(Reuters) – Kevin He became the first Chinese-born player to sign a professional deal with an NHL team on Tuesday after agreeing to a three-year, entry-level contract with the Winnipeg Jets.
The 18-year-old forward’s deal comes with an average annual value in the NHL of $975,000. The Jets selected the Beijing-born in the fourth round, 109th overall, of the 2024 NHL Draft.
“If it can turn out to be a great story, that’s secondary. It is always nice to see the diversity in the game and help maybe grow the game more,” Jets general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff said in a statement.
He started playing organised ice hockey after moving to Montreal at six. In October, He was named captain of the Niagara IceDogs in the Ontario Hockey League, where he has scored 23 goals and registered 20 assists in 29 games this season.
(Reporting by Shifa Jahan in Bengaluru; Editing by Peter Rutherford)
