Q&A: Longtime Local Hockey Advocate Curtis Dracz Talks Beijing’s Power Play

Few things make Canadians living in Beijing more wistful than the thought of missing out on hockey season back in their homeland. That sort of hockey heartache has, however, been eased by Curtis Dracz’s efforts to promote the skates-and-stickhandling sport in the capital with initiatives like Center Ice Asia, Hockey Night in Beijing, the Beijing Pond Hockey Tournament, and the Montreal Canadian Tour in Beijing (the latter of which featured former players from the beloved Quebec team coming to Beijing). Over the years he has worked with owners, developers, and clubs to (according to a bio on his website) “answer to their needs with facility construction, event concepts, professional coaching, camps and tours abroad,” so that not only Canadians, but expats from around the world and also local Chinese people can have better access to the sport.

This season, with Beijing recently having founded its first Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) team, Kunlun Red Star, and as the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics approach, Dracz says China’s interest in the game is more apparent than ever. Below, he tells us more about how ice hockey is heating up in China.

Do you think hockey is about to have a major breakthrough in China? A few things are indicating that might happen – the KHL team, the upcoming Olympics, and even a Beijing minor league hockey team beating a team from Ottawa.
Yeah. It's an exciting time for the sport of ice hockey. New clubs, infrastructure, school initiatives, government support – you name it, people are talking about it. The 2022 Winter Olympics are certainly a key factor in all of this, but looking past the Olympics is the major objective. We need this sport to sustain in the long term.

How did it feel to watch the KHL game in Beijing earlier this fall? What did you enjoy most about it?
It's great hockey with a lot of former professional players as well as up-and-coming younger players. It was nice to see a few Chinese players get ice time as well.

Have you seen an improvement of quality in both gear and playing facilities in Beijing?
Quality equipment has always been accessible though dealers or Taobao. Unfortunately, the price tag for a new set of gear isn't cheap, so that becomes a factor to kick-start programs. Over the years, we've seen places like Decathlon sell entry-level skates, which are a great way to start, gain some interest, and then upgrade when needed. As for infrastructure, there has been some improvements over the years, although we still lack “proper" training centers with dressing rooms, benches, scoreboards, and so on.

Before recent developments, you and your organization spent years advocating for hockey in Beijing. What have been some of the highlights?
We have always tried to push the culture that comes with the sport. Whenever we have events or run training camps, it's about more than the on-ice experience. We want to build life-long players that can play wherever they go, utilizing the core values to sport – respect, leadership, and team work. Sometimes this is challenging for Chinese players to understand, until they experience one of our activities first-hand.

This article originally appeared in the Nov/Dec 2016 issue of the Beijinger, which you can read here via Issuu, via the PDF here, or in hard copy at all of your favorite venues across town.