Color of Hockey: LATAM Cup, again hosted by Panthers, continues to grow

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 2022 Amerigol LATAM Cup tournament, to be played Wednesday through Sunday at the Florida Panthers IceDen in Coral Springs, Florida.

Juan de Dios Singer doesn't mince words about what the Amerigol LATAM Cup means to Venezuela and other so-called nontraditional hockey countries and territories that participate in the tournament.
"It's our window to show the world what we can do," said Singer, president of the Venezuelan Hockey Association. "It's important to us for this reason."
The LATAM Cup, a tournament featuring teams representing Latin America, Caribbean and Middle East regions, returns to the Florida Panthers IceDen in Coral Springs, Florida, the Panthers' practice facility, bigger than ever in size and importance, running Wednesday through Sunday.
The tournament will include 44 teams and players representing 21 countries and territories that include Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Egypt, Israel, Lebanon, Mexico, Puerto Rico and Venezuela.
More than 750 players will compete across six divisions, including men's Division I and II, a women's division and youth Under-12, Under-16 and Under-20 brackets.
The teams are a mix of players from in-country and non-citizens who have at least a parent or grandparent born in the country they are representing.
The tournament has grown steadily since the inaugural LATAM Cup in 2018, when five teams and 92 players competed over three days. It has expanded to include a LATAM Cup Spring Classic, hosted by the Dallas Stars in Farmers Branch, Texas, in March.
"The LATAM Cup has become one of the most highly anticipated events of the year at Panthers IceDen and we couldn't be more excited about its return, said John Colombo, vice president of the Florida Panthers Foundation & Community Relations. "The talent, skill, passion, and energy these international teams, players and fans bring to hockey is incredible to watch and we look forward to welcoming even more fans and families back this year for what will be the biggest LATAM Cup yet."
The tournament's growth is reflected by its unofficial start Tuesday: an exhibition match between Colombia's men's team, the defending LATAM Cup champions, and Argentina, winner of the spring classic, at FLA Live Arena in Sunrise, the Panthers home rink.
"Who would have ever thought we would say that in a sentence, 'Colombia, Argentina on an NHL ice surface,' right?" said Sam Uisprapassorn, a Colombia coach. "I think the impact is going to be big back home in Colombia, back home in Argentina."
The tournament's first official game is a men's Division II match between Chile and Mexico Lobos at the IceDen on Wednesday at 8:15 a.m. ET. All the IceDen games are free to the public.
The NHL, NHL Players' Association and Panthers are sponsors of the LATAM Cup, and were impressed by what they saw at previous tournaments.
"The tournament attracts several members of the South Florida community either as participants or fans," said Rob Knesaurek, NHL Group Vice President, Youth Development and Industry Growth. "It gives access to an underdeveloped and untapped market that we've done little with in the past. We saw great hockey at previous LATAM Cups, and our investments will allow even more countries to participate and demonstrate that hockey is for everyone. We see diversity and inclusion as strong pillars for the future growth of the game."
The LATAM Cup started as the dream of Juan Carlos Otero, a passionate Panthers fan who envisions the day when more Hispanic players join the likes of Auston Matthews, who last season became the first player of Hispanic descent to win the Rocket Richard Trophy as the NHL's top goal scorer with 60, and Matt Nieto in the League.
"I hope one day we have an NHL Latin America division or an IIHF Latin America, something to that effect, where we see in 15-20 years the first generation of players in the League," Otero said. "I think this whole process will bring more fans to the game that don't really know anything about the game. But the fact that there's a first-generation player from their country, they will go out and support them. And we can look back and say, 'It all started from this little tournament in South Florida in 2018."
The teams compete fiercely at the LATAM Cup but are united in hopes their play will get the attention of government officials or private investors in their homelands and convince them to help develop hockey there, mainly by building ice rinks.
It's challenging being an ice hockey player in some Latin American and Middle East countries where there are few or no rinks. To compensate, many of the Latin American players compete in inline hockey. They arrive in Florida days before the tournament to adapt from playing on wheels to steel blades.
Several of the LATAM Cup participants view the tournament as a stepping stone for their countries to someday compete in International Ice Hockey Federation world championships or the Winter Olympics.
Colombia hockey officials said their showing in the tournament over the years helped get them into the IIHF Development Cup, a tournament for emerging hockey nations, in May in Fussen, Germany.
Colombia, an IIHF associate member since September 2019, won the tournament which included Algeria, Andorra, Ireland, Lichtenstein and Portugal.
Egypt Ice Hockey, which is bringing an Under-16 team and a men's Division II squad to Coral Springs for the first time, hopes some of Colombia's LATAM Cup success rubs off on them.
"We are trying to build something back in our home country, and you need that platform to play," said Sameh Ramadan, one of the founders of Egypt Ice Hockey. "The LATAM Cup is perfect because it's a very well-organized, respected, tournament.
"And the fact that the NHL is one of the sponsors and it gets lots of coverage, so hockey eyes will be on it. So if people don't know we exist, now they will."
Photo: Eliot Schechter