New hockey team in China. Newcomers from China - HC "Kunlun Red Star": composition, history. “Now everyone has come here”

NEW CHINESE

“I grew up in America and graduated from Columbia University, studying business and humanities,” Liao began telling her story about herself. - My grandfather was a famous general during the Sino-Japanese War. Therefore, after studying in the States, the goal was to benefit China.

- What is the new generation of Chinese?

Typically, Chinese students do very well in the US and UK. The Chinese approach is to work hard in pursuit of improvement and success. Now the Chinese have begun to think more globally, work better in teams, while maintaining the traditions of diligent students.

- How has business changed in your country recently?

We have become closer to the world. Large companies have learned a lot from the West and are developing both intensively and extensively, using acquisitions, mergers and investments. Therefore, my focus in the field of effective foreign investments has become very popular.

- Chinese companies are increasingly present in world markets.

Unfortunately, in Europe and North America, Chinese investors are often deceived because they do not know the specifics of local marketing. Western companies know almost nothing about our country. Because I am familiar with both "worlds", I help with the location of investments in the West and believe that I am making a positive contribution to the development of our business and country.

- How did the Chinese become interested in sports?

Over time, our investors began to increasingly invest in the entertainment industry, as the population began to pay attention to improving living standards and good entertainment content - films, TV series and, of course, sports broadcasts. All this is becoming even more in demand in China. I am well aware of the needs of the Chinese market and the preconditions for investment in this area.

September 5. Beijing. "Kunlun" - "Admiral" - 6:3. Rudy Ying (left) during the Chinese anthem. Photo photo.khl.ru

KUNLUN

- How did you end up in hockey?

I was appointed president "Kunlun Red Star" so that the club’s performance in one of the world’s strongest leagues will contribute to the successful development of hockey in China. The club plays a vital role in Chinese-Russian relations. This project, like the vast majority of international projects in China, is aimed at successful performance at the 2022 Olympics. Our winter sport is just beginning to develop. At this stage we don't have enough professional athletes and staff. For the Chinese market and audience, this is a completely unknown area. Having secured the support of the governments of the two countries at the highest level, we aimed our project at a significant breakthrough winter sports in China, as well as attracting and informing mass audiences.

- How does hockey help in the development of international relations?

KHL matches take place in eight countries, including China. Sport has become a tool of sports communication between them, completely new and interesting for us. Our country has never played in an international league of this level before. Performance in Continental League will help to establish connections through culture and sports, our athletes to improve, as well as the entire club and the hockey industry in the country to develop in order to reach the world level by 2022.

- How is this development planned?

The Continental League is played by high-level professionals, and we have gathered the best Chinese players to play in it. In addition, together with the Chinese Sports Administration (analogous to the Ministry of Sports. - Note auto.) and the hockey federation, we organized a viewing of players from the national teams under 20 and under 18 years old. Our efforts are aimed at raising the general level of hockey players in the country and training personnel for the main Chinese national team, so that talented young people can prove themselves at the upcoming Winter Olympics.

- What short-term goals does the club face?

We hope for the team to make it to the playoffs. The whole team works hard together to achieve more. I think it is useful to develop sports team towards self-sufficiency. This does not contradict the main line of the country's successful preparation for the Winter Olympics. Sports marketing in China is not developing along the traditional American path. Since the government controls most of the sports industry, you have to be careful.

- How can you make money from the club in these conditions?

The hockey club is part of a holding company of several companies in various areas, including sports marketing and others. And we plan to develop other areas to make the project successful. Perhaps the club itself cannot pay for itself yet. The main thing is to attract investment in sports marketing. We hope that with the help of our and the Russian government, we will not be just a team about which they say: “They are rich and can afford to spend a lot of money.” We are ready to invest carefully to make the club the main symbol of our entertainment industry. The ultimate dream of our hockey players is a career in the KHL. We are ready to use other areas of business for the comprehensive development of the club in order to fully utilize the opportunities of sports marketing.

ATTENDANCE

- How do you plan to cope with low attendance at home matches in Shanghai?

Essentially, we create marketing and create new audiences. Our team is based in Beijing, but as a Chinese team in the KHL, we have to play many home games in Shanghai. Growing in two different markets is even more difficult. I hope in Russian media will be able to tell how difficult it is to attract the attention of a completely new audience, because in China people are not accustomed to going to sport's event in your free time or with your family. In addition, our sport seriously lags behind football and basketball in popularity.

- In what ways do you attract the audience?

We mobilized work on local television and most sports electronic platforms to tell people about hockey. Famous hockey personalities can help with brand development by telling why they chose this sport and what the KHL is. Our target audience is university students, sports fans, especially football and basketball fans in Beijing and Shanghai, foreigners and tourists. They are used to watching sports, and we will accustom them to hockey. Although we have done a lot of work, it does not compare with the progress in other more developed countries in terms of hockey - Russia and others where hockey is national species sports

- What instruments attract young people?

An important part of our project is teaching children hockey with kindergarten and up to 18 years of age. Kunlun's performance in the KHL will increase its popularity among the young population. This may take some time, as even the National Hockey League only came to China three years ago.

- How can the KHL overtake in Asia?

The advantage of the KHL is that a Chinese team plays in the league, as well as the proximity of the region. Either way, with the current government support and hopefully media coverage, we are poised to gain momentum. You have to understand that the team was created in a few months, and it is performing well, but we are ready to continue to work hard and develop, solving many problems every day. I hope we can make hockey popular in China.

- How can the KHL develop in China?

In the future, our group of companies plans to create several KHL teams from China. This will allow more Chinese hockey players to perform at the highest level and improve. We will begin these projects as soon as we get the current one up and running.

Head coach of Kunlun Vladimir YURZINOV. Photo photo.khl.ru

SECRET OF SUCCESS

- What is behind the successful start of the regular season for Kunlun?

I think we chose the right head coach and general manager. - very experienced specialist and professionally uses best qualities players, and also competently distributes foreign and Chinese hockey players in the team. We have assembled an international team of eight different countries, including Russia, they were joined by seven Chinese. Hockey players quickly found a common language of hockey, despite their differences. I think we did a good job and we can only thank our team for a successful start, but there is always room for improvement.

- How do Chinese hockey players feel in the KHL club?

Our hockey players are fully aware and grateful for the opportunity to play in the KHL, so they work painstakingly under the guidance of a coach. The son of our celebrity returned from the North American club to play for our team. IN "Kunlun" The Chinese are also motivated by patriotism. That is why it is necessary to tell legionnaires who have made a huge contribution to success about our country.

- What do you know about Russia?

Little. I really want to learn more about it, and our project is a great opportunity for this. For me, Russia is a mysterious country with a rich history and culture. In this, China is similar to it. We do not want the world to judge us only on money or the political situation, forgetting about other areas. Cooperation between two countries with a rich past and economic power can make them stronger, and also allow our compatriots to get to know each other better. Hockey is a great opportunity for the Chinese to get to know the Russians.

- Did you know that you became popular in the Russian hockey community thanks to your page on a social network?

I didn't know about this before. After spending some time in the USA, the habit of maintaining a Facebook page remained. It’s great that the fans liked it, and now I will update it more often to tell more about the club and Chinese culture. I will be only glad of this.

We are talking not only about figure skating and short track speed skating - disciplines in which Chinese athletes traditionally show good results, but also about sports that are less common in China, such as hockey.

According to the strategy developed by the General Administration of Physical Education and Sports of the People's Republic of China, the main idea of ​​holding the Winter Olympic Games in Beijing in 2022 is to popularize previously unpopular winter species sports The task of disseminating such disciplines as skiing, bobsled and ski jumping, will largely fulfill olympic city Zhangjiakou, located 200 km from the capital, is already ready to host snow slopes. But with team events In sports, especially with hockey, the situation is much more complicated.

The 2022 Olympics will feature 12 hockey teams (8 of which will take places in the IIHF rankings), as well as the winners of three qualifying groups and the host country, that is, China. The title of "capital" of the Winter Olympic Games implies mandatory participation in the tournament of the Chinese national hockey team, which this moment occupies only 38th place in the global IIHF ranking. The figure is by no means high, so in order to increase the competitiveness of the hockey team by 2022, the Chinese authorities have seriously taken up the creation of a strong team.

Today's successes international competitions It’s too early for Chinese hockey players to boast. The only team from China plays in the Asian Hockey League - China Dragon, which has collected all the anti-records in the AIHL. The team was formed in 2007, the Chinese Hockey Association assembled the “best of the best” from the two strongest teams: “Hosa” (Harbin) and “Changchun-fuao” (Qiqihar). As a result of negotiations between the Chinese Hockey Association and the San Jose Sharks (teams from the NHL), it was decided to strengthen the Chinese national team with five players and three coaches from the NHL, the team was called the China Sharks. However, all efforts went to waste: despite the fact that the team slightly improved its level, in terms of the difference in goals scored/missed, it remained “at the bottom” standings, surpassing only the Japanese club Nikko Icebugs. In 2009, China Sharks lost financial support from the West, and the team was renamed China Dragon. Last season, the Chinese club managed to win only 7 victories in 48 matches.

An important step in development national hockey became an entry Chinese club to the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL)

An important step in the development of national hockey was the entry of the Chinese club into the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). The decision to create a Chinese team in one of the strongest hockey leagues was discussed at the level of top officials, and in October last year the KHL working group visited the “hockey” cities of the Middle Kingdom. During the visit, the Russian delegation visited Shanghai, Harbin and Beijing, where they got acquainted with the local hockey infrastructure and attended youth competitions. The purpose of the visit was to assess further prospects for cooperation between the League and Chinese clubs. A little later it became known that the President of the Russian Hockey Federation Vladislav Tretyak, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Continental hockey league Gennady Timchenko and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Chinese Hockey Club "Red Star-Kunlun" Yang Yun of the protocol on China's performance in the KHL. According to the document, to participate in the series of games next KHL season, the Red Star-Kunlun club is obliged to provide financial guarantees of the minimum amount of funding until the end of April 2016, as well as fulfill all the conditions for participation in the League, comply with the rules and regulations provided for by the KHL Regulations. There is no doubt about the financial guarantees of the Chinese club - the taxation system in China is quite loyal to sports, which is well proven by the activity of Chinese football clubs, which spent over 203 million euros in the winter transfer window and overtook the most prestigious English Premier League in this indicator. Thus, according to forecasts, the expected budget of Red Star-Kunlun will be comparable to the budgets of the richest KHL teams, such as SKA, Ak Bars and the capital CSKA. The Chinese club will be based in Beijing, the home arena should be sports complex"Mastercard Center", built for the 2008 Summer Olympics and designed for 18 thousand fans.

Chinese fans hope that the new Chinese club in the KHL will be able to collect good team. Chairman of the KHL Board of Directors Gennady Timchenko said that the KHL newcomer - the Beijing Red Star-Kunlun - will be provided with special conditions for recruiting hockey players. And first of all, we will talk about athletes from North America and possibly players from Russia. However, hockey fans believe that the Chinese club will choose the North American vector of development, the reason for this is the offer of a work contract to the Canadian hockey coach Mike Keenan, who won many trophies during his career, including the Stanley Cup and the Gagarin Cup. If the Chinese club manages to put such an experienced coach at the helm, this will significantly increase the club's chances of performing at its best. high level. However, according to the regulations, in addition to foreign stars, athletes with Chinese passports must also play in the club.

Given the low level of play in regional hockey clubs, the problem of finding professionals is quite acute. But it can also be solved. Every year in China, interest in getting an education abroad is growing; many young junior hockey players go to study in Canada and the USA, and after graduation they stay to play in local clubs. An example is 19-year-old Andong Song, who moved from China to Canada at the age of 10, played for local clubs for a long time, and was later noticed hockey club New York Islanders. To date, Song is considered the first ethnic Chinese in the NHL. It is possible that Red Star-Kunlun will be able to bring back young players or naturalize players with Chinese roots.

Interesting: By the way, prices for classes and equipment in China are not very different from Russian ones: the average price of a uniform is about 65 dollars, the price of one lesson in a section is 30 dollars, in Russia the cost of equipment is slightly lower - around 55 dollars, but classes cost more expensive - 30-35 dollars

The entry of Chinese clubs into the KHL is beneficial both to the League itself and to the PRC. The performance of the national team in the KHL contributes to the popularity of hockey in the country, and will also help in creating a competitive national team that can perform well at the home Olympics. In turn, the KHL will receive a huge market. By the way, interest in hockey in China is last years is constantly growing, as evidenced by television ratings data during the hockey finals at the Olympic Games in Sochi: over 120 million Chinese watched the Canada-Sweden match, while at home only 15 million TV viewers were rooting for Canada. It’s hard to imagine how many TV viewers will be glued to the screens if sooner or later the Chinese team makes it to the finals.

Matches involving the Chinese team in the KHL will be of no less interest. Thus, about 800 thousand Chinese watch NHL games, and this is despite the morning broadcast. It is worth noting that the NHL has long been trying to “strengthen itself” in China, in addition to creating sports schools and camps, NHL clubs organize tourist trips to matches in the United States. In addition, several clubs are planning to send their players to participate in the local league. Perhaps such competition will benefit the KHL. The Youth Hockey Development Program can also contribute to this. The Ministry of Sports of China and Russia, the FHR and the KHL are in constant dialogue. It is planned to create a youth team, which may play in the MHL (Youth Hockey League). And in the youth team, preference will be given to local players rather than to foreign players.

As for junior hockey in China itself, only three teams competed at the 2014-2015 U18 national championship: Harbin, Qiqihar and Beijing. The northern teams (Harbin and Qiqihar) are significantly inferior in technique to the young Beijing hockey players. One of the key advantages of the Beijing team is the participation of 9 young hockey players who were trained in the USA and Canada, where intensive training newcomers. Even if we compare the number of matches played per year, “over the hill” young people participate in more than 100 official matches, and the guys from Chinese clubs cannot earn such practice even in 5 years. It is also interesting that in the capital, children begin playing hockey at the age of 4-5, and children from the northern regions of China enroll in the hockey section at the age of 7-8, although it is believed that children from the northern provinces are stronger and taller. As for the number of competitions at the city level, Beijing is the leader here too. Thus, about 730 matches take place in the capital during the annual city junior training camp, in which 1,745 young athletes take part.

Perhaps the more active development of hockey in Beijing is influenced not only by image" Olympic capital", but also other factors. Firstly, the abundance sports infrastructure, soon especially to popularize hockey and figure skating construction of 16 is planned in Beijing ice arenas and about 50 from indoor skating rinks, and in total there are 64 outdoor and 48 indoor skating rinks in China. For comparison: in Russia at the beginning of 2016 there were 2,553 outdoor and 450 indoor skating rinks. Secondly, the capital is the leader in the number of middle class, and these are people who can afford to buy their children expensive hockey equipment and pay for classes.

Today the Youth Hockey League has 708 players. Of course, the numbers are not that impressive, but everyone knows what Chinese athletes are capable of, especially with the support of the country's top leader: Chinese President Xi Jinping recently admitted that hockey is his favorite winter sport.

We've been going for a very long time. , . Where are the origins of Chinese hockey and how does this sport live today in the Middle Kingdom?

How did it all start?

In 1963, the Chinese Ice Hockey Federation joined the IIHF. However, the origins of this sport in China date back to the 1910s, when hockey began to be introduced to China. In 1953 it appeared national league, uniting amateur teams, then it included 8 teams, and later their number ranged from 6 to 12.

Regarding the founding of the national association, the dates vary: different sources mention 1957, 1951 and 1953. It arose as a division of the winter sports association.

In 1983, the hockey association, headquartered in Beijing, received independent status. The Chinese Hockey Association has five branches: the national committee, the standing committee, the coaches committee, the referee committee and the research committee.

Who plays hockey and where?

According to reports, today more than 20,000 people play hockey in China, of which more than 1,200 are registered as professional hockey players. There are about 100 skating rinks in the country, 48 of which are indoors. In addition, there are 98 registered hockey referees in China.

National team

The Chinese team is ranked 38th among men's national teams. The Chinese won their biggest victory in 1999, when they beat Kuwait 35:0, and their biggest defeat was the game with Latvia in 1994, when the Baltic team was stronger with a score of 22:0. There were years when China rose to the first division of the world championship, but it was not possible to stay there for more than two seasons.

Chinese clubs

The China Dragon club is the only professional one in the country and plays outside the Chinese championship - in the Asian Hockey League. This club is based in Shanghai and has never achieved any success in the AHL (only once did the “dragons” manage to take last place, and the penultimate one - in the 2008/09 season). Currently headed by Jeff Hutchins, a former hockey player of Canadian-British origin who also played for the British national team. There are also players from North America in the club. The arena in Shanghai, by the way, seats 8,000 spectators.

That's what he said Wade Flaherty, ex-Vancouver goalkeeper, about his performances in the Chinese league: “In China, no one really knows about the word “role.” Hockey players run chaotically around the court. The players have positions, but they have little idea what they are.

When I came to China, it seemed like a good opportunity to be part of something new, to help them build a league from scratch. It's bad that the season there lasts from September to January. Even an 8-year-old child in Canada spends more time on the ice than Chinese hockey players. This needs to change,” Flaherty said in an interview with The Vancouver Sun. These words were spoken in 2009. Perhaps very soon we will have the opportunity to see with our own eyes the positive changes in Chinese hockey that have occurred over the past years.

Why China?

Beijing will host winter sports in 2022 Olympic Games. Naturally, the Chinese side is interested in the development of winter sports, which in this country have hitherto been in the background or even third. Therefore, the presence of a club can be an impetus for the development of hockey in the country, including from the point of view of increasing spectator interest.

“There is no direct connection between the entry of the Chinese club into the 2022 Olympics. China is accustomed to planning all activities over a long period of time. To a certain extent, we are in a hurry, so here we need to somehow harmonize the speed of decision-making. In any case, China will develop hockey. I know that the International Hockey Federation is actively working in this direction. The Olympic Games will be the catalyst. You place the object in a favorable environment, and everything happens faster there,” said Dmitry Chernyshenko about the motives for the club from China to join.

The date June 24 can now be written in red on the official KHL calendar. On this day, the Board of Directors of the Kontinental Hockey League approved the Beijing Red Star Kunlun club as a participant in the KHL championship for the 2016/17 season.

The ambitious league, which considers itself second in the world and first in Europe (in some respects - with good reason), has already expanded to the West several times, joining teams from Finland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Croatia, and today it has made a huge step to the East.

Not to say that this news was unexpected. Representatives of the FHR, KHL and the team itself signed a letter of intent on March 17; all that remained was to submit the documents. However, the official announcement of the newcomer was still a big event.

Chinese hockey does not have glorious traditions or great popularity within the country, but it has something that, for example, many European hockey games lack. KHL teams, - huge money and a fantastic market in scale, in which our league will have no competitors.

Events from this day on will develop rapidly. Already on June 25 in Beijing, the KHL management will sign an agreement with Zvezda on the right to participate in the championship; this is a standard procedure for newcomers. In another five days, the final decision on the composition of the season's participants will be made.

When the formalities are settled, club representatives may reveal some information about their capabilities and future transfers, otherwise for now everything is limited to rumors and dry formulations: “Currently, the formation of the team’s composition and plans for its pre-season preparation continues.”

However, even the information that is leaked to the media allows us to assert that the financial support of “Red Star” will be at the level of the strongest KHL teams. According to experts, salaries in the Beijing club, which can be called a kind of national project, will be on average twice as high as in Russian teams KHL.

In addition, the tax system in China is loyal to sports. Eg, football clubs China spent three times more on transfers in 2016 than English Premier League clubs. This trough will probably give something to hockey.

These guesses were partly confirmed by the president of the FHR. In an interview with Sportfact, he said that Red Star Kunlun will be an economically wealthy and international club for which Russian and Canadian hockey players will play.

Among the potential newcomers to the Beijing team, the media mention the names of three Gagarin Cup winners - Ilya, and.

Kovalchuk, due to conflicts and unsuccessful play, was removed from SKA in the current Gagarin Cup, but the management of the St. Petersburg club has so far denied his departure.

Thus, the SKA president emphasized that Kovalchuk will not leave the club this summer, and a member of the board of directors called this information “ridiculous.”

There is also no certainty about Metallurg Magnitogorsk forward Danis Zaripov. The club president called his possible transfer “rumors” and noted that the issue of luring players to the KHL is not an issue.

But with leadership new team everything is more or less clear. The post of general manager at the club will be taken by the ex-general director of the Moscow “Wings” and the Chelyabinsk “Traktor”, and the head coach, according to media reports, should be Vladimir Yurzinov Jr., who won silver medals in the Russian championship at the head of “Salavat”.

At the moment, six foreign clubs play in the KHL - Jokerit, Medvescak, as well as Minsk and Western Conference and "Barys" - in Eastern.

Two more teams, the Ukrainian Donbass and the Czech Lev, left the league for various reasons.

You can get acquainted with other news, materials and statistics on the Continental Hockey League, as well as in the sports department groups on social networks