WASHINGTON Air Huarache Shoes , June 27 (Xinhua) -- Song Andong, a teenager born in Beijing, became the first Chinese-born player to be drafted into the National Hockey League.
The New York Islanders chose the defenceman in the sixth round, with the 172nd pick of the entry draft on Saturday in the annual draft which showcases the best college and junior players from leagues in North America and Europe.
The selection of Song, 18, drew much media attention from China and he admitted that being "the first" put pressure on him.
"I am really honored to be the first," he said. "Being the first Chinese player is a lot of pressure from people back home.
"Good pressure. It will motivate me to be a better player. Make them proud."
Song started to play ice hockey at the age of six when doctors suggest he'd better more inhale cool air for his fragile throat, so his mother decided to take him to play ice hockey.
At age 10 he moved with his family to the Toronto and at 15 he went to New Jersey to play high school hockey for Lawrenceville School.
Lawrenceville coach Etienne Bilodeau said Song stepped into a major role not long after he arrived at the school and was named captain this season.
"Given the composition of our team this year, in a lot of ways he can relate to how many minutes Duncan Keith logged during the (Stanley Cup) Playoff," Bilodeau said. "He was pretty much on a similar ratio minute-wise for our squad. He was our go-to guy at the blue line. His game is steady. He has good edge work, handles the puck well and really is very well-positioned all the time in the context of anticipating and knowing how to support the offense and knowing how to take care of his end and to be very reliable on both sides of the puck."
Song has played both defence and forward but prefers defence as his favorite player is recently retired former Detroit Red Wing Nicklas Lidstrom.
He graduated this year and next season will play at Philips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts, another top prep school, as a post-graduate.
Song will also continue to play internationally. He's captained the Chinese team in the past two years at the IIHF Division II-B World Under-18 Championship.
As Beijing is bidding for the 2022 Winter Olympics, winter sports have become the important in the country which are traditionally in summer Games events like weightlifting, diving, gymnastics and shooting.
Song said he noticed the sport is growing rapidly back in China.
"When I started playing there weren't a lot of people there," he said. "There wasn't much support for the game.
"Last year when I went back, it had been eight years since I had seen Chinese hockey and it was tremendous how far it's grown. I am sure they will keep trying to catch up to Europe and North America and Russia. There's still a gap between them, but I'm sure if we focus on hockey we can catch up."
The Islanders are owned by Chinese-born Charles Wang who was not at the draft table on Saturday.
The Edmonton Oilers took Connor McDavid with the first overall pick on Friday.
Andy Murray of Britain poses with the trophy after winning the men's singles final match against Fernando Verdasco of Spain at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis ATP Championships in Dubai， the United Arab Emirates， March 4， 2017. Andy Murray claimed the title with 2-0. (XinhuaLi Zhen)
ATHENS, May 24 (Xinhua) -- Greek Interior Minister Nikos Voutsis issued a fresh warning on Sunday that Greece would not repay loan installments to the International Monetary Fund in June,while Energy Minister Panagiotis Lafazanis publicly pondered on the advantages and disadvantages of Grexit during a ruling party meeting.
Following the latest EU summit in Riga on Friday and talks with European leaders on the terms of a new deal to address the Greek debt crisis, Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras faced mounting pressure at the weekend from his Radical Left SYRIZA party hardliners who oppose more concessions to Greece's creditors in return for further vital funding to keep the country afloat and in the euro zone.
"The installments to the IMF in June, starting from June 5 to June 19, amount to 1.6 billion euros. This money will not be given. There is no money to repay the installments," Voutsis said during an interview with a local television channel.
He echoed similar statements made by other cabinet ministers in recent days who have openly said that after struggling to meet its financial obligations to the IMF and pay salaries and pensions this spring with no international aid since last summer, Athens can no longer make it without urgent foreign assistance.
Voutsis expressed optimism that a "mutually beneficial compromise" will be reached on time with lenders and there will not be a credit event and a subsequent Greek exit from the European common currency zone.
Lafazanis, who leads SYRIZA's so-called Left Platform of hardliners who object to key reforms and privatizations, appeared to welcome the default and Grexit during his speech at the party central committee meeting on Sunday in Athens.
"How come Grexit and return to national currency equal destruction?" he asked, calling for an "open discussion on the alternative way in Greece" six years after the start of the debt crisis and the introduction of two bailouts.
Arguing that Greece's exit from the euro zone would harm the interests of the wealthy and not poor Greeks, Lafazanis accused creditors of "blackmail" and called on the government to "prepare people for what could follow, tell the truth and be sure of citizens' support."
The Left Platform warned that they would not support an agreement that was not consistent with the party's pre-election program against austerity, over taxation and the sellout of public assets.
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