Alex Ovechkin to serve as NHL Ambassador in China next month

BarDown Staff

Washington Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin. , Patrick Smith/Getty Images

The NHL will not be playing an exhibition game in China this summer, but it will be sending one of its biggest stars in an effort to continue growing the sport there.

The league announced on Thursday morning that Alex Ovechkin will be travelling cross seas the week of August 4^th to serve as an international ambassador. Ovi is set to attend youth hockey clinics and business development meetings.

Alex Ovechkin is traveling to Beijing next month as an NHL ambassador. The Caps captain will attend youth hockey clinics and business development meetings as part of the league's effort to grow the sport in China https://t.co/IlMW78BM8P
— Scott Allen (@ScottSAllen) July 18, 2019

Ovechkin expressed his excitement for the trip and considers the task to be a “huge honour”. He had this to say on it:

The following is an excerpt from NHL.com:

"It is a huge honor for me to be an ambassador for the entire Washington Capitals organization and the National Hockey League for this special trip to China," Ovechkin said. "I think it is very important to spend time to help make people all over the world see how great a game hockey is. I can't wait to spend time with all the hockey fans there and I hope to meet young kids who will be future NHL players. I can't wait for this trip!"

Hockey is on the rise in China and according Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment CEO, New Jersey Devils CEO and Philadelphia 76ers CEO Scott O’Neil, it should continue to grow. On Monday, O’Neil told CNBC that “In time, hockey will join basketball at the top of the charts in China.” CNBC’s Stella Noon noted that nearly 300 million people in China play basketball.

Great insight from Scott O'Neil on China as a growing hockey market. I am very excited to see how this young hockey nations grows over the next 20+ years!https://t.co/OC81GAhYqB
— James Haddad (@JHaddad98) July 15, 2019

We all saw what Yao Ming was able to do for basketball in China. Now imagine what will happen if one of these kids is inspired by Ovechkin and becomes the game’s next player… That would be something. It will be interesting to see how China fares in hockey when the Winter Olympics kick off in 2022.

(H/T NHL.com)