The hype in China can crush you before you even begin.

Zhang Shuai, touted as a possible successor to Li Na as she began to climb the tennis world rankings a year ago, almost gave up the sport before her impressive run to the quarterfinals of the Australian Open last week.

Elsewhere, Chinese basketball prospect Zhou Qi is expected to be chosen in the first few rounds of this year's NBA draft, drawing impossible comparisons with Yao Ming, which he can't reasonably be expected to fulfill.

A couple of years ago, Guan Tianlang, then aged 14, was proclaimed the next Tiger Woods after making the cut in the Masters, but has largely disappeared from view since then.

Teenage ice hockey player Song Andong is among the latest to hit the headlines as the "next big thing" in China, after he was drafted by the New York Islanders last year.

But let's put this in a little context.

Song was chosen in the sixth round of the 2015 NHL draft - 172nd overall - giving him statistically less than a 30 percent chance of simply playing one game at the top level, let alone becoming a star. He was largely unknown at the time, and was clearly chosen by the Islanders - whose owner, Charles Wang, was born in Shanghai - because of his potential to unlock a huge market of ­untapped sports fans in China.

While scouting reports have been good since the draft, he's still forecast by the respected ­Hockey's ­Future website as being, at best, a ­backup player, while at the same time being "unlikely" to realize even that limited potential. In short, he won't be the next Li Na or Yao Ming.

But that hasn't stopped even outlets like The New York Times from exploring the effect that Song's drafting has had on young Chinese, both those living overseas and playing hockey back in China.

According to sources quoted in that article, Song's success has inspired kids - mostly from middle-class backgrounds due to the expensive nature of the sport - to lace up some skates for the first time or to dust them off in the case of those who had already given up.

The real sea change, then, is taking place at recreational levels, which, in ­conjunction with the rise of winter sports in China due to the 2022 Winter Olympic Games, could truly revolutionize this corner of the sports industry.

But to expect Song to carry the hopes of a nation on his slim shoulders all but guarantees he won't be able to do so.

The author is a Beijing-based freelance writer. dreyermark@gmail.com