Playing in the Kontinental Hockey League isn't exactly every Canadian kid's dream when they are growing up.

But more and more Canadian hockey players find themselves making the long trip to the former Soviet Union, continuing their living by playing the sport they love.

And guess what? Some, even when they have the opportunity to come back to the National Hockey League, make the decision to stay.

In Astana, Kazakhstan, the local KHL team, Barys Astana has three Canadians.

Kevin Dallman, the captain of the team, came over here to prove himself. He played 154 NHL games for the Boston Bruins, St. Louis Blues and Los Angeles Kings but wasn't getting the ice time or money that he thought he deserved.

"I was only going to come over for one year and then go back and show I could play there," Dallman said. "But everything worked out well.

"I had a really good year and I had a lot of fun here."

Did he ever.

Dallman led the league in scoring for defencemen in 2008-09 with 58 points and 28 goals in 53 games.

Despite getting offers from a few NHL teams after his first year, he stayed in Astana and signed a three-year deal with the team.

He helped pave the way for other Canadians — former NHLers or players in the farm systems — to head to Astana.

"When I signed here it was just after the Borat movie so everyone thought that coming over to Kazakhstan was going to be just like the movie," Dallman laughs.

But from living in the country for a few years, he knew that couldn't be further from the truth.

He managed to convince his former NHL teammate Kyle Calder this past December that Astana was a great place to live and play. The left-winger played 590 NHL games with the Chicago Blackhawks, Philadelphia Flyers, Detroit Red Wings, Anaheim Ducks and Kings, but didn't get any offers for the 2010-11 season.

His reason for signing in the KHL was quite different than Dallman's.

"My mindset was I still want to play," Calder told CBCSports.ca. "I still think I can contribute a little bit and I thought this is an opportunity maybe to put some longevity on my career and have some fun with it at the same time.

"So it was kind of a step just to check it out."

About a month into his stay here, Calder says that hockey is an international language - it's communicating with people in real life that is the toughest part.

"Little things in life that maybe you get by in Canada or the U.S., at finding a way to get them but here, with the language, it's a little harder," Calder said. "But with those guys [Dallman] who have been here and endured that it's a lot easier."

Most of the teams that have Canadians in the KHL have more than one. And I don't doubt that, like Calder, the new players called the experienced KHL players to get a review.

If these teams keep getting the thumbs up then this young league may continue to become a viable option for Canadian players at all points in their career.

CBC Sports' Katelyn Peer is in Kazakhstan covering the 2011 Asian Winter Games. Check back regularly to read her dispatches from the event, which runs Jan. 30-Feb. 6.