The Shenzhen Kunlun Red Star women’s ice hockey team has secured the top position among seven teams with 34 points in the 2024-2025 China Women’s Ice Hockey Professional League (WCIHL) after the first two sessions.
The 2024-2025 WCIHL league started in September and will last until February, extending four months longer than the previous season. The final competitions are scheduled for February next year in Shenzhen.
Shenzhen Daily interviewed coaches and players from the Shenzhen team in Longgang District on Nov. 5 during the Media Open Day event.
Players from the Shenzhen Kunlun Red Star women’s ice hockey team train at their club in Longgang District on Nov. 5. Photos by Liu Xudong
Petrov Aleksandr, assistant coach of the team, recognized the team members’ performances thus far and said he has high expectations for the final competitions in Shenzhen. “We started off a little slower this year, but we’ve been getting better and better and are currently in first place,” said Aleksandr.
Although the team lost its very first game, it has won all subsequent matches. “Our goal is to win the cup in the playoffs,” Aleksandr added.
“Shenzhen is our home field, and what we need to do now is to give it our all in the games and fight for the final competitions,” said Qi Xueting, head coach of the team.
This year’s league has welcomed several new faces from both domestic and international backgrounds to enhance the team’s vitality. “This is a very professional team. The senior players have provided me with a lot of assistance and tactical guidance,” said Song Tianxi, a 19-year-old goalie who joined this year.
Emily Rickwood, a 24-year-old from Canada who joined the league for the first time, expressed her admiration for the performances of her Chinese teammates. “Everybody skates so hard and battles for every puck. We are all helping each other out in different areas,” said Rickwood.
The young player, who has 810,000 followers on Instagram, has documented her experiences in ice hockey on social media. Rickwood admitted that not many of her followers are aware that people play ice hockey in China, but said her posts allow them to see that there is a professional team in the country.
As a city with an annual average temperature of over 20 degrees Celsius, Shenzhen made history in Chinese sports by becoming the first city in southern China to host a top-level international ice hockey tournament in 2023. Over the past few years, the city has made remarkable progress in ice and snow sports.