First I want to comment RE: your posts about China/California. California is completely unlike China as you point out socially however there is a very important similarity. It is a large non-hockey market with very much potential. To be sure the expansion to the American South/Dessert was VERY unnatural. I remember it clearly. Even in the beginning it was very unpopular and it wasn't until they poached foreign superstars that hockey was spoken about locally. This was the amazing Wayne Gretzky to Los Angeles.
Even recently when the Phoenix Coyotes were completely bankrupt and there was no interest in it the NHL STILL did not allow it to move to prime and ready Canadian markets that were ready and willing to move it immediately. The bankrupt Phoenix Coyotes were financed by the NHL for two years. Cultural differences aside, this situation is exactly like Kunlun in China. Now that there are 3 teams in California, One in Arizona... sure there is even interest for Las Vegas; Why not? But to be clear, this situation did not occur naturally. It was designed and financed by the NHL.
I still view those very differently. Yes, having teams in states like California and Arizona may have sounded like idiotic ideas which in the end worked very well, but please keep in mind that they're still a part of the US. Same currency, similar culture, many ways to connect with other parts of the country etc... On the other hand, China is a whole different story. Take the example of Auston Matthews. The guy was born in California and learned about hockey in Arizona, now playing for Toronto. This may spark interest in California and Arizona, because hey, it's their homeboy. There are many ways to trigger something in those states only because they're a part of the US. In China, "please love hockey, it's a great sport" campaign would have to be run for a way longer time and possibly in a more expensive way, if Kunlun ever will be a truly Chinese hockey team. Can you imagine a Chinese player, born and grew up in Beijing, play for SKA?
And please don't get me wrong; I'm never against teams from this or that country. Right on the contrary, I'd love to see an actual Chinese team. The reason I don't like Kunlun is that it's an artificial club now and to me, it doesn't have that bloodline "deserts of America" has. Moreover, KHL is nowhere near NHL when it comes to stability: the league is basically run with rich people's money. It doesn't profit. It produces nothing that comes from the fans. While NHL has means and time to deal with underperforming or "artificial" teams to turn them into legit franchises, KHL doesn't. People say that Kunlun operation poses no risk. True. What is the worst to come? Kunlun would leave and that's it. Yes. But if we are talking about an elite league with a stable & smooth operation, then maybe it's a little bit unpleasant to have teams that come and go. I mean, Lev Prague had to leave right after they competed in Gagarin Cup finals... That doesn't look very stable and elite to me.
Now with regard to naming. If you are trying to build a national or even international brand it is important not to make an extremely localized name because that will hinder the aforementioned goal. What do you think of Malmo Redhawks, or the Vancouver Canucks? The flag of China is RED and there is nothing but Stars. I think RED Stars is a bit colloquial, but nonetheless a fine name. Crowns is great too. But this is a boring topic so whatever.
I'm not sure if KHL needs an international brand. With Kunlun, the targeted market is China. With Crowns or whatever it's named, it would be Sweden or Estonia. The names I suggest are not extremely localized. I just want Swedish teams to be named about something Swedish and same goes for Estonia. But that's just my preference - I love KHL because it brings Amur and Danube rivers together in the same competition. So, instead of an articifial identity, I'd love to see an "actual" Swedish, Estonian or Chinese team. That's the whole point.
Teams like Malmö Redhawks or Stavanger Oilers give me nightmares, so I prefer ignoring their "fake" names and stick with the local names. Luckily, almost everyone does so, so I don't have to put up with this. A multi-national hockey league is better when the "multi" part works. If all teams are to have English names with nothing special about their own country, what's the point of having this competition? About Canucks, I don't see the problem. It's a team from Canada and Canucks just fits them perfectly well.
The main reason I am responding is Crowns in Tallinn. I think its not a bad idea. Generally there is no point to have an Estonian K team (maybe VHL), but since Crowns is a Swedish project that has Swedish media attention it could be a transition. Estonia is close with Sweden (geographically and in relations) and if the team is packed with top-tier Swedes, perhaps they could eventually be moved. The KHL has no experience with moving teams. This has been done successfully many times in the NHL most recently from Atlanta to Winnipeg. I think a Swedish-heavy Crowns team in Tallinn would be a good candidate for a move to Stockholm. But this is all hypothetical..... Regardless the league is developing steadily both organizationally and competitively.
Again, this is possible but to me, not nice. Same was done with Lev Poprad, which later was moved to Prague. And we all know what happened. There seems to be no interest in Sweden for a KHL team, especially when it's an artificial project called "Crowns". Sweden is a country which loves hockey and knows what it is - almost everyone can easily find a team to support, to which they can feel somehow attached. Why would anyone need a "Crowns" team playing against Russians? It may work, let's say, in Germany or other countries where hockey is not worshipped yet still known, but not in Sweden.
I don't want to judge whole Swedish hockey community based on what Swedish posters here write, but the ones I see here constantly be like,
I strongly support a team in Tallinn. In Estonia, for Estonian people. Keep it there. I mean, you'd think it's way easier to develop a hockey team in Baltics than in China... It seems like they have an arena and investors as well. Why not name it something proper and actually makes sense for Estonians and let it stay there?
Oh by the way, I forgot about Red Star Kunlun part. Sure, Chinese flag is full of stars and it's red, but why "Red Star" in English? It could have been Kunlun HK or Beijing Kunlun. I don't know how to say red star in Chinese, but it could have been kept Chinese, for example.
