China names their final roster for the 2022 Winter Olympics

Team China has named their final 25-man roster for the 2022 Winter Olympics, hosted by them in Beijing. China's roster will be a lot different than the one that finished fifth place at the 2019 IIHF World Championship Division 2, Group A.

There has been a bit of worry from many hockey experts that China would not be able to field a competitive team at the Olympics because they haven't played a game since early 2019. After several meetings, exhibition games against KHL teams, and even telling Team Norway to be on standby, the IIHF is allowing China to use their KHL team, Kunlun Red Star at the 2022 Winter Games.

"For the Chinese boys, playing at the Beijing Olympics is a lifelong dream,» head coach Ivano Zanatta told KHL.ru last week. «We told the guys we have to gain the respect of the hockey world. We don't have to put on a show, but we have to gain respect. So we are practising to be the best we can from physical and tactical perspectives."

China's roster will feature several players with NHL experience, headlined by captain Brandon Yip, defencemen Ryan Sproul and Jake Chelios (Chris' son) and goaltender Jeremy Smith.

Let's take a look at the 25 players that will represent China in just under two weeks.

Forwards (13)
Parker Foo -Kunlun Red Star (KHL)
Spencer Foo - Kunlun Red Star (KHL)
Jianing Guo - Kunlun Red Star (KHL)
Cory Kane - Kunlun Red Star (KHL)
Lukas Lockhart - Kunlun Red Star (KHL)
Ethan Werek - Kunlun Red Star (KHL)
Tyler Wong - Kunlun Red Star (KHL)
Xudong Xiang - Kunlun Red Star (KHL)
Juncheng Yan - Kunlun Red Star (KHL)
Brandon Yip - Kunlun Red Star (KHL)
Rudi Ying - Kunlun Red Star (KHL)
Wei Zhong - Kunlun Red Star (KHL)
Zesen Zhang - Kunlun Red Star (KHL)

Defencemen (9)
Jake Chelios - Kunlun Red Star (KHL)
Zimeng Chen - Kunlun Red Star (KHL)
Jason Fram - Kunlun Red Star (KHL)
Denis Osipov - Kunlun Red Star (KHL)
Ryan Sproul - Kunlun Red Star (KHL)
Ruinan Yan - Kunlun Red Star (KHL)
Zach Yuen - Kunlun Red Star (KHL)
Pengfei Zhang - Kunlun Red Star (KHL)
Enlai Zheng (Ty Schultz) - Kunlun Red Star (KHL)

Goaltenders (3)
Pengfei Han - Kunlun Red Star (KHL)
Paris O'Brien - Kunlun Red Star (KHL)
Jeremy Smith - Kunlun Red Star (KHL)

China will open their Olympic tournament on February 10th at 8:10am ET against the United States, followed by Germany on February 12th at 3:40am ET and Canada on February 13th at 8:10am ET.

Source: IIHF

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