Winter Olympics: China ice hockey team captain Brandon Yip’s journey from the NHL to Beijing, as told by his parents
- Wayne and Gale Yip reflect on their son’s trailblazing heroics from their native Canada – ‘we’re just a regular, quiet family’
- From being drafted by the Colorado Avalanche, to becoming a Kunlun legend, Yip’s Chinese ice hockey legacy has only just begun
As China ice hockey captain Brandon Yip led his history making Beijing Winter Olympics team out the National Indoor Stadium last month, his two biggest fans were cheering from their television at the crack of dawn some 8,500km away.
Based in the “little old” city of Maple Ridge, Vancouver, Wayne and Gale Yip watched their son pay tribute to his Chinese heritage while paving the way for a new generation of mainland hockey enthusiasts.
“It was surreal when we saw him walk into the Bird’s Nest at the opening ceremony – ‘that’s our little boy’,” said father Wayne, born to Chinese and Irish parents.
“My hockey buddies all watched him and congratulated us. They are proud of Brandon, too.”
Gale said the pair were “still trying to catch up on sleep”.
“It was hard to imagine that he was doing all this in real time so many miles away,” she said. “The whole family should have been there but for the [Covid-19] travel restrictions. It was still great to share the moment from afar.”
