© BC Photography

William Douglas has been writing The Color of Hockey blog since 2012. Douglas joined NHL.com in 2019 and writes about people of color in the sport. Today, he previews the 2024 Amerigol LATAM Cup which takes place Aug. 21-25 at the Florida Panthers IceDen in Coral Springs and Baptist Health IcePlex in Fort Lauderdale.

Juan Carlos Otero says he toyed with the idea of renaming the Amerigol LATAM Cup because the tournament has grown beyond teams representing Latin American and Caribbean nations.

He quickly nixed the thought.

“We’re not going to make any change,” Otero said. “What I’m happy and proud to see is that other countries are aware of us by name and although it’s called the LATAM Cup, they want to be a part of it. That’s really rewarding and something that we hope to continue growing.”

“Growth” is the operative word for the 2024 LATAM Cup which runs Wednesday through Sunday at the Florida Panthers IceDen in Coral Springs and the Baptist Health IcePlex, the Panthers practice facility in Fort Lauderdale.

The tournament will include 52 teams representing 17 countries and territories including Argentina, Armenia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Egypt, Greece, Israel, Lebanon, Mexico, Puerto Rico and Venezuela.

© BC Photography

More than 1,100 players will compete across six divisions, including men’s Division I and II, a women’s division and youth Under-12, Under-14 and Under-16 brackets.

Teams representing the Cuban American and Pakistani communities, Algeria, and an Egyptian women’s squad will make their LATAM Cup debuts.

“The tournament was formed for Latin America, but our philosophy is that hockey is for everyone, and we want to grow the game and make it accessible to everyone,” Otero said. “How could we say hockey is for everyone and not allow these teams that are coming from same situation or worse than Latin America and not allow them to participate in the tournament?

“These places are trying to grow the game and develop it,” Otero said. “To me, the more the merrier. The more diversity we have creates a better event.”

© Sameh Ramadan

Some of the Latin American and Caribbean teams will have an opportunity to see their efforts to grow the sport in their homelands on the silver screen during previews of “This is Hockey,” an NHL Studios production series that will air later this season.

The seven-part series, funded through the NHL and NHL Players’ Association’s International Growth Fund, was shot in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Jamaica, Puerto Rico and Mexico.

“(What) we wanted to do with the series was to go in and show how these people are passionate about our game,” said Donny Khan, NHL Senior Director of Hockey Development & Strategic Collaboration.

“Colombia doesn’t even have an ice hockey rink and yet they have an ice hockey federation, and they send teams every year to compete in the LATAM Cup and men’s and women’s teams to the IIHF Development Cup,” Khan said. “I think this (series) is a way for us to make an authentic connection that the NHL is truly interested in expanding our fanbase and that we welcome people who love the game no matter where you are.”

© Donny Khan

The LATAM Cup has grown steadily since its inaugural tournament in 2018 when five teams and 92 players competed over three days. The NHL and NHL Players’ Association through the Industry Growth Fund and the Panthers help support the LATAM Cup.

“We are excited for the return and the continued growth of the LATAM Cup at Panthers IceDen for the sixth consecutive year,” said John Colombo, vice president of Florida Panthers Foundation & Community Relations John Colombo. “This tournament brings together our vibrant South Florida community to support and cheer on these talented players as they showcase their skills and passion for their countries.”

Many of the teams enter the LATAM Cup in hopes of getting the attention of government officials, sports federations or private investors in their countries or territories and convince them to help develop hockey there, mainly by building ice rinks.

Algeria eagerly signed up to compete in the LATAM Cup after the African nation made its North American debut at the Dream Nations Cup international tournament in East Rutherford, New Jersey, in April.

“Dream Nations Cup got exactly the attention we wanted from both the Algerian public and the Algerian government — more funding has started to trickle through with a promise of more and talk of potential ice rinks,” said Karim Kerbouche, the London-based president of Hockey Algeria. “We’re going to the LATAM Cup to strike while the iron is hot. We’re confident and we believe we can win Division II. This would reinforce our need for greater funding a full-sized ice rink. We’re traveling with our strongest team yet and we’re excited to play Puerto Rico, Egypt and Venezuela.”

© Faisal Ahmad Alloughani

Earle Barrington is excited about finally forming Division I and III men’s teams comprised of Cuban Americans at the LATAM Cup after watching the tournament for years while selling sports merchandise during it.

“I always wanted to do a Cuban team, because the tournament is just so awesome,” said Barrington, whose son, defenseman Max Barrington, will play on the Division I team. “We live in the land of Cubans being here in South Florida. Like everybody else, Cubans play hockey too.”

Khan hopes to show that Pakistanis love the sport too. In addition to screening “This is Hockey” at the LATAM Cup, Khan is managing and playing for a men’s Division III team of players of Pakistani descent from Canada and the United States.

And he’s already thinking about next year’s tournament.

“I’ve actually had outreach already from people in Canada and other parts of the U.S. asking if they can be part of a team next year, including a lot of women,” he said. “I’m hoping that we can go back with at least two teams next year, one of them a women’s team.”