A special award has been established to honor the will and achievements of the late Cho Min-ho, who left a great mark on Korean ice hockey.
On the 3rd, HL Anyang, the team that Min-ho Cho played for, and his bereaved family announced on the 3rd that they had decided to establish the ‘Min-ho Cho Assist Award’ and award it to the middle and high school player who recorded the most assists in domestic competitions over the course of a year.
The first award ceremony will be held after the Asian League ice hockey match between HL Anyang and Tohoku Free Blaze to be held at Anyang Ice Arena on the 6th.
The first winners were Shin Yun-min of Gwangseong High School and Kim Se-hyuk of Kyung Hee Middle School. 토토사이트
HL Anyang revealed the background for its establishment, saying, “The purpose is to carry on the wishes of the deceased, who showed outstanding performance as a playmaker and devoted himself to the team, and was especially interested in the development of youth ice hockey.”
Cho Min-ho, who had been attracting attention as a top prospect since his days at Gyeonggi High School, graduated from Korea University and joined Anyang Halla (now HL Anyang) in 2009.
Afterwards, he recorded 124 goals and 324 assists in 393 games in 12 seasons in the Asian League, and served as a leading striker by winning six league championships, Rookie of the Year Award (2010), and Best Forward (2016).
His 324 assists in the regular league were the most by a Korean player as of June 2022.
He scored the first Olympic goal in Korean ice hockey history by scoring in the ice hockey match against the Czech Republic at the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, but was suddenly diagnosed with lung cancer in October 2021.
Jo Min-ho, who was a non-smoker, went to the hospital because his cough got worse and was diagnosed with the disease. However, at the time of diagnosis, the cancer cells had already spread beyond treatment.
In the end, after a short illness of 8 months, he became a star in the sky too soon at the age of 35 in June 2022.
HL Anyang is still not forgetting the deceased, designating Jo Min-ho’s number 87 as permanently retired and preparing a memorial space at the Anyang Ice Arena.