麻豆传媒

South Korea鈥檚 men鈥檚 hockey team has a distinctly Canadian flavour at the Winter Games in Pyeongchang, with six Canucks suiting up for the squad and a Canadian-raised coach behind the bench.

The Korean team is hoping an injection of dual-citizen Canadians will help it punch above its weight at the Games, where the host country is guaranteed a berth in the men鈥檚 hockey tournament.

Alex Plante, Matt Dalton, Michael Swift, Brock Radunske, Bryan Young, Eric Regan and Mike Testwuide are all donning the Korean colours this month in Pyeongchang, though they say there鈥檚 still a maple leaf in their hearts. Many of them moved to Korea years ago to play pro hockey, and have since become naturalized citizens so they can participate in the Games.

鈥淚 didn鈥檛 get invited to Canada鈥檚 camp,鈥� defenceman Alex Plante told 麻豆传媒. He added that he鈥檚 received some online criticism from Canadians calling him a 鈥渢raitor,鈥� but he says those individuals are just uneducated.

For Plante, the Olympics are the biggest stage he鈥檚 played on since appearing in a with the NHL鈥檚 Edmonton Oilers. The 28-year-old from Brandon, Man., was a first-round draft pick of the Oilers in 2007, but only appeared in 10 games over the course of three seasons. He eventually left for Austria to continue his pro hockey career, then joined an Asian pro team in 2015. He secured his South Korean citizenship last year ahead of the games.

鈥淚 had to say a speech in Korean,鈥� Plante said of his citizenship test. 鈥淢emorize a speech, at a podium with 20 other Koreans, and I memorized it to a tee,鈥� he said.

Plante鈥檚 teammate Brock Radunske was also a former Oilers prospect, though he never played a game in the NHL after being selected in the 2002 entry draft. The 34-year-old native of Kitchener, Ont., moved to South Korea a decade ago, and has become well-known there as a towering six-foot-four force on forward.

Ontario-born goalie Matt Dalton, 31, landed with the Korean team after playing three years in Russia鈥檚 Kontintental Hockey League.

鈥淚t鈥檚 been pretty cool,鈥� said Dalton, who was never drafted by an NHL team. 鈥淭he last few moments there鈥檝e been a few moments that kind of hit you where it鈥檚 like 鈥榃ow, this is actually happening.鈥欌��

Regan and Testwuide never played in the NHL, while skated in 17 games and registered no points in two seasons with the Oilers from 2006-2008.

But while the six Canadians never quite achieved the NHL stardom they once dreamed of, they do have a fine example to look up to in coach and former NHLer Jim Paek. The Korean-born, Canadian-raised Paek was the first South Korean to , and was part of the Pittsburgh Penguins鈥� back-to-back Stanley Cup-winning teams in 1991 and 鈥�92.

Paek says he sees nothing wrong with dipping into Canada鈥檚 deep pool of hockey talent to beef up South Korea鈥檚 roster, especially since many of the players have been in Korea for a long time anyway.

鈥淭hey鈥檝e been here longer than I鈥檝e been here,鈥� he said. 鈥淪o they are, in a sense, more Korean than I am.鈥�

Paek isn鈥檛 the only Canadian product leading the charge for hockey in South Korea. The women鈥檚 team is coached by Canadian-American Sarah Murray, daughter of former NHL coach Andy Murray. The unified team of North and South Korean players also features Canadians Danielle Im and Caroline Park.

South Korea only has approximately 100 professional hockey players, and speed skating tends to be more popular among its population, so it鈥檚 no surprise the country would tap foreign-born pros to bolster their ranks. Italy did the same when it hosted the Winter Games in 2006, with nine Canadians and two Americans rounding out its 25-player men鈥檚 team.