The NHL will have to commit resources to support that infrastructure in helping to coach the coaches and administrators who might oversee a fledgling hockey culture in China.

It's the kind of grandiose plan that will need the support of business leaders in North America and China to make a reality. It is the kind of plan with a million moving parts, a million things that could once again leave NHL powerbrokers wondering if it was all worth it.

But if it's done right, it does represent the kind of magic the NHL envisioned when it first sent its players to the Olympics in 1998 and which has, in many ways, eluded the league.

-Scott Burnside of ESPN where you can read more on this topic.