Jiaying ZHOU

Kimbo

Kimberly Newell

Writing, singing, ukulele, snowboarding, rock climbing, Wing Chun, ping pong.

Athlete

Graduated in 2016 from Princeton University, NJ, USA with a degree in economics and finance.

Father, Nicholas (played ice hockey as a goaltender). Mother, Jan (born in China, moved to Canada, earned PhD). Brother, Victor.

English, Mandarin Chinese, French

Shenzhen KRS Vanke Rays

Goalkeeper

Left

Brother Victor Newell (Ice hockey): Played at the collegiate level for Harvard University, twice winning the ECAC championship (2015, 2017). Previously played in the United States Hockey League (USHL) for the Omaha Lancers and Waterloo Black Hawks.

November 2021: Broke her left ankle, making quick recovery to play at the Olympic Winter Games.

Zhenskaya Hockey League (ZhHL)

Began playing in Vancouver at five years old.

"My Dad grew up playing ice hockey, and in Canada, hockey is the most popular sport. I have a brother two years older than me, and my parents put him into hockey when he was very young. I would always go to the rink to watch him play, and so since I was already at the rink, my parents decided to put me into hockey as well. Later on, I was watching all these goalies training on the ice and I was fascinated. I thought they looked so cool with all the gear and the movements they were practicing. From that point on, all I wanted was to be a goalie and I begged my parents until they finally bought me my first set of gear."

To grow women's hockey in People's Republic of China.

"I have special training that I do for my eyes. As a goalie, training the eyes to track the puck is extremely important. However, the most important aspect to train is the mind. At the highest level, everyone is strong and fast and skilled. What sets players apart is their ability to perform when they are under pressure. Sports psychology is training the mind to be as strong as possible under any circumstance, and something that I spend a lot of time on in my training."

Winning gold medal at the 2013 U18 World Championships with Canada; winning the Ivy League Championship with Princeton; winning the WHL Championship in 2020 with KRS; and representing China at the Olympics.

Her father: "My hero is my Dad. He and I are very alike. We are both goalies. We are both deep thinkers. And we both want to learn nonstop."

Her parents: "My Dad is the reason why I play hockey. My Mom was the Tiger Mom. She would always push me to be disciplined and to strive for excellence. They have both sacrificed so much for me and my brother. I just want to show them how grateful I am for everything by pursuing my dream of playing in the Olympics."

"I always hit both my posts with my stick. As a goalie in the net, your posts are your best friends. They tell you where you are in the net. They also help you stop the puck. For me, by hitting my posts, I get rid of all other thoughts except for one, to stop the next shot. It is how I achieve the highest level of focus and performance."

"The number one takeaway that my dad taught me was just to focus on the next shot. If there's one thing, one mantra, one reminder, one motto—that would be it." (en.khl.ru 1 Oct 2021)

"I believe that sports represents life. There are going to be many challenges and difficult times. There are many lessons to be learnt and many steps to take on the path forward. Hockey is a teacher and I am the student."

ZhHL
All-Star Game (2020)

U18 World Championship
All-Star Team (2013)

NCAA
First-Team All-Ivy League (2016)
ECAC All-Academic Team (2013, 2014, 2015, 2016)