Meet Team Pakistan

2024 Dream Nations Cup Results: Did Not Participate

Built From the Ground Up

When Donny Khan, a Pakistan native, immigrated to the USA at 14, he turned to sports to feel more integrated into the American experience. While Khan became a fan of all sports, he was particularly engrossed in ice hockey. He began saving money from his after-school job to put himself through hockey camps in the Summer. 

That initial interest in hockey began a lifelong love for the sport for Khan, who now works as the Senior Director of Hockey Development and Strategic Collaboration for the NHL. Khan felt that becoming a sports fan, particularly of his local New York teams, would help him feel a part of American culture, but he also never stopped honoring his roots and home in Pakistan. This desire led to him dreaming of forming a Pakistan ice hockey team, the first of its kind, to compete in 2024. 

While Khan was excited about the prospect of putting together a team to compete, he initially wasn’t sure if he could field a team. Khan voiced that experience in an article with NHL.com.

“I wasn’t sure we could find enough players of Pakistani descent to play hockey, but I knew we wouldn’t know until I jumped in with both feet and tried to see what we could find.”

Donny Khan teamed up with Rohail Khan (no relation) to help field the first team through word of mouth and social media. They started by searching for players on Elite Prospects with the shared last name of Khan and reached out to see if those players had cultural roots in Pakistan. 

What started as scouring elite prospects has become a full team that will take the ice at the 2025 Dream Nations Cup.

Representing Cultural Pride

While putting together the team has been arduous, Donny Khan says the work was well worth it once the team took the ice together for the first time.

“Once you get on the ice and get to put the sweater on, it’s such an incredible feeling.” Khan said, “That moment is when I think we realized how much the team meant, and not just to me. How much the team meant to everyone showing up to play or support the team and the conversations they were having with people at home.”

The pride Khan has felt both building and playing for the team extends to the team’s roster. Having the national team allows players who may have never believed they could represent their country on the international stage to celebrate their culture through hockey. Because the team was primarily put together through social media and word of mouth, the first time the team competed in a tournament was also the first time most of their roster had ever met face-to-face.

Despite their relative inexperience as a team, the organization is united through a passion for their heritage. Zaakir Khan, a defenseman for the team, spoke about that pride in an article for NHL.com.

“My father always taught me to be very passionate about my heritage. Just being able to represent my father’s country, my grandfather, who came from Lahore (Pakistan) in the 1940s, and just to represent them and put it in the game that I love, I was ecstatic about it.”

With a few competitions under their belts, the team has had a whirlwind experience that will continue this year and beyond.

Creating a Program With Lasting Impact

Team Pakistan and Khan have had the experience of a lifetime thus far, but their aspirations go far beyond the present. The team hopes to build the right infrastructure so that it can exist and thrive far into the future. 

As such a young organization, the team is looking to make sure they have professional websites, social media and have even partnered with a jersey manufacturer that produces the team’s uniforms in Pakistan. Khan and the company are doing everything they can to provide a solid infrastructure for the team. They hope this means that their jerseys aren’t the only thing coming directly from Pakistan in the future. The team hopes to develop players not just in North America but at home as well.

“Our goal in the first few years is to develop our talent primarily in North America. But we plan to continue growing the game in Pakistan.” Khan said, “We will continue to run clinics and bring resources over there. The ultimate goal is to have players directly from Pakistan join the team.”

A growing team would mean more opportunities for Pakistanis and people with roots in Pakistan to play hockey for their country. As a new organization, the team currently supports men’s senior hockey but is looking to add a women’s team and u16 team to its ranks. 

Khan says his and the organization hopes that this growth could establish Pakistan Ice Hockey as a player on the world stage. 

“The long-term goal is to inspire people in Pakistan and eventually have a team Pakistan in the Asia Winter Games and one day, God willing, in the Winter Olympics.”

If the team is to reach those lofty heights, it simply needs to continue what it’s been doing. In the organization’s short history, the team has grown significantly and seems to have major promise for the future. The 2025 Dream Nations Cup is one step closer to those dreams.

You can follow Team Pakistan’s journey on social media. Catch them at the 2025 Dream Nations Cup in New York City from May 27 to June 1.