The date of June 24th can now be entered in red on the official calendar of the KHL. 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 of the 2016/17 season.
The ambitious league, which considers itself second in the world and first in Europe (for some reasons - not without reason), has already expanded several times to the West, adding teams from Finland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Croatia, and today has taken 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 protocol 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 and great popularity within the country, but it has something that, for example, many European KHL teams are deprived of - huge money and a fantastic market in terms of scale, in which our league will have no competitors.
Events from this day will develop rapidly. Already on June 25 in Beijing, the leadership of the KHL 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 participants will be made.
When the formalities are settled, the club's representatives may reveal some information about their capabilities and future transfers, but for now everything is limited to rumors and dry wording: "Currently, the formation of the team and plans for its pre-season training continues."
However, even the information that is leaking to the media suggests that the financial support of Krasnaya Zvezda will be at the level of the strongest teams in the KHL. 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 KHL teams.
In addition, the taxation system in China is loyal to sports. For example, football clubs in the Celestial Empire in 2016 spent three times more on transfers than clubs in the English Premier League. From this feeder, something will surely fall into hockey.
In part, these guesses were confirmed by the president of the FHR. In an interview with Sportfact, he said that the Kunlun Red Star would be an economically wealthy and international club, for which Russian and Canadian hockey players would play.
Among the potential newcomers to the Beijing team in the media are the names of the three winners of the Gagarin Cup - Ilya a, and.
Kovalchuk was removed from SKA in the current Gagarin Cup due to conflicts and an unsuccessful game, but the leadership of the St. Petersburg club still denies his departure.
So, the SKA president stressed that Kovalchuk would not leave the club this summer, and a member of the board of directors called this information "ridiculous."
As for the striker of Magnitogorsk Metallurg, Danis Zaripov, there is also no certainty yet. The president of the club called his possible transfer "rumors" and noted that the issue of luring players to the KHL is not worth it.
But with the leadership of the new team, everything is more or less clear. The post of general manager in the club will be taken by the ex-general director of the Moscow Wings and the Chelyabinsk Tractor, and, according to media reports, Vladimir Yurzinov Jr., who won the silver medals of the Russian championship at the head of Salavat, should become the head coach.
At the moment, six foreign clubs play in the KHL - Jokerit, Medvescak, as well as Minsk and in the Western Conference and Barys in the Eastern Conference.
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 groups of the sports department on social networks
From China. Due to the increased interest in this sport in the People's Republic of China, it was decided to create a professional hockey club to participate in the super-popular Continental Hockey League, in which China had not previously participated.
History of creation
The professional Chinese team has been participating in the Asian Games and has been their leader since 1986. This year, the team from the Middle Kingdom won for the first time and won the cup. In general, the team is stable and rarely drops below third place. However, no club was represented. The main difference between the Kunlun Red Star and the Chinese national team is the absence of players from China in the original main team.
On June 24, 2016, the Board of Directors in the KHL made a decision to participate in the 2016-17 season. Kunlun Red Star team. The document was signed with the participation of the first persons of Russia and China, who expressed their hope for the development of this wonderful sport in China.
The very next day, the management of the club announced the beginning of the formation of the Kunlun Red Star team. Initially, the appointment of Vladimir Yurzinov as coach was announced.
Club name
The name "Kunlun Red Star" can be divided into two parts. The last two words are translated from English as "red star". And "Kunlun" is the name of a mountain system in China. Literally translated from Chinese as "mountains of the moon".
Compound
The final line-up of the Kunlun Red Star 2016-2017 season. was announced on July 5, 2016. And already on February 18, 2017, after the efforts made, the team was able to get into the playoffs.
In March 2017, the head coach was replaced with Mike Keenan as the new coach. Head coach - Igor Kravchuk.
Current Kunlun Red Star squad 2017-18:
- Goalkeepers: Manus Hellberg (Sweden) and Alexander Skrynnik (Russia).
- Defenders: Rinat Ibraimov (Russia), Bladen Joe (Canada), Arthur Kulda (Latvia), Brett Bellemore (Canada), Marek Dyaloga (Slovakia), Nick Schaus (USA), Pavel Vorobey (Belarus), Nikita Khlystov (Russia), Joonos Järvinen (Finland), Jesse Blecker (Canada), Roman Grabrenko (Belarus), Sergei Peretyagin (Russia).
- Forwards: (Belarus), Kirill Lebedev (Russia), (Ukraine), Mikhail Mokin (Russia), Lucas Lessio (Canada), Brandon Defazio (Canada), Brandon Yip (Canada), Luke Lockhart (Canada), Taylor Beck (Canada) ), Greg Squires (USA).
- Center forwards: Corey Kane (USA), Brendan O'Donnell (Canada), Gilbert Brule (Canada), Kyle Chipchura (Canada), Jaakko Risanen (Finland).
On December 3, 2017, it became known about changes in the composition of Kunlun Red Star, again these changes affected the team's coaching staff. Mike Keenan has stepped down and Bobby Carpenter has been named interim head coach. Controversy still rages around his departure. The main reason for the departure of the coach is not known.
Otherwise, the composition of the Kunlun Red Star team remains stable, even if you do not pay attention to the frequent reshuffling of the main coaching staff. Not only the board of directors of Kunlun Red Star, but also an increasing number of fans of the new club are satisfied with the work of the center forwards.
A guide to the most unusual story of the year.
What is the correct name for the club? And what is "Kunlun"?
So, as it is written on the emblem - "Kunlun Red Star". Partial translation ("Red Star Kunlun") is not needed. Club representatives also suggested using the abbreviation KRS, which is unlikely to take root.
Kunlun Shan means "mountains of the moon" in Chinese. This is the name of one of the largest mountain systems in the country. From the point of view of local mythology, Mount Kunlun is an analogue of Olympus, the habitat of the gods. In addition, in the main Chinese martial art, Wushu, there is the Kunlun style, which was named after this mythical mountain.
Traditionally in China, this name is very popular. So, the Chinese called their first scientific station in Antarctica "Kunlun".
Why does the Chinese club need the KHL?
Over the 8 years of its existence, the league has attracted foreign clubs mainly from small countries whose economy is smaller than the Russian one. One and a half billion China is a completely different case.
Expansion to the Far East in the future could bring the league a new audience and growing income from the sale of television rights. Even if 1% of the Chinese population becomes interested in hockey, this is already about 15 million people, which is more than the total television audience of the decisive matches of the Gagarin Cup and Stanley Cup finals combined. There is something to fight for.
By the way, in the NHL they don’t sleep either - either they will choose a Chinese in the draft, or they will send a delegation to master classes. A big game is unfolding for the Asian markets. And the KHL is starting to use its main advantage - geographical proximity.
What is China's interest?
A new impetus to the development of hockey in the country was given by Beijing's victory in the fight for the right to host the 2022 Winter Olympics. By tradition, the hosts of the tournament get the opportunity to play in the hockey tournament without selection, so the Chinese desperately need to pull up the national team. The practice that local players will receive in the KHL could theoretically help with this.
At the same time, it should be taken into account that there will not be any cardinal changes over the remaining six years. Now the Chinese team is significantly inferior in level to the team of South Korea, hosts of the 2018 Olympics. And to consolidate in the first division of the World Cup, she had to resort to mass naturalization. It seems that the Chinese cannot avoid this either.
But in any case, they are actively developing many popular sports in the world, starting with football. The Olympics may be an occasion to take a closer look at hockey. Yes, so that even after the Games we will not forget about him. And here everything just depends on what the KHL and Kunlun will be able to achieve.
Who will finance Kunlun?
The general manager of the Chinese newcomer, Vladimir Krechin, assures that the money in the club is not Russian, but some local companies are sponsors. The 100% participation of Chinese business in financing the project was also guaranteed by the leadership of the league, but there is no complete certainty about this yet.
But it is already clear that Kunlun will not have a grandiose budget. And it is at least premature to expect buying stars in the style of local football clubs.
What's with the arena?
On paper, everything was great from the very beginning - in Beijing, from the 2008 Olympics, the 18,000-strong basketball arena LeSports Center remained, which can also be adapted for hockey. The capacity in the ice configuration is 14 thousand spectators, so it will not become the largest in the KHL.
At some point, the Chinese began to complain about the difficulties with reprofiling (there is no experience) and offered to hold matches in an inflatable tent. This plan was rejected, and eventually returned to the previous one.
Only now it will be necessary to test the readiness of the arena for hockey matches during the season. And there is a possibility that at some point the Kunlun may need an alternate airfield.
Who was there to play?
The composition of Kunlun will be noticeably different from other foreign clubs in the KHL. There are a lot of Russians in the team, among which the former goalkeeper of the silver Bragin youth team, who came from the AHL, Andrey Makarov, who was not appreciated in Buffalo, stands out. The team was also headed by a Russian specialist - Vladimir Yurzinov Jr.
Finns dominate among other legionnaires (today there are already six of them in the team, including experienced defenders Jalasvaara, Salmela and Mäntylä), which can be associated both with their favorable price / quality ratio and with Yurzinov's experience in Finland. From there, the American Chad Roh recently arrived (the last name is similar to the Chinese one?), The best sniper in the local league last season.
There are no bright names yet, which raises certain questions in terms of popularizing hockey in the country. However, they managed to sign an interesting Frenchman Damien Fleury, who played in almost all strong European leagues and made it to the KHL, as well as a Canadian of Chinese origin Zack Yuen (pictured), once drafted by Winnipeg, potentially one of the main stars of the Chinese team. But it is too early to consider the selection completed, more status newcomers may still appear.
But what about the Chinese?
More than a dozen Chinese players were invited to the first training camp of Kunlun. Their level, of course, is quite weak - many this year flew out with the Chinese team from the second division of the World Cup, where they lost to rivals like Spain or Iceland.
At the KHL level, local hockey players will play purely episodic roles for the time being. Unless, of course, a fighter is found among them - a sort of analogue of Damir Ryspaev with knowledge of kung fu.
As for the future, the youngest of the invited Chinese - the captain of the junior team Rudy Ying (pictured) - stands out here. At the age of 17, he already managed to play in a number of junior teams from North America, where he went to replenish his hockey education on the advice of the legendary basketball player Yao Ming. He and defender Andong Son, who was selected by the Islanders in the NHL Entry Draft a year ago, are considered the main hopes of Chinese hockey.
What will the kit of the Chinese club look like?
The main colors are red and yellow, as on the national flag of the People's Republic of China. For the KHL, this is a plus, since such a combination was almost never used in the league.
Other elements of the form and emblem also have a direct association with China. Here is the Great Wall of China, and the dragon, and the actual red star - a symbol of the country's armed forces.
The emblem of the club has already been compared with the intros of the popular games Mortal Kombat and Guild Wars 2. Something similar, but for the KHL it is in any case a fresh stream.
Why was it in such a hurry, why not organize the entry of a new club like in the NHL?
It's about big politics. The agreement on Kunlun's entry into the KHL was signed in the presence of the President of Russia and the President of China, which thus once again demonstrated the existence of a "special level of relations" between the countries.
Against this background, all conditional problems with the unavailability of the arena, the complexity of recruiting a “late” team, the formation of a calendar, and so on fade.
And then, who knows, these Chinese, suddenly change their mind in a year?
What can Kunlun claim in the new KHL season?
The current line-up and potential organizational difficulties do not bode well for the Chinese club to make it to the playoffs. At the same time, many foreign newcomers to the KHL made their debuts quite worthy and presented surprises.
But the main tasks of Kunlun at this stage are the development of the popularity of their brand in China and the maximum number of spectators at home games. If the average attendance reaches the mark of 10 thousand spectators, this will be the first big victory for the KHL in Asia.
Photo: REUTERS/Andy Clark; hc-kunlun.ru ; RIA Novosti / Sergey Guneev
), founded in 2016 to participate in .
Story
On March 17, 2016, an agreement of intent was signed to create a Chinese team in the Continental Hockey League. The document was signed by FHR President Vladislav Tretiak, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the KHL Gennady Timchenko, as well as the leadership of the Red Star Kunlun. IIHF President René Fasel approved the appearance of the Chinese club and expressed the hope that this will help the development of this sport in China.
On April 30, 2016, the management managed to fulfill all the conditions necessary for admission to the league. There were a few formalities left to complete. KHL President Dmitry Chernyshenko called this issue practically resolved, but the final decision was postponed until June 2016.
On June 24, 2016, the KHL Board of Directors approved the Kunlun Red Star club as a member of the 2016/17 season of the Kontinental Hockey League. The next day in Beijing, as part of Russian President Vladimir Putin's visit to China, an agreement was signed on the team's participation in the 2016/17 KHL championship. The document, in the presence of the heads of Russia and China, Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping, was signed by the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Kontinental Hockey League Gennady Timchenko and the Chairman of the Board of Directors of HC Krasnaya Zvezda Kunlun Ngok Yang Yuu.
The name of the club was given by the Chinese mountain system.
On June 25, 2016, it was announced that Vladimir Yurzinov Jr. would become the club's first head coach.
Red Star Kunlun played its first official match in history on September 1 at the Platinum Arena in Khabarovsk with the Amur club and won with a score of 2:1. The club played its first home match at the Lesports Center arena on September 5 against Admiral and ended it with a 6-3 victory.
From September 18, Kunlun will play 11 matches in Shanghai, at the Feiyang Arena.
On September 20, the club set an anti-record for attendance. Only 550 spectators came to the match against Neftekhimik.
Performance results in the KHL
I - number of games played, B - wins in regular time, VO - wins in overtime, WB - wins in post-match shootouts, PO - losses in overtime, PB - losses in post-match shootouts, P - losses in regular time, O - number of scored points, W - the ratio of goals scored and conceded goals, RS - place according to the results of the regular season
Club management
- President - Ngoc Yan Yuu
- General manager - Vladimir Krechin
coaching staff
- Head coach - Vladimir Yurzinov Jr.
- Head coach - Oleg Gorbenko
- Coach - Alexey Tertyshny
- Coach - Jukka Varmanen
- Goalkeeping coach - Jaakko Valkama
Current line-up
valid on 05.09.2016
| № | The country | Player | Position | grip | Age | In the club with | Place of Birth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Makarov, Andrey Andrey Makarov | V | Left | 26 years | Kazan, Russia | ||
| 33 | Karhunen, Tomy Tomi Karhunen | V | Left | 29 years | Oulu, Finland | ||
| 34 | Shengrong, Xia Xia Shengrong | V | Right | 24 years | China | ||
| 11 | Salmela, Anssi Anssi Salmela | W | Left | 35 years | Nokia, Finland | ||
| 15 | Mikulovich, AlexanderAlexander Mikulovich | W | Left | 23 years old | Chelyabinsk, Russia | ||
| 16 | Wiklund, Tobias Tobias Wiklund | W | Left | 33 years | Kramfors, Sweden | ||
| 18 | Myantylya, Tuukka Tuukka Myantylya | W | Left | 38 years | Tampere, Finland | ||
| 38 | Peretagin, SergeySergei Peretagin | W | Left | 35 years | Kirovo-Chepetsk, USSR | ||
| 46 | Yalasvaara, Janne Janne Jalasvaara | W | Left | 35 years | Oulu, Finland | ||
| 73 | Bellmore, Brett Brett Bellmore | W | Right | 31 years | Windsor, Canada | ||
| 87 | Tianyi, Guan Guan Tianyi | W | Left | 28 years | Chelyabinsk, USSR | ||
| 93 | Yuen, Zach Zach Yuen | W | Left | 26 years | Vancouver, Canada | ||
| 4 | Warn, Max Max Warn | H | Left | 31 years | Helsinki, Finland | ||
| 9 | Fleury, Damien Damien Fleury | H | Right | 33 years | Caen, France | ||
| 17 | Rau, Chad Chad Rau | H | Right | 32 years | Eden Prairie, US | ||
| 23 | Ponikarovsky, AlexeyAlexey Ponikarovsky | H | Left | 39 years | Kiev, USSR | ||
| 24 | Ziyang, Zhu Zhu Ziyang | H | Left | 23 years old | Chelyabinsk, USSR | ||
| 28 | Lahti, Miika Miika Lahti | H | Left | 32 years | Konnevesi, Finland | ||
| 37 | Velichkin, Igor Igor Velichkin | H | Left | 32 years | Magnitogorsk, USSR | ||
| 65 | Marcinko, Tomas Tomasz Marcinko | H | Right | 31 years | Poprad, Slovakia | ||
| 66 | Tianxian, Xia Xia Tianxian | H | Left | 26 years | China | ||
| 72 | Pereskokov, VadimVadim Pereskokov | H | Left | 26 years | Moscow, Russia | ||
| 79 | Poustie, Eetu Eetu Pousti | H | Right | 30 years | Helsinki, Finland | ||
| 81 | Collins, Sean Sean Collins | H | Left | 30 years | Saskatoon, Canada | ||
| 83 | Bakos, Martin Martin Bakos | H | Right | 29 years | Spisska Nova Ves, Slovakia | ||
| 89 | Guanhua, Wang Wang Guanhua | H | Left | 27 years | China | ||
| 91 | Yashin, Oleg Oleg Yashin | H | Right | 28 years | Voskresensk, USSR | ||
| 98 | Ying, Rudy Rudy Ying | H | Right | 21 years old | Beijing, China | ||
| Picard, AlexanderAlexander Picard | H | Left | 34 years | Gatineau, Canada |
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| Continental Hockey League | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seasons | Playoffs of the Gagarin Cup | Junior Fair | All-Star Games | |
| Clubs of the season 2016/17 | ||||
| Western conference | Eastern Conference | |||
| Bobrov Division | Tarasov Division | Kharlamov division | Chernyshev Division | |
| Dynamo (Minsk) | Vityaz (Podolsk) | Motorist (Yekaterinburg) | Vanguard (Omsk) | |
| Dinamo (Riga) | ||||
| Team trophies | ||||
| Helpful information | ||||
| Other hockey leagues | ||||
An excerpt characterizing Kunlun Red Star
“Well, all right,” said Denisov. And, turning to his subordinates, he made orders that the party go to the designated resting place near the guardhouse in the forest and that the officer on a Kyrgyz horse (this officer acted as adjutant) went to look for Dolokhov, find out where he was and whether he would come in the evening . Denisov himself, with the esaul and Petya, intended to drive up to the edge of the forest, overlooking Shamshev, in order to look at the location of the French, which was to be directed tomorrow's attack.“Well, God’s ode,” he turned to the peasant conductor, “take me to Shamshev.
Denisov, Petya and the esaul, accompanied by several Cossacks and a hussar who was carrying a prisoner, drove to the left through the ravine, to the edge of the forest.
The rain had passed, only fog and drops of water fell from the branches of trees. Denisov, the esaul, and Petya silently followed the peasant in the cap, who, lightly and soundlessly stepping with his feet turned out in bast shoes over the roots and wet leaves, led them to the edge of the forest.
Coming out to the izvolok, the peasant paused, looked around and headed towards the thinning wall of trees. At a large oak tree, which had not yet shed its leaves, he stopped and mysteriously beckoned to him with his hand.
Denisov and Petya drove up to him. From the place where the peasant stopped, the French were visible. Now a spring field was going down behind the forest like a semi-hillock. To the right, across a steep ravine, one could see a small village and a manor house with collapsed roofs. In this village, in the manor house, and along the whole hillock, in the garden, by the wells and the pond, and along the entire road uphill from the bridge to the village, no more than two hundred sazhens away, crowds of people could be seen in the wavering fog. Their non-Russian cries were clearly heard at the horses in the carts tearing up the mountain and calls to each other.
“Give the prisoner here,” Denisop said quietly, not taking his eyes off the French.
The Cossack dismounted from his horse, removed the boy, and together with him approached Denisov. Denisov, pointing to the French, asked what kind of troops they were. The boy, thrusting his chilled hands into his pockets and raising his eyebrows, looked frightened at Denisov and, despite his apparent desire to say everything he knew, got confused in his answers and only confirmed what Denisov was asking. Denisov, frowning, turned away from him and turned to the esaul, telling him his thoughts.
Petya, turning his head with quick movements, glanced first at the drummer, then at Denisov, then at the esaul, then at the French in the village and on the road, trying not to miss something important.
- Pg "is coming, not pg" is Dolokhov, you have to bg "at! .. Huh?" Denisov said, his eyes flashing merrily.
“The place is convenient,” said the esaul.
“We’ll send infantry from below—by swamps,” Denisov continued, “they’ll crawl up to the garden; you will call with the Cossacks from there, ”Denisov pointed to the forest outside the village,“ and I’m from here, with my gusags.
“It won’t be possible in a hollow - it’s a quagmire,” said the esaul. - You will bog down the horses, you have to go around to the left ...
While they were talking in an undertone in this way, below, in the hollow from the pond, one shot clicked, smoke began to turn white, another, and a friendly, as if cheerful, cry of hundreds of voices of the French who were on the half-mountain was heard. In the first minute, both Denisov and the esaul leaned back. They were so close that it seemed to them that they were the cause of these shots and screams. But the shots and screams did not belong to them. Below, through the swamps, a man in something red was running. Obviously, the French were shooting at him and shouting at him.
- After all, this is our Tikhon, - said the esaul.
- He! they are!
“Eka rogue,” said Denisov.
- Leave! - screwing up his eyes, said the esaul.
The man whom they called Tikhon, running up to the river, flopped into it so that the spray flew, and, hiding for a moment, all black from the water, got out on all fours and ran on. The French, who were running after him, stopped.
- Well, clever, - said the esaul.
- What a beast! Denisov said with the same expression of annoyance. And what has he done so far?
- Who is this? Petya asked.
- This is our plast. I sent him to pick up the language.
“Ah, yes,” said Petya from Denisov’s first word, nodding his head as if he understood everything, although he decidedly did not understand a single word.
Tikhon Shcherbaty was one of the most needed people in the party. He was a peasant from Pokrovsky near Gzhatya. When, at the beginning of his actions, Denisov came to Pokrovskoye and, as always, calling the headman, asked what they knew about the French, the headman answered, as all the headmen answered, as if defending themselves, that they did not know anything, know they don't know. But when Denisov explained to them that his goal was to beat the French, and when he asked if the French had wandered into them, the headman said that there had been marauders for sure, but that in their village only Tishka Shcherbaty was engaged in these matters. Denisov ordered Tikhon to be called to him and, praising him for his activities, said a few words in front of the headman about the loyalty to the tsar and the fatherland and hatred for the French, which the sons of the fatherland should observe.
“We do no harm to the French,” said Tikhon, apparently timid at these words of Denisov. - We only so, means, on hunting dabbled with the guys. It was like two dozen Miroderov were beaten, otherwise we didn’t do anything bad ... - The next day, when Denisov, completely forgetting about this peasant, left Pokrovsky, he was informed that Tikhon had stuck to the party and asked to be left with it. Denisov ordered to leave him.
Tikhon, who at first corrected the menial work of laying fires, delivering water, skinning horses, etc., soon showed a great desire and ability for guerrilla warfare. He went out at night to plunder and each time brought with him a dress and French weapons, and when he was ordered, he brought prisoners. Denisov put Tikhon away from work, began to take him on trips with him and enrolled him in the Cossacks.
Tikhon did not like to ride and always walked, never falling behind the cavalry. His weapons were a blunderbuss, which he wore more for laughter, a lance and an ax, which he owned like a wolf owns teeth, equally easily picking fleas out of wool and biting thick bones with them. Tikhon equally faithfully, with all his might, split logs with an ax and, taking the ax by the butt, cut out thin pegs with it and cut out spoons. In the party of Denisov, Tikhon occupied his own special, exceptional place. When it was necessary to do something especially difficult and ugly - turn a wagon in the mud with your shoulder, pull a horse out of the swamp by the tail, skin it, climb into the very middle of the French, walk fifty miles a day - everyone pointed, chuckling, at Tikhon.