by Jashvina Shah/Staff Writer (@icehockeystick)

Published February 10 2022

When Tyrone Bronte was an 11-year-old living in Melbourne, Australia, his dad was researching hockey opportunities in Canada. They planned on sending Bronte away 16 to further his hockey career. But his dad realized 16 would be too late.

So at 12, he packed his bags and left for boarding school in Quebec.

Just a few years earlier, Kohei Sato wanted to move to northern Japan, where hockey was more popular. But while watching the Winter Olympics that were taking place in Vancouver, Canada, Sato’s mom suggested he move to Canada instead.

So as a 12-year-old not knowing any English, Sato left alone for Quebec.

For Sato, the journey was over 6,000 miles. For Bronte, it was over 10,000 miles. 

* * *

International players make up seven percent of college hockey — 122 players come from Europe, 46 from Sweden, one comes from Japan, and one from Australia. While seven percent may seem small, just six years ago only two percent of college hockey players hailed from non-North American countries. And just 58 players came from 13 countries in Europe.

Right now, American International alone has six international players, hailing from Sweden to Slovenia.

“I’d like to say that we were really the first school here six years ago that really made a foray into Europe,” AIC head coach Eric Lang said. “There were teams that had one or two guys but we went all in and at one point the most we had was 13 or 12 on our roster. You’re seeing some other schools that have followed our lead here.”

A lot has changed over the past decade. A lot has changed over the past five years. 

“[One-third] of the National Hockey League is represented by college players,” Lang said. “(The players) think it’s a direct pipeline right now to the National Hockey League. And they get the best of both worlds. They get a potentially great American education and they also get to play in front of 10 or 15 NHL scouts a night. I think that that’s been very attractive for them, where maybe 7, 8, 9, 10 years ago that wasn’t the case.”

Another key has been technological advancements. Scouting a player overseas requires adequate video and communication. AIC uses InStat, a video platform that provides every angle of a player — a whole game, a shift, a shot, a goal, and any other on-ice situation you can think of.

But technology also allows coaches to speak with players “face to face.” What used to be phone calls is now FaceTime. And it makes it easier for players to stay connected with their families back home.

“A European family, maybe they get over here once every two or three years if they’re lucky, or once every four years,” Lang said. “But [you have] the ability to watch every game. Right now you can watch every one of your son’s college hockey games. We’ve done some Zooms with the parents just to make sure that they feel comfortable with their sons a million miles away and that they’re in good hands here and we care about them. We really try and close the gap as a staff as well.”

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