Former Nelson Leaf defenceman Geoff Kinrade will be playing hockey in Beijing next season.
Kinrade signed a one-year deal last month with HC Kunlun Red Star, China’s only team in the Kontinental Hockey League.
The 31 year old has played in the KHL since 2014. He had six goals and 10 assists in 35 games with Nizhnekamsk Neftekhimik last season.
Kinrade suited up for the Leafs from 2000 to 2003. He later went on to play four seasons for Michigan Tech before appearing in one game with the Tampa Bay Lightning during the 2008-09 NHL season and winning a Calder Cup with the AHL’s Binghamton Senators in 2011. He also won gold with Team Canada a the 2012 Spengler Cup.
The Red Star are a relatively new franchise, having only made their KHL debut last season. The team features several former NHL names, such as head coach Mike Keenan, forward Alexei Ponikarovsky, Andrei Kostitsyn, Kyle Chipchura, Brandon Yip and Wojtek Wolski.