I’ve finally moved to Asia (Shanghai) and my kids have joined the local minor hockey association. The U10 team will be participating in the “Taipei Cup” tournament the first week of October and I’ll be going to cheer on my two boys. It’ll be my first time back to Taiwan in 12 years so I’m really looking forward to it, although most of that time will be spent at the rink. I’ve looked at the Taipei Arena online and it looks pretty impressive, certainly better than what’s available for my kids in Shanghai. I have a couple of questions for those in the know:
Besides Skate Pro International which I found online, are there other hockey stores in Taipei? Specifically, I’m looking for 26" goalie pads for my son. How much of a premium should I expect to pay for hockey equipment in Taipei?
How big is minor hockey in Taipei? In Shanghai, the entire expat-run 10-and-under house league has 32 kids, although I hear there are a couple of teams Chinese-run local teams as well.
Taipei Arena may look impressive, but it is lacking in a few areas. No dressing rooms, although they will probably partition off some meeting rooms to serve the purpose during Taipei Cup. But there won’t be any showers obviously. That said, the ice is top quality and the tournament is well run. Rink management is a farce on an epic scale. But you won’t have to deal with that.
As for goalie gear, I get mine here. Best prices and wide range of quality. No need to go all out with the pro stuff until your l’il tender reaches full size. Chest protectors and masks by far the more important investment at their age.
As for minor hockey, there are several clubs catering to the kids, although I don’t believe there are any western kids on any of them. Steve Clark, former NCAA Spartan has a club that he is just starting out building and would be the best coach available. Kevin Yu also coaches the little ones and Kevin is one of the best Taiwanese players. I also get my sticks from him. Then there are the clubs. I’ve worked with most of them and I think The Silver Monsters have some of the best young ones playing. Several were drafted into the big league this year and they are coached by The National Team coach. The Typhoon also put out a decent enough product followed by The Vikings and Dan Wei’s Snowman (sic).
Do you play? Let me know and I’ll try and set you up with a spot on our Taipei Gentlemen’s Hockey Club. We play 3 on 3 on the mini rink every Tuesday at 9PM and we rent the big ice every Thursday at 11PM.
Let me know if I can be of any further assistance.
No dressing rooms and no showers aren’t a big deal. My little ones never showered in the locker rooms when they played in Ottawa nor did I want them to. It’ll be nice to be at a rink where there isn’t fog coming up from the ice. That ice here in Shanghai is soft and with the poor temperature and humidity control, the rink is often foggy.
As for goalie pads, I thought about ordering online but I want my boy to try them on first before buying. I’m also concerned about shipping to China. Has shipping to Taiwan usually been pretty painless? There’s nothing available in Shanghai, so I thought that being in Taipei for the tournament would be a good time to look for equipment for the rest of this season. He’s outgrowing his 24" pads that I purchased last year as part of a three-piece starter kit, but I’m concerned 26" may be too large. Different brands also seem to fit differently. Any advice here?
Thanks for your help, Toe. I don’t play myself, but I’m a crazy hockey parent nonetheless.
[quote=“sjcma”]No dressing rooms and no showers aren’t a big deal. My little ones never showered in the locker rooms when they played in Ottawa nor did I want them to. It’ll be nice to be at a rink where there isn’t fog coming up from the ice. That ice here in Shanghai is soft and with the poor temperature and humidity control, the rink is often foggy.
As for goalie pads, I thought about ordering online but I want my boy to try them on first before buying. I’m also concerned about shipping to China. Has shipping to Taiwan usually been pretty painless? There’s nothing available in Shanghai, so I thought that being in Taipei for the tournament would be a good time to look for equipment for the rest of this season. He’s outgrowing his 24" pads that I purchased last year as part of a three-piece starter kit, but I’m concerned 26" may be too large. Different brands also seem to fit differently. Any advice here?
Thanks for your help, Toe. I don’t play myself, but I’m a crazy hockey parent nonetheless.[/quote]
In that case, SPI is your only choice. The owner has most likely read this thread and will be sure to get some pads in for your child to try during the TC. He happens to be the tourney organizer too, in case you didn’t know that.
Hello there, I am looking for any opportunities for my kids to play some ice hockey while we are in Taiwan. They are 10 & 12 right now. They would likely fit in better with kids their age or a bit older as they both play at the top level for their age groups in Canada. Any information would be appreciated. Thanks!
I’ve seen kids practice ice hokey. They’re at the back-end of the rink in a closed off section during normal skating hours. I don’t know if they have a competition going on.
Hello, I see this is an old thread, but I am moving to Taipei for a year and am a former hockey player/coach. Interested in getting involved in coaching. Was wondering if there are youth leagues that I should contact?