Kovalchuk Takes on New Role with Shanghai Dragons

0:00On April 21st, former NHL sniper Ilya Kovalchuk just stepped into a big new role as the first president of the Shanghai Dragons, China's team in them, K-H-L. They're playing all their home games in St. Petersburg, Russia, for now. This comes as part of a full restructure announced Tuesday. They also brought on Evgeny Altuokin, a former NHL player as their new general manager. He's been scouting for the Vegas Golden Knights the last three seasons. Kovalchuk says, RTUKIN knows the game inside out and brings smart ideas from North American hockey. Fans are buzzing about this move since Kovalchuk's a legend, with 13 NHL seasons under his belt. Drafted first overall by Atlanta, back in 2001, he racked up 443 goals over 926 games across five. Teams. He even snagged the rocket-richer trophy for most goals in 2003-4. The Dragons had a rough goal last season, finishing dead last in their division and bottom five overall. That was their debut year, under the new name, after starting

1:04as Kumun Red Star. Kovalchuk's promising big changes in how they play and connect with fans, with his experience running Russia's Olympic squad to silver in Beijing two years back, plus his own wild career path from that devil's contract drama. To K-H-L comeback, he's primed to turn this team around as they gear up for real homes in Shanghai. That's the story for today, NHL News Today, Driven by AI.