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Hockey players are generally from cold, hockey-centric regions, but a handful of fantastic players were born in much more, ahem, exotic and surprising locations across the globe. Here are some hockey players who made names for themselves in unlikely places.
Rod Langway (Taipei, Taiwan)
The Hockey Hall of Fame defenseman and Stanley Cup champion was born in Taiwan while his father was stationed there in the military, but was raised in Massachusetts. I grew up with Carl Yastrzemski and the Carlton Fisk situation came up the other day, Langway said while talking about his Massachusetts upbringing.
Source: The Washington Post — Rod Langway interview
Olie Kolzig (Johannesburg, South Africa)
The longtime Washington Capitals goalie was born to German parents in South Africa’s largest city before moving to Canada as a kid. I was born in South Africa, which isn’t really a hotbed of hockey, said Kolzig in an interview earlier this year.
Source: InGoal Magazine — Olie Kolzig interview
Robyn Regehr (Recife, Brazil) & Richie Regehr (Bandung, Indonesia)
Born to missionary parents, the brothers spent their earliest years in South America and Southeast Asia before later moving back to Canada to make it to the NHL. Regehr called his family’s overseas years a really cool experience, noting that his parents were in Brazil as missionaries, then later moved the family to Indonesia.
Source: Barn Burner interview with Robyn Regehr
Jim Paek & Park (Seoul, South Korea)
Born in the South Korean capital, Paek was the first Korean-born player to skate in the NHL, as well as the first Korean-born Stanley Cup champ, in 1992 with the Pittsburgh Penguins. He fondly remembers his first touch of hockey as a kid: “Building snowmen on the ice. That is how I started. My dad wanted us to do hockey.”
Source: NHL.com — Jim Paek and South Korean hockey
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