Founded in 2016,
Kunlun Red Star is the most prominent Chinese
professional ice hockey club. Kunlun Red Star plays in the
Kontinental Hockey League (KHL), a professional ice hockey
league with teams based in
Belarus,
Kazakhstan, and
Russia. It was established as part of China's broader efforts to prepare for the
2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, serving as the flagship team in a centralized Olympic development program. During this period, additional Chinese teams also competed in the
VHL,
MHL, North American junior leagues, and the Czech third division to support player development. Kunlun's participation in the KHL enabled the naturalization of several heritage players from North America, including
Brandon Yip,
Spencer Foo, and Tyler Wong, while also providing opportunities for top domestic talents such as
Ying Rudi and Zesen Zhang. In 2019,
Ying Rudi became the first Chinese-native to score a goal in the KHL. However, the club's role in Chinese hockey has since diminished. Following a relocation to Mytishchi during the COVID-19 pandemic and a gradual shift away from developing Chinese players, the team's current roster features mostly imports, and its long-term future remains uncertain. In 2024, China launched its domestic professional league, the Chinese Ice Hockey League (CIHL). The inaugural 2024–25 season featured four teams – Beijing Lions, KRS Shenzhen, Anhui Xinhua, and Liaoning Shenyang – each playing 18 regular-season games followed by playoffs. To boost competitiveness, teams were allowed to sign up to five foreign skaters, mostly from Russia and Belarus, while using exclusively domestic goaltenders. The Beijing Lions, built around the core of the national team, won the inaugural CIHL championship. Kunlun Red Star also owns a professional women's ice hockey team,
Shenzhen KRS, based in
Shenzhen. Established in 2017, KRS Vanke Rays played in the
Canadian Women's Hockey League, with teams based in
Canada and the
United States. From 2004 to 2017, several men's ice hockey teams based in China played in
Asia League Ice Hockey, a professional league made up of teams from
Japan,
South Korea, and the
Russian Far East. In 2015,
Andong Song became the first Chinese national drafted by a
National Hockey League (NHL) team, a men's professional league consisting of teams from Canada, and the United States. Song was drafted by the
New York Islanders in the 6th round (172nd overall) in the
2015 NHL entry draft. He was later followed by
Kevin He, drafted in 2024, then
Haoxi Wang and
Will Belle in 2025. Wang, who was selected 33rd overall by the San Jose Sharks, became the highest-drafted Chinese-born player in NHL history. ==Attendances==