HC Kunlun Red Star
| Kunlun Red Star | |
|---|---|
 | |
| City | Beijing |
| League | KHL 2016–present |
| Founded | 2016 |
| Home arena |
LeSports Center[1] (Capacity: 18,000) |
| Colours |
Red, White |
| General manager | Vladimir Krechin |
| Head coach | Vladimir Yurzinov, Jr. |
| Captain | Janne Jalasvaara[2] |
| Website |
hcredstar |
| Franchise history | |
| HC Kunlun Red Star | |
HC Kunlun Red Star (Simplified Chinese: 北京昆仑红星 or 昆仑红星, Traditional Chinese: 北京崑崙紅星 or 崑崙紅星, Pinyin: Běijīng Kūnlún Hóngxīng or Kūnlún Hóngxīng) is a Chinese ice hockey club that joined the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) prior to the 2016–17 season.[3][4][5]
History
Preparation of the team
In March 2016, the Chinese club and the KHL signed a protocol of intent to have a Chinese-based team enter the KHL. The protocol was signed by the representative from the Russian Ice Hockey Federation Vladislav Tretiak, the chairman of the KHL Gennady Timchenko and the board of Kunlun Red Star. In mid-April, the President of IIHF (René Fasel) shared his opinion about the intention of the Chinese club to join the KHL. He expressed hope that this will help China to bring their hockey to a higher level.[6]
If the club meets their contractual economic conditions by 30 April 2016, they will be allowed to join the KHL.[3] According to Roman Rotenberg, HC Kunlun Red Star applied to fulfill its obligations, but there is a coherent number of formalities, the final decision about team should be taken in June 2016.[7] In early May, the KHL president Dmitry Chernyshenko considered the affiliation of the club to the league as an already done deal: "The club has provided all the documents on the scene, the structure of the club, finance, and they have the permission of the Chinese Ice Hockey Association."[8]
It was announced on 25 June 2016 that the KHL board of directors had officially accepted the club's application, and that they would be participating in the upcoming 2016–17 KHL season.[4] The Beijing announcement ceremony included Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping.[5]
The team will play their home games at the LeSports Center in Beijing; in addition, they will games at the Sports Center Pavilion in Shanghai.[9] In November 2016 it was reported the team was playing its games at the Feiyang Skating Center in Shanghai as the Beijing faciity was booked full with concerts and basketball games, though plans were to return to Beijing in December.[5]
2016–17 season
On July 24, 2016, the team played their first friendly game, when they were defeated 2-0 by Traktor Chelyabinsk.[10]
In a later exhibition match, on August 8, 2016 against Barys Astana, a fight broke out minutes into the game when defenceman Damir Ryspayev punched Kunlun forward Tomas Marcinko in the face, then attacked three other Kunlun players before trying to jump into the Red Star bench. The attack appeared to be retaliation for a Kunlun hit in an earlier game that had left Barys Astana forward Dustin Boyd with a broken leg. Officials cancelled the game, and Ryspayev was suspended and eventually given a lifetime ban from the KHL.[5]
The Kunlun Red Star won their regular season KHL debut against Amur Khabarovsk by a score of 2-1.[11] The first goal in franchise history was scored by Sean Collins at 14:00 of the first period.[5] The team also won their second game, a home game in front of a crowd of 7832 people, defeating Admiral Vladivostok by a final of 6-3.[12]
On October 27, 2016 Chinese-Canadian defenseman Zach Yuen, a Vancouver, B.C.-born draft pick of the Winnipeg Jets, became the first Chinese player to score in a league game, in a 1-0 win over Khabarovsk. There are also four Chinese-born players on the team. KHL roster guidelines require that Red Star have any combination of at least 10 Russian and Chinese players.[5]
Players
Current roster
Updated 12 November 2016.[13]
References
- ↑ "Russia-based KHL expands into China with Beijing team". 14 December 2015. Retrieved 25 March 2016.
- ↑ Game minutes, Instagram, Retrieved 28 July 2016
- 1 2 "KHL and RIHF sign a Protocol of Intention with a Chinese Club". khl.ru. Kontinental Hockey League. 17 March 2016. Retrieved 25 March 2016.
- 1 2 "It's Official! Kunlun Red Star joins the KHL". Kontinental Hockey League. 25 June 2016. Retrieved 25 June 2016.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 Pinchevsky, Tal (November 7, 2016). "China, Meet Hockey. Russia, Meet a Huge Untapped Market.". The New York Times. Retrieved November 7, 2016.
- ↑ "Фазель: я был бы счастлив, если бы русские помогли китайцам в развитии хоккея" (in Russian). 16 April 2016. Retrieved 16 April 2016.
- ↑ "Ķīnas klubs iesniedz oficiālu pieteikumu dalībai KHL" (in Latvian). sportacentrs.com. 1 May 2016.
- ↑ "Чернышенко: недостатка в ярких звездах с уходом Радулова, Зайцева у КХЛ не возникнет". rsport.ru (in Russian). 6 May 2016. Retrieved 7 May 2016.
- ↑ "Nya KHL-laget kommer spela flera matcher i Shanghai" (in Swedish). August 15, 2016. Retrieved August 18, 2016.
- ↑ "Гатиятулин: "Куньлунь" уже в первой игре показал, что в КХЛ они не мальчики для битья". www.rsport.ru. July 24, 2016. Retrieved July 24, 2016.
- ↑ "Red Star shines bright on debut". www.khl.ru. September 1, 2016. Retrieved September 3, 2016.
- ↑ "Box score, Kunlun-Admiral". September 5, 2016.
- ↑ Kunlun Red Star Roster
External links
- Official website (Russian)
- Kunlun Red Star on khl.ru
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