Despite a chaotic 2020-2021 season, there were a number of standout performance by players of Asian descent in the North American junior leagues this year.
Centreman Trevor Wong (WHL Kelowna Rockets) is the likeliest junior player of Asian descent to hear his name called at this year’s NHL draft. Wong led the Rockets in scoring and is ranked as a mid-round pick by most major prospect evaluators, one of which was Scott Wheeler, who said:
[Wong] was nightmare fuel on the minor hockey circuit (I’ve been hearing his name for years). Only he got to play this year and actually show that he could take steps towards getting to that level in junior, posting 16 points in as many games as Kelowna’s leading scorer in their shortened season in the WHL. Wong’s a dexterous player who always seems to re-find the puck when it’s briefly bumped off of him or sticks crowd in. He also plays hard, flies around the sheet, and loves to be in the fight in the guts of the ice.
Scott Wheeler (The Athletic, 2021)
Major Junior
Defensemen Jordan Spence (LAK 4th round 2019) and Alex Kannok-Leipert (WAS 6th round 2018) led their teams from opposite ends of the country, while forward Arshdeep Bains (WHL Red Deer Rebels) was also a major contributor for his team in this abbreviated season. All OHL teams had their seasons cancelled.
| Last Name | First Name | Position | Team | GP | G | A | TP | League |
| Panwar | Sahil | F | Flint Firebirds | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | OHL |
| Wong | Nicholas | C | Kingston Frontenacs | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | OHL |
| Bains | Arshdeep | F | Red Deer Rebels | 23 | 8 | 13 | 21 | WHL |
| Kannok-Leipert | Alex | D | Vancouver Giants | 22 | 7 | 11 | 18 | WHL |
| Wong | Trevor | C | Kelowna Rockets | 16 | 6 | 10 | 16 | WHL |
| Lee | Brendan | F | Everett Silvertips | 17 | 2 | 4 | 6 | WHL |
| Nguyen | Marcus | RW | Portland Winterhawks | 16 | 1 | 1 | 2 | WHL |
| Ng | Matthew | F | Everett Silvertips | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | WHL |
| Sadhra-Kang | Kayden | D | Lethbridge Hurricanes | 9 | 0 | 1 | 1 | WHL |
| May | Sammy | F | Saskatoon Blades | 11 | 0 | 1 | 1 | WHL |
| Spence | Jordan | D | Val-d’Or Foreurs | 32 | 10 | 30 | 40 | QMJHL |
NCAA
NCAA teams were able to have a more complete season south of the border, and centreman Oliver Chau (NCAA UMass) won a NCAA Division 1 National Championship as the team’s second-leading scorer. Centreman Jordan Kawaguchi (NCAA University of North Dakota) had another stellar season, captaining his team to the national semi-finals, before starting his professional career with the Texas Stars of the AHL (DAL).
| Last Name | First Name | Position | Team | GP | G | A | TP | League |
| Kawaguchi | Jordan | C | Univ. of North Dakota | 28 | 10 | 26 | 36 | NCAA |
| Chau | Oliver | C | UMass | 29 | 5 | 22 | 27 | NCAA |
| Okabe | Zachary | RW | St. Cloud State Univ. | 30 | 6 | 16 | 22 | NCAA |
| Hirose | Akito | D | Minnesota State Univ. (Mankato) | 28 | 1 | 14 | 15 | NCAA |
| Miura | Yuki | C | Lake Superior State Univ. | 29 | 4 | 8 | 12 | NCAA |
| Inamoto | Tyler | D | Univ. of Wisconsin | 26 | 1 | 8 | 9 | NCAA |
| Sato | Kohei | LW | Univ. of New Hampshire | 22 | 1 | 7 | 8 | NCAA |
| Lee | Jayden | D | Quinnipiac Univ. | 23 | 2 | 5 | 7 | NCAA |
| Sandhu | Jordan | C | Arizona State Univ. | 26 | 2 | 5 | 7 | NCAA |
| Yoon | Bryan | D | Colorado College | 19 | 1 | 1 | 2 | NCAA |
| Suzuki | Madoka | LW | Long Island Univ. | 8 | 0 | 1 | 1 | NCAA |
| Kim | Noah | D | Air Force Academy | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | NCAA |
| Sasaki | Chad | D | Colorado College | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | NCAA |
| Groll | Josh | F | Univ. of Michigan | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | NCAA |
| Zhong | Peter | LW | Arizona State Univ. | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | NCAA |
Junior A
Centreman Austin Wong (EDM 7th round 2018) spent a year in the USHL after his NCAA team Harvard cancelled their season. Defenseman David Ma (USHL Chicago Steel) was ranked a late-round pick in last year’s NHL draft, although eventually went undrafted and won a USHL championship this year. He has an outside shot of joining Wong as a NHL draftee, as do forwards Yusaku Ando (USHL Youngstown Phantoms) and Yu Sato (USHL Lincoln Stars).
| Last Name | First Name | Position | Team | GP | G | A | TP | League |
| Schleppe | Tyler | F | Coquitlam Express | 20 | 11 | 11 | 22 | BCHL |
| Yan | Juncheng | F | Victoria Grizzlies | 20 | 6 | 13 | 19 | BCHL |
| Ho | Tyler | RW | Penticton Vees | 19 | 7 | 6 | 13 | BCHL |
| Lui | Corey | D | Cowichan Valley Capitals | 16 | 1 | 2 | 3 | BCHL |
| Sandhu | Chase | F | West Kelowna Warriors | 17 | 0 | 2 | 2 | BCHL |
| Yee | William | D | Coquitlam Express | 15 | 0 | 1 | 1 | BCHL |
| Chan | Ezra | D | Salmon Arm Silverbacks | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | BCHL |
| Wong | Jonathan | D | Nanaimo Clippers | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | BCHL |
| Wang | Brendan | D | Fort McMurray Oil Barons | 15 | 1 | 12 | 13 | AJHL |
| Chu | Jason | D | Calgary Canucks | 14 | 1 | 5 | 6 | AJHL |
| Kim | Hoon | D | Olds Grizzlys | 14 | 2 | 2 | 4 | AJHL |
| Chin | Cameron | D | Canmore Eagles | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | AJHL |
| Woo | Kyle | F | Calgary Canucks | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | AJHL |
| Wong | Austin | C | Fargo Force | 49 | 15 | 9 | 24 | USHL |
| Ando | Yusaku | F | Youngstown Phantoms | 45 | 8 | 15 | 23 | USHL |
| Sato | Yu | LW | Lincoln Stars | 48 | 4 | 12 | 16 | USHL |
| Ma | David | D | Chicago Steel | 38 | 3 | 8 | 11 | USHL |
| Ali | Brennan | C | USNTDP Juniors | 11 | 1 | 1 | 2 | USHL |
Asian Americans in Hockey 
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