Latvia is a long way from home

In faraway Riga, Latvia, the Kunlun Red Star Juniors wrapped up their "home" season in Russia's top amateur hockey league this week.

But for Chinese players in the MHL, the dream of representing their country at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics lives on.

"We did our preseason training in Riga and the facilities here are very good. It is also a quiet city and easy to fly out from for games," Red Star Juniors head coach Alexander Barkov said in an interview with the IIHF website.