Van Poucke (23), a graduate in French literature and communication studies from Manhattanville College, New York, is a player and assistant coach for the Dunedin Thunder Ice hockey team.
He arrived in Dunedin last week and watched the New Zealand Ice Blacks complete a clean sweep over the Finnish club side, HC Storm, at the Dunedin Stadium last Friday night. He was not impressed, however.
"Ice hockey in New Zealand is played like rugby on ice," he told the Otago Daily Times yesterday.
"It should be played like chess.
"The game should be more strategic than physical. Every move should be planned and the players should be thinking two steps ahead when a call is made."
The rugby philosophy is ingrained in New Zealand ice hockey teams and they tend to play a more crash, bash and hope style of game.
"The players have potential here," van Poucke said.
"My job is to educate the Dunedin Thunder players into a new way to play the game."
Van Poucke grew up in Belgium and has played hockey in Europe and North America.
He played ice hockey for the Leuven Chiefs and the Eeklo Yeti Bears in Belgium as a goalie and trialled for the Belgian under-18 team.
But he was not prepared to toe the line in the "politically correct" environment of Belgian ice hockey.
He was blacklisted and knew there was little future for himself his own country so he sought experience abroad.
Since leaving high school he has played for the Bay City Bombers and the California Stars in California.
He has alternated between North America and Europe and has played in the French division 3 league and last season was promoted to the elite French league for Les Rapaces de Gap.
Canada used to be the powerhouse of world ice hockey and dominated World Cup and Olympic Games, but the strength has shifted to Europe, and Russia is the world champion.
Sweden is the Olympic champion and the other strong countries in Europe are Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Switzerland, Germany and France.
