Baig brothers from Brossard win hockey gold at LATAM Cup in Florida
Posted September 3, 2025 5:24 pm.
Last Updated September 3, 2025 5:57 pm.
Two brothers from Quebec were part of the winning team at this year’s LATAM Cup in south Florida, a tournament that has grown substantially since its humble beginnings in 2018.
Shaan Baig, 25, was the oldest member of Team Pakistan, which won gold at the NHL-backed tournament featuring 62 teams.
“I’ve always played ice hockey growing up here in the South Shore of Montreal and then now playing in college in the U.K.,” Shaan said. “Always been probably the only Pakistani player. Being on a team with players with similar backgrounds was quite unique in that sense and bringing my experience of playing overseas with a predominantly younger group of players was an incredible experience.”
His younger brother Ilyas, at only 14 years old, was one of the youngest members on the team.
“Getting to hold up that cup with my brother, that was like probably the best moment I’ll ever have,” Ilyas said.
“Getting to lift that trophy up with the rest of the guys and especially my little brother was an incredible experience,” Shaan added.
The victory made their father Kashif Baig very proud.
“I’m a first generation son of an immigrant and my kids are second generation and to keep our culture alive and meaningful in their lives is always a challenge for us as parents,” Kashif said. “And for them to take this kind of interest representing this nation was an incredibly nice surprise and unexpected.”
The boys say it was an honour to play for Pakistan.
“To represent a country that, ice hockey is not the major sport, it’s usually field hockey, and so to kind of put that on the map and have the first international win for the country definitely not something I’ll forget,” Shaan said. “And hopefully many more years to come to kind of get pushed for IIHF status and eventually playing the Olympics.”
“Honestly it was a blessing to be a part of that team,” added Ilyas. “And with my brother, I just felt like being with the guys, just like one of the best experiences I’ve ever had.”
Shaan, who is currently studying at Cambridge University in the U.K, intends to keep playing hockey there.
“I have kind of three more seasons left over there, and so hopefully we can win a couple more championships and national titles during my time there and we’ll see where it takes us from there. And definitely want to continue playing for Team Pakistan,” he said.
When asked what advice he would give to other passionate hockey players, Ilyas said: “Just follow your passion, work hard every day and just see where it leads to.”
