Bruins Arrive in Beijing for #BruinsGlobal: China 2017

BEIJING- The Bruins have arrived in Beijing for their second official visit to China to continue to help grow the game of hockey.
The visit is in partnership with O.R.G. Packaging and O.R.G Packaging Chairman Mr. Zhou Yunjie, who hosted members of the organization, including David Pastrnak and Matt Beleskey, in the summer of 2016.
In addition to growing the game, the partnership assists in strengthening the connection between the Bruins and the local Chinese community in New England, and educating North Americans about the growth of hockey in China.

This year's "Bruins Global: China 2017" trip features current Bruins players Torey Krug, David Pastrnak, and Tuukka Rask, along with Bruins Alum Hal Gill and members of the Boston Bruins Corporate Partnership and Youth Hockey Development Teams. The crew is embarking on a 10-day trip through Beijing and Shanghai.
The trip's festivities kicked off with the grand opening of a brand new state-of-the-art hockey rink built by O.R.G. Packaging's Mr. Zhou, where hundreds of fans and youth hockey players were in attendance.
"They did a great job here - to walk into that fan rally was something unique and something I'll never forget," said Krug. "It's something that I'm excited to be a part of and now that we're the first group to use this rink, it's pretty cool, and I think they did a great job."

From the 14-hour flight, to the whirlwind first day in Beijing, Krug was taking it all in.
"This is my first time to China and so far, so good," smiled Krug. "It's been a great trip. Very lucky that O.R.G. Packaging had us out here, and just glad to be part of this group coming here and to be a part of something exciting."

Krug is excited to have a couple of his teammates with him for the trip, like Pastrnak, who went on the organization's first trip to China last summer.
"It was awesome," Pastrnak said of his first visit to Beijing. "Last year, I had so much fun being on the ice with the kids and trying to teach them some tricks and how to skate, so it's going to be a lot of fun."

Prior to teaching the kids on the ice, the players had a little fun of their own. During the rally, there was a Q&A portion, where the players fielded questions from an emcee, as well as from the kids in the audience by using a translator.
Then, the players answered questions on a dry erase board, before revealing them to the crowd - questions like their favorite hobbies, what they would be doing if they didn't play hockey, or how they came to have their jersey numbers. Rask decided it would be a nice gesture to draw a picture of Pastrnak on his board.

"Well I mean, just try to have fun with it," Rask laughed. "Can't really understand what anybody's saying, but just try to go with the flow and have fun."
"They're great guys and funny, so we're going to have a lot of fun," Pastrnak said of having Rask, Krug, and Gill out on the ice helping run the clinics. "And that's pretty much what it's all about - to have fun and teach the kids how to play hockey."

That sums up the approach to the week for the Bruins - to show the kids how much fun hockey can be, and help grow their love of the game.
"They have the [Winter] Olympics coming up in a few years [in 2022], so I think they want to kind of set the stage for that and try to build hockey for the bigger audience," said Rask.
"And I know in talking to a couple of guys, there is a big audience watching our games during the season and people have interest," said Rask. "So we're just trying to do our part, growing the game here and making people even more interested, and so far, it seems to be working."

Throughout the Bruins' stay in China, the clinics will involve more than 200 Chinese youth hockey players. In addition to on-ice drills, the clinics will consist of dry-land workouts where Bruins' players and staff will lead youth hockey players through hockey-specific exercises and agility training aimed at improving on-ice performance. There will also be educational video sessions and breakdowns of various hockey strategies and techniques.
"There were a few kids who were actually really, really good," Rask said of the first day on the ice. "One kid was six years old and he looked like he had played many, many years and China may not be that big of a sport in China yet, but these kids are pretty impressive."
"There's an obvious language barrier," acknowledged Krug. "But they're so focused that they just watch what I do and pick it up and all of a sudden, they're doing it again. I'm actually a little surprised at their skill level as well. It's been pretty impressive to see these kids out here working hard."

Like last year, the Bruins will also become immersed in China's culture each day after the clinics, seeing sights like the Great Wall.
"I saw a couple of places last year, but didn't have time to go to the Great Wall, so I'm really excited to do that," Pastrnak smiled before adding, "And do some leg work out there."
Collectively, the group is looking forward to the next two weeks helping to grow the game in China.
"It's a lot of fun," said Krug. "I was impressed with how focused the kids are. They're excited to be out here, very happy, and willing to learn. It's been a lot of fun so far."

View more photos from the kick-off of #BruinsGlobal below.