Stories of foreigners learning to love the game when they come to Canada

[Big Phil]

Talking about Kadri on the other thread got me thinking. His father originally is from Lebanon I believe. But I remember a nice story about him talking about how much he fell in love with hockey once he came to Canada. Thus he instilled this love into his son from birth (Nazem Kadri). Of course Kadri was a Habs fan originally but you get the point. It's even a little heartwarming to hear a story like that.

Are there any others to share? I'm not thinking about even the European countries. Peter Stastny would be a good example, except he is in a traditional hockey country. I'm thinking more like a story of people from some non-traditional hockey countries that come to Canada and fall in love with the game.

Click to read more...

 

[jkrx]

Tie Domi? However I don't remember if it was his grandparents or his parents that moved to Canada.

Paul Kariya too maybe. Although he's father was born in Canada it was in an internment camp during WW2. Kariya has Japanese and Scottish roots.

My guess is that most people who moves to or simply travels to Canada kind of falls in love with the hockey atmosphere. A couple of weeks ago my grandsons friend went to Vancouver with his family on vacation and ended up talking about the Sedins and Öhlund and watched three or something games. He follows the Canucks now and had never watched game before the trip.

 

[lextune]

Jim Paek's Dad probably has a similar story.

 

[Psycho Papa Joe]

In the early 50's my dad, a recent southern European immigrant who was a soccer fan, and who didn't like hockey at all at the time, visited Montreal and his friends convinced him to go with them to watch a Habs game at the Forum. My dad was so impressed with Maurice Richard, that he became an immediate fan of Richard and the Habs. He described him as the most intense athlete he had ever witnessed. 20 or so years later, my dad put me into hockey and made sure I was a Habs fan as well. So basically that's why a kid who grew up in the Toronto area, is a huge Habs fan. I was born that way.

 

[BraveCanadian]

In the early 50's my dad, a recent southern European immigrant who was a soccer fan, and who didn't like hockey at all at the time, visited Montreal and his friends convinced him to go with them to watch a Habs game at the Forum. My dad was so impressed with Maurice Richard, that he became an immediate fan of Richard and the Habs. He described him as the most intense athlete he had ever witnessed. 20 or so years later, my dad put me into hockey and made sure I was a Habs fan as well. So basically that's why a kid who grew up in the Toronto area, is a huge Habs fan. I was born that way.

You poor, poor man.

Good story, though.

 

[cynicism]

I seem to recall similar stories on the Hockey: A People's History series that the CBC did a few years back...

 

[Charlie Milles*]

Owen Nolan?

 

[Marotte Marauder]

One of the greatest with possibly the best story. Stosh

http://sports.jrank.org/pages/3219/Mikita-Stan-Introduction-Hockey.html

 

[luffis]

My dad unlike me was born and raised in Hungary and moved to Sweden in 1978. He was completly oblivous to winter sports, he was a huge football (soccer) fan though. It didnt take him long to take hockey to his soul, and it was him who got me interested aswell. He told me stories about Kent Nilsson, B-Ã… and Pelle Lindbergh. My best memory of watching hockey with my dad is easily from when i was 11 and we watched the '96 WC semi final between Canada and Sweden, good times.

We still get together every now and then to watch hockey together, most recently the '10 olympics, and by now it is a tradition for us to watch big international hockey events together and we will carry on doing it for many years to come .

 

[DaveG]

One of my coworkers, a Spanish Translator, is from Ecuador. He's still a soccer fan above all else, it's practically religion down there. But the one sport that he's really been able to catch on to since moving here has been hockey. The other sports he said he can't stand because either the excessive amount of fouls (basketball) or the pace of the game (everything else) has really turned him off on it. In his own words, hockey "on the other hand has a great pace to it, an extremely high skill level, and isn't slowed down by weak penalties". He's a fan of the shootout as well, but nobody's perfect.

 

[vadim sharifijanov]

i remember reading about joe (and brian) sakic's croatian father. don't have a link or any specifics though.

 

[The Kingslayer]

My Cambodian father came to Edmonton and fell in love with the Oilers in 86'. The ONLY reason I am a hockey fan today is because of my father.

 

[Walkingthroughforest]

My Italian grandfather came to Calgary from Sicily in the 50's and within the first few years of working for the city became a fan of the Canadiens, simply because he believed any team called "Canadiens" had to be the true Canadian team. If any of you come from a mediterranean background you'll know that a young liberal son doesn't sit well with his traditionalistic father, so when he became a teenager in the 70's my dad became a Boston Bruins fan, just to spite my grandfather until the Flames arrived in 1980.
I don't believe my grandfather's forgiven him to this day.

 

[totozenerd]

Mine is not exactly about Canada but I have 2 stories to tell:
1) My dad was en expat in England and invited a few friends down in CH when he got back. They got completely hooked and are by now some of the biggest Covetry Blaze fans in the whole UK (and they send a letter every few weeks to ask for a new London team)

2) The oil-products brand INEOS installed themselves in Lausanne and sent scouts to put money in the local soccer team. A local told them to rather go at the hockey rink and... BINGO!! A million dollars in the club's income!
Plus now you here so many Englishmen in the Section Ouest (biggest fans, standing places) that the official fan's club just translated their regulation in English!