Chinese hockey?

Urbanskog

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Feb 8, 2014
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Does anyone know what's next for Chinese women's hockey now that the CWHL has ceased all operations? Could they perhaps join the Russian women's hockey league with one or two teams? Presently the team located the furthest east in the Russian league is based in Krasnoyarsk but maybe they could operate as they operated in the CWHL (which is that they split home and away games in batches in order to significantly cut down travel).

Of course, the Russian league is well below the CWHL in terms of level of play but I don't really see another alternative.
 

singlesliceofcheese

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May 9, 2018
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Does anyone know what's next for Chinese women's hockey now that the CWHL has ceased all operations? Could they perhaps join the Russian women's hockey league with one or two teams? Presently the team located the furthest east in the Russian league is based in Krasnoyarsk but maybe they could operate as they operated in the CWHL (which is that they split home and away games in batches in order to significantly cut down travel).

Of course, the Russian league is well below the CWHL in terms of level of play but I don't really see another alternative.

There's been talks to create a far-east league, but it's all hearsay.

Source: S. Korea pledges support for Asian women's hockey league involving Koreas | Yonhap News Agency
 
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Albatros

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Aug 19, 2017
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Does anyone know what's next for Chinese women's hockey now that the CWHL has ceased all operations?

Currently the National Championships are underway, it's only a short tournament though. The same in men albeit in two separate divisions.
 

PanniniClaus

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Oct 12, 2006
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Is it safe to say any Kunlun signing is with an eye towards an Olympic spot? I see Jeremy Smith signed today. Could be a shrewd goaltending move.
 

singlesliceofcheese

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Is it safe to say any Kunlun signing is with an eye towards an Olympic spot? I see Jeremy Smith signed today. Could be a shrewd goaltending move.

I don't think so. I believe to gain Chinese citizenship you must be of Chinese heritage. I couldn't find anything that indicates that Smith is of such.
 
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HungryFrank

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Jun 20, 2015
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China Dragons will play in 3rd tier of Czech hockey this year. They will play in the city of Beroun.
 

Exarz

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Thanks. If everyone has to be of Chinese heritage this team is going to be record setting awful.
Not necessarily, Kunlun Red Star has already signed several players of Chinese heritage that play in the KHL. By comparing the potential teams on paper, China will most likely be better than Austria, Norway and Slovenia in 2014.
 

HungryFrank

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Jun 20, 2015
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By comparing the potential teams on paper, China will most likely be better than Austria, Norway and Slovenia in 2014.

Dln't know where to begin, but... No way. If they can only use players with Chinese heritage, where will they find them?
1. Kopitar, Sabolič, Muršak, Jeglič, Tičar from 2014 are a lot better than some Brandon Yip or Cory Kane. Depth is uncomparable in favor of 2014 Slovenia.

2. Austria with Grabner, Vanek, Raffl against some Canadian college hockey players... Austria 2014 is better on paper.

20 players on that team will have to be naturalized even to compete in D1A.
 

PanniniClaus

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Dln't know where to begin, but... No way. If they can only use players with Chinese heritage, where will they find them?
1. Kopitar, Sabolič, Muršak, Jeglič, Tičar from 2014 are a lot better than some Brandon Yip or Cory Kane. Depth is uncomparable in favor of 2014 Slovenia.

2. Austria with Grabner, Vanek, Raffl against some Canadian college hockey players... Austria 2014 is better on paper.

20 players on that team will have to be naturalized even to compete in D1A.
I agree. They won't even be able to touch rival Korea without finding a goaltender. Their own home grown talent does not compare to Korea's home grown talent.
 
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PanniniClaus

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Oct 12, 2006
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Not necessarily, Kunlun Red Star has already signed several players of Chinese heritage that play in the KHL. By comparing the potential teams on paper, China will most likely be better than Austria, Norway and Slovenia in 2014.
Coming back to this comment...i'm now curious.

What is China's projected team?
 

kabidjan18

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Coming back to this comment...i'm now curious.

What is China's projected team?
Ok, so we don't actually know yet but here's an idea. Spencer Foo is rumored to sign with Kunlun, we'll count him for now.

Brandon Yip - Cory Kane - Spencer Foo
Chris Seto - Alex Riche - Luke Lockhart
Yang Hu - Rudi Ying - Greg Squires

Victor Bartley - Brayden Jaw
Zach Yuen - Jason Fram
Mikael Tam - Tianyu Hu

They need a 6th defenseman. Tyler Wong is also still out there, and might be a target.
 

PanniniClaus

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Oct 12, 2006
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Ok, so we don't actually know yet but here's an idea. Spencer Foo is rumored to sign with Kunlun, we'll count him for now.

Brandon Yip - Cory Kane - Spencer Foo
Chris Seto - Alex Riche - Luke Lockhart
Yang Hu - Rudi Ying - Greg Squires

Victor Bartley - Brayden Jaw
Zach Yuen - Jason Fram
Mikael Tam - Tianyu Hu

They need a 6th defenseman. Tyler Wong is also still out there, and might be a target.

Thanks for the stab at it...any line on a goaltender?
 
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Is there any viable evidence showing hockey growth in China? When I see Kunlun highlights on the KHL's youtube page, it doesn't seem like the arena is full at times.

I just don't see China being a hockey powerhouse, unless they can gather players through naturalization.
 

singlesliceofcheese

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May 9, 2018
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Is there any viable evidence showing hockey growth in China? When I see Kunlun highlights on the KHL's youtube page, it doesn't seem like the arena is full at times.

I just don't see China being a hockey powerhouse, unless they can gather players through naturalization.
I wouldn't hold KRS as representative of how popular hockey is there. KRS is horribly mismanaged, whether it be due to the fact that they play in two cities or that the KHL is practically ran (or at least largely funded) through subsidies. I would say the China Games are much more representative, as most Chinese hockey fans understand that it is the top league. I can't find any information on last year's game, but in 2017 they averaged ~11,500 between Shanghai and Beijing, whilst Beijing sold out 91% of the possible seats (Esposito: NHL 'blew it' in promotion of China games ... In light of the title, Esposito has high expectations, mind you). Now, I don't think this is very representative either, since it was a while back. I suppose we will have a decent idea when, A. The NHL (likely) returns to China in 2020/21 and B. The IIHF releases their survey of players for this year. The good news is that China is starting to connect hockey to education (one example: Stickhandling to respectability - Chinadaily.com.cn); this is great if you understand how engrossed the Chinese are with their education. Notwithstanding, it appears that they will launch a domestic league within the country (Chinese ice hockey told to improve to justify Beijing 2022 host nation spot ... I don't know how reliable this link is, so take it with a grain of salt). The point of posting the former two links is to exhibit what they are doing to grow grass roots and that it will take some time. Rene Fasel indicated that it will take approximately 15 years to create serious talent, but government interest is there and it does seem to be getting more popular, so it's at least on the right track. 2022 will certainly have an influential role in how much the sport is played/watched/etc.; their success at the games will likely outline how influential it will be.


If you want to know more, then I will direct you to some information I compiled from the NHL's official page on Weibo (Chinese version of Twitter, sort of). The first picture was taken on May 27th, the second on the 11th, and the third was from two days ago. In 25 days, they've amassed nearly 94,000 followers. Compared to the NFL and the MLB this is pretty solid, but is it generally impressive? I wouldn't go that far, but it's a start as I mentioned (considering how many individuals in the country have social media or access to technology). It's also not bad considering that a portion of the date parameters occurred after the final.
 

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