Bruins, Flames goes to China as NHL continues its reach
Bruins, Flames goes to China while NHL continues its reach
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The NHL returns to China for two exhibition games this fall between the Boston Bruins and Calgary Flames.
The league announced on Wednesday that the Bruins and Flames will face off on September 15 in Shenzhen, in Southeast China and then again on September 19 in Beijing. The Los Angeles Kings and Vancouver Canucks played preseason games in Shanghai and Beijing last September, the first NHL raid there.
China represents an unexploited resource for the NHL, especially before the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing. Commissioner Gary Bettman has so far been evasive about the NHL going to the 2022 Games after skipping South Korea this year, but work is already under way to make serious inroads into China, where the NBA has been present for decades. .
The league is working with local authorities to develop grassroots hockey programs since the government of the country with a population of 1,300 million aims to have 300 million participants in winter sports by 2022.
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Follow hockey writer Stephen Whyno on Twitter at https://twitter.com/SWhyno
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