Kunlun Red Star is a young hockey club 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, which China had not previously participated in.
History of creation
A professional Chinese team has been playing 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 falls below third place. However, not a single club was represented in the Continental Hockey League . The main difference in the composition of Kunlun Red Star from the national team of the PRC is the absence of players from China in the original main composition.
On June 24, 2016, the KHL Board of Directors decided to participate in the 2016-17 season. Kunlun Red Star Team. The document was signed with the participation of top officials of Russia and China, who expressed hope for the development of this beautiful sport in China.
The very next day, the club management announced the beginning of the formation of the Kunlun Red Star team. It was originally announced the appointment of coach Vladimir Yurzinov.
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 the mountain system in China. Literally from Chinese can be translated as "moon mountains".
Structure
The final composition of “Kunlun Red Star” season 2016-2017. was announced on July 5, 2016. And on February 18, 2017, after the efforts made, the team was able to break into the playoffs.
In March 2017, the head coach was replaced, Mike Keenen was appointed as the new coach. The head coach is Igor Kravchuk.
The current composition of Kunlun Red Star 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 Vorobei (Belarus), Nikita Khlystov (Russia), Joonos Järvinen (Finland), Jesse Blecker (Canada), Roman Grabrenko (Belarus), Sergey Peretyagin (Russia).
- Forwards: Andrey Kostitsyn (Belarus), Kirill Lebedev (Russia), Alexey Ponikarovsky (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 the changes in the composition of Kunlun Red Star, again these changes affected the coaching staff of the team. Mike Keenen left his post, at the moment Bobby Carpenter has been appointed acting head coach. Around his departure, disputes still do not subside. The main reason for leaving the coach is not known.
The rest of the Kunlun Red Star team remains stable, even if you do not pay attention to the frequent reshuffle in the main coaching staff. The work of the center forwards is satisfied not only on the board of directors of Kunlun Red Star, but also an increasing number of fans of the new club.