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Report: KHL d-man Chris Lee to attend Kings camp on PTO -- at age 36

Germany Hockey Worlds

Calvin Pickard, left, bangs helmets with Chris Lee as Canada’s players celebrate at the end of the Ice Hockey World Championships semifinal match between Canada and Russia in the LANXESS arena in Cologne, Germany, Saturday, May 20, 2017. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

AP

It appears Chris Lee, at the age of 36, will get a shot to crack an NHL roster for the upcoming season.

According to John Hoven of MayorsManor.com on Sunday, Lee will join the L.A. Kings at training camp on a professional tryout.

He spent the last four years in the KHL playing for Magnitogorsk Metallurg. Defying his age, Lee enjoyed an impressive 2016-17 campaign with 14 goals and 65 points in 60 games. Those numbers easily stand out for any defenseman, but particularly in this case because Lee is closer to 40 years of age then 30.

Lee has built up an interesting career as a journeyman defenseman, playing in the ECHL before moving up to the AHL, playing for five different teams in that league, and still managing to be productive. He has never played an NHL game, however, and in 2010 he left North America to continue his career in Europe.

This spring, he was the only non-NHL player on Canada’s roster at the World Championships. He posted two assists in seven games. It wasn’t long after the tournament that news broke he was leaving the KHL to look for opportunities in the NHL.

He will turn 37 on Oct. 3. It would be quite a story if he made his NHL regular season debut a few days later.