Steelers Media
If Dong Eun Lee — known as Eric Lee in the hockey world — could sum up his hockey journey in one word, it would be “bittersweet.”
The native of Seoul, South Korea, who first started playing hockey when he was in Grade 3, would go on to play 146 regular-season games and six playoff games in the Pacific Junior Hockey League.
For Lee, playing hockey back home in South Korea with friends is where he grew to love the game. The right-shot forward started out as an inline player and then transferred to the ice. “Feeling the cold wind and skating was so fun. The game was so fun,” he said with a smile.
Nothing about his hockey journey was similar to any of his teammates’. He made the decision to move to Canada to really focus on hockey and ended up staying here. “I played Bantam and a little bit of peewee with the opportunity to play in the PJHL as a 16-year-old, and I took it,” he admitted.
Game one of 152 in his career took place against the White Rock Whalers in Port Moody when he was a part of the Panthers.
Being 5-10 minutes away from the rink and with a number of connections to the organization, the Panthers made an ideal spot to play.
Lee racked up 105 games in red and black, scoring eight times and setting up 21 markers for 29 points, including his first PJHL goal on October 19 against the same team he faced off against in his first PJHL game – the White Rock Whalers.
Fast forward to the 2024-25 season, when he found himself part of the Delta Ice Hawks following a trade. “Delta is a team that I also had connections to, so I got to play there and go to the finals. Unfortunately, we lost, but it was still a great experience and a core memory of my life,” he recalled. Lee had five goals and four assists for nine points in 30 regular-season games, including an additional six playoff games, which would be his only taste of playing in the PJHL playoffs.
The highs and lows of junior hockey caught up to Lee at the start of the season when he was contemplating whether he should try and play hockey at university or quit altogether.
“Ultimately I couldn’t throw away my last year of junior hockey, so I found a team near my house where I was welcome and had a great coaching staff; that’s how I ended up here,” he explained.
Injuries limited Lee to just 11 regular season games in Steeltown, but that didn’t stop the over-ager from enjoying himself. “I couldn’t play many games this year due to my injuries, but of course I got to meet everyone on the team — great guys. Even not playing, just watching the Steelers play was a great memory for me,” he shared.
As with many junior hockey players, they couldn’t get to where they were without the support of friends and family. “Living across the world to play hockey, my parents did so much for me. They worked so hard, and they always cheered me on. I call them every day, and they tell me to have fun. I think that really helped me a lot, especially when I was going through tough times,” he said.
With the 2025–26 season now in the books, Lee wants to be remembered as “a great guy to have around, always smiling, always fun to be around.”
