Color of Hockey: Capital Dragons firing up Asian kids to get on ice

William Douglas has been writing The Color of Hockey blog since 2012. Douglas joined NHL.com in 2019 and writes about people of color in the sport. Today, he profiles the Capital Dragons, a Washington, D.C., area youth hockey organization that serves the Asian community.

Tao Tao didn’t know what to expect when the Capital Dragons were formed three years ago.

He and other parents established the Washington, D.C., area youth hockey organization to help what they figured were the few local players of Asian descent to get to know each other by practicing and playing together in tournaments.

“There's a stereotype that in many Asian families, hockey definitely is not a traditional sport, that their kids are in math club, piano, violin, but not hockey, for sure, right?”  said Tao, who is Chinese and goes by “TT.”  “Some parents started to feel like, ‘Oh, we probably can create such a bonding environment for the kids to realize that they are not the only Asian kids playing hockey in this area.’”

What started out with 25 players from across the District of Columbia/Maryland/Virginia area (DMV) has grown to more than 100 players who come from as far as Pennsylvania to join the Dragons’ six teams that range from U12 to U16.

“This is really unbelievable,” Tao said. “Without the Dragons, I never would have known we have so many Asian players in the DMV. I mean, this is really out of my expectation.”

The Dragons growth was spurred through Asian community social media chat groups and face-to-face recruitment by the organization’s players and parents when they spotted other Asian players on opposing teams at tournaments. 

“During one of our last tournaments this spring, we played against a couple of teams from Philadelphia, they had a couple of Korean kids,” said Li Ahern, a Hollywood, Maryland, resident whose son, Aaron, is a goalie for the Dragons U14 team and daughter, Ariana, is a defenseman for the U12 squad. “One came out and had a team dinner with us, warmed up with us, and then went back to his team and played against us.”

Eric Meyers, who lives in Potomac, Maryland, and plays for the Dragons U16 team, said interacting with teammates from different Asian cultures has been a rewarding experience for him and his older brother, Connor, who’s a Dragons coach.

“We share a lot in common that we can talk about in the locker room and stuff, and we can joke around about it,” said Eric, whose mother is Chinese. “It's just fun to play with players that I can relate with and share the same culture with.”

Aiden Wang, another Dragons coach, said the bonding element can’t be overstated; the 19-year-old Marylander remembers what it was like being the only or one of two players of Asian heritage on his youth teams.

“You’re trying to blend in with the other players, but it kind of felt like you were losing yourself at some points,” Wang said. “I think for our players, this is just a great experience that they get to stay tied to their culture and get to share their own experiences with each other while playing the sport that they love.”

That experience extends to the stands and the parents, Li Ahern said.

“I can chat with the other parents in Chinese,” she said. “We have similar styles and backgrounds, traditional ‘Tiger Moms,’ right, with similar demands and expectations with the kids and not just sports-focused.”

Tao said he looks forward to the Dragons continued growth and having players remain involved as mentors and coaches after they age out. The organization offers to pay the cost for players who seek USA Hockey coaching certification when they turn 18.

“I want us to be a household name in this area,” Wang said. "I want people to know about us, and I want them to respect us in terms of we're a very good and competitive club. I want us to be known for obviously having majority Asian players, but also for producing very competitive teams.”

Ariana Ahern has bigger ambitions.

“I want to play against a team in China,” she said.