Puerto Rico men's national ice hockey team
 | |
| Association | Puerto Rico Ice Hockey Association |
|---|---|
| Head coach | Antonio Cruz Jr. |
| Captain | Scott Vargas |
| Most games | Scott Vargas (46) |
| Top scorer | Scott Vargas (27) |
| Most points | Scott Vargas (42) |
| Team colors | |
| IIHF code | PUR |
| Ranking | |
| Current IIHF | NR (26 May 2025)[1] |
| First international | |
Puerto Rico  5–3  Argentina(Coral Springs, United States; October 14, 2021) | |
| Biggest win | |
Puerto Rico 19–0  Brazil(Canillo, Andorra; April 26, 2025) | |
| Biggest defeat | |
Jamaica  11–2 Puerto Rico(Dix Hills, United States; June 7, 2024) | |
| IIHF Development Cup | |
| Appearances | 1 (first in 2025) |
| Best result |  1st (2025) |
| Amerigol LATAM Cup | |
| Appearances | 4 (first in 2021) |
| Best result | 1st (2022) |
| International record (W–L–T) | |
| 22–17–1 | |
| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
| Amerigol LATAM Cup | ||
 |
2022 Coral Springs | Division 1 |
 |
2021 Coral Springs | Division 1 |
 |
2025 Coral Springs | Division 1 |
| IIHF Development Cup | ||
|
2025 Canillo | |
The Puerto Rico national ice hockey team (Spanish: Selección de hockey sobre hielo de Puerto Rico) is the national men's ice hockey team of Puerto Rico. The team is controlled by the Puerto Rico Ice Hockey Association and has been an associate member of the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) since September 29, 2022.[2] Puerto Rico is currently not ranked in the IIHF World Ranking and has not entered in any IIHF World Championship events, but played in the Amerigol LATAM Cup since 2019.
History
[edit]Amerigol competition
[edit]LATAM Cup
[edit]While the Amerigol LATAM Cup is the only annual competition for Puerto Rico, the tournament is not sanctioned by the IIHF, and therefore does not count towards Puerto Rico's official international record.
Puerto Rico made its international debut in 2019 at the Amerigol LATAM Cup, sanctioned by the Amerigol International Hockey Association. It took place in Coral Springs, Florida, United States. Puerto Rico entered the Division 2 tournament and played four unofficial games against clubs and "B" teams.[3] They defeated Argentina "B" (11–2), then Colombia "B" (5–2), and Brazil "B" (6–0). In the Amerigol LATAM Cup Division 2 final, they were defeated by the Falkland Islands selection team, known as the "Rest of the World", 6–2, and were awarded a silver medal after finishing in second place.[4]
In 2021, the national team played in the Amerigol LATAM Cup Division 1 tournament, losing 5–4 to the Mexico Selects team. Later that same day, they defeated Argentina, 5–3,[5] which is Puerto Rico's first official game against another national team.[3] In the semi-finals, they defeated the Mexico Selects team, 6–2. They once again won a silver medal after losing 5–1 to Colombia in the final.[6]
On September 18, 2022, the national team finished first in Division 1 at the 2022 Amerigol LATAM Cup after defeating Argentina 4–3 in the final.[7] Eleven days later, Puerto Rico officially became a new member of the IIHF.[8]
Notable players of Puerto Rican descent
[edit]There are only two notable players of Puerto Rican descent in the United States to have played in the National Hockey League (NHL):
- Boo Nieves, played for 76 games in four seasons with the New York Rangers (2016–2020)
- Nick Paul, played for 227 games with the Ottawa Senators and 259 games with the Tampa Bay Lightning (2015–present)[9]
Nieves and Paul are the only players of Puerto Rican descent to ever play in the NHL.
Coaching history
[edit]| Coach | GC | W | OTW | OTL | L | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 |  Ron Robichaud |
4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 9 |
| 2021 |  Unknown Coach |
4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 |
| 2022–2024 |  Paul Cohen |
18 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 27 |
| 2024–2025 | Alex Houston |
9 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 17 |
| 2025–present | Antonio Cruz Jr. |
5 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 7 |
Tournament record
[edit]Amerigol LATAM Cup
[edit]| Year | Host | Result | Pld | W | OTW | OTL | L |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Coral Springs |
Participated unofficially in Division 2 | |||||
| 2020 | Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic | ||||||
| 2021 |  2nd place(Division 1) |
4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |
| 2022 | 1st place (Division 1) |
6 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |
| 2023 | did not participate | ||||||
| 2024 | 5th place | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |
| 2025 |  3rd place(Division 1) |
5 | 2 | 1 (tie) | 2 | ||
| Total | 4/7 | 19 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 8 | |
Amerigol LATAM Spring Classic
[edit]| Year | Host | Result | Pld | W | OTW | OTL | L |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Henderson[10] |
1st place |
5 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Total | 1/1 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
IIHF Development Cup
[edit]| Year | Host | Result | Pld | W | OTW | OTL | L |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 |  Canillo |
1st place |
5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 1/1 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
Dream Nations Cup
[edit]| Year | Host | Result | Pld | W | OTW | OTL | L |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | East Rutherford |
5th place | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Total | 1/1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |
Fixtures and results
[edit]| Against other national teams | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Opponent | Date | Score | Scores by period | Tournament | Host venue |
| Argentina
|
March 19, 2025 | 5–7 | No information | Amerigol LATAM Spring Classic | America First Center, Henderson, Nevada |
 Colombia
|
March 20, 2025 | 11–0 | No information | ||
| Argentina
|
March 21, 2025 | 6–4 | No information | Amerigol LATAM Spring Classic – Semi-finals | |
| Andorra
|
April 22, 2025 | 15–1 | No information | IIHF Development Cup | Palau de Gel, Canillo, Andorra |
 Liechtenstein
|
April 23, 2025 | 5–2 | No information | ||
 Greece
|
April 24, 2025 | 11–1 | No information | ||
 Portugal
|
April 25, 2025 | 2–1 OT |
No information | ||
| Brazil
|
April 26, 2025 | 19–0 [11] |
No information | ||
 Lebanon
|
May 9, 2025 | 5–6 SO |
No information | Challenger Series | Fifth Third Arena, Chicago, Illinois |
| Jamaica
|
May 11, 2025 | 7–3 | No information | ||
 Egypt
|
May 30, 2025 | 1–5 | 1–1, 0–2, 0–2 | Dream Nations Cup | The Rink at American Dream, East Rutherford, New Jersey |
| Argentina
|
August 21, 2025 | 4–4 | 1–3, 1–1, 2–0 | Amerigol LATAM Cup – Division 1 | Florida Panthers IceDen, Coral Springs, Florida |
| Argentina
|
August 23, 2025 | 1–6 | 0–2, 1–2, 0–2 | ||
| Against club and other teams | |||||
| Opponent | Date | Score | Scores by period | Tournament | Host venue |
 Mexico Warriors
|
March 19, 2025 | 6–5 OT |
No information | Amerigol LATAM Spring Classic | America First Center, Henderson, Nevada |
| Mexico Warriors
|
March 22, 2025 | 7–2 | No information | Amerigol LATAM Spring Classic – Final | |
| Greek Heritage Team
|
May 10, 2025 | 4–5 OT |
No information | Challenger Series | Fifth Third Arena, Chicago, Illinois |
 Central America
|
May 28, 2025 | 1–4 | 1–0, 0–3, 0–1 | Dream Nations Cup | The Rink at American Dream, East Rutherford, New Jersey |
 Armenia HC
|
May 29, 2025 | 4–2 | 1–1, 1–1, 2–0 | ||
| Armenia HC
|
August 20, 2025 | 3–1 | 1–0, 1–0, 1–1 | Amerigol LATAM Cup – Division 1 | Florida Panthers IceDen, Coral Springs, Florida |
| Greek Heritage Team
|
August 22, 2025 | 1–4 | 0–0, 0–3, 1–1 | ||
| Armenia HC
|
August 23, 2025 | 6–1 | 0–1, 2–0, 4–0 | ||
| Win Loss | |||||
All-time record against other national teams
[edit]Last match update: August 23, 2025[3]
| Positive balance (more Wins) | |
| Neutral balance (Wins = Losses) | |
| Negative balance (more Losses) |
| Team | GP | W | T | L | GF | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Andorra |
1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 1 |
| Argentina |
10 | 3 | 1 | 6 | 34 | 50 |
| Brazil |
3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 36 | 3 |
| Colombia |
6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 27 | 11 |
| Egypt |
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 5 |
| Greece |
1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 1 |
| Jamaica |
9 | 4 | 0 | 5 | 39 | 53 |
| Lebanon |
6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 20 | 31 |
| Liechtenstein |
1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 2 |
| Portugal |
1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
 Venezuela |
1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 |
| Total | 40 | 22 | 1 | 17 | 195 | 159 |
References
[edit]- ^ "IIHF Men's World Ranking". IIHF. May 26, 2025. Retrieved May 26, 2025.
- ^ "Puerto Rico". International Ice Hockey Federation. September 29, 2022.
- ^ a b c "Puerto Rico Men Official Results" (PDF). National Teams of Ice Hockey. September 18, 2022. Retrieved February 22, 2023.
- ^ "Schedule and Scores (Division II, 2019)". Amerigol Hockey. Retrieved February 20, 2023.
- ^ "Schedule and Scores (Division I, 2021)". Amerigol Hockey. Retrieved February 20, 2023.
- ^ Douglas, William (October 17, 2021). "Colombia wins men's title, Puerto Rico women's team prevails at LATAM Cup". NHL.com.
- ^ Douglas, William (September 19, 2022). "Color of Hockey: Puerto Rico wins men's Division I title at LATAM Cup". NHL.com.
- ^ Merk, Martin (September 29, 2022). "Welcome Puerto Rico!". International Ice Hockey Federation.
- ^ Brandes, Thompson (October 23, 2024). "The Essence of Tampa Bay May Just Be Nick Paul". NHL.com.
- ^ "News: 2025 AMERIGOL LATAM SPRING CLASSIC IN VEGAS". Amerigol Hockey. Archived from the original on January 1, 2025. Retrieved May 5, 2025.
- ^ Podnieks, Andrew (May 3, 2025). "Puerto Rico claims Men's Development Cup". International Ice Hockey Federation.
External links
[edit]- Puerto Rico at National Teams of Ice Hockey
- MEN'S NATIONAL TEAM