When Devin Welsh and Adam Maglio were student athletes at Lakehead University and the University of British Columbia, neither imagined that shortly after graduation last year they would be heading to Hong Kong to play hockey in one of the worlds most cosmopolitan cities with a hockey culture still in its infancy.
Welsh and Maglio joined the CIHL as the first two players in the RBC CIHL Intern Program, an initiative by the CIHL and the Royal Bank of Canada to bring Canadian university hockey players to Hong Kong to play in the CIHL while completing an internship with a Hong Kong company. Welsh, who played with the AsiaXPAT Kowloon Warriors, worked with Inetasia, an established regional digital marketing agency.
While hockey is still a new sport in Hong Kong, it is developing quickly. As the citys first elite league, the CIHL aims to provide opportunities for hockey players in Hong Kong and the South China region to play the sport at a high level. To help raise the bar on the level of play in the league, the CIHL started an internship program in the 2012-2013 season to bring graduating Canadian student athletes to Hong Kong.
The CIHL internship was a way to experience a different culture and live in the heart of one of the fastest moving cities in the world, Maglio said. The experience allowed me to live in a different culture and make life-long connections. I was able to easily travel to other countries in Asia and see parts of the world I wouldnt have seen otherwise. Most importantly, the experience allowed me to teach youth hockey players and give back to the game.
The internship was also a good transition from university into business, Welsh said. The people in the Hong Kong hockey community, both in the CIHL and in the minor hockey association, really strived to make my experience in Hong Kong enjoyable as well as informative.
His internship complete, Welsh has decided to stay in Hong Kong and has accepted a full-time position working with his internship employer. I have accepted a job in Hong Kong, which allows me to continue to work with the CIHL and Ill be working with the new class of interns who come here to help make with their transition to living and working in Asia, Welsh said.
Applications for the 2013-2014 RBC CIHL Intern Program are now being accepted, with further information available at www.cihl.com or by contacting info@cihl.com. In addition to playing in the CIHL and completing an internship, the interns help coach youth hockey with the Hong Kong Typhoons, imparting some of their knowledge and experience to the citys next generation of hockey players.