Dillon Maher, Jarod Yau, Sam Huo and Leo Li were among a number of players invited to a Chinese Ice Hockey Federation prospects camp held last weekend at Burnaby 8 Rinks.
The three sessions were run by former Vancouver Canuck Cliff Ronning and his son Ty Ronning who plays for the Vancouver Giants.
Maher, Yau, Huo and Li, all 16, are former players with Richmond Minor and Seafair hockey associations.
Observing from the stands was longtime NHL coach Mike Keenan and his assistants. He now guides the Beijing-based Kunlun Red Star of the KHL and has been hired to oversee the development of the Chinese men’s and women’s national teams. China has amped up its national program since being awarded the 2022 Winter Olympic Games where it receives automatic berths into the hockey tournaments as the host nation. The camp, which included an earlier stop in Toronto, is to identify skilled North American-based players who are eligible to represent China.
Keenan was also evaluating talent for Kunlun Red Star and two newly formed pro teams.
The next step for these four talented kids is to prepare for junior hockey and to stay on Team China’s radar.
Earlier this year, Richmond’s Julius Zhang had a leading role in China capturing gold at the U18 Division 3A World Junior Hockey Championships in Chinese Taipei.
He flew to an initial tryout camp in Beijing last December then returned for a two-week main camp in February prior to heading to the world tourney.
