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The Bruins announced on Monday morning that they have signed goaltender Derek Dun to a PTO for the rest of the NHL China Games. Dun, a 24-year-old native of British Columbia, is of Chinese descent and spent his last season playing for the Kunlun Red Star of the KHL.
A new goalie, some lineup tweaks, a fashion statement, and the art of negotiating.
— Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) September 17, 2018
Details in Monday's Practice Rundown from Beijing #NHLChinaGames: https://t.co/Ih6ERybQbp
The young goaltender will serve as the Bruins third-string/emergency goalie and will hopefully see some time in goal in the Bruins’ second China Series game against the Flames on Wednesday.
Dun played college hockey for the University of British Columbia and ended up signing in the KHL after that. While playing for UBC, Dun posted a 7-4-1 record with a 2.87 GAA and .910 SV%.
The Bruins are certainly embracing the Chinese culture by signing Dun to a PTO. While the move was mostly symbolic, Dun will certainly become a better goalie by practicing with NHL talent.
As he told the Bruins’ website:
“It was about a month ago and one of our managers on the team came up to me and said, ‘I think you’re gonna go practice with the Bruins,’” said Dun. “It’s unbelievable. I never really thought of this happening before, it’s pretty surreal.”
“It is a dream come true,” said Dun, “a surreal moment to step out on the ice and practice with some of the best players of the world.”
Overall, a cool thing for the Bruins to do. Here’s to hoping that Dun gets a shot on Wednesday, and if not, that he tears it up in the KHL this season.