Former Penguin leading S. Korean hockey team to new heights

A former Pittsburgh Penguin is coaching at the Olympics, but not for Team USA.

Jim Paek went to South Korea and took over a team that lacked talent and the basic necessities of the sport – they didn't even have skate sharpeners.

Now, as a coach for the host country in the Olympics, Paek is blazing another trail.

"My father that passed away, we had many conversations about coming back and representing Korea and being a part of this,” Paek said. “So there’s a lot of little different stories going on to this opportunity and it is just fantastic.”

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Paek was born in Seoul but moved to Canada as a toddler and grew up in Toronto.

He played three seasons with the Pittsburgh Penguins before being traded in 1994, winning two Stanley Cups. After his playing career ended, he coached – most recently in Grand Rapids of the American Hockey League for nine seasons.

Then the Olympics called, and Paek had to uproot his family. Now his kids understand why.

"It's pretty exciting,” said Paek’s daughter, Megan. “It's like something that's really cool and unique."

Paek was the first Korean-born hockey player in the NHL, and his Penguins sweater hangs in the Hockey Hall of Fame to honor that milestone. Now he’s looking for another first: the first Korean hockey team good enough to compete on the Olympic stage.

"It's pretty awesome,” he said. “It's been a great ride from day one four years ago to now, coming up into the final days before the Olympics."

The road won't be easy for them – they are in group A with the top-ranked team, Canada.

Cox Media Group