Seth Berkman, writing for The New York Times, calls Andong “Misha” Song as “a major force in driving hockey interest in China.”
Song’s interest with ice hockey started when he was 6. He further pursued learning the sports at age 10 when he and his family moved to Canada, according to the NY Times article.
At 15, the Songs relocated in the U.S.A. It was in America where his love for ice hockey took a pleasant turn.
Professional ice hockey team New York Islanders drafted the 6-foot-plus Beijing native as its defenseman in June 2015, according to the National Hockey League’s website.
Song said that he felt like “a star” when he got drafted, but added that he still has a “long way to go,” according to The Guardian.
He told USA Today that he would “hear racial chirps, stuff about Asians” when he played, but that didn’t stop him from doing what he likes and what he is good at.
“I’d just keep playing, or play even harder,” he said.
Prior to playing professionally, Song played for the varsity team at Lawrenceville School in New Jersey.
Etienne Bilodeau, his former coach at Lawrenceville, described Song as “a true gentleman, a scholar and a good hockey player . . . a dream to coach--forever polite, inquisitive, coachable,” according to USA Today.
Bilodeau added: “He always had a positive mindset, and was always receptive to feedback.”
Owned by Shanghai-born New York-based businessman Charles B. Wang, the Islanders competes in the NHL.
Wang said that it was Eric Cairns, the team’s director of player development, who decided to pick Song, reported USA Today.
“I hope it works out, because he is a great kid,” said Wang.
The site also reported that Wang launched “Project Hope” in Heilongjiang Province. The project, which has been ongoing for 10 years now, promotes hockey in the said province by organizing hockey clinics.
Song, who turned 19 on Jan. 31, continues to hone his skills as he prepares for the 2022 Winter Olympics. He would be 25 by then.
German Thomas Bach, International Olympic Committee president and former Olympic gold medalist fencer, announced at the 128th IOC Session in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on July 31, 2015 that Beijing will host the 2022 Winter Olympics, according to the official website of the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games Bid Committee.
The country won the bid against Almaty, Kazakhstan.