Greatest Asian Player

PaulKariya

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Jun 4, 2007
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I think you have to say Paul Kariya, although he is only half of Japan decent (the other half is Scottish) I think he already broke the Asian barrier for players like Fukufuji. I think he is the best Asian player, not saying he won a Cup yet, but he has put of some great numbers.
 

skeena1

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May 15, 2006
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Paul Kariya

His father was Japanese and his mother is Scottish I believe.

I say was because sadly his father passed away a few years ago.

His Dad, T.K.,was also a member of the Canadian National Rugby team at one time.
 

revolverjgw

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Oct 6, 2003
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I don't understand the obssession in these forums with players having Stanley Cup rings. Yes, Paek was fortunate enough to be on 2 championship teams. However, after he left Pittsburgh, he didn't last too long in the NHL. On virtually every championship team, there are fringe players who were in the right place at the right time. But that doesn't make them great players. The title of this thread is Greatest Asian player. To name Paek and Kariya in the same sentence is a joke. There's no comparison. The only discussion should be whether some parts of Russia are considered to be part of Asia, and thus whether some Russian players should be named in the mix.

Jim Paek is on a level with Bobby Orr, and just above Ray Bourque.
 

Big McLargehuge

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May 9, 2002
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wait- stop the thread.

Steve McKenna was a CAPTAIN???!

He was captain for one game and it wasn't an official captaincy (you won't find it listed in the Penguins media guide). It was only because it was for one of those charity things where each team's captain's jersey was auctioned off. With Lemieux out of the line-up the Penguins had to afix the 'C' to someone's jersey at the last second. McKenna went from a blank jersey, to a 'C', to a blank jersey.



And technically Sergei Gonchar has a claim for this title... :sarcasm:

Chelyabinsk is technically on the Asian side of Russia. Gonchar has joked around calling himself the best Asian player in the NHL at times.
 

sandman08

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Dec 12, 2003
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i know malhotra's is of Punjabi/Indian background but are there any other players in the league or minor leagues or whatever that is indian or from the indian sub-continent (india, pakistan, bangladesh)
 

Levizk

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Feb 12, 2007
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I think you have to say Paul Kariya, although he is only half of Japan decent (the other half is Scottish) I think he already broke the Asian barrier for players like Fukufuji. I think he is the best Asian player, not saying he won a Cup yet, but he has put of some great numbers.

Broke the Asian barrier? Paul Kariya is a Canadian first off, and there were Asian players in the league before him. Besides a barrier implies there was a rule banning them from being allowed to play at some point in the first place.
 

DickSmehlik

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Oct 23, 2006
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This is slightly off topic but I remember reading about the Japanese Olympic hockey team during the Nagano games in 1998. Their coach, I believe it was Dave King, complained that he had a cultural problem. The younger players on the team would pass up scoring opportunities, because out of respect, they would give the puck to an elder on the team rather then shoot.
 

arrbez

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Jun 2, 2004
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Toronto
This is slightly off topic but I remember reading about the Japanese Olympic hockey team during the Nagano games in 1998. Their coach, I believe it was Dave King, complained that he had a cultural problem. The younger players on the team would pass up scoring opportunities, because out of respect, they would give the puck to an elder on the team rather then shoot.

lol, that culture just doesn't seem to mesh well with competitive sporting...

Except for that little guy who wins all the hot dog eating contests. Although, as John Stewart puts it: "Hot Dog eating is the only sport a Japanese person can win, and still bring dishonour upon their ancestors"
 

Zine

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Feb 28, 2002
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lol, that culture just doesn't seem to mesh well with competitive sporting...

Except for that little guy who wins all the hot dog eating contests. Although, as John Stewart puts it: "Hot Dog eating is the only sport a Japanese person can win, and still bring dishonour upon their ancestors"

He's not so little anymore. Kobayashi's got some serious guns now.:eek::biglaugh:
 

KreiMeARiver*

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Jimmy Paek won two cups with Pittsburgh and scored a goal in the finals in 1991 and had 4 assists in the playoffs in 1992.

Jim Paek has two Stanley Cup rings, Paul Kariya has no Stanely Cup rings.

Kariya may be a more talented player, individually but if you ignore Jim Paek (who was the first Korean to have his name engraved on the Stanley Cup, by the way) you're ignoring hockey history.

What else is there to discuss? Plenty.

this is fairly laughable....aaron ward has 3 cups and he could be one of the worst defenders I've ever seen.
 

sandman08

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Dec 12, 2003
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Ramzi Abid comes to mind.
after googling it.. i found a thread here on hfboards (apparently) and in that thread i found out that hes actually tunisian.. i didnt know that haha
also, it seems robin bawa (played in like 92-93) and ajay baines (currently on the bulldogs and a "co-captain " i guess since they only have 3 A's and no C) are the only other players (professionally) of indian descent but thank you for the info tho.. i wouldnt have bothered to google abid if you hadnt mentioned him haha
 

Tricolore#20

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Jul 24, 2003
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i know malhotra's is of Punjabi/Indian background but are there any other players in the league or minor leagues or whatever that is indian or from the indian sub-continent (india, pakistan, bangladesh)
There are several players playing across the WHL. None of them are really notable, but if you go through WHL rosters, you'll find four or five.
 

Pensfan86

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Mar 18, 2002
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Ok, first of all, Jim Paek completely stinks. You could possibly say most accomplished or most victorious Asian Player, but calling him the greatest is outright ridiculous. He's a nice guy (he came to a church fair once in place of Ken Wregget...which is ******** but whatever, and signed me an autograph), but was never really a factor for the Pens. Yea, he had a goal in game 6 of the 91 cup and a sick goal at that. It was however, the 8th goal of what ended as an 8-0 win for the Pens. Mike Lange is basically laughing when he scores because at that moment...when Jimmy Paek started lighting the lamp...it was absolutely certain the Pens would win their first cup.

Further, I don't know if I can see any asian countries making a major impact in hockey. At least not for 25 years or so. I feel almost as though their body types would not be condusive with the style of play you see in hockey. Most Asian athletes would be attracted to soccer (if smaller/normal height), or pushed into basketball if tall. I guess it's possible, just not likely.
 

KDizzle

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Aug 25, 2005
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Bay Area
little Tommy from the Tim Horton's commercials.
greatest by far.


Actually, being Asian myself I would love to see the next Ichiro. Not gonna happen for a few decades, but it would be nice to see :)
 

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