San Jose Sharks to send players to China?
China to turn teal?
I found an article this morning that was both interesting and confusing. According to Reuters, and the UK's GuardianUnlimited, the San Jose Sharks will be sending three coaches and five players to the China Sharks of the Asia Ice Hockey League.
China's Ice Hockey Association (I didn't know they had one) is excited because this is the first time the NHL has given this much support to their club. China recently merged its two national hockey teams in order to be more competitive against the Japanese and Korean squads. In addition, the China Sharks have imported Swedish and Czech players in the past, but still continued to struggle.
The article did not mention who would be sent to China, but the Asia Ice Hockey League's new season starts this weekend. With NHL personnel heading towards the East, San Jose Sharks CEO Greg Jamison hopes to see "ice hockey grow in China".
Obviously, the players being sent over won't be current NHL players...duh. Moreover, I doubt they will even be from Worcester. In fact, I have a feeling that Team Teal will be sending over a couple of older players from the Fresno Falcons of the ECHL. There are a number of guys pushing 30 down there, and though they're highly-skilled, will probably never see the NHL.
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