With the NHL trade deadline coming up, most teams are just over the halfway point of the NHL's 56-game season - a quick update on various players of Asian descent.
2021 Mid-Season Update
Category: AHL
Record Number of NHL Players of Asian Descent to Start 2021
At the beginning of the 2021 NHL season, there are a record eight players of Asian descent on a NHL roster - a significant increase from the five players of Asian descent at the beginning of the previous 2019-2020 season. These include: Matt Dumba (RD, Minnesota Wild): A top-pairing NHL defenseman and co-founder of the… Continue reading Record Number of NHL Players of Asian Descent to Start 2021
Sam Kim Hired as Leafs’ Video and Coaching Coordinator
Most recently the Video Coach for the Edmonton Oilers' AHL affiliate, Sam Kim will be joining the Toronto Maple Leafs as their Video and Coaching Coordinator as the next step for one of the most unique careers in hockey. Kim's first position in hockey was interning for the New York Islanders, working as the team's… Continue reading Sam Kim Hired as Leafs’ Video and Coaching Coordinator
2019-20 Season Overview: Crossroads for Many Players of Asian Descent
An overview of hockey players of Asian descent for the 2019-20 season.
Profile: Yutaka Fukufuji
On January 13th, 2009, Fukufuji relieved Barry Brust to start the third period for the Los Angeles Kings in an eventual 6-5 loss against the St. Louis Blues, becoming the first Japanese national to play in the NHL. Born in Kushiro on the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido, Fukufuji spent his formative years with Kokudo,… Continue reading Profile: Yutaka Fukufuji
Profile: Ryan Kuwabara
Kuwabara is currently the Assistant Coach of the Saginaw Spirit in the Ontario Hockey League after an 18-year professional career. He is a third-generation Japanese-Canadian and was born in Hamilton, ON in 1972. In 1989, Kuwabara was drafted by the Ottawa 67's eighth overall in the OHL draft. He would spend the next three seasons… Continue reading Profile: Ryan Kuwabara
Profile: Robin Bawa
Bawa was the first NHL player of South Asian descent when he played for the Washington Capitals in the 1990-91 season. Born on Vancouver Island in 1966, Bawa started playing hockey on an outdoor pond behind his father's store and played minor hockey in Cowichan Valley. In 1982, he started major junior with the Kamloops… Continue reading Profile: Robin Bawa
First Goals: Yamamoto, Pu, and Ang
2018 saw a number of firsts for players of Asian descent, including Kailer Yamamoto's first NHL goal and first AHL goals for Cliff Pu and Jonathan Ang. A first-round draft pick of the Edmonton Oilers in 2017, winger Kailer Yamamoto scored his first NHL goal on October 18th against the Boston Bruins. Yamamoto received a… Continue reading First Goals: Yamamoto, Pu, and Ang
Profile: Steve Tsujiura
The MVP of the Western Hockey League in 1980-81, Steve Tsujiura was one of the most prolific scorers in junior and minor hockey. Tsujiura was born in 1962 in Coaldale, a small town in the Canadian prairies. After two seasons in the Alberta Junior Hockey League with the Taber Golden Suns where he compiled 143… Continue reading Profile: Steve Tsujiura
