Man of the Week: Brandon Yip

KHL.ru’s weekly column continues with Brandon Yip. The veteran Chinese international has just established a league record previously held by the great Jaromir Jagr.

Kunlun Red Star suffered from a home loss by the hand of Severstal on Oct 14 (3:5), but the forward netted a late tally with fewer than three minutes to go, meaning that it was his sixth consecutive game where he had at least a goal, thus he overtook Jagr’s five-game streak to write a new chapter in the record book for players aged 37 and over. In the next game, the veteran failed to score, but he posted an assist to keep his point streak alive. Brandon Yip is currently leading Kunlun Red Star with 14 (7+7) points in 17 games played thus far. Parker Foo is just one point behind, but he also had three games more. Such production means a projected 54 points for the season – much higher than his career-high 36 points in 2018-2019.

Early years

Brandon Yip was born on Apr 25, 1985, in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. He played amateur junior hockey with the Coquitlam Express of the British Columbia Hockey League before moving on to the Boston University of the Hockey East. In his freshman year in the 2005–06 season, the forward produced 31 (9+22) points in 39 games and was named Hockey East rookie of the year. After winning the NCAA title with the Terriers in in 2008–09, Yip graduated from Boston University with a B.S. in criminal justice. 

“BU’s a great school, and it was a great four years to develop my size and skills,” Yip said after his graduation season. “I wouldn’t change it for anything…I wanted a degree, and I had a shaky year my junior year and wanted to come back and prove myself. I think as a team, we did a good job of that.”

However, he was making headlines not only because of his excellent play, but also for his ethnicity. 

“My mom’s full Chinese and my dad is half-Irish and half-Chinese,” Yip said. “That’s kind of an odd mix.” 

Probably, at the time he wasn’t even thinking about representing China on the international stage later in his career.

Pro hockey and move to China

After his strong play in college hockey, he joined the Colorado Avalanche organization, where he had his NHL debut in 2009-2010. After the Avs, he also lined up in the NHL for the Nashville Predators and the Phoenix Coyotes. He spent five years with the big boys, with 174 games and a respectable production of 56 (29+27) points. After his experience there, he decided to move to Europe, first signing with Adler Mannheim of the German DEL – he won the title with the Eagles in 2015. After a further season in Mannheim, he signed in Dusseldorf for the 2016-2017 season before moving on and joining the Kunlun Red Star side of the KHL in 2017.

Naturally, such a move wasn’t just a step forward in his hockey career, but he could also rejoin with his roots.

“Growing up in Canada I didn't know much about China but what I did learn was mainly from my Popo [grandmother], who passed away when I was young,” he told globaltimes.cn before representing his country at the 2022 Olympics in Beijing.

“Fortunately, this opportunity to play for the Kunlun Red Star and the Chinese national team has rejuvenated my interest in China and has allowed me to live in China for a few seasons. I have really enjoyed the culture, the people and my experiences in China,” he said.

After four years with the Kunlun Red Star and a further year in Finland with the Liiga side Jukurit, Yip had a chance of a lifetime – representing China at the Olympic Games on home soil. The hosts had a hard time in facing the opposition, but Yip had an assist at the tournament, and made a good job as a leader, earning unvaluable memories.

“Although we originally hail from different countries, once we put on the Red Star or Team China jersey, we are just one big family. One big family fighting together and representing China and ice hockey,” he said.

“Not only are we playing for China and to make China proud, but we are also playing for the sport of hockey, a sport that we all love, and want to showcase in front of everybody in China so we can learn the game and grow the game for many years to come,” said Yip, whose Chinese name at the tournament was Jinguang Ye.

Hockey was considered a rare and expensive sport in his country, but the situation has been changing in sight of the Olympics. 

“It has been really cool to see the government support and the amount of ice rinks that China has built over the last few years,” he said.

 Yip believes playing hockey is a good education for the youth because “hockey is a fast sport and can be confusing at times,” making it challenging for them.

“It is China that has been passed by in our family; it is also China that I am witnessing with my own eyes…” he wrote on his Weibo after the Olympics. “Many friends asked me if I would like to stay here after the Olympics. Of course, I would, for the progress of the ice hockey in New China.”

As he just signed a four-year deal to play with Kunlun in this offseason, it looks like Yip is there to stay.