Filipino hockey representation arrives at 2026 Amerigol LATAM Cup

CORAL SPRINGS, Fla. -- Tim Stapleton didn’t know that he was the first NHL player of Filipino descent until someone told him after he retired from pro hockey in 2018.

“I was surprised,” said Stapleton, a center who played 118 games with the Toronto Maple Leafs, Atlanta Thrashers and Winnipeg Jets from 2009-12. “People usually say it was Mathew Dumba or Jason Robertson.”

Stapleton said he was surprised to learn that Filipino involvement in hockey has grown and is thriving to the point that he was invited to help coach and inspire the first teams of Filipino heritage to play at the Amerigol LATAM Cup.

Philippines Fil-Nation Select has Under-12 and Under-16 teams skating at the tournament which began Saturday at the Panthers IceDen in Coral Springs and Palm Beach Skate Zone in Wellington, Florida, and runs through Sunday.

“I didn't know there was that many Filipino hockey players, to be honest,” he said. “It's pretty cool to see.”

Players from the all-Filipino teams led by Jonathan de Castro, a former Philippines men’s national team coach, come from across the United States and Canada, some from as far as Calgary.

More than 1,500 players are competing this year at the LATAM Cup, representing 16 countries and territories, including Algeria, Argentina, Armenia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Greece, Israel, Lebanon, Mexico, Pakistan, Venezuela and Indigenous/First Nation tribes.

For Fil-Nation, participating in the tournament is about more than wins and loses, players, coaches and parents say.

“Just to represent the Philippines and Filipino hockey,” said Nick Nieva, a Los Angeles resident whose son Mason skates for Fil-Nation’s U12 team and plays for the Los Angeles Jr. Kings U12 AA team at home. “All over in places like Toronto and California there are a lot of Filipino hockey players. One of the big heroes for a lot of us is Jason Robertson, who plays for the Dallas Stars.”

Other NHL players of Filipino descent include Robertson’s younger brother Nicholas, a forward who was traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins by the Toronto Maple Leafs on July 1, and Los Angeles Kings defenseman Cody Ceci. In college hockey, Kelly Nash is coach of NCAA Division I Long Island University’s women’s team.

Rike Walters, a 12-year-old goalie with the Arizona Jr. Coyotes, said playing with Fil-Nation at the LATAM Cup had the feel of playing in the Winter Olympics.

“I feel like I’m representing something, it’s fun,” he said.

The tournament has also been a bonding experience for the parents who usually watch their children skate as the only or one of the few Filipino heritage players on their teams at home.

“Hockey is hockey with the discipline and sportsmanship, it doesn’t matter your skin color or where you come from,” said Fatima Bontigao, a Caledon, Ontario, resident whose son Benjamin is a center on Fil-Nation’s U12 team. “But for everyone to be together is really nice for the kids to be a part of this.”

De Castro decided to form the Fil-Nation teams after years of watching the LATAM Cup and speaking over the past five years with Juan Carlos Otero, the tournament’s founder.

“I was like, you know what, I think now is the time,” de Castro said. “Now is the time to do it because I saw the numbers on the youth level rising, which tells me that we can create legitimately a path to development.”

De Castro said he hopes the Fil-Nation teams can forge a connection with the Federation of Ice Hockey League in the Philippines.

The Philippines has been a member of the International Ice Hockey Federation since May 20, 2016, and its men’s national team is ranked 53rd in the world.

Stapleton said he couldn’t have imagined all of this when he started playing hockey as a kid in Illinois.

“The game has evolved so much,” he said. “I'm just blown away at how big the game's growing. It's just a lot different now, and in a very positive way.”