South Korean nationals continue journey at Stars camp

Kye Hoon Park used to pick a lot of fights as a kid growing up in Gyeongsang, South Korea.

One of his elementary school teachers noticed the trend and thought he might have an outlet for Park’s aggression.

“If you’re going to get in fights, then just play hockey,” Park said his teacher told him.

A decade or so later, Park, a goaltender, would find himself minding the net on the Dallas Stars’ practice rink in Frisco as an invitee to the organization’s development camp.

Park is one of three South Korean players to take part in this week’s prospect camp as part of an agreement between Stars general manager Jim Nill and the new director of the Korean National Hockey Federation and head coach of the Korean national team, Jim Paek.

Paek, the first Korean-born player to play in the NHL and have his name engraved on the Stanley Cup, gave Nill a call in November looking to place a few of his top young players in NHL development camps as a part of an effort to form a Korean national team for the 2018 Winter Olympic Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea.

“It’s very important for Korea to be in the Olympics because it’s not a big deal in Korea,” forward Jinhui Ahn said. “For Korea to have hockey in the Olympics is kind of a big deal to raise awareness.”

Nill was happy to oblige.

Nill and Paek worked together in the Detroit Red Wings organization when Paek was the assistant coach for the Grand Rapids Griffins, the Red Wings’ AHL affiliate.

“They’re great kids, great people off the ice,” Nill said. “On the ice, they’ve been as good as anyone else and played really well.”

Alongside Park, a student-athlete for Korea University, are two teammates from Anyang Halla in the nine-team Asia League, Ahn and defenseman Wonjun Kim, who are slated as top prospects to make the 2018 national roster should Korea manage to make a squad and qualify.

The gap in skill is large between hockey in Korea and national teams from powerhouse countries such as Canada, America and Russia, but the thought of competing against the world’s best didn’t intimidate any of the developing hockey talents.

“Step by step we should go up,” Kim said. “We’re trying hard and I think we are getting better every day. I believe someday, we can play in the top division league. That is my hope.”

Standing at 5-foot-11 and 179 pounds, Kim said the most difficult adjustment is accounting for the size and strength of North American players. Hailing from a country that excels in speed skating, he focuses on speed and finesse to maneuver around the bulkier NHL prospects.

The experience in the short week the Dallas Stars had with the international players has been eye-opening to the growth and development of the sport of hockey around the world.

“I think on the flip side, for our prospects, they get to meet some other people and see a little culture change and it’s good for everybody,” Nill said.

“It’s a worldwide game now,” he said.

This story was originally published July 9, 2015 at 7:59 PM with the headline "South Korean nationals continue journey at Stars camp."