Forginghomegrownpuckpower
BuildingastrongdomesticleaguecitedascrucialforChina’sOlympicchancesinicehockey
BySUNXIAOCHEN
[email protected]D
espite a lack of talent and
facilities,China’s hockey
governing bodyis looking
to its long-awaited domes-
tic league to bolsterthe national pro-
gram ahead of the challenge of the
home Olympics.
Fouryears into preparations for
the 2 0 22 WinterGames,China’s
commitment to propel hockeyinto
the national sports mainstream still
looks like a long shot, underlined
bythe launch of a domestic league
forced to include overseas teams to
makeupforthe dearth of home-
grown talent.
The “league”, literallyathree-stop
tournament, opened its first leg in
Beijing onAug 2 with five teams,
including theArizona State Universi-
tySunDevils from the United States
andErmakAngarskfrom Russia’s
second tierVHL. TheChinese entries
are Jilin Tsen Tou and KRS-ORG
from the VHL, and Kunlun Red Star
from Russia’s top-tierKontinental
HockeyLeague.
Theywere competing in around-
robin format throughAug7atnorth-
eastBeijing’sAozhongIce Sports
Center.
TheChineseIceHockeyAssocia-
tionrevealed that the second and
third legs of the competition will
be held in March afterthe Russian
leagues’regularseasons, with more
domestic clubs participating.
To put things in perspective,
per ennialnational champions
Harbin and Qiqihar,fromChina’s
strong wintersports province
Heilongjiang, skipped the first stop
in orderto compete in the U19
tournament at theChina Youth
Games in Shanxiprovince.
To be competitive in the world’s
fastest team sport, which has long
been dominated byCanada, Russia
and teams from Scandinavia,China
needs to build a domestic league
system from scratch, said Si Liang,
deputysecretary-general ofCIHA.
“It’s betterlate than never... even
though we have to launch it in a
shorthanded and hastysituation,”
Si toldChinaDailyatAozhongIce
SportsCenteronAug2.
“Ashost,trying to pulloffarespect-
able showing at the 2 0 22 Olympics
means we areinurgent need of more
elite-level hockeycompetitions on a
consistent basis,ratherthan just the
annual national championships, to
develop ourplayers and help them
gain moreexperience.”
Having qualified forthe men’s and
women’s Olympic tournaments byspecial permission from theInterna-
tionalIceHockeyFederation,China
is pursuing a tall task to contend
fora medal in the 1 0 -team women’s
competition and not be embarrassed
in the 12-squad men’s event.
China’s women arecurrently
ranked No 2 0 bytheIIHF,while the
men are No 32.
AlthoughChina is ambitiously
promoting snow and ice sports
among 3 00 million people in the
buildup to 2 0 22, its stagnant player
development in hockeyhas pushed
the host to take bold moves, such
asrecruiting NorthAmericans with
Chinese heritage to the national pro-
gram.
The six-team national champion-
ships’GroupAtournament in June
forthe first time included an extra
team fromBeijing consisting of sev-
eral foreign-born playersofChinese
ancestry.
The SunDevils, who compete in
Div1oftheNCAA,are happy plato y
arole in the sport’s potentialrise in
the world’s most populous country.
“Ithink the morepresence North
American hockeycan have overhere,the quickerhockeywill grow here.
It helps a lot,”Arizona head coach
Greg Powers said following a 5-3 win
overKunlun Red Starin the league
openeronAug 2.
“The NHL is building a stronger
presence here and a lot of North
American coaches have come to
help. Seeing such high-level hockey
from countries all overthe world will
make the game explode here.”
The SunDevils’ appearance in the
C hineseleague marks the first visit
byan NCAA Div 1 hockeyteam since
1985.
Elevated toD1 status in 2 0 15,ASU
made it to the 16-strong US national
championships forthe first time last
yearbefore bowing out in the open-
inground. The team is counting on
theBeijing tournament to facilitate
a deeperrun next season.
“This tournament is a huge advan-
tage forus. The abilityto practice
and playagainst professionals
shouldreallybenefit us when our
regularseason starts,” said Powers.
ASU freshman PeterZhong had
the opportunityto don theDevils’
maroon and gold forthe first timeagainst Red Starat the 1 rink 0 min-
utes from wherehegrew up.
Born andraised in theChinese
capital, Zhong is one of just three
NCAAD 1 playersfromChina.The
othertwo are SongAndong, who was
drafted 172nd bythe NHL’s New York
Islandersin2 0 15 and now playsfor
Cornell University,andChen Zimeng,
Song’s U18 national teammate and a
freshman withAlabama-Huntsville.
“Istarted out prettynervous,”
said Zhong, 21, who developed his
game inChicago’s juniorprogram.
“The competitive atmospherewasso
intense, butIenjoyed it a lot.
“The pace and speed of profes-
sional hockeyis tough, butIam keen
on growing mygame through the
collegiate system in the US to hope-
fullysuit up forChina at the 2 022
Olympics.”“TheNHLis
buildingastrongerpresencehere(in
China)andalotofNorthAmerican
coacheshavecometohelp.Seeingsuch
high-levelhockey
fromcountriesallovertheworldwill
makethegameexplodehere.”
GREGPOWERS
Headcoach,ArizonaState
UniversitySunDevilsJilin Tsen Tou players clear the crease during a 5-4 overtime win against theArizona State University Sun Devils inBeijing onAug 3.XINHUASPORTS
32 CHINADAILY GLOBAL WEEKLY August 9-15, 2 019
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