In the ECHL, the third division of the NHL, he made a big success with 30 goals and 22 assists in the season.
(Seoul = Yonhap News) Correspondent Lee Dae-ho = The North American Ice Hockey League (NHL), one of the four major professional sports in North America, is a stage that Korean players have not yet stepped on.
Baek Ji-seon, the HL Anyang coach who debuted with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 1991 and lifted the Stanley Cup, was a Canadian national at the time, and Park Yong-soo, the Korean national ice hockey team coach who briefly played with Baek Ji-sun in 1994, was also an American national.
These two are the only ‘Korean players’ who have ever stepped on the NHL stage.
Shin Sang-hun (29), a goal scorer representing Korean men’s ice hockey, is currently working hard to become the first Korean NHL leaguer in the United States.
In an interview with the NHL official website on the 23rd (Korean time), Shin Sang-hoon said, “My goal is to play in the NHL. I want to be an example for young players in Korea to see a bigger stage.”
After graduating from Jungdong High School and Yonsei University, Shin Sang-hoon joined Anyang Halla (now HL Anyang) in 2014 and played an active part. In September of last year, he joined the ECHL (East Coast Hockey League) Atlanta Gladiators did.
Shin Sang-hoon, who played in Atlanta during the 2021-2022 season, when the Ice Hockey Asia League was suspended in the aftermath of the novel coronavirus infection (Corona 19), returned to HL Anyang for a while and then challenged the American stage again.
And this season, he showed his presence by making a big success in the ECHL with 30 goals and 22 assists.
Atlanta coach Jeff Pyle praised him, saying, “Shin Sang-hoon doesn’t miss the little things, he is a good skater and a great teammate. He had a wonderful second half.”
The North American Professional Ice Hockey League consists of the first division, the National Hockey League (NHL), followed by the America Hockey League (AHL) and ECHL.
The top club of ECHL Atlanta, where Shin Sang-hoon was a member, is the Tucson Roadrunners of the AHL, and the top team is the Arizona Kaiotis of the NHL.
Head coach Baek Ji-seon, who was the first Korean NHL leaguer, supported Shin Sang-hoon’s dream and helped him advance into the ECHL even though the Asia League was in full swing last year.
Coach Baek Ji-seon said, “Shin Sang-hoon is a talented player. Koreans have a DNA that never gives up.”
He then advised, “The young Korean players will watch Shin Sang-hoon play. It’s good to work hard, but I want to tell him to enjoy the experience of life at this moment.”