Korea head coach Jim Paek during the 2018 Olympic Winter Games.
photo: Andre Ringuette / HHOF-IIHF Images
Korea finished second behind Austria in Division IA last year to earn promotion, but now the tough part begins. Seven games, world-class opponents.
Introduction
The rise of the Koreans has been impressive, to say the least. The hockey federation took its job seriously once PyeongChang was awarded the Olympics in 2011, and the recruiting of coach Jim Paek was a logical first step. He, in turn, recruited North Americans while trying to develop a program in Korea, and the results are here to witness. For the first time in history, Korea is playing in the top pool.
Goal
We know from the Olympics three months ago that Matt Dalton is an accomplished goaltender. He gave up a respectable 15 goals in four games, but when his team mustered just three goals in as many outings it doesn’t hold much promise. Dalton is the first and last line between close games and blowouts. Most important, however, he has a highly competitive streak to his game, so no matter what the score he’ll always be looking to make the next save.
Defence
Three defencemen are Canadian and will be counted on to both keep the puck out and create a little offence from the back end. Alex Plante averaged 23:22 of ice time a game at the Olympics and right behind him was Eric Regan at 22:51. Bryan Young was on for 21:11. Not only did they get plenty of five-on-five time, they also killed penalties and led the power play. The idea is to make sure that one of these players is on the ice at all times.
The top Korean national is Won Jun Kim, who averaged 21:19 per game in PyeongChang and was only a -2, very respectable given the high level of competition.
Only Regan managed even one point at the Olympics, an assist, a fact that highlights one of the problems from the blueliners—they need to contribute to the offence.
Forward
All the strategizing in the world can’t fix the biggest problem for the Koreans—scoring goals. They managed only three at the Olympics, one each from Canada-born Brock Radunske, another from Jin Hii Ahn, and a third from Minho Cho.
The speed and pace of the game at the top level is something the Koreans just haven’t been able to handle. The good thing is they have that experience from February, which should prepare them better for the World Championship and perhaps lead to a better plan of attack.
Kisung Kim and Sangwook Kim are two Koreans to watch out for. They have good skills and have shown an ability to keep up, but they’re going to have to do more, and they’re going to need some help.
Coaching
The national team has come a long way under coach Jim Paek, but it is playing at the world’s highest level. To earn promotion it defeated Kazakhstan, Poland, Hungary, and Ukraine but lost soundly to Austria, the other promoted nation, 5-0.
Here is Herning, the team will play Canada, Finland, Germany, United States, Norway, and Latvia. There are no easy games, and it’s very difficult to point to any of these countries as potential victory scenarios.
Nevertheless, Paek is a motivator and will do his utmost to squeeze every goal and great play out of his players as possible.
Projected Results
There just is not the depth or firepower for Korea to have a significant impact at the top level. If they can keep the scores respectably close, it will be mission accomplished, anything else will be a surprise.
Introduction
The rise of the Koreans has been impressive, to say the least. The hockey federation took its job seriously once PyeongChang was awarded the Olympics in 2011, and the recruiting of coach Jim Paek was a logical first step. He, in turn, recruited North Americans while trying to develop a program in Korea, and the results are here to witness. For the first time in history, Korea is playing in the top pool.
Goal
We know from the Olympics three months ago that Matt Dalton is an accomplished goaltender. He gave up a respectable 15 goals in four games, but when his team mustered just three goals in as many outings it doesn’t hold much promise. Dalton is the first and last line between close games and blowouts. Most important, however, he has a highly competitive streak to his game, so no matter what the score he’ll always be looking to make the next save.
Defence
Three defencemen are Canadian and will be counted on to both keep the puck out and create a little offence from the back end. Alex Plante averaged 23:22 of ice time a game at the Olympics and right behind him was Eric Regan at 22:51. Bryan Young was on for 21:11. Not only did they get plenty of five-on-five time, they also killed penalties and led the power play. The idea is to make sure that one of these players is on the ice at all times.
The top Korean national is Won Jun Kim, who averaged 21:19 per game in PyeongChang and was only a -2, very respectable given the high level of competition.
Only Regan managed even one point at the Olympics, an assist, a fact that highlights one of the problems from the blueliners—they need to contribute to the offence.
Forward
All the strategizing in the world can’t fix the biggest problem for the Koreans—scoring goals. They managed only three at the Olympics, one each from Canada-born Brock Radunske, another from Jin Hii Ahn, and a third from Minho Cho.
The speed and pace of the game at the top level is something the Koreans just haven’t been able to handle. The good thing is they have that experience from February, which should prepare them better for the World Championship and perhaps lead to a better plan of attack.
Kisung Kim and Sangwook Kim are two Koreans to watch out for. They have good skills and have shown an ability to keep up, but they’re going to have to do more, and they’re going to need some help.
Coaching
The national team has come a long way under coach Jim Paek, but it is playing at the world’s highest level. To earn promotion it defeated Kazakhstan, Poland, Hungary, and Ukraine but lost soundly to Austria, the other promoted nation, 5-0.
Here is Herning, the team will play Canada, Finland, Germany, United States, Norway, and Latvia. There are no easy games, and it’s very difficult to point to any of these countries as potential victory scenarios.
Nevertheless, Paek is a motivator and will do his utmost to squeeze every goal and great play out of his players as possible.
Projected Results
There just is not the depth or firepower for Korea to have a significant impact at the top level. If they can keep the scores respectably close, it will be mission accomplished, anything else will be a surprise.