After 678 games with six N.H.L. teams, Alexei Ponikarovsky thought he had seen everything by the time he played three seasons with SKA St. Petersburg of the Kontinental Hockey League.

He was wrong.

“If somebody would tell me that I’m going to be playing in China at some point, I would say, ‘Are you crazy?’” Ponikarovsky said by telephone. “It’s another page in my life that is exciting. This I will remember all my life, for sure.”

Ponikarovsky currently plays for Kunlun Red Star, the K.H.L.’s new franchise and China’s first major pro hockey team. It is a bold new venture for the league, which is based in Russia but in recent years has expanded to Slovakia, Croatia and Finland.

Kunlun’s inaugural 2016-17 season has been trying at times for its players, coaches and staff members. But standing on the precipice of a sprawling, untapped hockey market, the club could have a lasting impact.