This team signed Eduard Zakharchenko as well. Ukraine goalie.
Yes I found this strange but it seems, according to talk, they are going to split the goalie duties say 80/20.
Most teams only sign 1 import goalie and they play 100 % of games
This team signed Eduard Zakharchenko as well. Ukraine goalie.
Well, Zakharchenko is cheap and what's the downside of having decent backup?
One team in the VHL wasn't enough for China, seems like they'll have two.
One team in the VHL wasn't enough for China, seems like they'll have two.
Seems they have bigger plans http://hfboards.mandatory.com/showthread.php?p=134371433#post134371433
27 teams confirmed for 2017/18: Ariada, THK, Balashikha and Kristall are out; Kuznya, Gornyak Uchaly, CSKVVS Samara and teams from Heilongjiang and Jilin are in.
So, why were those clubs removed?
Watching Harbin's home debut today, pretty sure even though arena is tiny there are more people in the stands than in Shanghai when Kunlun plays. Also Chinese announcer on official VHL feed.
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From what I understand Harbin is at least somewhat hockey city - they actually had a hockey team since forever and were the Chinese league powerhouse for years. So fans naturally see this as a continuation of their team's development and follow it. Those are real fans not some people looking for this new curiosity in Beijing/Shanghai. Makes me wonder wasn't it the right decision to base an actual KHL team in Harbin?
Although I guess no KHL arena makes the difference.
At the end of the day, I find this Heilongjiang thingie way more likeable than any other Chinese hockey project including their former Asia League ventures.
does anybody know which arena jilin tseng tou use? They play well and had a crowd of almost 4k today! Redstar had a very active crowd too with many chants and what seemed like a fun atmosphere
Heilongjiang playing at home today. To say the crowd is sparse would be a serious understatement.