The NHL is staging more exhibition games in China this fall, hoping to make further inroads in establishing hockey as a sport in the world’s most populous nation.
The Boston Bruins and Calgary Flames will face off Sept. 15 in Shenzhen in southeast China and then again Sept. 19 in Beijing in the second incarnation of the China Games announced Wednesday. The Los Angeles Kings and Vancouver Canucks played preseason games in Shanghai and Beijing last September, the NHL’s first foray there.
China represents an as-yet untapped resource for the NHL, especially ahead of the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing. Commissioner Gary Bettman has so far been noncommittal about the NHL going to the 2022 Games after skipping South Korea this year, but the work is already underway in China, where the NBA has had a presence for decades.
”I was there in the spring and we had lots of discussions with officials at all levels to talk about the development of hockey and how we can work together, and those are things that we’re working on,” Bettman said last month. ”Not once did we get asked about the Olympics in 2022. I’m not sure if we’re helping develop the game particularly at the grassroots level and giving them our software, if you will, whether or not we play for two weeks makes a difference.”
The league is working with local authorities to develop hockey programs as the government of the country with a population of 1.3 billion aims to have 300 million participants in winter sports by 2022. The Bruins made visits each of the past two summers to participate in hockey camps.
”Over the past three years we have collaborated with (businessman Zhou Yunjie) on growing the game both within the Chinese community in Boston and with youth hockey players in China,” Bruins president Cam Neely said. ”We look forward to continuing these efforts by bringing Bruins hockey to China with these two preseason games.”
China is ramping up its hockey programs with an eye toward the 2022 Olympics, but that doesn’t mean the NHL is a sure thing to go. Bettman noted that Germany reached the gold medal game at the no-NHL Olympics in February, and wondered if staying out would actually be beneficial.
”Maybe the Chinese would have more success in 2022 in being competitive if we’re not there,” Bettman said. ”A lot of variables to be considered.”
—
Sports Deputy Editor for Newsgathering Howie Rumberg in New York contributed.
—
Follow Hockey Writer Stephen Whyno on Twitter at https://twitter.com/SWhyno
—
More NHL hockey: https://apnews.com/tag/NHLhockey
25% Bonus via Western Union
