Most notable among these Russian coaches was Boris Mindel, a former defenseman on the Red Army Team, who established a junior program at the Canada Centre rink in Metula.

Ice hockey in Israel received an additional boost of momentum when Roger Neilson, coach of several National Hockey League (NHL) teams including the New York Rangers and the Toronto Maple Leafs, opened a branch of his summer ice hockey camp in Metula and attracted young North American players to train and compete with young Israelis interested in the sport.

At the same time, a team of Jewish teenagers from New York City traveled to Israel to face Boris Mindel's Metula team, and later invited the Israeli juniors to tour the Northeastern United States and Canada with them, giving the Israeli juniors their first exposure to North American competition.

In 2005, Israel, with the benefit of a number of players who were Israeli-Canadian dual citizens, won the gold medal at the IIHF Division II Group B World Championships and were promoted to Division I for the 2006 IIHF World Championships.

In the summer of 2007, with outside temperatures reaching ninety degrees Fahrenheit, the first World Jewish Ice Hockey Tournament was held in Metula, with competing teams from Israel, Canada, France, and the winner, the United States.