"It requires speed, strength, coordination, agility and brains,"Huang said, as many skills are involved, including skating and moving the puck with a hockey stick, in a game involving a high degree of physicality and high speeds.

The frequent physical contact makes the sport very exciting as players in protective gear sometimes crash into each other and fights can erupt due to disputes, further heightening the audience's excitement, he said.

A sports lover and a proficient sportsman since an early age, Huang started learning ice hockey in the late 1990s out of sheer curiosity when the sport was being promoted on the island, where it is also a niche pursuit. The college where he was studying also formed Taiwan's first collegiate ice hockey team.

He explained that playing the sport as a student also gave him the opportunity to brush up his English skills, as most of those engaging in the sport in Taiwan at the time were almost exclusively from North America. "Over time, I also spoke fluent English," Huang said.