Cooperation between Fribourg and Shenzhen KRS

Intercontinental cooperations are not necessarily the norm in hockey, but the HC Fribourg-Gottéron Ladies are now part of one - with HC Shenzhen Kunlun Red Star. After starting in the Canadian Women's Hockey League in 2017, they moved to the Russian Zhenskaya Hockey League in 2019. Since 2023, they have been part of the Chinese Women's Ice Hockey League.

"Six Chinese players are training with us full-time for two weeks, and the coach of HC Shenzhen Kunlun Red Star is also with us", Fribourg's team manager Emmanuel Jungo is cited by the "Freiburger Nachrichten".  "Over the past three days, the Chinese women have been soaking up everything: how we train, what our skills are, what happens around us", head coach Thomas Zwahlen adds. "They are trying to pick up as many things as possible that they can take home with them to help their club progress."

There already are benefits for Firbourg's Ladies as well. "With more players on the ice, we can train and play with four lines. The pace is faster, the sessions more intense", Zwahlen states. "They are strong technically and in terms of skating, and some are national team players. They show us that we still have a lot of work to do in Switzerland.”

During the Olympic break coming February, the Swiss team aims to participate in a tournament in China.

The whole thing started when a Chinese group visited one of Fribourg's men's team and was excited by what they saw. "In China, it was common practice to naturalize foreign women, especially Canadians, and license them for clubs", Jungo explains. "This has not been allowed since 2024, which is why Kunlun Red Star now has to invest more in training its own players. They asked us if we could help them with their development, and that is how the idea of a collaboration came about."

There is hope for an off-ice effect as well. "When our cooperation is noticed on social media, it has a positive effect", Jungo mentions. "Maybe players will see it, think it is great, and want to come to Gottéron too. First and foremost, it is about gaining experience and finding out how to get the most out of the collaboration. An exchange with the junior women's team is already planned for next year.”

On a sidenote, Maggie MacEachern, one of Fribourg's new imports, was part of Red Star last season. Whether she had any impact on the collaboration is not mentioned.