Kovalchuk: Shanghai Dragons Aim for China Move by 2028
Club president Ilya Kovalchuk says the KHL side plans to relocate from St Petersburg to Shanghai within two seasons, with exhibition games set for February.
Ilya Kovalchuk, president of the Shanghai Dragons, says the club is working towards a full move from St Petersburg to China, either in the 2027/28 season or the one after.
"The aim is for the team to move to Shanghai next season or the one after. That's why several matches are planned for February, exhibition games, as in the previous year. This year they are planned again too," Kovalchuk said at the International Youth Festival, quoted by RIA Novosti.
The club played as Kunlun RED Star FC 93 until it was renamed Shanghai Dragons in August 2025. It has staged its home fixtures at the SKA Arena in St Petersburg for the past two seasons, including the current one.
In March the Dragons took two regular-season fixtures to China, losing 1-2 to Sibir Novosibirsk and 4-8 to Barys Astana. KHL president Alexei Morozov said in April that the league planned a series of eight games in Shanghai this season, and told Kommersant that China "is a big market the KHL needs".
Morozov described the relocation in September 2026 as a staged project rather than a single switch of address. The club's new management needed time to work out how to develop the project, he said, which is why the season began in St Petersburg while the league and club continue talks with the Chinese side. Timing, by all accounts, depends on how the project holds up in practice. Club officials said in January 2026 that the test matches in China were the key check on the project, organisationally and on the ice, with the results feeding into any decision on a full move to Shanghai.
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