KHL will expand to China next season

Apparently the KHL's expansion process is less complex than that of Gary Bettman's NHL.

The Russian-based Kontinental Hockey League has announced that it will expand into China, bringing an expansion franchise to the densely-populated capital of Beijing for next season, according to the Associated Press.

The team will share the 18,000-seat MasterCard Center with the Beijing Ducks of the Chinese Basketball Association.

This move will see the KHL expand from its current 28 teams that are spread across seven countries in Europe and Central Asia. It will also expose China's largest market to high-level hockey more than a half-decade before the city hosts the 2022 Winter Olympics.

Andong Song recently became the first Chinese-born hockey player to be drafted into the NHL when he was taken 172nd overall by the New York Islanders.