UAA Has Nearly 1/4 of Euro D1 Players

The University of Alaska Anchorage has perhaps one of the most diverse set of nationalities participating in NCAA athletics (see list at bottom). The current roster for the Seawolves hockey team includes 5 players born in Europe out of a total in Division I of 22.

Foreign born hockey players are nothing new to NCAA hockey. Oftentimes, half (or more) of a team will be comprised of Canadian born players. European born players however are less frequently seen on NCAA ice rinks; in fact, they're almost a novelty. That isn't the case at UAA. It's unique geographic location puts it about the same distance from hockey-playing Europe as the most eastern parts of the U.S.

This season UAA added 2 new Euro players to it's existing stable of three. Senior defenseman Nils Backstrom (Stocksund, Sweden), junior defenseman Luka Vidmar (Ljubjana, Slovakia) and backup goaltender Dusan Sidor (Poprad, Slovakia) were already in the fold when freshmen Daniel Naslund (Nykoping, Sweden) and Mitch Bruijsten (Njimegen, Netherlands) came to the school. Next year's incoming recruits includes Gustav Bengtson (Stockholm, Sweden).

When I asked UAA Athletic Director Dr. Steve Cobb about the mix of athletes he noted that he was surprised to learn that UAA was such a large percentage of all of college hockey. He also said,

"We know that good coaches are interested to find good talent and good students. Where those student/athletes come from is a non-factor in our office."

He went on to say,

"Foreign-born athletes often seem to appreciate the opportunities that studying in the U.S. gives them. They can be more interested in making it a success. "

"When (former women's basketball player) Dasha Basova showed up here from Moscow, she was convinced she was here to play basketball and nothing else. By the end of her career she explored every option to live here."

Dr. Cobb speculated that if the total mix were to be 2/3 Alaska and Pacific Northwest and 1/3 the rest of the world that'd be ok with him. He's proud of all his coaches and how their progressively succeeding.

My count through the current 58 NCAA D-I hockey rosters revealed: 10 from Sweden, 3 from Finland, 2 from Norway, 2 from Slovakia, 1 from Slovenia, 1 from France, 1 from Denmark, 1 from the Netherlands and 1 from Germany. The same perusal showed there are only two other D-I programs with multiple-Euro players on their rosters.

Maine has 3 Swedish born players and Vermont has 2 from that same fine country. So comparatively speaking, UAA's five total Euro players is certainly remarkable. The other twelve schools with one Euro player each? RIT, Bowling Green, Notre Dame, Alabama-Huntsville, Bemidji St., Clarkson, Cornell, Union, Merrimack, Denver, Michigan Tech and SCSU.

Longtime Seawolves hockey fans will recall the list of former European players who have worn the green and gold since 1990: Martin Bakula, Petri Tuomisto, Mika Rautakallio, Thomas Kraft, Vladimir Novak, Pavel Hlavacek, Martin Stuchlik, Petr Chytka, and Ales Parez. They were all colorful in one way or another even if a couple didn't stay for all 4 years.

Bakula was the ultimate puck carrying/scoring defenseman; it seemed to me that Tuomisto couldn't stay out of the penalty box; Rautakallio was a buzzsaw who finished his career here with only one kidney; Kraft was just a huge guy; Novak was a great penalty killer; Hlavacek was hit by a falling piece of the Sully scoreboard; Stuchlik barely played for his first 3 years, then had a dream season as a senior; Chytka had loads of attitude; Parez had a great backhand often making a living behind the opponents net.

A look through the other 7 Seawolves rosters finds the following 24 non-Canadian/non-American born athletes:

Volleyball:
Marie Borowikow -- Eberwalde, Germany
Women's Basketball:
Viki Wohlers -- Wolfenbuettel, Germany // Hanna Johansson -- Gothenburg, Sweden
Men's Basketball:
Kevin White - Manly, Australia // Steve White - Manly, Australia // Bryce Arnott - Clyde, Australia // Liam Gibcus - Lysterfield, Australia
Cross Country/Track & Field:
Micah Chelimo - Kapkoi, Kenya // Marko Cheseto - Kapenguria, Kenya // Alfred Kangogo - Eldoret, Kenya // Paul Rottich - Kapsabet, Kenya // Mary Chepkoech - Kapsabet, Kenya // Ruth Keino - Kapcheno, Kenya // Miriam Kipngeno - Kapcheno, Kenya
Skiing:
Andreas Adde - Osteras, Norway // Halfdan Falkum-Hansen - Oslo, Norway // Egil Ismar - Baerum, Norway // Christopher Kollenborg - Haslum, Norway // Michael Schallinger - Oberndorf, Austria // Ida Bjerka - Tromsoe, Norway // Petra Gantnerova - Kezmarok, Slovakia // Steffi Hiemer - Krun, Germany // Kristina Repcinova - Banska Bystrica, Slovakia // Laura Rombach - Neukirch, Germany

Only the Gymnastics squad lacks someone that was born across an ocean. But hey ... they have a Canadian. And of course, UAA loves it's Canadian neighbors; being from the same continent and/or hemisphere is a good thing too.