After months of speculation and concern, China’s men’s ice hockey took to Olympic ice for the first time at the National Indoor Stadium on Thursday. The team suffered a 8-0 defeat at the hands of the United States, but the team managed a more respectable standard of play than initially feared.
China’s journey to the men’s ice tournament wasn’t without road bumps. The team, ranked 32nd in the world, faced many doubters when it was originally announced they would take part in the tournament. China didn’t have a strong history or presence in ice hockey, and there were fears that the men’s national team could be crushed by the star-riddled rosters of the elite nations.
However, two important factors played a role in China‘s eventual appearance on the Olympic stage. First was the decision of the National Hockey League (NHL) not to release its players for the 2022 Winter Olympic Games after Covid-19 tore through the league in late 2021. Second, was the International Ice Hockey Federation’s (IIHF) rule on player nationality.
As reported by Around the Rings, 18 of the players on China’s 25-man roster for the 2022 Winter Olympics were born in, or grew up in, North America. This is due to a IIHF rule that allows players to represent a country they’ve spent at least two years living in, while playing for the national team.
China looked to their only domestic professional ice hockey club, Kunlun Red Star, to help fill their roster with foreign born talent in the run up to Beijing 2022. Kunlun Red Star play in the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL), which not only released their players for the 2022 Winter Olympics, but also acted as a warm up test for the Chinese team earlier in the season.
Despite initial doubts about the competitiveness of the team, IIHF President Luc Tardif gave the host country’s team the green light for Olympic participation in late 2021.
Before today’s match, China’s team stated their hope to “shock the world!” Unfortunately for the hosts, their tournament got off to an inauspicious start against the United States.
Chinese goalie Jieruimi Shimisi spoke with the IIHF after the loss. He stated, “it was busy in my end but that was to be expected. We had a game-plan coming in. I think we’ll regroup, look at our mistakes and learn from them. We all feel proud of what we’ve done today, and who knows about the future?”
Shimisi’s optimism about the future may be misplaced as the Chinese team is set to face ice hockey giants, Canada, and 2018 Olympic silver medalists, Germany, in their final two group stage matches. However, given the effort it took to get a Chinese team to the Olympics, the red and gold will likely be happy with another opportunity to take to Olympic ice.