Chinese-Canadian right winger Brandon Yip, 40, announced his retirement on Wednesday through a social media post of the Shanghai Dragons, the KHL club he has been associated with for the past eight years.
The Canadian-born Yip spent five seasons in the NHL and represented China internationally.
“To the Kunlun Red Star Organization, I am writing to express my deepest gratitude for the incredible opportunity you have given me throughout my time with the team,” the post began, with Yip referring to the team by its old name prior to its recent rebranding.
“Thank you to all the dedicated fans for your unwavering support, to the management for your leadership, to the coaches for your guidance, and to my fellow players and the entire staff for your camaraderie and hard work.”
Yip was born and raised in Vancouver and played four years of college hockey at Boston University. He was an eighth-round pick, 239th overall, by the Colorado Avalanche in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft.
Between 2009 and 2014, he played 174 NHL regular-season games with the Avalanche, Nashville Predators and Phoenix Coyotes, recording 56 points and 130 penalty minutes. He also played 16 playoff games with Colorado and Nasvhille, recording six points and 12 penalty minutes.
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Yip then played in Germany for Adler Mannheim and Düsseldorfer EG before signing with Kunlun Red Star, a Chinese-based KHL team in 2017. Yip has played exclusively for that club ever since, except for a 15-game stint with Finnish-based KHL club Jokerit Helsinki in 2021, when the Chinese club was inactive due to the Covid-19 pandemic. He served as the Kunlun team captain from 2018 to 2025. In all, Yip had 185 points in 340 KHL games.
Yip, who is three-quarters Chinese by ancestry, became a naturalized Chinese citizen. He captained the Chinese team at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing and at two lower-division IIHF World Championships.
“As I retire from hockey, I’ve come to realize that despite all the great memories I’ve had on and off the ice, it is the relationships I’ve built along the way that I will cherish the most,” Yip wrote. “I am proud to say that this game has given me so many friends and family, both near and far, that will last a lifetime. I sincerely hope that the efforts we’ve made to grow hockey in China and the rest of the world can continue to expand, creating an even larger impact for the sport. Thank you again, it has been a true pleasure.”
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Yip’s retirement coincides with a major rebranding of the club, which is ostensibly still based in China although it hasn’t played a game there since early 2020. Along with the rebranding, the club announced its intention to return to China at some point in the next two years.
The team, which has not made the playoffs since its initial KHL season of 2016-17, has also seen significant roster activity this off-season. In addition to Yip, veteran defenseman Jake Chelios has also retired. The team has signed a number of noteable players, including Slovak Olympic bronze-medal-winning goaltender Patrik Rybar, Canadian forwards Ryan Spooner and Nick Merkley, Russian center Alexander Burmistrov and re-signed American defenseman Adam Clendening.
The team has also hired former NHL coach Gerard Gallant.
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