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The NHL preseason takes a unique twist for the Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»Canucks this week. The team’s veterans have travelled to China to play the NHL’s first-ever games in the most populated country on earth, against the Los Angeles Kings.
The games are part of an initiative by the NHL to grow the game of hockey in Asia. The goal is to win some new fans and encourage participation from a small fragment of China’s massive population of 1.3 billion people.
Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»and L.A. were easy choices to take part in the venture thanks to the large ethnic-Chinese populations of the two Pacific Rim locales. The trip adds to the Canucks’ always-gruelling travel schedule, but the players made the 9,000-kilometre journey in fine style.
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Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»
— Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»Canucks (@Canucks)
Shanghai take flight with a swanky en route to China.
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Crystal Skye is the world’s largest luxury charter jet – a Boeing 777-200LR with just 88 seats, compared to more than 300 in a typical commercial configuration. The brand new jet launched just last month and is one of the world’s longest-range commercial airliners. It charters for about US$55,000per hour according to .
With daily high temperatures of close to 30C in Shanghai, humidity was an issue when the Canucks took to the ice for their first practice on Tuesday.
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Yes, it's foggy.
— Nick Cotsonika (@cotsonika)
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Meanwhile in China... The are practicing in the fog...
— NHL News (@NHLNews_PR)
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Mercedez-Benz Arena was built in 2010 and seats 18,000 people. This was the first time it was used for a hockey game – it was constructed as a concert venue.
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Welcome to China
— Sheng Peng (@Sheng_Peng)
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Saturday’s game in Beijing will take place at Wukesong Arena, which was renamed Huaxi Live last July. It was built as the basketball venue for the 2008 Summer Olympics and seats 14,000 fans for hockey. It has hosted hockey regularly as the home of the HC Kunlun Red Star hockey team in the KHL, which is now in its second season and is coached by former Canucks bench boss Mike Keenan.
It’ll be interesting to see what kind of attendance these games can generate. Red Star became the most-watched club team in Asia in its inaugural season, officially averaging 5,137 fans for its games in Beijing according to .
The trip provides a unique team-building experience for the veteran group that features seven new faces this year.
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Exploring Shanghai
— Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»Canucks (@Canucks)
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On the ice, here’s a first look at how the Canucks forwards were deployed at Tuesday’s practice in Shanghai:
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Gagne with the twins, baertschi-Horvat-Boucher, Burmistrov between Vanek and Eriksson, Sutter with Granlund and Dorsett.
— Dan Murphy (@sportsnetmurph)
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The extra forwards are PTO candidate Scottie Upshall and gritty Joseph LaBate, who was a late addition to the trip. He replaces Ryan White, who was injured in the Canucks’ first preseason game in Los Angeles on Saturday.
Here’s the rest of the Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»roster for the China games. New Canucks coach Travis Green will be behind the bench, with Trevor Linden and Stan Smyl representing the front office on the trip.
Defence:ÌýMichael Del Zotto, Chris Tanev, Alex Edler, Ben Hutton, Erik Gudbranson, Troy Stecher, Alex Biega, Patrick Wiercioch.
Goal:ÌýJacob Markstrom, Anders Nilsson.
Back in North America, the young players who have stayed behindwill look to rebound from Sunday’s 9-4 loss against the expansion Vegas Golden Knights when they head to Alberta for a pair of games against the Calgary Flames and Edmonton Oilers.
The North American group is short on NHL experience, especially on the blue line, but a few players are definitely worth watching.
Brock Boeser’s three goals and two assists in two games had him leading the league in preseason scoring and making a strong case to crack the Canucks’ opening-night roster. Another former first-round draft pick, Jake Virtanen, has come to camp in great shape and looked strong in his first two games with a goal and an assist, while 27-year-old AHL veteran Darren Archibald earned some attention on Sunday with his gritty physical game against Vegas.
The 15-hour time difference between Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»and China makes for a complex broadcast schedule, with just a few hours between the two squads’ games.
After the kids play on Wednesday night in Calgary, set your alarm (or your PVR) for Canucks-Kings at 4:30 a.m. on Thursday morning from Shanghai.
Friday night, there’s no TV for the Canucks-Oilers clash. Tune into the new radio team of Brendan Batchelor and Corey Hirsch on Sportsnet 650. Batchelor moves over after four years behind the mic with the Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»Giants while Hirsch debuts as a radio colour commentator after playing 101 of his 108 NHL games in net for the Canucks between 1995 and 1999.
You’ll find Sportsnet 650 on the old CISL frequency on the AM dial. Online, it’s on desktop at and on mobile through the .
The second game from China is an afternoon affair in Beijing. It will be televised, starting at 12:30 a.m. PT.
Here’s when and where to tune in for all of this week’s preseason action:
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Wednesday, Sept. 20 – Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»Canucks at Calgary Flames
Scotiabank Saddledome, Calgary
6 p.m. PTÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý
TV: Sportsnet, Sportsnet 360ÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý
Radio: Sportsnet 650
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Thursday, Sept. 21 – Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»Canucks at Los Angeles Kings
Mercedez-Benz Arena, Shanghai
4:30 a.m. PT (7:30 p.m. local time)ÌýÌýÌý
TV: SportsnetÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý
Radio: Sportsnet 650
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Friday, Sept. 22 – Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»Canucks at Edmonton Oilers
Rogers Place, Edmonton
6 p.m. PTÌýÌýÌýÌý ÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý
TV: noneÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý
Radio: Sportsnet 650
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Saturday, Sept. 23—Los Angeles Kings at Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»Canucks
Wukesong Arena, Beijing
12:30 a.m. PT (3:30 p.m. local time)ÌýÌýÌýÌý
TV: SportsnetÌýÌýÌý
Radio: Sportsnet 650
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