Three Greater Toronto Hockey League graduates will be representing China at the 2022 Olympic Winter Games following the selection of the host country’s men’s hockey team.

Juncheng “Edward/Eddie” Yan, Ryan Sproul, and Ethan Werek – all teammates on the Kontinental Hockey League’s (KHL) Kunlun Red Star – will play for Team China.

Yan, a former Don Mills Flyer, joined the Red Star following three seasons spent at the Junior A level with the British Columbia Hockey League’s Victoria Grizzlies.

Sproul, Mississauga native and former Vaughan King, enjoyed a successful major junior career with the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds resulting in being selected in the second round by the Detroit Red Wings in 2011. In 2019, Sproul transitioned from the American Hockey League to the KHL where he has played for the Red Star for three seasons.

A Markham native, Werek – a former Toronto Marlboro – played for the OHL’s Kingston Frontenacs before making the jump to the AHL’s Portland Pirates. As a second round pick of the New York Rangers in 2009, enjoyed seven seasons of professional hockey in North America before making the jump to Europe in 2018. Werek first spent time with Czechia before joining the Red Star in 2019.

China will play in Group A which also includes Canada, Germany, and the United States. Team China will play their first game on February 10 against the United States.

This is the first time China will compete in men’s hockey at the Olympics.