Ice hockey potential in China appeals to world's best

Mathieu Dandenault, a retired ice hockey star with the Montreal Canadiens, interacts with junior players during a training clinic at Beijing's Champion Rink on Monday.[Wei Xiaohao/China Daily]

"We had a hard time communicating with them through translators, but kids are kids. The first thing is to have fun and that creates passion," said Gingras.

"When you love something, you definitely will work hard to try to improve on that. This is what I saw in the past two days. For me it's contagious. I get as much pleasure from working with the kids as they get from me."

Following Beijing's winning bid to host the 2022 Winter Olympics, the Chinese government has unveiled an ambitious plan to promote winter sports among 300 million people in North China, hoping to cultivate more talent for a wider range of winter events including ice hockey.

Despite the low competitive level of adults, participation in the Beijing Minor Hockey League organized by the Beijing Hockey Association has been surging in recent years.

A record 116 club teams have more than 1,700 children registered for the league's 2015-16 season, which kicked off in October, competing in five age groups from under-6 to under-14. The league featured only four teams with just 20 players in its inaugural 2008 season.

Shutt said he is confident the game's level can be improved enough for China to be a legitimate competitor at the 2022 Olympics as long as foreign expertise is introduced consistently.

"We've been playing hockey for 200 years. It will take a while for the Chinese to get to a certain level. In 2022 at the Olympics, the Chinese are not going to win anything but they are going to be able to compete. That's the main thing," he said.

Gingras stays positive as well, citing the example of Beijing-native player Song Andong, who was picked by the New York Islanders to be the first Chinese drafted in the NHL last year.

"Here I see the kids have the passion in their eyes. They want to learn. The kid drafted already will motivate others who want to emulate him, just like basketball player Yao Ming did for the NBA. They all want to grow to that level, the role model impact is big time".