The next 18 months or so are "shaping up to be a lucrative and high-profile period" for MLSE and its two flagship properties -- the Maple Leafs and Raptors -- and the company has "set its sights on Asia, and China in particular, as an untapped market," according to Paul Attfield of the GLOBE & MAIL. The Raptors will be "heading to Britain for a game next month" before hosting the NBA All-Star Game in February. Meanwhile, the Leafs are "gearing up for the franchise’s centennial season" in '16-17, with the possibility of staging the NHL All-Star Game, Draft and Winter Classic. Last month the company "held the inaugural Canada-China sports business summit at Beijing’s National Stadium, the so-called 'Bird’s Nest.'" The summit was an opportunity for MLSE to "share its expertise and experience with 150 Chinese firms." MLSE Chief Commercial Officer David Hopkinson said, "When the Chinese government comes out and says we want to introduce 300 million new participants into winter sports, those are numbers that as Canadians are staggering, that’s the entire population of the United States." Attfield noted where MLSE "hopes to make a difference is in partnerships with Chinese companies, and so far it has struck global partnerships" with Alcatel OneTouch cellphones, Asus computers, Aeolus Tyre and telecommunications company Huawei. MLSE, in an effort to assist in developing that area, five years ago "appointed Bo Hu to oversee its Chinese business ventures." Hu has "helped MLSE build its brands by holding hockey clinics in Beijing, Shenzen and Shanghai featuring one-time Maple Leafs player Peter Ing, a former NHL goaltender of Chinese descent." The Leafs are "one of just four NHL teams to have held hockey camps in China" (GLOBE & MAIL, 12/21).
