of the international transfers, so we know which Koreans are playing abroad and as soon as they reach a level that we know is good, we invite them to the national team program.”
Hockey isn’t a huge sport in Korea and according to Choi, it’s practically only played in the Seoul region. On the other hand, the nation’s capital is huge and with its 26 million people, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the world.
A promotion back to Div1A would be good for the game’s future, says the GM. With it, he hopes, would come some new financing and support for the program. For example, games against European teams.
“We’ve built relationships with Hungary, Italy, and Denmark, for example, and we’ve made stops in Kazakhstan on our way to Europe, but we’d need to play more games, and that’s another reason why we’d like to see our players in American leagues.”
Two more wins in Tallinn will help.
For example, there are five players with the last name “Kim” on the team, and two more behind the bench. And then there are six Lees (and another one on the staff).
And yet, on the team’s sweaters, the names are what the IIHF, for example, lists as the players’ first names.
“I know,” says Korea’s GM Kwangeun Choi with a chuckle. “But we have so many players with the same last name, and even with first names beginning with the same letter so we did it this way.”
Naturally, for a team that got relegated from the Division 1A last season, the goal is to make a swift return there.
“Of course,” Choi says. “I have to say that before the tournament, I thought we’d make a trip to Estonia and earn our promotion without too much trouble but having seen the teams here, I’m not as confident. I mean, I still believe we’ll win the group, but maybe not as easily as I expected. The level of play has been very good.”
The Korean GM can certainly be pleased with his team’s play in the first half of the tournament. He can also afford to give compliments to the other teams. After all, Korea is one of two undefeated teams still standing – the other one is Lithuania – and even the early problems with scoring were wiped away in their game against Spain in which they scored nine times.
And yet, Korea has outshot its three opponents, Croatia, China, and Spain, 131-49. Oddly enough, in the game in which the shot difference was the narrowest (32-18 against Spain), they scored nine goals.
Currently, only three skaters on the team haven’t been recorded with a point in the tournament, with Sangwook Kim leading the team in scoring, with six points in three games. The 37-year-old team captain finished third in the Asia League scoring, with 41 points in 32 games with HL Anyang.
Sangwook Kim has another twelve HL Anyang teammates on the Korean team in Tallinn. Seven of the players play in North American leagues, and two in Korean universities.
One of the new faces in Tallinn is 18-year-old defenseman Yoonho Chung who plays in the NAHL, a US junior league just below the USHL. He made his national team debut in the team’s pre-tournament games and now has five games under his belt. With two assists in the three games in Tallinn, he’s looking to score his first goal for Korea.
His career path has been the opposite of a long and winding road.
“I was playing roller hockey and when a friend of mine wanted to play ice hockey, I tagged along,” Chung says. “I was in the third grade then.”
A few years later, the family moved to the US, partly due to his father’s work, but also for Yoonho to be able to pursue his hockey and academic dreams. He switched from forward to defenseman, and is now in the IIHF Div1B tournament, building on a resume that he hopes will take him on an Ivy League school.
“It’s special to get to represent my country. I’m the youngest player on the team so I have a lot to learn, and have learned a lot already,” Chung says. “Our style is similar to the one I’m used to but here everyone’s stronger. The coach has been helping me a lot, too.”
Chung’s path to the Korean national team is something GM Kwangeun Choi would like to see even more players take.
“With Yoonho, we had only watched him on video, but we knew he was good, He’s calm, and he moves the puck well,” he says.
“We keep track of the international transfers, so we know which Koreans are playing abroad and as soon as they reach a level that we know is good, we invite them to the national team program.”
Hockey isn’t a huge sport in Korea and according to Choi, it’s practically only played in the Seoul region. On the other hand, the nation’s capital is huge and with its 26 million people, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the world.
A promotion back to Div1A would be good for the game’s future, says the GM. With it, he hopes, would come some new financing and support for the program. For example, games against European teams.
“We’ve built relationships with Hungary, Italy, and Denmark, for example, and we’ve made stops in Kazakhstan on our way to Europe, but we’d need to play more games, and that’s another reason why we’d like to see our players in American leagues.”
Two more wins in Tallinn will help.