The Jilin City Chengtou Ice Hockey Club was established in Jilin Province on Friday.
The newly-established club announced that it was also to attend Russia’s Supreme Hockey League (VHL) in the 2018-19 season together with another newly-founded team HC Heilongjiang Kunlun Red Star.
The VHL is the second largest Russian hockey league, after the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). Next season, 28 clubs will compete for the VHL title, including 24 from Russia, two from Kazakhstan and two from China.
Meanwhile, both clubs will also join the Silk Road Cup SHL in the 2018-2019 season. In July, the VHL sets up the SHL with the China International Cultural Communication Centre, which will include ice hockey clubs from countries along the Silk Road route, including Russia, Belarus, Finland, Kazakhstan and China. Aiming to promote the sports and cultural exchanges between the Silk Road countries, the SHL is expected to have eight to ten Chinese clubs and cover a population of more than two billion fans by the time when the 2022 Beijing Olympics is held.
As the club, which helps the establishment of the two clubs mentioned above, HC Kunlun Red Star joined the KHL last season and qualified for the 2017 KHL postseason until they were defeated by the defending champions on the quarterfinals stage.
Proofread by William Logsdon