From Beijing to ka-ching: Winnipeg Jets' Kevin He makes history
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Published Dec 17, 2024 • Last updated 15 hours ago • 2 minute read
The Winnipeg Jets and prospect Kevin He have made hockey history.
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The 18-year-old He has become the first Chinese-born player to sign an NHL contract, inking a three-year, entry-level deal with Winnipeg worth $975,000 per season at the NHL level.
“It means a lot,” He told the Winnipeg Sun on Tuesday. “It’s just the start of my journey, obviously. But it took me a lot of hard work and it’s been quite the journey, for sure.”
He’s family moved from China to Canada when he was five years old, first to Montreal, his dad working as an accountant.
When He was 12, they moved to Toronto.
Last summer, in the fourth round of the NHL draft, the Jets made him the second Chinese-born player drafted and the one drafted highest, after Andong Song was taken by the New York Islanders in the sixth round in 2015.
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On Monday He became the first to sign a contract.
“I’m really honoured,” he said. “My family’s really happy, everyone around me. I’m pretty proud of myself. Bounced around a lot, growing up. Moving to a new country, and to another new city. I had to have really good connections. My parents and my brother helped me a lot.”
He’s not sure how much of a splash his signing is making back in China, where his grandparents on his mother’s side still live.
“I’m not too big on social media and haven’t been paying too much attention on what’s going on back home,” he said. “But obviously it’s made the news here.”
The Jets traded up to draft He, sending two picks to Buffalo in order to get an earlier selection.
“We just felt we had to be decisive there,” GM Kevin Cheveldayoff said that day. “We didn’t think he was going to be around that much longer, so we just worked the phones to try and find somebody that we could partner up with to make that pick.”
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Born in Beijing, the feisty, 6-foot-0, 180-pound winger is in his third season, his first as captain, with Niagara of the Ontario Hockey League.
Coming off his first training camp with the Jets, He ranks second on the IceDogs in scoring with 23 goals, 43 points, in 29 games this season. He’s fourth in the OHL in goals.
Watching the Jets from afar, he tries not to think too far ahead about where he might fit into the lineup of one of the NHL’s top teams, and when.
“Just trying to get better every single day,” He said. “And try to stay in the moment as much as I can. Keep growing and keep taking things from everyone else and just learning and building that foundation that I have.
“I wouldn’t say I’m glued to it, but I do pay attention and check up on the scores and see how they’re doing. They’re a hell of a team, aren’t they?”
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