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It’s not just the Kremlin that is hoping to set Russia on a ‘pivot to the East.’ The country’s leading ice hockey competition, the KHL, is also closing in on a link-up with China in the run-up to the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing.
Adding a new team, most likely in the Chinese capital, would be a new departure for the KHL. In the past it has looked to attract teams from Europe to compete in a cross-border tournament. Currently Jokerit Helsinki, Medvescak Zagreb and Slovan Bratislava are all involved, along with clubs from former Soviet countries such as Dinamo Minsk and Dinamo Riga.
But with China desperate to lift its national team from its low world ranking, the sporting authorities in the People’s Republic have been seeking closer connections with Russian hockey. That led to the recent statements from KHL president Dmitry Chernyshenko and Russian Hockey Federation vice-president Roman Rotenberg talking up the prospect of an Asian addition to the league for the 2016-17 season.
“We’ve created a working party with a clear goal: a team from Beijing should play its first game in the KHL next September,” Rotenberg told TASS after taking a delegation to China.
That team would play in an 18,000-seat arena, currently home to Beijing’s basketball team, giving it the potential to welcome the biggest crowds of any KHL team. It would also be the first time one of the world’s top hockey leagues had included a team from the Asia, giving China an advantage over its local rivals Japan and Korea.
Traditionally Olympic hosts automatically have the right to enter a team in the hockey tournament. In recent years, with Russia and Canada staging the games, this has not been controversial.
Some eyebrows were raised when the 2018 host South Korea – currently ranked 21 in the world – was given one of the 12 prized spots. China, 38th in the world at present, is at a significantly lower level.
Its 2018 campaign is already over. Last month in Spain, China came dead last in a four-team qualifying tournament. The Chinese team conceded 26 goals in three games, scoring just five.
For head coach Benyu Wang, what Russia can offer Chinese hockey is a higher level of competitive action than the domestic league or the multi-national Asia League.
“The Russians are helping us to get a team in their league and from our point of view we’d love to join,” Wang told RBTH. “Russian hockey is really great, Russia is one of the best hockey nations in the world. Of course we want to be a part of that (League). It would give us a lot of experience and we can learn a great deal from the skills of the Russian players.”
Coach Wang also spoke of playing more challenge games against Russian opposition – and sending teams across the Pacific to face Canadian and American rivals – as China looks to find a fast-track to competitive hockey with a Russian accent.
Sometimes that accent can be spotted already. In Spain, team China attempted a style that echoes the Soviet school of slick passing and swift skating more than the North American power game.
A KHL franchise in Beijing might not be enough to get China to the 2022 Winter Olympics. However, hosting the Olympics has brought a surge of interest in ice hockey, and a KHL connection could see Russia helping to nurture those new fans and build a stronger future for the game in China.
“We can’t really put numbers on it at the moment but we are seeing a lot of new players coming into the game,” Wang said. “In particular we’re seeing many young players. People are falling in love with hockey, children want to get involved and their families are helping them to take up the sport.”
