Hockey League Oasis in Korea Is Platform for All

Andrew Maio of the Black Ambers, left, takes a shot as Peter Stavrou of the McNally's tries to deflect it at Saturday's Big Rock Hockey League playoff tournament at Olympic Park. Canada Ball Hockey Korea celebrated the end of its third season at Big Rock Brewery this past weekend.

/ Courtesy of Evan Nash

By Matthew Graveline
Contributing Writer

Saturday night might have been confusing for Koreans in Gangnam as 120 expats with long curved sticks converged on the Big Rock Brewery.

The expats were heading to the year-end banquet for the Canada Ball Hockey Korea (CBHK).

The ball hockey organization, which plays at the Olympic Park, marked the end of its third season with many things to celebrate.

As one of the fastest growing expat organizations, the league has seen many new changes.

There have been additional sponsors from Big Rock Brewery in Gangnam to the Rocky Mountain Tavern in Itaewon to legal and chiropractic clinics.

But the most exciting change, said Kurt De Vries, executive director of the CBHK, is the players themselves.

This season marked an increase in players and teams seeing numbers go from the high 80s to 120 players. With an increase in bodies, the league also welcomed two new teams, the Rock Creek Rockers and the Rocky Mountain Tavern Mounties.

This season, which ran from September to mid-December, also marked the first time where the expats genuinely came from all walks of life.

Jeff Lumsdon is an English teacher who initially came over to Korea to visit his brother. He has now been here for almost five years.

This season, he captained the Warthogs, one of the teams in the Big Rock Hockey League.

He said he didn't know it at the time but he drafted a very interesting mix of players.

"Captaining a team whose players come from a variety of backgrounds helped me get a better understanding of the importance of the CBHK. Where at one time I assumed the interest of the league appealed solely to English teachers, I now realize the scope of this league attracts professionals of all industries, looking for a taste of home," he said.

Mike Ganagher was posted to the Canadian Embassy in Seoul this past August.

He moved here with his wife and three kids. After playing ball hockey this past summer in Ottawa, he found out about CBHK through an expat Web site and decided to join.

As the senior trade commissioner for the embassy, he wasn't able to make every game but as his son said the league was good for his father as it kept him out of trouble.

"CBHK is a well-organized league," he said. "In comparison to the league I played with in Ottawa, there is a higher degree of coordination ― and stats get updated more regularly online."

As CBHK has grown so has the league's Web site: www.cbhk.org. There is now a section which features photos, a discussion board and now a bi-weekly newsletter, the Score, which features many different pieces written by the members.

John Warner, another player for the Warthogs was on the team's first line as the left wing. But when he is not playing with CBHK he sings for a living.

Warner is the singing guitarist at Bar Rouge at JW Marriott near the Express Bus Terminal. As a contractual entertainer, he has played all over Asia.

As a native of Quebec, Canada, he started playing ball hockey at age nine after realizing he had hockey sense and passing ability but his shooting and skating were not that great.

"Back home I used to play three to four times a week. Hockey's a part of me as it is with most Canadians I know," he said. Living in the hotel where he works from 4:30 p.m. to 12:15 a.m. singing everyday, Warner was looking for something else to fulfill his time. Then after searching for "Ball Hockey" online, he found the CBHK.

He said his first impression was surprising.

"The perfect mix of camaraderie and competitiveness; it's not so serious that girls can't play or that you fear you might not make it back to work the next day," he said. "It is almost too good to be true; I mean sponsors, actual teams with jerseys, tryouts! Are you kidding me?"

But none of the Warthogs' success, said Warner, could have come without the help of their goalie.

John Gibson came over to Korea three years ago with his wife, Kim Hweh Kyung.

As an English teacher in Canada, when his wife suggested they move to Korea to be closer to her family for a while and to experience the country, Gibson had no problem with it. He now is an English elementary school teacher in the Gangnam area of Seoul. His experience with hockey was a little more competitive than his teammates.

"I played hockey from three years old to 21 years old. I represented my town team as a kid and played junior hockey in the area," he said.

But as an ex-Junior B goalie when Gibson hits the rink he changes his name to "Silver Fox," for the color of his hair, which reflects his age and ability between the pipes.

"I think the thing that makes the CBHK special is that not only do we get to play some fun hockey and limber up those old muscles. We also get to hang out Canadian style," he said. "Korean life Canadian style for an afternoon once a week is awesome."

graveline.matthew@gmail.com