Article content continued

“We’ve always done that,” said Song. “When we started, the whole hockey community would be around 50 kids or so. We were six and there would be kids we were playing against who were 12, but we all played together because there was no one else. Looking back, we never thought we’d be here today.”

From those humble beginnings have grown some pretty good hockey players and some grand — if not unrealistic — expectations.

In 2015, 19-year-old Song became the first Chinese-born player drafted into the NHL when the New York Islanders selected him in the sixth round (172nd overall). Ying, who is 18 years old, is playing for the Kunlun Red Star, China’s only pro team in the Russian-based Kontinental Hockey League.

The hope is that they will do for hockey what Yao Ming did for basketball and spur a generation of fans and players to pick up and follow the sport. At the very least, with Beijing hosting the 2022 winter Olympics — Song was part of the Olympic bid presentation and Ying said “I’ll be at the peak of my career by then” — they are expected to be global ambassadors for a country the NHL is eyeing closely.

Beginning as early as next season, the NHL is planning on playing exhibition games in Beijing. And from the Toronto Maple Leafs and Vancouver Canucks to the Boston Bruins and Los Angeles Kings, more and more teams are viewing China as an untapped market for fans, merchandise and even fees for broadcast rights.