Asian Players Union?

[Dtayl 104]

Dear VHL Owners, Fans, GM’s & Players,

 

Being a Korean, I am proud of my heritage. It is something that connects me to my family, friends and even fans. Transitioning from soccer to hockey was a bit of culture shock to me, as the sport is dominated by North American’s and Europeans. Soccer while definitely Euro-centric it has its fair share of Asian representation. In hockey and the VHL that doesn’t seem to be the case. While Asia is represented in the WJC, in which it has historically performed quite well, other areas for Asian representation are lacking. For instance why is Team Asia represented in the WJC and not the Senior World Cup? This seems to me, to diminish Asian representation. When “Nordic” gets a team and yet a whole continent is left out seems questionable. I’m sure there are reasons for this so I digress. However, what really confuses me is that in a league with so many teams, that spans across multiple countries, why is there not a single team from Asia? Not a single VHL or VHLM team in the entire continent? So many players from Asia have become stars in this league, and yet Asia gets a WJC team and nothing else. It seems to me like it's high-time that Asia gets the representation it deserves. With that I call to my fellow players from Asia, let’s come together and fight for representation. Let us show everyone, on and off the ice, that Asia deserves more. I call for the formation of a players union focused on the advancement of Asian representation and success, the Asian Players Union. I hope to see more players from Asia blossom, and hopefully in the future we will see a team in Asia. 

 

Sincerely,

 

Han Jae-Kuk