On Friday September 9th at 8:30, there will be a Flying Farangs vs Phuket Pirates game in charity game for the family of Jeff LaMantia.
The game will be held at the Thailand International Ice Hockey Arena.
Admission for the game is free. All donations will go to the LaMantia family.
| Hello to all SHL players and fans, I know many of you have been waiting for an update on the future of the SHL, and I appreciate your patience. The SHL is pleased to announce that the 2022-2023 season will begin in the coming months. While we don’t have an official start date, we are looking at conducting the draft in early to mid-September. Our plan is to then have the opening faceoff in late September or early October. We are also excited to report that we have secured 4 great sponsors, and will provide thoise in an upcoming communication. As most of you know, the new rink has opened and the SHL is proud to call it our new home. https://goo.gl/maps/TwL5sFFhky3RgNaq5 As the start dates are fast approaching, we need to first get an idea as to the number of players interested in joining the coming season. Below you will see a link to a questionnaire. All players that are interested in playing in the 2022 2023 season are required to fill this out. The deadline date is August 15. Please provide this to anybody else you know who wants to play, we will also have a link on all SHL social media accounts. https://siamhockeyleague.com/2022-2023-shl-league-registration/ I am very much looking forward to the coming season, and thank all of you for your patience and your support. |
| Thank you, John Schachnovsky President Siam Hockey League |
Over the two days of November 21, 2020 and November 22, 2020, there was a hockey tournament held at Imperial Samrong ice rink.
The teams involved in this tournament were Chiang Mai, Warriors A & B, Old Timers, Southern Wolf, Ice Breakers, Lion State Flying Farangs.
The Flying Farangs for this tournament were Alasdair Fawcett (F), Bruno Severin (D), Janne Kankaanpaa (F), Jari Eerikainen (D), Jason Bitter (F), Lance Parker (G), Luc Maurice (F), Mark Huskins (F), Matt McGovern (F), Ono Nutdanai (D), Ralf Dittmer (D), Tommi Hakkinen (D), Toni Andersson (F), Top Rutthapong (F/D), Gary Cosby (F/D), Dom Dumais (D/F), Adam Simpson (F).
Sadly, for the Flying Farangs, the first day of games didn’t go so well for them. They lost their first game to the Warriors B teams 5-0. In the second game, they did manage to score two goals, one from Jari Eerikainen and one from Janne Kankaanpaa, but they lost this game to Chiang Mai 9-2.
The third game was against Lion State, and it was a much closer 7-5 game, with the goals coming from Mark Huskins, Toni Andersson, Top Rutthapong and two from Tommi Haakinen.
Losing the first three games put the Flying Farangs in the Recreational Division for the second day of games.
The first game of the day for the Flying Farangs was against Southern Wolf. The Flying Farangs started to come together as a team in this one and they beat Southern Wolf 2-1. The goals for the Flying Farangs came from Mark Huskins and Gary Cosby.
The second game of the day was against the Old Timers. This was another close for the the Flying Farangs, but they hold things together and won this one 1-0 with the game winning goal going to Mark Huskins.
Winning these two games on November 22 gave the Recreations Division cup to the Flying Farangs.
On October 4th, 2020 the Siam Hockey League (SHL) had their annual draft party, which was held at Imperial World Samrong this year. The SHL News covered it here in this video.
Written by Andrew Tse
“Why did you choose to live in Bangkok?” It’s a question I hear more often than not. I’ll do my best to leave politics and my own personal views out of this read for the sake keeping things PG.
One doesn’t need to be a Noble Prize winning economist to see the trends of the world now. It’s clear that EME’s (Emerging Market Economies) will afford the most opportunity to those with the drive and ambition to capitalize. Yes I am a greedy New Yorker. I view everything in money/time/opportunity costs with everything else being a far second to my decision making process. So with that out of the way, let’s get to it.
Why Bangkok you ask? The journey here wasn’t clearly defined like many others who came here by securing a job prior to moving to the Big Mango. To sum it up, I was seeking a similar lifestyle to what I was accustomed to at home, with the elimination of some negative factors I felt the western world had just come to accept as the norms of….well the western world. We’ll save those for another day. So I created a simple Yes/No checklist for a bunch of cities which I had previously visited. Most of these are boring boxes, but at the top of my list and probably shocking to anyone I talk to was Ice Hockey. Yes, beyond safety, culture, etc. ice hockey was my top criteria for a relocation destination. I easily adapt to my environment, but not having ice hockey was not a life I would accept. So here I am in Bangkok playing ice hockey.
It started sometime in the late 80’s, on West 33rd street, up on some high floor at the original Sky Rink. I took my first ice skating lesson. The rink closed in the early 90’s and is now Chelsea Piers. If you think hockey isn’t popular now, imagine it 30 years ago. The popularity of hockey grew in the mid 90’s with 2 specific events. The year is 1994, the Rangers win the Cup, all of a sudden hockey is popular in New York. There is talk of rinks, projects, hockey related stuff in the city and its surroundings. Fast Forward to 1996 the US wins the World Cup. I don’t know what made this so special at the time, but it absolutely was a catalyst for the growth of hockey in America.
My dad wasn’t a hockey player but he was athletic so he took me and my cousins skating once a week. Myself and one other ended up playing ice hockey and his younger sister ended up figure skater. Everybody competes, plays at different levels/places, but in reality none of that really matters in the end. I’m not a fortune teller, but for hockey players I can guarantee one thing is certain. You will end up in the beer league. No one ever told me this, and my father not being a hockey player could not have known. The hockey community is full of great people who all look out for one another, even if you’ve only known some a short time. It’s like moving to a foreign place and the immediate bond you have with meeting someone from your hometown. Meeting other hockey players, in non-hockey cities is the same except you have grown up in completely different worlds/cultures. It’s a small community and it’s very hard to describe to someone who’s not part of it or doesn’t identify as a hockey player.
My journey to Bangkok is actually quite short. In 2012 after finishing my MBA, I went to Taipei for 3 months to learn Mandarin. There I was playing with The Taipei Gentleman’s Club. Seeing how far advanced this society was compared to where I came from was the turning point. From this moment on I was set on relocation. 2016, operating my own business, my parents randomly ask me if I can go with them to Hong Kong to visit my cousins. There was also the added bonus of a 2 week stop in Tokyo prior to this. In my early –mid 20’s I would have cringed at going on vacation with my parents, but with age comes wisdom. Who am I to turn down a free vacation, plus I was burning out hard working 100+ hour weeks. Long work weeks are driven by what’s known as “American Greed.” It’s a dark slippery slope most people fall into and can never get out of. Especially if you own a business and there is infinite work/money available.
I booked a one way ticket with this being my opportunity to visit potential relocation cities. First stop Tokyo. Great city, but unfortunately because of their economic conditions it wasn’t on my list. Off to Hong Kong, the motherland! Mega Ice in Kowloon would be my home if this would be the chosen city. For those who think that Chelsea Piers’ view of the Hudson River is amazing, it’s nothing compared to Mega Ice’s view of Kowloon Bay. My parents finally leave back to NY. Next stop is Jakarta to visit some old classmates/coworkers. To my amazement this city has a handful of rinks. Even one larger sheet that isn’t even used for hockey sadly. Finally Bangkok! I check out the city and the hockey for 6 weeks. Sadly I need to leave to attend to a work emergency. If you think going back to work after a 2 week vacation is hard, try 3 months…brutal.
So my focus is set on relocation. Prior to leaving I entered contract for one last project but it was set to be finished by 2018. After it finished, I liquidated everything via local sources and eBay. March 2018, I start looking for 1-way tickets to somewhere in the EME ASEAN region. Randomly Singapore Airlines is having a special to Jakarta. 450 bucks later I land in Jakarta mid-April. Randomly one of my old D-Partners who works for the UN is in the city. He doesn’t have his gear, but gladly takes a ride with me to the rink. Somehow in Jakarta Indonesia I ended up playing 4 times/week for a month. Who would have guessed? While I made some great friends, whom I see whenever they come to Bangkok for tournaments, Jakarta’s traffic and lack of mass transit wasn’t quite a fit for me.
Next stop Ho Chi Mihn City aka Saigon. Mind you, this city wasn’t in my 2016 trip because the rink wasn’t yet built. The evening after arriving I’m on the only sheet of ice in the city. Typical Canadian hockey community with some others mixed in. Shortly after I arrive, I’m told a Hong Kong team will be coming to play some games to initiate the rink. They don’t have enough players and everyone from Saigon wants to play, so being the new guy and having HK roots I gladly volunteer. Great games, friends made, bonding afterwards. Everyone goes their separate ways. Saigon doesn’t have enough players to support hockey while all the teacher are gone for the summer, this was unknown to me prior to arrival. 3 months is here and a visa run is due. I’m looking for a cheap flight to somewhere with an ice rink. To my astonishment I remember hearing about ice hockey in Phuket from one of the veteran players on the HK team. Rink confirmed, get some beach time in? I’m there.
Arrive in Phuket early afternoon, check into my Airbnb, meet up with my hockey connect, better known as Phuket Jo, for lunch at his restaurant and meet his wife, who eventually ends up being my Thai mom. Quick stroll to the beach then back to my room. Few hours later Jo swings by, I pop the trunk only to see a set of goalie pads. When we played together in Saigon he was skating out. Little did I know this Canadian took it upon himself to play goalie since Phuket didn’t have one. Brings new meaning to the phrase “never say never.” I guess you can teach an old dog new tricks. Somehow on this tropical Island in Thailand I’m playing 3 times/week. Phuket holds its first tournament, great, make new friends, many whom I eventually end up playing with in Bangkok. Sadly Jo suddenly passed, and it was obvious his crucial part in keeping the community together. Everything happens for a reason. This was the stimulus for me to move to Bangkok. While the beach life was fun, I’m a city boy at heart.
Notable mention: My parents came to visit Phuket and my mother was very animate about not living in a communist country. Our HK roots are very strong, so that would rule out Vietnam and sadly now Hong Kong.
Arriving in Bangkok was easy as I had already been living in Thailand for 9 months and could speak a considerable amount of Thai. Next day after arriving I’m on the ice for Shinny. I see some familiar faces and make introductions. It’s the summer, but we still have hockey thanks to the large community of expats/Thais supporting the game. I’ve gone from the Big Apple to the Big Mango. Finally fall is here and the SHL is in flight. Great city, great times, great people. Hard to really ask for more. My life here is nearly identical to my New York life, minus the cold and crime with a better work/life balance. Will I be in Bangkok forever? I’ve found a great life and community here, but places/people/circumstances are ever changing. If you asked me in 2010 I would have told you I would live in New York my whole life. All one can do is prepare and adapt. Life is full of the unexpected…
Original story written by Jeff Olsen for the Roseau Times-Region (Volume 128 – Number 31) Saturday, August 5, 2017
With close ties to Roseau County, Dom Dumais and Bill Bredesen, two former Twin Cities residents who share a flair for ice hockey, recently got acquainted for the first time in the strangest of places.
In early July, Malung’s Julane Kjaer sent a photo of two white guys in a hockey arena in Bangkok, Thailand, which is twelve-time zones away and where ice cream melts rapidly.
Unbeknownst to Dom and Bill, they share an extended historical connection to Roseau County.
Dom’s late mother was a McMillin, which guarantees that at any one time in Roseau County, they can field a complete baseball team of McMillins.
Make that two teams!
Bill’s family ties in Roseau County extend all the way back to the 1890s when his maternal great-grandfather, Olof E. Olsen, arrived here from Sweden in 1892 and was an original member of the Roseau Volunteer Fire Department when it was organized in 1903.
His wife, Anna Connelly Olsen, was the Roseau County Superintendent of Schools from 1909-1915.
On a side note, Bill Bredesen is my sister Katie’s youngest son, who used to visit here many summers ago.
In her text, Julane Kjaer explained that Dom is her cousin’s son.
“Small world,” she added.
Yes, it is.
In early July, Bill, 37, and soon to be a first-time father just a few days later, spoke by cellphone on What’s App from Bangkok.
It was 10 p.m. here and 10 a.m. the next morning in Bangkok.
On another side note, both Bill and Dom found love in Bangkok.
Bill is married to Soey, a talented young woman, and both are employed by international news media agencies.
Immediately, the ice rink came up.
They have a Zamboni, youth hockey teams, and an enthusiastic group of Thai kids who will someday be as nuts about hockey as the kids are in Roseau and Warroad.
“We play every Thursday, a pick-up game, and then I play in the Bangkok Hockey League (BHL), that’s run by Thai guys,” he said.
“The majority of every team is Thai-ten Thai players and five farangs (foreigners),” he said, explaining that farang actually means white foreigner.
“You get all these Thai teenagers out on a date, and they press their faces up against the plexiglass and watch us play, wondering what the hell is going on,” he laughed.
But get this.
They actually have tournaments where Thailand plays against Mongolia and other countries.
“Hockey isn’t big over here, but it’s got a following,” he said.
Bill has done well for himself.
“I’ve worked for the German Press Agency (Deutsche Presse-Agentur) since 2014,” he said, adding that his title is Asia Coordinator.
“I basically look after our network of correspondents and stringers in about 20 countries, spanning from New Zealand and Australia to India, including China, Japan, Southeast Asia, and everywhere else in-between,” he said, adding that he reported on President Obama’s trip to Vietnam in 2016.
From 2008 to 2014, he worked for a lifestyle magazine published by the Bangkok Post in which he covered the arts, culture, and nightlife.
What a wonderful gig!
Dining out, bar hopping and dancing, and then writing about it.
“Soey (pronounced Soy) works for Reuters, and she does big time news on Reuters TV,” he said, “She’s interviewed all the prime ministers, and she’s out there in the streets when there are demonstrations,” he said.
On Tuesday, July 11, Soey gave birth to Charles Arthit Bredesen, their first baby.
“I have 14 days of paternal leave, and Soey will have four months of maternal leave,” he said, laughing about how upset little Charlie can get when he’s hungry. Arthit, his middle name, is Thai for the sun and sunny days.
Dom Dumais, 46, also lives an interesting life and once served as a submariner, lost his mother when he was a teenager, has a quick laugh and a flair for podcasting.
Yes, and he loves hockey.
“My mother was a McMillin,” he said, which means he has many aunts and uncles and scores of cousins up here.
“Everybody called her Layne, but her first name was Doris,” he said, adding that he was 16 when she died.
He has one other tie to this area.
“My father, who now lives in New York, is from Warroad. I was born in Roseau and grew up in the Twin Cities, but I used to spend sum-mers and Christmas up there,” he said, adding that he’s been in Thailand for 11 years.
It’s funny how people make connections. Take Bill and Dom, who recently bumped into each other at the rink.
It took just one question.
“You from Minnesota?” asked Bill, and Dom had replied, “Yes.” and they struck up a conversation.
Who knows who snapped their photo? Probably some Yank or Canadian.
In Bangkok, the expatriates refer to just one hockey league of note -the SHL – the Siam Hockey League.
Dom is the administrator and official podcaster for the SHL.
On their website, siamhock-eyleague.com, there’s a catchy heading Siam Hockey League -Brought To You By The Flying Farangs
“It’s been nine years since I took my wife up to Roseau for the first time,” he said. “Tracy is British and works for the British Council, and we’ve been married for 10 years. We got married in Thailand.”
He laughed when recalling how strangers back in the States gave him weird looks during meals when he ate with a spoon while dining out.
“There are forks in Thailand, but spoons are the preferred utensil,” he said.
He served as a radioman in the U.S. Navy from 1990-94.
“I was on a submarine, but I also did a lot of shore stuff,” he said.
In a metropolitan area of over 14 million people, Dom knows the preferred methods of transportation in Bangkok.
“I use a bicycle some days. Depending on where I’m going, I use the subway or a motorcycle taxi,” he said.
His wife designs English instruction Apps for Thai students, “I teach math and English to first, second and third graders in a Thai school,” he said. “They’re great and a lot of fun to teach.”
Dumais is an unusual name.
“It’s French Canadian and Italian,” he said, and then explained who plays hockey in the Bangkok Hockey League (BHL).
There is a mix of Thais, Japanese, British, American, Canadian, Russian, Finnish and Swedes on all the teams,” he said, adding that he just plays in pick-up games since he registered too late.
“I’ve been away from hockey since 1989,” he said, speaking by cellphone on What’s App in mid-July.
It had to be asked of a happily married man of ten years.
“Do you do the dishes?”
“Of course,” he laughed. “I do the dishes, the laundry, we share it all.”
He’s an easy interview, which comes from a master who does numerous interviews on his Dom Dumais in Bangkok podcast at http://domdumais.com.
He’s twelve-time zones away, but he can be sitting in your living room. He’s a McMillin, so he has a gift of gab and a great love of sports.
One final note: Dom and Bill never have to worry about slipping on icy sidewalks over there.
From January 31, 2020 to February 02, 2020, the Flying Farangs took part in the Northern Breakaway tournament in Chiang Mai. In the first game, on January 31st, the Flying Farangs played the team from Chiang Mai. The Flying Farangs did win this game, but near the end of the game, forward David Boere got his hand caught in the netting and ended up breaking his hand. He did finish the game, and tried to play in the second game that day, but only skated two shifts of the second game.
In the second game, the Flying Farangs played against Southern Wolf. They did win this game as well, but not only did they lose Boere early in the game, but John Schachnovsky also strained his groin in the game. At the end of the first day of games, the Flying Farangs had won their two games.
On the second day of games, in the first game, they played Hong Kong Transformers. Although they were missing Boere with a broken hand and Schachnovsky was playing with a strained groin, they won this game as well. During the game, Domnick Dumais strained his knee in the game.
In the second game of the day, the Flying Farangs played against the Chiang Mai Jokers. As the Flying Farangs had already sealed their spot in finals, and they were playing with injured skaters, they didn’t put out their best effort and this game ended up being their first loss in the tournament. Injuries were still plaguing the Flying Fanrangs and Tom Price strained his groin as well.
Going into the final game on Sunday, February 2nd, it was Flying Farangs against the Chiang Mai Jokers. Starting this tournament, Flying Farangs had eight skaters and one goalie. Going into this game, the Flying Farangs were down to seven skaters and three of those skaters were playing with strains. The Flying Farangs hung with the Chiang Mai Jokers for most of the game, but with the injuries to the Flying Farangs, the lost to the Jokers in the closing minutes of the game, 6-4.
On December 1, 2019 we lost a loved member of the hockey family here in Thailand, and that was Jason “Cots” Cotsmire. He died playing the game he loved with the people he loved playing with.
On December 18, 2019, the Flying Farangs and the Sport Corner Siam Hockey League held a memorial game in remembrance of Cots to help raise money for the education of Cots’ daughter Jayla. You can find the pictures in the links below:
If you would like to contribute to the Jayla Education fund, you can transfer to the account below:
Tasma Cotsmire for Jayla Cotsmire
SCB #204-209011-0
Swift Code: SICOTHBK
Date : 09 – 13 September, 2019
Location : The Rink Ice Arena rama9
Division : BOYS'(U15) AND GIRLS'(U16)
การแข่งขัน รายการ “South East Asia Youth Cup 2019” | ⓈⒺⒶⓎⒸ ระดับเยาวชนทีมชาติไทย ทีมชาย U15 และทีมหญิง U16 โซนเอเซียตะวันออกเฉียงใต้ โดยประเทศไทยเป็นเจ้าภาพ มีประเทศร่วมการแข่งขันได้แก่ ไทย, สิงคโปร์, มาเลเซีย, อินโดนีเซีย และ ฟิลิปปินส์
» วันที่ 9-13 กันยายน 2562
📡ถ่ายทอดสด 🔴(Live) ทางเพจ Ice Hockey Family 🏒✨🏆🏅🥇🥈🥉🥅
สนาม The Rink Ice Arena พระราม 9 ชั้น 7
Celebrating 25 years
The Largest International Ice Hockey Tournament in Asia, the “Land of Smiles”
SET THE DATE:
October 23rd-26th Youth
Adult October 29th-November 2nd
2019 Brings a New Twist to the Land of the Smiles Ice Hockey Classic
The 1st Annual Youth Tournament
Asia Ice Events & JOG Sports cordially invites you to the 15th Annual
“Land of Smiles” & the 25th Annual ‘Ice Hockey Classic’ in Thailand.
We would like to invite teams from all over the world to participate in the largest international tournament in ASIA; the “LAND OF SMILES” Ice Hockey Classic.
Contact Jog Sports
