Canadian contingent in Hong Kong helps ice hockey podcast find devout following at home and abroad
- Started by two Canadian expats living in the city, Across the Pond has charted number one on Apple and Spotify in various categories
- The show has tapped Hong Kong’s healthy Canuck population, showcasing the global reach of the sport
Turns out it’s easy to take the Canadian out of Canada, but really tough to take the Canada out of the Canadian.
In 2011, Chris Ivany left Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia with his wife Hollie, moving to Hong Kong to teach English. Ivany, like any good Canadian kid, has been an ice hockey nut (just “hockey” to Canadians) since a young age, playing, coaching, referring and talking about the game endlessly.
“[Hollie] had been suggesting for a while that I start a hockey podcast, likely because she was tired of listening to me talk about it all the time,” said Ivany. “I brought up the idea to my good friend Paul MacLean, and we started working on it right away. It took over a year to plan and prepare everything needed to have a quality podcast.”
So in October of 2019 the two launched their first episode, talking to Hongkonger and fellow Canadian Greg Smyth about the growth of the local game over the years. Since then, Across the Pond has yet to miss a weekly show (66 and counting), and has amassed an impressive following.
They’ve had a number of notable stars make appearances, including former NHLers Jeremy Roenick and Barry Beck, who lives in Hong Kong and works as an ice hockey coach, and Across The Pond has reached number one, at one point or another, in the hockey category in Hong Kong, Thailand, Singapore, Finland, the United Kingdom and Ireland on Apple and Spotify. It has also been in the top 10 in Canada and the United States concerning hockey podcasts.
