Canada, United States, Russia, Sweden and Finland.  These are some countries that are known for developing top notch hockey players within professional and international teams.  

There are then countries like Switzerland, Denmark and Germany who are starting to develop more and more hockey players.  

When you think of Spain however, you hardly think about ice hockey development at all, but that is where CIH Academy student and player Gabor Matyas grew up to play the game.  

Born in San Sebastien Spain, 16-year old Gabor Matyas moved from Spain to Canada and joined the Canadian International Hockey Academy 2 years ago.  

Matyas believed that moving to Canada would not only help his hockey skills, but would allow him to improve his English: " It was important for me to learn how to properly speak English” Matyas says.  

“If I was going to travel around and play hockey I wanted to make sure my English was good enough”.

For Matyas, it was very tough to fulfil his love and passion for hockey in a country that is dominated by a sport he got bored of growing up.  

"I got into hockey because I got bored of soccer.  Everyone in Spain plays soccer and I really wanted to try a different sport”.  Hockey development in Spain was very tough for Matyas as there were not that many hockey programs and rinks available.  "We only have 6 rinks in Spain.  

I was lucky enough to have a rink in my home city of San Sebastien but sometimes you would have to travel 6 hours to the next closest rink".

Matyas might have been born in Spain but he actually holds a dual citizenship as his father was born in Hungary.  Hungary is a country that is starting to show up from time to time in international play.  

They actually qualified in the Championship Division of 2016 IIHF World Hockey Championships last year in Russia.  Growing up watching the Hungarian national hockey team with his dad, Matyas has decided to represent Hungary internationally and will try out for one of their national junior teams in the fall.

Located in Rockland, Ontario, CIH Academy has become a home for many international players like Matyas who come to Canada to learn and follow their passion of hockey.  

CIHA, who have two teams that compete in the HEO Midget U18 AAA league, have players from all over the globe including Japan, Austria, Australia, United Kingdom and Sweden.  

Matyas currently plays for CIH Academy Midget AAA Voyageurs Green Team.

"CIH Academy has been unbelievable for my development" Matyas states.  "It also really helps to have international teammates that are in your same situation".