Ying Rudi (; born August 16, 1998) is a Chinese professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

player currently with

HC Kunlun Red Star HC Kunlun Red Star () is a Chinese ice hockey club that joined the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) prior to the 2016–17 season. History Preparation of the team In March 2016, representatives of Kunlun Red Star and the KHL signed a protocol o ...

of the

Kontinental Hockey League The Kontinental Hockey League (KHL; russian: Континентальная хоккейная лига (КХЛ), Kontinental'naya khokkeynaya liga) is an international professional ice hockey league founded in 2008. It comprises member clubs ba ...

(KHL). Born in China, Ying first played hockey in Beijing, moving to the United States at age 9 to further his career. He returned to Beijing in 2016, becoming the first Chinese-born player to play in the KHL. Internationally he has represented

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

at both the junior and senior levels. Ying is also the son of actor

Ying Da Ying Da (; born July 7, 1960) is a Chinese actor and director, best known in film for portraying Louie Wang in ''Big Shot's Funeral'' (2001), Ni Zhengyu in '' The Tokyo Trial'' (2006) and Jin Shenghuo in '' The Message'' (2009), and has received c ...

and the grandson of actor

Ying Ruocheng Ying Ruocheng (; June 21, 1929 - December 27, 2003) was a Chinese actor, director, playwright and vice Ministry of Culture of the People's Republic of China, minister of culture from 1986 to 1990. He first came to the attention of Western audience ...

Early life and education

Ying Rudi was born in Beijing on August 16, 1998, to

, a director and actor, and Liang Huan ().

Playing career

Youth and junior

Ying played youth hockey in China for the Beijing Cubs of the Beijing Youth Hockey League (BYHL) before moving to the Chicago Mission of the High Performance Hockey League (HPHL) at age 9. Ying joined the

Boston Junior Bruins The Boston Junior Bruins are an American junior ice hockey organization playing in Marlborough, Massachusetts. They currently field three junior and a number of youth teams in the United States Premier Hockey League (USPHL). Mission Junior hockey ...

U18 team in the Eastern Junior Elite Prospects League for the 2012–13 season, before transferring to play for the junior varsity team of

Phillips Exeter Academy (not for oneself) la, Finis Origine Pendet (The End Depends Upon the Beginning) gr, Χάριτι Θεοῦ (By the Grace of God) , location = 20 Main Street , city = Exeter, New Hampshire , zipcode ...

. After two years at Exeter, Ying signed with the

Toronto Patriots The Toronto Patriots are a junior "A" ice hockey team from Toronto, Ontario, Canada. They are a part of Ontario Junior Hockey League. History Quinte (1996–1998) In 1996, the Quinte Hawks of Deseronto, Ontario were granted expansion into the ...

of the

Ontario Junior Hockey League The Ontario Junior Hockey League (OJHL) is a Junior A ice hockey league in Ontario, Canada. It is under the supervision of the Ontario Hockey Association (OHA) and the Canadian Junior Hockey League (CJHL). The league was listed as the 7th best ...

(OJHL), where he played for the remainder of the 2015–16 season.

Professional

On August 16, 2016, Ying signed a two-year contract with

of the

(KHL). He was the first Chinese-born player to play in the KHL or NHL. After a year with the team, in which he acquired no points in 25 games, Ying was sent down to KRS Heilongjiang, the developmental minor-league affiliate team of

International play

Ying represented China as a 16-year-old at the

2014 IIHF World U18 Championship Division II The 2014 IIHF U18 World Championship Division II was two international under-18 ice hockey tournaments organised by the International Ice Hockey Federation. The Division II A and Division II B tournaments represent the fourth and the fifth tier ...

. The youngest player on the team, Ying recorded seven points (five goals and two assists) in five games, the most out of any Chinese player at the tournament. He was named to the U18 Division II-B All Star Team. Ying played for China again in

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...

, where he again led the team in points, with seven (six goals and one assist). In

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

, Ying captained his team at the same tournament where he tallied three points (two goals and one assist) in four games. In 2017, Ying captained the Chinese U20 National Team at the 2017 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships – Division III, where his team won second place. Despite China's loss in the finals, Ying gave a dominant individual performance, leading the tournament with 19 points (9 goals and 10 assists) in 5 games. He was awarded Best Forward of the Tournament, Best Player of Team China, as well as 2 Best Player of the Game awards. Ying also participated at the 2017 Men's World Ice Hockey Championships and

2018 Men's World Ice Hockey Championships The 2018 Men's Ice Hockey World Championships was the 82nd such event hosted by the International Ice Hockey Federation. Teams participated at several levels of competition. The competition also served as qualifications for division placements in ...

Personal life

Ying first began playing hockey at a Beijing mall, skating while his mother shopped. His parents decided to send him to the United States when he was nine to further his career. Initially, Ying lived in Chicago but later moved to the Boston area, where he studied at

Fay School Fay School is an independent, coeducational day and boarding school, located on a campus some from Boston in Southborough, Massachusetts. Fay opened its Primary School (pre-K to grade two) in 2010 and moved its 6th grade into the Lower School ...

in Southborough and then entered

, a prep school known for its academics.

Ancestry

His great-great-grandfather

Ying Lianzhi Ying Lianzhi (; November 23, 1867 – January 10, 1926), also known as Ying Hua (), was a Manchu Bannerman, a prominent Catholic layman who agitated for church reform, founder of the prominent newspaper ''Ta Kung Pao'', and instrumental in foundi ...

(; 1867–1926) was the founder of '' Takungpao'' and

Fu Jen Catholic University Fu Jen Catholic University (FJU, FJCU or Fu Jen; or ) is a private Catholic university in Xinzhuang, New Taipei City, Taiwan. The university was founded in 1925 in Beijing at the request of Pope Pius XI and re-established in Taiwan in 1961 at ...

. His great-great-grandmother Aisin Gioro Shuzhong () was a member of the

Qing dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speak ...

royal family. His great-great-maternal grandfather

Cai Rukai Cai Rukai (; 1867 - 1923) was a Chinese politician and educator of the late Qing dynasty and early Republic of China (1912–1949), Republican period. Biography Cai was born in Nanchang, Jiangxi in 1867. During the reign of Guangxu Emperor in the ...

(; 1867–1923) was president of National Beiyang University. His great-grandfather Ying Qianli (; 1900–1969) was a professor at

National Taiwan University National Taiwan University (NTU; ) is a public research university in Taipei, Taiwan. The university was founded in 1928 during Japanese rule as the seventh of the Imperial Universities. It was named Taihoku Imperial University and served d ...

and Fu Jen Catholic University. His great-grandmother Cai Baozhen () was president of Beijing Children's Library. His grandmother () was a translator and interpreter of

Zhou Enlai Zhou Enlai (; 5 March 1898 – 8 January 1976) was a Chinese statesman and military officer who served as the first Premier of the People's Republic of China, premier of the People's Republic of China from 1 October 1949 until his death on 8 J ...

. His grandfather

was a director, actor, playwright and vice minister of culture from 1986 to 1990. His aunt Ying Xiaole () is a Chinese-American painter.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ying, Rudi 1998 births Living people Chinese ice hockey forwards HC Kunlun Red Star players Ice hockey centres KRS-BSU players KRS Heilongjiang players Manchu sportspeople Sportspeople from Beijing Phillips Exeter Academy alumni Ice hockey players at the 2022 Winter Olympics Olympic ice hockey players of China