Richard Park (

Korean name A Korean name (Hangul: ; Hanja: ) consists of a family name followed by a given name, as used by the Korean people in both South Korea and North Korea. In the Korean language, ''ireum'' or ''seongmyeong'' usually refers to the family name (''seon ...

: Bak Yong-Su,

Hangul The Korean alphabet, known as Hangul, . Hangul may also be written as following South Korea's standard Romanization. ( ) in South Korea and Chosŏn'gŭl in North Korea, is the modern official writing system for the Korean language. The let ...

: 박용수; born May 27, 1976) is a South Korean-born

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

former professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...

who played 14

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

(NHL) seasons with six different teams. He was formerly a player development coach for the

Minnesota Wild The Minnesota Wild are a professional ice hockey team based in Saint Paul, Minnesota. The Wild competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference and play their home games at the Xcel Ener ...

organization. Park is currently the assistant coach of the

South Korea men's national ice hockey team The South Korean national ice hockey team ( ko, 대한민국 아이스하키 국가대표팀) is the national men's ice hockey team of the Republic of Korea (South Korea). They are currently ranked 19th in the IIHF World Rankings and competed in ...

under head coach

Jim Paek Jim Paek ( ko, 백지선, Baek Chi-sun, born April 7, 1967) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player, who is currently the director of hockey for the Korea Ice Hockey Association and head coach of the South Korean national team. Paek ...

Playing career

Born in

Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 ...

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

, Park moved to

Rancho Palos Verdes, California Rancho Palos Verdes (Spanish for "Green Sticks Ranch") is a coastal city located in Los Angeles County, California atop the bluffs of the Palos Verdes Peninsula, neighboring other cities in the Palos Verdes Hills, including Palos Verdes Estate ...

, with his family at age three. As a youth, he played in the 1989

Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament The Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament (french: Tournoi international de hockey pee-wee de Québec) is an annual minor ice hockey event in Quebec City. The tournament was founded in 1960 to coincide with the Quebec Winter Carnival, ...

with the Los Angeles Kings

minor ice hockey Minor hockey is an umbrella term for amateur ice hockey which is played below the junior age level. Players are classified by age, with each age group playing in its own league. The rules, especially as it relates to body contact, vary from cla ...

team. At age 13, he moved to

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

and played minor hockey in the

Greater Toronto Hockey League The Greater Toronto Hockey League (GTHL), formerly known as the Metro Toronto Hockey League, is a minor level ice hockey organization based in the Greater Toronto Area of Ontario. The league was founded in 1911 as the Beaches Hockey League by ...

(GTHL), and played in the 1990 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament with the Toronto Young Nationals. Park and his brother Horton attended De La Salle College and captained their hockey team. He eventually worked his way up to the

Belleville Bulls The Belleville Bulls were a junior ice hockey team, founded in 1981 and based in Belleville, Ontario, Canada. The team played in the Eastern Division of the Eastern Conference of the Ontario Hockey League. The team moved to Hamilton, Ontario at ...

of the

Ontario Hockey League The Ontario Hockey League (OHL; french: Ligue de hockey de l'Ontario (LHO)) is one of the three major junior ice hockey leagues which constitute the Canadian Hockey League. The league is for players aged 16–19. There are exceptions for overag ...

(OHL) and played for Belleville from 1992–93 to 1995–96. Following his second OHL season, he was drafted 50th overall by the

Pittsburgh Penguins The Pittsburgh Penguins (colloquially known as the Pens) are a professional ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division of the Eastern Conference, and have playe ...

during the

1994 NHL Entry Draft The 1994 NHL Entry Draft was the 32nd NHL Entry Draft. It was held at the Hartford Civic Center on June 28–29, 1994. The last active players in the NHL from this draft class were Patrik Elias and Eric Boulton, who both played their last NHL g ...

. He made his NHL debut when he played one regular season game and three

Stanley Cup playoff The season structure of the National Hockey League (NHL) is divided into the pre-season, regular season, and the Stanley Cup playoffs. In the pre-season, which is generally held during the last two weeks of September, each team plays several not-fo ...

games for Pittsburgh during the 1994–95 season. He became only the second Korean-born person to play in the NHL after

. Coincidentally, both of them were drafted by the Penguins. Park played most of the 1995–96 NHL season, appearing in 56 games. He spent the next few years moving between the

Anaheim Ducks The Anaheim Ducks are a professional ice hockey team based in Anaheim, California. The Ducks compete in the Western Conference of the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division, and play their home games at Honda Center. ...

Philadelphia Flyers The Philadelphia Flyers are a professional ice hockey team based in Philadelphia. The Flyers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home games in Wells ...

and various International Hockey League (IHL) and

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary Minor league#Ice hockey, developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 AHL se ...

(AHL) teams. He played again in the NHL during the 2001–02 season after signing with the

. Park spent three seasons in Minnesota, from 2001–02 to 2003–04, where over the course of several seasons, he achieved career-highs in games played (81), goals scored (14), assists earned (15) and points totalled (25). During the Wild's run in the

2003 Stanley Cup playoffs The 2003 Stanley Cup playoffs, the playoff tournament of the National Hockey League (NHL), began on April 9, 2003, following the 2002–03 regular season. The playoffs concluded on June 9, 2003, with the New Jersey Devils defeating the Mighty D ...

, Park scored the winning goal in overtime in Game 6 of the Western Conference Quarterfinals against the

Colorado Avalanche The Colorado Avalanche (colloquially known as the Avs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Denver. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference. The Avalanche play thei ...

. During the

2004–05 NHL lockout The 2004–05 NHL lockout was a labor lockout that resulted in the cancellation of the National Hockey League (NHL) season, which would have been its 88th season of play. The main dispute was the league's desire to implement a salary cap to ...

, Park played in Europe as a member of the

United States national men's ice hockey team The United States men's national ice hockey team is based in Colorado Springs, Colorado, with its U18 and U17 development program in Plymouth, Michigan. The team is controlled by USA Hockey, the governing body for organized ice hockey in the U ...

, which won the 2004 Deutschland Cup. He would go on to sign short term contracts in Sweden and Switzerland with the

Malmö Redhawks The IF Malmö Redhawks (colloquially referred to simply as Malmö or by past abbreviation MIF) is a Swedish professional ice hockey team based in Malmö which plays in the SHL, with Malmö Arena as the venue for home games. The history of the ...

and

SCL Tigers SC Langnau Tigers are a professional ice hockey team from Langnau im Emmental, Switzerland. They play in the National League (NL). The team plays its home games in the 6,000-seat Ilfis Stadium, which is currently one of the smallest arenas in the N ...

respectively. On August 8, 2005, prior to the 2005–06 season, Park signed a one-year, US$750,000 contract with the

Vancouver Canucks The Vancouver Canucks are a professional ice hockey team based in Vancouver. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference, and play their home games at Rogers Arena. Bruce B ...

. At the end of his contract, he signed a two-year contract with the

New York Islanders The New York Islanders (colloquially known as the Isles) are a professional ice hockey team based in Elmont, New York. The Islanders compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference ( ...

. On March 29, 2008, Park was named the recipient of the Bob Nystrom Award, awarded annually to the Islander "who best exemplifies leadership, hustle and dedication". Park usually played in a penalty killing role and is considered an above-average skater. He also served as the Islanders

alternate captain In ice hockey, the captain is the player designated by a team as the only person authorized to speak with the game officials regarding rule interpretations when the captain is on the ice. At most levels of play each team must designate one captai ...

in the 2008–09 season. During his time with the Islanders, he scored two shorthanded goals on 5-on-3's, a very rare feat in the NHL. On September 9, 2010, Park left the NHL after 684 career games, signing a three-year contract with

Genève-Servette HC The Genève-Servette HC (also called Servette or GSHC) is a professional ice hockey club based in Geneva, Switzerland and competing in the National League (NL), the top tier of the Swiss hockey league system. The team plays their home games at the ...

of the

National League A The National League (NL) is a professional ice hockey league in Switzerland and is the top tier of the Swiss league system. Prior to the 2017–18 season, the league was known as National League A. During the 2018–19 season, the league ha ...

(NLA), marking his return to Switzerland after a brief stint during the 2004–05 lockout. On September 8, 2011, Park made a return to the NHL, signing a one-year, two-way contract for a second stint with the Pittsburgh Penguins. In August 2012, Park signed a two-year contract to return to the NLA with

HC Ambrì-Piotta Hockey Club Ambrì-Piotta is a Switzerland, Swiss professional ice hockey club and a member of the National League (ice hockey), National League (NL). The club was founded September 19, 1937, and is also known as "Bianco-Blu" (English: white and b ...

, where he finished his playing career.

Coaching career

Park served as assistant coach of the

behind head coach Jim Paek until 2018.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

Awards

*OHL All-Rookie Team –

1993 File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peace ...

*AHL Second All-Star Team –

1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shootin ...

Transactions

*March 18, 1997 – Traded to Anaheim by Pittsburgh for Roman Oksiuta. *August 24, 1998 – Signed as a free agent by Philadelphia. *September 22, 1999 – Signed as a free agent by Utah (IHL). *June 6, 2000 – Signed as a free agent by Minnesota. *November 8, 2004 – Signed as a free agent by Malmo (Sweden). *January 4, 2005 – Signed as a free agent by Langnau (Swiss). *August 8, 2005 – Signed as a free agent by Vancouver. *October 2, 2006 – Signed as a free agent by NY Islanders. *September 9, 2010 – Signed as a free agent by Geneve (Swiss). *September 8, 2011 – Signed as a free agent by Pittsburgh. *August 7, 2012 – Signed as a free agent by Ambri-Piotta (Swiss). *October 14, 2014 – Retired.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Park, Richard 1976 births American expatriate sportspeople in Italy American expatriate sportspeople in Switzerland American expatriate sportspeople in Sweden American men's ice hockey right wingers American sportspeople of Korean descent Belleville Bulls players Cincinnati Mighty Ducks players Cleveland Lumberjacks players Genève-Servette HC players HC Ambrì-Piotta players Houston Aeros (1994–2013) players Ice hockey people from Seoul Living people Malmö Redhawks players Mighty Ducks of Anaheim players Minnesota Wild coaches Minnesota Wild players Minnesota Wild scouts New York Islanders players Philadelphia Flyers players Philadelphia Phantoms players Pittsburgh Penguins draft picks Pittsburgh Penguins players SCL Tigers players South Korea men's national ice hockey team coaches South Korean emigrants to the United States South Korean ice hockey coaches South Korean ice hockey players Utah Grizzlies (IHL) players Vancouver Canucks players