Algeria looks to make mark in Amerigol LATAM Cup debut

CORAL SPRINGS, Fla. -- Algeria is out to prove that it’s not a one-hit wonder.

Players representing the North African nation are competing at the Amerigol LATAM Cup for the first time hoping to show that winning the inaugural Dream Nations Cup international tournament in East Rutherford, New Jersey, in April in their North American debut wasn’t a fluke.

“We know once we won the Dream Nations Cup people are waiting for us to confirm that it was not luck and that we deserved it,” said Algeria assistant coach Nassim Boulakdem, whose team went 5-0 at that tournament. “We hope we can do it again here.”

This year’s LATAM Cup features 52 men’s, women’s and youth teams and more than 1,100 players representing 17 countries, including Argentina, Armenia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Egypt, Greece, Israel, Lebanon, Mexico, Puerto Rico and Venezuela.

The Algerian team is on a mission to prove to the people and the government in Algeria it can be competitive internationally and worthy of financial investment in hockey, mainly the construction of an NHL or Olympic-sized rink in-country.

Algeria has been an International Ice Hockey Federation associate member since 2019 and a suitable indoor rink would be a steppingstone to full membership that would allow it to compete in the international governing body’s world championships.

“Being here does a lot,” Boulakdem said. “It gives us visibility; people can hear about us. After we won the Dream Nations Cup, everybody was reading about us, seeing videos, pictures on social media. We had better relationship with the government too.”

The team is comprised mostly of players of Algerian descent who live in France, Canada, Switzerland and England but retain strong ties to their ancestral land.

The players speak of a mission in elevating hockey in Algeria and the African continent.

“We as a group want to show that we’ve got good players, that we can provide good players from Algeria and to show that we can play in the United States, France and Algeria,” Ilies Djemel, an Algerian forward who lives in France, said through an interpreter. “It’s something that means a lot to me. Algeria is my country, it’s my origin, it’s my culture and I’m proud to wear the Algerian jersey.”

Boulakdem said Djemel is one of Algeria’s best players. A right wing, he’s played for France in IIHF Under-18 and Under-20 World Junior Championships and has trained with Pierre-Edouard Bellemare, who played 40 games for the Seattle Kraken last season and has been a mainstay for the French national team.

“He represents French pride and represents it well and he’s someone we’re very proud of,” Djemel said. “He’s a strong, skilled, talented player and it’s very cool to come under his wing.”

The Algerian team hopes that it can carry itself in a similar fashion at the LATAM Cup and future tournaments.

“I hope we show that hockey can be played everywhere, that everybody can play hockey and have fun and can be good at it,” Boulakdem said.

“Most of the time people are happy to see us play, surprised, but happy,” he said. “We want to show that hockey is for everyone.”