In China, ice hockey has long been considered a ‘minor’ sport. Its history with ice hockey dates back only as far as the mid-1900s, with the Chinese Ice Hockey Association becoming an International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) member in 1963. However, there are some encouraging signs suggesting that ice hockey is finally gaining traction among Chinese sports fanatics.
Game Traditions
In terms of the most popular ‘traditional’ sports, basketball, football, and badminton rank very highly on the list, as well as snooker. Of course, there are all kinds of hobbies and competitive pursuits that Chinese people have away from conventional sports, not least dice and card-based games.
Sic Bo and Pai Gow are two very popular – and extremely ancient – dice games of chance. Baccarat is also comfortably the most played card game in China. This is another game of chance which Chinese people are seemingly so enchanted by. Its simple game dynamics make it wholly accessible to the global iGaming market too, with live casino baccarat increasingly offered in the Western world.
The live dealer subsector in the iGaming industry is rapidly becoming one of the most immersive and engaging options for fans of card and dice games worldwide. Primarily, it brings a casino floor-style experience to virtual players on any device or screen size. However, its popularity still sits firmly below online slot games, which increasingly offer a fusion between console and casino gaming. In the UK casino free spins are some of the most appealing promotions among iGamers, who get access to industry leading slot titles, often just for creating an account.
Nevertheless, ice hockey could soon be going head-to-head with well-established traditional sports like basketball and football. The Chinese government has made a significant commitment to promoting winter sports, seeking to cement China as a major player at the Winter Olympics. Beijing hosting the 2022 Winter Olympics was the watershed moment for the government. In the end, China finished fourth in the medal table that year, although ice hockey wasn’t a medal-winning event.
Introducing China’s First Professional Ice Hockey Team
Aside from its increasing partnerships with well-established hockey hotbeds like Russia and Canada, China has sought to provide a platform for their own professional hockey stars to impress. Hence, the launch of the Kunlun Red Star team, a professional team entered into the Kontinental Hockey League back in 2016. This league features professional teams from Russia, Belarus, and Kazakhstan.
The Kunlun Red Star play their home games at the Shougang Ice Hockey Arena in Beijing and are coached by Mikhail Kravets, a former professional in the Soviet Hockey League who played twice in the NHL for San Jose Sharks in 1991-93.
The theory behind the launch of the Kunlun Red Star was to give local Chinese hockey players exposure to high-level standards and competition. However, it’s unclear how successful the move has been yet. A quick glance at the roster shows a team littered with Canadian, Russian and American imports. Furthermore the team has only managed to qualify once for the postseason KHL playoffs in their debut season (2016-17).
Nevertheless, there are encouraging signs for China in the annual World Championships. Having finished in 38th place in 2014, a decade on they finished in 26th place. It’s clearly a slow process, but China is well on the way to becoming a major player in the global ice hockey community.
