Profile | Winter Olympics: Zach Yuen, the Canadian-Hong Kong ice hockey star preparing to represent ‘my mother country’ China
- From his historic NHL draft to finding his feet in Russia, here’s what you need to know about mainland favourite Yuan Jinjie
- ‘There were no idols for me growing up because there was no Chinese player at that level’, Yuen told the Post in 2018
Born in Canada to Hong Kong parents, Zach Yuen has emerged as one of the faces of Chinese ice hockey ever since declaring his Winter Olympics intentions years ago.
And what sturdier shoulder to rest the hopes of 1.4 billion people on. The 28-year-old defenceman is no stranger to pressure or the limelight having been one of the first players of Chinese descent to be drafted into the National Hockey League (NHL).
As he laces up his custom Five Star Red Flag-themed skates and visits familiar Beijing “stomping grounds” such as the Wukesong Arena, where he played for years, Yuen is more than ready for his Games debut.
From having “no Chinese idols” to look up to as an aspiring youth, to making a name in Russia’s top league, to recruiting childhood friends from Vancouver to play for the China Dragons at Beijing 2022, here’s what you need to know about the man mainland fans know better as Yuan Jinjie.
Biography
Zachary Yuen was born on March 3, 1993, in Vancouver to a Hong Kong immigrant father and Vancouver-born mother of Guangdong province descent. His grandparents are also Hong Kong immigrants.
Yuen’s entire family are hockey crazy, with sister Yuan Jiahui reportedly a college-level player. With the help of his father, he laced up his first skates aged two and picked up his first puck a year later.
Turning heads at the junior Western Hockey League for the Tri-City Americans, Yuen became the first Chinese defenceman to be drafted via the NHL Entry Draft in 2011. He joined the Winnipeg Jets as 119th overall pick.
Struggling to break into the Jets’ roster, Yuen eventually made his professional debut for the Toronto Marlies of the American Hockey League (AHL) – considered an NHL developmental league – before a stint in the ECHL in the tier below.
Yuen’s competitive break came in 2016, when he signed for Kunlun Red Star, the only China-based team of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). He quickly became the first ethnic-Chinese player to score in a league game, becoming a reliable all-rounder in the team.
