Color of Hockey: Chau 'rises to the occasion' with Blues affiliate in ECHL

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, as part of NHL.com's celebration of Asian & Pacific Islander Heritage Month, he profiles Oliver Chau, a forward for Florida of the ECHL, an affiliate of the St. Louis Blues. Chau has been a key contributor to championships at the junior, college and minor pro levels.

Oliver Chau thought perhaps a career playing hockey wasn’t in the cards for him.

“It was the story of the kid who got cut from his from his travel team to play a year in AA and then played on probably the worst AAA team in minor midget hockey,” Chau said. “I had a couple of injuries to a point where in my Grade 12 year in high school I was applying to universities like a regular student thinking, ‘Maybe this is the end of the game for me.’”

But Chau shook off the self-doubt, and the doubters, and has been a perpetual winner since.

The 27-year-old forward is his second season with Florida of the ECHL, an affiliate of the St. Louis Blues that won the Kelly Cup championship for a league-record three straight seasons from 2021-24. Chau was named MVP of the 2024 playoffs after tying for the postseason scoring lead with 23 points (nine goals, 14 assists) in 23 games; had a hat trick in a 6-3 win against Kansas City in Game 3 of the Kelly Cup Finals; and scored two short-handed goals in the series.

Before turning pro, Chau won an NCAA Frozen Four championship with the University of Massachusetts in 2021. The Oakville, Ontario, native was second on UMass in scoring with 27 points (five goals, 22 assists) in 29 games and had an assist on a power-play goal in a 5-0 win against St. Cloud State in the championship game at PPG Paints Arena. He tallied 117 points (41 goals, 76 assists) in 177 games over four seasons for UMass from 2017-21.

He hoisted the Alberta Junior Hockey League championship trophy with Brooks in 2017, when Colorado Avalanche defenseman Cale Makar was a teammate. Chau (5-foot-9, 165 pounds) had 87 points (35 goals, 52 assists) in 60 regular-season games and 16 points (two goals, 14 assists) in 13 playoff games on the way to being named AJHL rookie of the year that season.

“I think he's fought adversity through his hockey career just being undersized, so I think he's got a bit of a chip on the shoulder of how he'll prove people wrong,” Brooks coach and general manager Ryan Papaioannou said. “And you know, seemingly, year after year, he does that.”

This season is no exception. Chau was voted captain by his Florida teammates and was the team’s second-leading goal scorer (23) and third in points (48) in 58 regular-season games.

He’s tied for fifth on the team in playoff scoring with four assists in six games for Florida, which leads Orlando 2-0 in the best-of-7 South Division Finals.

“He’s a man of high character and, obviously, he was our playoff MVP last year,” Florida coach and general manager Brad Ralph said. “He rises to the occasion, and he has so far this season.”

Chau’s hockey journey began when he was 3, when he begged his parents, Wayland Chau and Jasmine Sweatman, to take he and his older brother Matthew to a local rink where there was an equipment giveaway.

“My parents didn’t play hockey, so it was all new to them,” he said. “We went there, got the gear, went right to the basement, and started playing in full gear, just on the hardwood. And from then on, it was just an absolute love for the game."

Chau said he’s as proud of his hockey accomplishments as he is of his Asian heritage. His father was born in Hong Kong and moved to Canada when was a child, and his mother is of Scottish descent.

“It's probably one of the more rewarding things I’ve ever felt in this journey through hockey just to see these kids looking up to me and using me as a role model,” he said. “That’s kind of was one of my goals playing hockey. It’s made me feel that I’m doing something because some days at the rink you show up and you’re like, ‘What am I doing?’ or the long bus rides. And then you have those kind of the moments that you’re like, ‘This is what I’m doing it for.’”

Papaioannou said when Brooks signed Chau, the team wasn't sure what to expect after he sustained a torn labrum and had surgery that limited him to 16 games in 2015-16 with Northfield Mount Hermon, a prep school in Gill, Massachusetts.

“We didn't know if he would even make our team,” Papaioannou said. “He had an injury that kept him out for the majority of the season, he was small and light, and he came here as a 19-year-old rookie, so we just didn't know if there would be quite enough there to impact our team. He ends up scoring 87 points (35 goals, 52 assists) and played on a power play, on a penalty kill, on our first line, and he's tremendous for us.”

Chau credits his success to his days in Brooks.

“I was taught from the coaching staff, from the older players there, how to win, how to how to compete, how to play the right way,” he said. “I was, like, ‘OK, if I'm going to play, I want to play to win, and I want to find a way to kind of leave my legacy within the game in a different way, rather than individual success, but more so team success.”

Chau and Makar committed to UMass and joined a 2017 recruiting class that included future NHL players Matt Murray, Mitchell Chaffee, Mario Ferraro and John Leonard.

“It was a special moment in my life because it was kind of the first time I got to be around and watch a generational player,” Chau said of Makar. “Even when he was in Brooks, I know he wasn't quite on the radar yet when we first started the season, but we all knew that he was going to be a very, very special player.

"And then to even get the chance to live with him and play with him in college and see all his success there and then to the NHL, it's been incredible to watch.”

UMass coach Greg Carvel said opposing teams focused on Makar and other players, and often overlooked Chau to their detriment.

“I think he (flew) under the radar,” Carvel said of Chau. “For us, he was a very good complimentary player who scored (27) points the year we won the national championship, which is not easy to do. The fact he wasn’t the guy that other teams talked about going into games, but at the end of the game they’re, like, ‘Geez, that guy made a big difference.’”

Carvel said one of his biggest coaching regrets is not having Chau back at UMass after winning the NCAA championship. He transferred to Quinnipiac University, where he was third on the team with 33 points (13 goals, 20 assists) in 42 games and helped in the school's run to the 2021-22 Eastern College Athletic Conference regular season championship.

“I just felt like UMass for four years was probably enough, it’s time to move on,” Carvel said. “And then he goes on to Quinnipiac and they had an outstanding year there. I probably should have kept him for a fifth year.”

After college, Chau played 16 games in the American Hockey League for Tucson and Charlotte, with five points (one goal, four assists) over two seasons from 2021-23.

Chau said he isn’t sure what’s next for him; He can become a free agent after the playoffs and said he would like to return. Playing in the NHL is always the dream, he said, but not necessarily the ultimate goal.

“I always just try to take it one day at a time,” he said.