Player Spotlight: Maxwell Tong

This week’s spotlight is on one of our newest and youngest players, Maxwell Tong. This guy is really one of a kind and has quickly become a major contributor to the team both on and off the ice. Tonger took a while to join the team, a little bit too long in our opinion 👀👀(and yes, we added the eyes for a little bit of spice, no AI).

A note to our readers (we love writing these): One of our hopes in writing these articles is that we make it easier to understand the skill level, what to expect, and what is needed to join the Dragons. We found Tong wandering the mean streets of London after former teammate and one-time Dragon Lokel Wong reached out to us and let us know that Tonger was studying in London. It took Tong a while to join and a little convincing because he wasn't really sure what to expect. This meant he needed to ship his gear over and unfortunately missed the first 3 games of the season, something we’re trying to improve by getting in touch with players well before they come to London.

Tong immediately became a big hit on the team both on and off the ice. In his two games played with the Dragons, he’s managed 4 points, 1 goal and 3 assists giving him a 2.0 point per game average. Off the ice he’s slotted right in with the team not being shy with his chirps and immediately settling in, as if he’s been on the team for years. He joined for his first game against the Southampton Spitfires where he experienced some of the joys of British hockey which included one of the wettest and most humid rinks we've ever played at (Basingstoke) and his first penalty.

Usually we take our penalties without a fuss, but this one was unique. Tong somehow got sent to the box for sticking up for our very own Patrick Chapman who was not only hit from behind in a wildly dangerous play but also hit from behind right through the opponent's penalty box door that was never closed properly. There's nothing we like better on the Dragons than a new player showing up and instantly sticking up for his teammates.

Before joining the Dragons, Tong represented Hong Kong’s Men’s National Team at the 2025 Asian Winter Games in Harbin, China (check out that wild headshot). He played 5 games with 12 goals and 9 assists for a whopping 21 points. Although Tong helped the team advance to the quarterfinals, they fell short of the medal round.

Before that, Max split his 2024-2025 season with the East Coast Wizards in the Eastern Hockey League (EHL) and the Boston Jr. Rangers of the National Collegiate Development Conference (NCDC/USPHL Premier). With the East Coast Wizards, he played 27 games with 14 goals and 5 assists for a .70 points per game average. Nothing to scoff at in the EHL, a juniors development league which plays intense hockey as a college-prep circuit.

While playing for the Boston Jr. Rangers in the NCDC, the top junior level of the United States Premier Hockey League, he put up 1 goal and 1 assist in 8 games, a good showing for one of the leagues meant to funnel players into NCAA hockey.

Prior to Juniors, Tong came through the classic New England hockey pipeline. He played for the Islanders Hockey Club Prep East in the Eastern Hockey Federation (EHF) Under 18 League, a general proving ground for prep school players in the region. This was a split-season team which ends their season around Thanksgiving with the winter season starting up with Holderness. Unfortunately Tonger had an ACL tear and missed most of that season, leaving him with water bottle duty like a real champ.

A note to our readers: we’re expanding a little bit on this area of Tong’s hockey history because we think Youth hockey and clear pathways in player development are key to creating good, competitive hockey. Although we are a university team, we are also now a full charity with a mission to grow and improve the sport. As we grow, one of our goals is to develop a more sustainable environment for hockey players to develop in the UK.

The EHF is built around the top youth teams in New England and is designed to foster and govern an elite amateur league with teams that have a ‘cradle to college’ development model. It takes a lot to be both a competitive hockey player, or any athlete for that matter, while also being a student. Balancing sports and academics takes time, understanding, and grit, and having teams that support that growth is important.

Another note, our last one for this article: we are a university team so we try to support our players as often as we can academically and professionally (one of the reasons why we write these articles). Tonger wasted no time in filling out the form/interview for this article and also taking us up on our resume building support that we offer to all of our student athletes.

Before joining the EHF, Tong played for Holderness School and Winchester High School. Holderness is a classic hockey prep school which competes in the New England Preparatory School Athletic Council (NEPSAC). A lot of our North American readers will recognize the 30+ game season that is common at this stage in player development. Max played in a number of other places starting way back when he was just a kid. It’s no surprise that Tong has had such a successful hockey history as he started playing when he was only five years old, something of a trend amongst our top performing players.

Like we said, our team is made up of university students who are some of the best hockey players in the country but also bring that competitive spirit to the classroom. Our 6’1” left winger is joining us this year from Massachusetts during his first year abroad as part of his BSc in Mechanical Engineering as part of the Northeastern University London Scholars Program (alongside teammate Sam Rudenko).

His program includes classes on four subjects with roughly two classes a day in the afternoons and three classes on Fridays. Wednesday classes are bright and early around 9 am, likely to fit the general UK trend of keeping Wednesday afternoons open for sports (something that is slowly disappearing). Tong’s classes include Cornerstone of Engineering, Calculus 3 for Science and Engineering, Differential Equations and Linear Algebra, and Current Issues in Cities and Suburbs. He told us that his favorite course so far is Cities and Suburbs because of his own background. Tong is originally from Hong Kong (a staple origin for at least one player a year in London) and moved to the suburbs of Boston. Coming to London has added yet another city and system to his repertoire which can provide him with a deeper understanding of how certain systems work.

Back when he went to Holderness, he worked on a year-long research project entitled ‘How recent changes in Hong Kong affected the city’s autonomy and civil liberties’ which culminated in a 20-minute TED Talk-like presentation. A hot-topic and one that we’re sure Tong will think about while he takes the Tube to and from practices.

Max Tong has also been busy with his mechanical engineering skills in his first year with the Cornerstone of Engineering course. Just recently, Tong and a course mate completed a project which required creating a robot that could complete three tasks, travel straight, travel straight and take a quick left then right, and finally to navigate through a complex maze.

The two took inspiration from automated lawnmowers and built a simple, stable chassis with two motors with real-time sensor feedback using three ultrasonic sensors, one forward-facing and two angled to monitor front-left and front-right. Although the project seemed simple on the surface, building a robot never is. Tong mentioned that it took around 30 hours over the course of the last month to build the robot which included programming, wiring, and assembly; needing to code the Raspberry Pi brain and set up the power system correctly to ensure no components would be damaged. This is the type of teamwork and dedication we expect from all of our players!

Outside of his program and hockey, Tong likes to keep his routine consistent waking up, eating breakfast and lunch, going to class, getting some tea, studying, cooking dinners in his accommodation (we could write a note here for our non-British student readers but we’ll hold that for a rainy day), and getting a lift in at the gym. Tong told us that he like to reserve those Wednesday afternoons for exploring different parts of London with his favorites so far being Kensington Park and Primrose Hill.

So, what’s next for Tonger? Since he’s in his first year, he still has a lot of time before looking for a job but we’re always keen to help our students get prepared for the future. Tong told us he’s recently become a big fan of F1. He only recently watched his first full race, the 2025 Japanese Grand Prix where Max Verstappen stuck it on pole by a couple hundredths in a thrilling qualifying session (we had to look this one up – he qualified fastest and will start first on the grid for the race). Like any good academic, Tonger mixed his passions with his coursework and wrote his journalistic article for his First Year Writing Class last semester on the topic.

Although this has always been a passion for Tong (he regaled us with stories of drawing pictures of an Audi R8 to show off on his binders in school) it took a back seat to other passions like hockey and school.

But, one of the things we love on the Dragons is people following their passions. Tong would love to work in F1 aerodynamics or powertrain development, particularly with the new regulations that have come into the sport. Maybe a good summer internship for Tong would be working with some of the talented F1 engineers based in and around London!

If you’d like to get in touch with Maxwell Tong please connect with him on LinkedIn. He's open to networking, internships, and future work!

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