Of the 48 players on South Korea’s first Olympic men’s and women’s hockey rosters, 11 were born in the U.S. or Canada, according to Yonhap News Agency.
Another player, Marissa Brandt, was born in South Korea but adopted by a Minnesota family when she was 4 months old. Brandt’s younger sister, Hannah, is on the U.S. Olympic team.
Seven players on the men’s roster of 25 are naturalized South Korean citizens born in the U.S. or Canada who now play for South Korean club teams.
Perhaps the most notable is No. 1 goalie Matt Dalton, who spent several days with the Boston Bruins during the 2009-10 season but never saw game action.
Dalton was in goal for a pre-Olympic tournament game with Canada, where South Korea led 2-1 after the first period before losing 4-2. Canada outshot South Korea 57-10.
Dalton is joined on the Olympic team by forwards Alex Plante, Eric Regan and Bryan Young and defensemen Brock Radunske, Michael Swift and Mike Testwuide.
All but Testwuide were born in Canada. Testwuide was born in Vail, Colo.
The South Korean men are coached by two-time Stanley Cup winner Jim Paek, the first South Korean-born NHL player.
The women, coached by former University of Minnesota-Duluth player Sarah Murray, have four Canadian-born or U.S.-born forwards of South Korean descent: Randi Griffin, Danelle Im, Caroline Park and Grace Lee.
The South Korean women’s roster could add North Koreans pending a meeting between the two Koreas and the IOC on Saturday.
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