from Tom Gulitti of NHL.com,

Washington Capitals owner Ted Leonsis envisions a day when a player born and trained in China will play in the NHL. He also believes that day isn't far off.

By hosting a group of 25 youth hockey players from two primary schools in Beijing the past 10 days to kick off Hockey Is For Everyone month, Leonsis and the Capitals have seen there is some young talent there already. And with the 2022 Beijing Olympics on the distant horizon, Leonsis expects the development process to be accelerated.

"We believe and I believe that China is the next great market for hockey," Leonsis said Wednesday. "The Winter Olympics will be played in China. The Chinese government, the Chinese people, the universities and secondary schools are committed to the game. There will be about 200 new rinks being built in China and we would expect China being a very, very formidable force in the Olympics, and also we'll see that China will be producing players and I would expect that we'll have NHL players that were born and trained, just like we've seen in the NBA, and China will be able to bring players here."

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