by Janet Schultz
“I Love Hockey,” said “Karry” Gao Han in very plain English as she prepared to go on the ice with the Niagara Junior Purple Eagles 19U team at their summer camp.
Han plays for Team China and the Vanke Rays of the CWHL.
That is where she met Buffalo’s Emily Janiga. Janiga was part of Team USA that headed over to China to give some instruction to the Chinese players. When Janiga found out Han was coming to New York City she invited her up to Buffalo to spend some time with her and to play some hockey.
“I checked with Coaches Scott Then and Dawn Robinson and they invited her to be part of the NJPE team,” said Janiga.
“American hockey is better than China and I want to learn from the best,” said Han. “I first played hockey six years ago and passion is the reason. I love hockey.”
She explained that the speed and the team work are the best parts of the game.
There are not a lot of kids in Harbin, her hometown, that play hockey. Some of the reasons are the lack of professional coaches and ice arenas.
The Chinese game is a little boring to her and the American game is more fun.
“When Team USA gets together with Team China it made the game more interesting,” said Han.
“She likes the high-fives,” said Janiga laughing!
Her goal for this four-week visit is to get the feel for being on an American team and to learn some skills for her self improvement and get better before her season begins in October.
Janiga explains that what she saw with the USA helping out in China is that more kids are now getting involved and it’s a chance to grow the game on a global scale.
“Any knowledge we can pass on to grow the game is awesome,” said Janiga.
While in China, Team USA not only taught hockey skills on and off the ice, they actually taught the Chinese how to maintain the ice.
“We got on the ice and it was melting and there were bumps,” said Janiga.
“We also taught them the rules of the game and how fans should act in the stands.”
“We take all those things for granted,” she continued.
Janiga has seen the shift from men’s to women’s hockey and seeing the Team USA women has inspired the Chinese girls to take to the ice.
Han is unsure which team she will be playing for but this 5’2” Forward will either be in Beijing or Harbin in the 2018-19 season.
We will try to keep her in our sights when Team China takes on Team USA during the 2018-19 season.
Oh, and watch for Emily Janiga back in the Beauts uniform in Buffalo!
