Halifax plumber carves his name in hockey history books as member of Iran’s national team

Nadim Muslemi was the only player outside of Iran to compete for the national team in the World Amateur Hockey Championship.Carolina Andrade / The Globe and the Post

Nadim Moslemi is a plumber in Halifax. He is also the center, defender, and right wing on the Iranian men’s national hockey team. His parents are Iranian, but he is a Bluenoser, born and raised in Nova Scotia.

He’s never set foot in Iran, but that hasn’t stopped him from playing hockey for him. Over the past five years, he has traveled to Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan and, just last week, to the United Arab Emirates.

“I’m very proud of that,” said Moslemi, 32, between calls for repair this week. “I’m honest, for me it’s like a dream come true. And it’s all a coincidence. “

He was the only player from outside Iran to compete for the national team at the World Amateur Hockey Championship. The games were played on the Olympic ice rink in the Dubai Mall.

With defeats to the Emirates national team, a club from Russia and an all-star selection squad, the Iranian men did not reach the playoffs. “That’s no surprise,” said Moslemi.

Ice skating and ice hockey were banned, and facilities for them were closed after the 1979 Iranian revolution. Until the opening of the Ice Box in the Iran Mall in Tehran two years ago, there was not a single ice rink of the prescribed size in the country.

At the same time, interest in ice hockey began to grow there through participation in inline skating. In 2016, the first tryout camp for the Iranian national hockey team took place in Asiago, Italy. Players of Iranian origin who lived abroad were recruited with the hope that the squad could compete in the 2017 Asian Winter Games in Japan.

Although he grew up in Canada, Muslims never played hockey when they were young.

“My parents wouldn’t put me in it,” he said.

He watched games at Hockey Night in Canada and decided he’d give it his first try when he was 18.

“It’s a really late age,” said Moslemi. “It took me about eight years to call myself a good hockey player.”

Moslemi attended auditions in Italy and a second camp in Kazakhstan and was selected for the Iranian team. He traveled to Sapporo for the Asian Winter Games the following year, but the Iranians were disqualified at the last minute because 13 players, including Muslims, failed to meet residency requirements. A wrestler had recently played in the KHL.

“It was kind of disappointing,” said Moslemi. “Most of them were similar to me: dual citizens with Iranian passports.”

Two years ago the Iranian national team became a member of the International Ice Hockey Federation. It hopes to play at the IIHF Division IV World Championship in Kyrgyzstan in 2022.

Since he was born in Canada, Muslim must apply for a transfer from Hockey Canada in order to play for another country.

The likelihood that that won’t happen is slim. It’s not like he has Mika Zibanejad’s skills or anything. The New York Rangers star is of Iranian descent but was born in Sweden. Hockey Canada is unlikely to get in his way.

Earlier this month, Moslemi joined other members of the men’s national team in Dubai and competed in the world amateur tournament. More than 1,000 people looked down at the action from three levels of the shopping mall.

“It was a blast,” he said.

The Iranian women’s team beat a club from Russia and ended up winning a medal. All of its members were born in Iran.

“It has been a struggle to get to where we are in the past six years,” said Moslemi.

For now he’s back home in Halifax.

“I’ll be back to normal life until the next,” said Moslemi.

He will drop his wrench and tighten his hockey pads when Iran needs him.

“I know it sounds cheesy, but when your country calls, it’s hard to say no,” said Moslemi. “It’s a privilege to be part of something so special. I am happy to say that I am part of the story.

“Every time you think you did it, you can do it again.”

You might also like

Comments are closed.