By now we should have heard the defiant ultimatums and anguished woe-is-me wailings all the way from Montreal.

But here it is a couple of weeks into the shanghaiing of Brian Ching and not so much as a trade-me-or-I’m outta-here threat has been uttered, texted or tweeted by Hawaii’s first Major League Soccer star.

There has been no reported attempt at a holdout or shrill demand for more money.

All of which history has taught us to expect as standard operating procedure when too many of our sports stars don’t get what they want.

Well, some of them, anyway. Which is why Ching is proving to be a refreshing departure.

For there is no denying the 33-year old Kamehameha graduate got the shock of his decorated career when the Montreal Impact grabbed him in the MLS expansion draft in November. What he wanted was to finish his 12-year pro soccer career in Houston, where he has long since become legend as the face of the Dynamo franchise.

“The face, the arms, the body, the eyes, everything, actually,” corrected Lester Gretsch, a Dynamo official, lest Ching’s role there be understated.

When the Dynamo moved to Houston in 2006 Ching gave the team immediate identity and validation, scoring four goals in the home opener and leading it to consecutive MLS titles in ’06 and ’07.

Fans took to not only the determined style of play and toughness of the Haleiwa native but his humility and work in the community. “He took the city by storm,” Gretsch said. All of which was reinforced last year when Ching, despite a series of injuries, finished as the leading scorer, helping return the Dynamo to the MLS finals.

The fact that Compass Stadium, the first downtown soccer-specific stadium in the MLS, will open in Houston in May is something folks there will tell you Ching had a hand — and foot — in bringing about so soon. Which is part of why Ching’s avowed goal had been to make this his last season so he could go out in the new stadium.

At least it was until the Dynamo botched things, foolishly leaving him unprotected in the expansion draft, figuring the combination of Ching’s wish to finish in Houston, his $450,000 salary (huge for the MLS) and age (he’ll be 34 in May) would deter a poacher.

But the Impact, presumably hoping to force a trade with Houston that would bring Quebec native Andre Hinault home, stunningly chose Ching anyway. “There was shock (in Houston),” a Dynamo official acknowledged. And no small amount of criticism either.

Ching had said before the draft that he’d probably retire rather than finish his playing career elsewhere, but when Montreal opened its training camp last month, he was there front and center, checking his ego at the door, demonstrating his class. “I would have loved to finish my career in Houston, especially because they are opening a brand-new stadium there,” Ching told a press conference. “It is something I was planning on. But I’m a professional and, sometimes, you don’t get what you want.”

Said Ching, “I can’t thank the fans enough for reaching out to me over Twitter and wishing me nothing but good luck here. For me, it is about being professional and winning games. It doesn’t matter where I’m at, I’m a competitive guy and I’m going to give it everything I’ve got.”

It is what his Houston fans would have expected — just 1,800 miles closer.

Reach Ferd Lewis at flewis@staradvertiser.com or 529-4820.