Chinese Men Play Ice Hockey in Beijing (Photo : Getty Images News)
To boost the development of ice hockey in China, another program, this time dubbed "Chinese Ice Hockey Plan for 2022," was launched by the Winter Sports Management Center of the General Administration of Sport of China.
The program's goal is to set up a development system that could help fill the ice hockey players' pool for the 2022 Winter Olympics, which will be co-hosted by Beijing and Zhangjiakou.
The HC Kunlun Red Stars of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) will assist three national youth teams in the program through "comprehensive, effective and scientific assistance to cultivate talents." The hockey club will draw up a series of trainings, help monitor the athletes' diet and physical condition and improve various pillars such as competition and scouting.
The ice hockey club also will also apply DNA and food allergen tests. They emphasized the need to meet nutritional needs of Chinese ice hockey players to make up their deficiency in physical confrontations.
A committee of experts was established by the Kunlun Red Stars to offer advice and share the teaching experiences of North America, Russia and Finland. It is composed of eight world class ice hockey professionals such as Phil Esposito, Mike Keenan Jr., Digit Murphy and Aleksander Barkov.
The three national youth teams are the U20 men's team that will participate in MHL, the U18 men's team that will compete in the Northwest Hockey League in North America, and the U18 women's team that will participate in the Junior Women's Hockey League.
Both the Kunlun Red Stars and the Winter Sports Management Center expressed their desire for deeper mutual cooperation for the development of China's national ice hockey team.
Honored to undertake such a historic mission, the Kunlun Red Stars said that they are committed to assisting in the development of Chinese ice hockey and will spare no efforts to make a breakthrough in the 2022 Winter Olympics.
It is acknowledged in China that they are poor in both the basic resources and talents for winter sports. The country is putting in efforts to popularize winter sports through various ways, such as promoting the presence of Chinese athletes in big leagues like the National Hockey League.
