Bruins Set To Play Two Preseason Games Vs. Flames In China
BOSTON (CBS) -- The Boston Bruins will play a pair of preseason games in China ahead of the 2018-19 regular season.
The B's and Calgary Flames will participate in the 2018 O.R.G. NHL China Games next September, the Bruins announced on Wednesday. The Flames will host Boston at Shenzhen Universiade Center in Shenzhen on Saturday, Sept. 15, while the Bruins will play host to the Flames at Cadillac Arena in Beijing on Wednesday, Sept. 19.
"The Boston Bruins are excited to be part of the 2018 NHL International Games in China," Bruins President Cam Neely said. "Over the past three years we have collaborated with Mr. Zhou Yunjie, the Chairman of ORG Packaging, on growing the game both within the Chinese community in Boston and with youth hockey players in China. We look forward to continuing these efforts by bringing Bruins hockey to China with these two preseason games."
The Bruins have been heavily involved in growing the game of hockey in China since partnering with O.R.G. Packaging in 2015, becoming the first NHL team and first North American professional sports organization to partner with the Beijing-based company.
In 2016, the Bruins hosted O.R.G. Packaging Night at TD Garden where the Bruins hosted nearly 30 Chinese Youth Hockey Players from the Beijing Hockey Association. Those players participated in a number of activities during the evening, including a pregame high-five line where they had the opportunity to fist bump the B's players before they took the ice against the Toronto Maple Leafs. The Bruins organization also made its first-ever official visit to China in July 2016, where current Bruins players and alumni held clinics for over 200 Chinese children.
Since the partnership with O.R.G was consummated, the Bruins have hosted over 100 Chinese youth hockey players from 2015 to 2017.