When it comes to ice hockey, being in Canada and being in Dubai are two completely different experiences.
For Troy Kahler, it boils down to being on the ice and playing the game he loves, whether it’s in the frozen winters of North America or in the desert lands of the Middle East.
The 35-year-old is eight years out of playing professional hockey and was five years removed from even touching a stick before moving to the UAE and restarting his career.
Kahler will play for the new expansion team Dubai Oilers this coming season of the Emirates Hockey League. We caught up with him to speak about his path from Canada to Dubai and the hockey scene in the UAE.
Being from Canada, how much hockey is in your blood?
All you do is carry around a hockey stick and shoot rocks and pinecones when you’re a kid. Hockey is played on the streets in the summer and in the backyard rinks in the winter. It was always something we just loved to do.
It wasn’t like it was forced on a lot of us. It’s just a passion. I grew up in Toronto, the hockey hotbed of the world, and just being immersed with the Toronto Maple Leafs, it was something that was just in me to do.
I was a little smaller and not as big and round as I am now, but I went the US college route to get an education which is great because I’ve fallen back on it now. But hockey kind of allowed me to do that.
How far did you take your career?
I tried to go the pro route right away and I actually tore my groin playing in exhibition games for the Rochester Americans and that was the Buffalo Sabres farm team of the American Hockey League.
So I went back to school to Canada and played in a few different places because I was really trying to just finish my education and get back to pro.
Then I graduated with a law degree and was set on law school. Those were kind of the dreams because I watched a lot of law programmes and I watched a lot of hockey.
Then a TV show came on in Canada called Making the Cut. It was a nation-wide tryout for anyone that wanted to try out for one of the six Canadian NHL teams.
It’s funny looking back at it now, but I ended up getting on the show and got back in front of some scouts and did really well. I never got cut but I wasn’t chosen on the final show.
The good thing about it was that the Florida Panthers were running it and they actually brought me to camp the next year. I played in the minors for Florida and the CHL for Youngstown, but if you can believe it, God didn’t want me to play hockey.
I got hit from behind and broke my arm 10 games in so I retired and I didn’t pick up a stick again until I was told to bring my hockey equipment here.
How much of a change is it now playing the sport in the desert over here?
It’s very, very different. I didn’t really understand the culture here and how things worked. I’ve played in cities before where you could wear your sandals to the rink and wear your shorts, but it’s different when it’s 40°C here and going to the rink, or when you have people walking while they shop banging on the glass.
It’s not the first priority here, but there’s a huge following here of expats and locals from the UAE that are very interested.
We have a national team here now and those boys compete in our league which is fantastic; and we’re all up for developing them as well.
Do you buy into the notion that hockey popularity is tied with being in a cold weather region?
When it comes to the climate, it does have a huge effect because people living in those climates will habitually be playing those sports.
But I’ve played in other cities where it isn’t the first thing, but there’s a following. It is happening in other regions, but it also depends on what the region is with fans and what-not.
For us here, the final in the past few years have seen a few thousand at Dubai Mall to watch our games. It’s exciting for people who are interested and curious about the game and want to know more about what’s going on.
The first thing the people in warm climates see is the violence and the aggression. But then when they actually watch the game, it’s precision and it’s very difficult to play the game.
How difficult is it balancing a full-time job with a demanding sport like hockey?
It’s funny because when people talk about competitive hockey like this, some guys are getting their equipment, some guys are getting money to play, other guys are from other regions playing here and getting paid.
But at the end of the day, everyone that’s here has to go to work the next day. So you start to learn you have to take it down a notch and play a lot smarter. My first game, I took a two-hand in the face and broke my nose.
I learned quickly that I don’t need to be playing at complete top speed like I did in North America. There are a lot of guys here that have families and great jobs, but they love the game. That means sometimes blocking a shot or sometimes taking a punch. It’s a fine line. A black eye or a missing tooth doesn’t look good in the boardroom, but it’s part of loving the game of hockey.
Have you adjusted to the dramatic change in weather?
I moved here in October and everyone said ‘wait until the summer’. It’s difficult to be in a suit all day and jumping from meeting to meeting and being in 45°C temperatures. It’s part of living here.
I don’t complain because I know how cold it gets back home in Canada. You know 40°C is hot, but minus 40C is very, very cold.
Hockey players can be pretty quirky, so you must have had a nickname earlier in your playing days. What was it?
It was “Kailes” or “TK”, my initials. I was lucky not to have anything bad. As you know, there can be some pretty bad nicknames, so on that end I was lucky.
