Michael Swift is one of Korea's most valuable players of North American background.
photo: Matt Zambonin / HHOF-IIHF Images
Michael Swift has been one of Korea’s leading players since earning his passport. This year has been a whirlwind for the Korean national team. First the Winter Olympics in PyeongChang and now the World Championships in Denmark have put Korea among the elite nations competing in international hockey competition. Swift played junior and professional hockey in North America before he was convinced to come to Korea. It's a decision that has brought honour and opportunity. We caught up with Swift at Jyske Bank Boxen in Herning.
It is early, but what’s been the experience for team at the World Championship?
Hopefully, the boys will take some lessons from these games. It is a great learning curve being here. We were in the Olympics just a couple of months ago so we should have learned stuff there to use here. Hopefully, the guys can take something away from this tournament and keep improving.
How did you feel after playing your first game in a few weeks?
Good. For me my last game was 20th February at the Olympics. I have had two-and-a-half months off. Before this tournament, my season was pretty much done. That was tough getting into it here at the beginning but each game we will get better and we spend more time on the ice.
What brought you to Korea in the first place?
I’ve been in Korea for the last seven years. After my entry level deal was up with the New Jersey Devils, my cousin Brian Young, who also plays for the Korean national team, was over a year before me. He contacted me over the summer. I had a bunch of other offers but thought it would be interesting to give Korea a try. If I didn’t like it I could always go somewhere else. Half way through my first year I still had numerous offers on the table but turned them down. Everyone was wondering why I went there. Seven years later, I still it was a good choice. It was the right choice.
It is early, but what’s been the experience for team at the World Championship?
Hopefully, the boys will take some lessons from these games. It is a great learning curve being here. We were in the Olympics just a couple of months ago so we should have learned stuff there to use here. Hopefully, the guys can take something away from this tournament and keep improving.
How did you feel after playing your first game in a few weeks?
Good. For me my last game was 20th February at the Olympics. I have had two-and-a-half months off. Before this tournament, my season was pretty much done. That was tough getting into it here at the beginning but each game we will get better and we spend more time on the ice.
What brought you to Korea in the first place?
I’ve been in Korea for the last seven years. After my entry level deal was up with the New Jersey Devils, my cousin Brian Young, who also plays for the Korean national team, was over a year before me. He contacted me over the summer. I had a bunch of other offers but thought it would be interesting to give Korea a try. If I didn’t like it I could always go somewhere else. Half way through my first year I still had numerous offers on the table but turned them down. Everyone was wondering why I went there. Seven years later, I still it was a good choice. It was the right choice.
Michael Swift goal
Korea's Michael Swift scores a goal in the game against Finland at the 2018 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship.
How did that initial move to Korea turn into becoming a citizen and playing on the national team?
I think in my third year there the Korean Ice Hockey Association came forth and presented me with an opportunity to play for the national team. I learned the language and went through the process of getting dual citizenship. There was no talk of the Olympics then when I got it. I live in Korea nine months of the year and I play against all these guys and with them during the season so I thought why not. It was a great opportunity and then all of a sudden, the Olympics rolled around. Everything kind of snowballed and then here comes the World Championships. We’ve done so well moving up in each division. We are fortunate to be here and plan to take advantage of this opportunity to learn and get better.
The February Olympics in PyeongChang must have been quite an experience.
It was surreal. There was so much talk leading up to it and then knowing you will be there playing in your home country adds to the excitement. Soon you’re playing against other teams and you think of all the preparation, all the work you put in. They shortened our league in the Asian League in Korea to accomodate for the Olympics. Now here we are finishing off a unique year by playing in this tournament. It's been an incredible experience.
One difference from the Olympics is that you will be going up against players who recently completed their NHL season. How will you approach that?
That’s the tough thing. As I said, our last game was the Olympics and most of these guys playing in the NHL their last game was a week ago or a couple of weeks ago. We'll use this as an opportunity to further develop in matching up against these teams.
This is a long tournament and it’s been a few months since you’ve played. What do you hope to get out of the experience?
You can see these guys are faster, bigger, stronger. But it doesn’t matter if we have the heart and the will. You never know we could get lucky and win a game here or go to overtime. You have to play hard for sixty minutes and hopefully you come out on the good end of it. We are behind the eight ball. We may have just been promoted to this division but our goal is to stay here.
I think in my third year there the Korean Ice Hockey Association came forth and presented me with an opportunity to play for the national team. I learned the language and went through the process of getting dual citizenship. There was no talk of the Olympics then when I got it. I live in Korea nine months of the year and I play against all these guys and with them during the season so I thought why not. It was a great opportunity and then all of a sudden, the Olympics rolled around. Everything kind of snowballed and then here comes the World Championships. We’ve done so well moving up in each division. We are fortunate to be here and plan to take advantage of this opportunity to learn and get better.
The February Olympics in PyeongChang must have been quite an experience.
It was surreal. There was so much talk leading up to it and then knowing you will be there playing in your home country adds to the excitement. Soon you’re playing against other teams and you think of all the preparation, all the work you put in. They shortened our league in the Asian League in Korea to accomodate for the Olympics. Now here we are finishing off a unique year by playing in this tournament. It's been an incredible experience.
One difference from the Olympics is that you will be going up against players who recently completed their NHL season. How will you approach that?
That’s the tough thing. As I said, our last game was the Olympics and most of these guys playing in the NHL their last game was a week ago or a couple of weeks ago. We'll use this as an opportunity to further develop in matching up against these teams.
This is a long tournament and it’s been a few months since you’ve played. What do you hope to get out of the experience?
You can see these guys are faster, bigger, stronger. But it doesn’t matter if we have the heart and the will. You never know we could get lucky and win a game here or go to overtime. You have to play hard for sixty minutes and hopefully you come out on the good end of it. We are behind the eight ball. We may have just been promoted to this division but our goal is to stay here.