Confirmed with Link: Canucks sign D Akito Hirose to 1-Year ELC

[supercanuck]

It may be because Lars Nootbaar is one of the all-time great sports names. He is in the name hall of fame alongside Hakan Loob, God Shammgod and NASCAR Driver Richard Trickle.

I had to Google that name to make sure this wasn't a joke.

 

[Icebreakers]

Honestly it's just about sport popularity

Jeremy Lin was a huge hit in China not only because he spoke some Chinese but because Basketball is Chinas most popular team sport that they watch.

Same with Nootbar in Japan. Those fans who are fans of the sport will obviously gravitate to a player of their nationality.

Hockey is nothing in Japan, which is why no one will know Hirose either.

 

[Bjornar Moxnes]

Honestly it's just about sport popularity

Jeremy Lin was a huge hit in China not only because he spoke some Chinese but because Basketball is Chinas most popular team sport that they watch.

Same with Nootbar in Japan. Those fans who are fans of the sport will obviously gravitate to a player of their nationality.

Hockey is nothing in Japan, which is why no one will know Hirose either.

Hockey is popular in Hokkaido, but that's about it.

 

[alternate]

Can Hirose be sent down and play regular season games for Abby? If Tocchet isn't going to play him for a bit so Hirose can get practices in, a game or 2 in Abby might help with his transition.

 

[MS]

Can Hirose be sent down and play regular season games for Abby? If Tocchet isn't going to play him for a bit so Hirose can get practices in, a game or 2 in Abby might help with his transition.

No. Because they’re burning the year this year he isn’t eligible for a PTO but also isn’t eligible because he wasn’t papered at the deadline.

 

[Ernie]

In Japanese, each syllable is pronounced individually.

hi ro se

 

[Zombotron]

hi, rosie

 

[vadim sharifijanov]

Why would some hockey player in Canada having Japanese family roots be exciting to sports fans in Japan when they have absolutely no lack of domestic sporting heroes of their own? It's a bit like expecting Canadians be excited about Owen Hargreaves except in a more obscure sport and not even born in Canada. Likewise people in Italy were surely just a better marketing effort away from being crazy about Roberto Luongo. The Canucks shouldn't miss the opportunity with Phil Di Giuseppe now.

my pt was to show that the nhl didn’t really try with kariya. they tried to try, lol

The Japanese don't care about half-Japanese guys that were born and raised in Canada. They pay a lot of attention to homegrown stars that make it big outside Japan (Ohtani, Hachimura, Osaka)

Just because a star and some teams show up for a few games, doesn't make sport any more popular.

It took 20 years or so, but Gretzky's journey into California has shown some results in hockey players coming from California. But that involved a lot of local kids adopting the sport, rinks being built and coaches popping up all over the place.

Baseball and soccer are so dominant in Japan that hockey will always be a regional sport.

will japan care about some random guy who in his best case scenario won’t be close to a star? of course not

but i do believe that they had the single magic bullet of kariya plus the marquee event of the olympics (the first pro hockey participation) all in japan. i do think in that one specific unrepeatable unicorn opportunity, which of course bettman being bettman he pissed away, it could have happened.

 

[Bubbles]

my pt was to show that the nhl didn’t really try with kariya. they tried to try, lol



will japan care about some random guy who in his best case scenario won’t be close to a star? of course not

but i do believe that they had the single magic bullet of kariya plus the marquee event of the olympics (the first pro hockey participation) all in japan. i do think in that one specific unrepeatable unicorn opportunity, which of course bettman being bettman he pissed away, it could have happened.

Hockey remains a regional sport in Japan. I've been several times to Japan and it's not remotely in the top tier of sports in their coverage, except for Hokkaido and the North. Hockey is possibly the most expensive sport to participate in and the hardest to promote. The need for ice rinks prevents most countries from simply adopting the sport and being good at it. NHL tried to do that with the Beijing Olympics but that flopped.

All this Japan talk reminded me of the 1st (real) Japanese pick of Yutaka Fukufuji. Turns out he's still playing pro hockey for the Nikko Icebucks!

 

[RobertKron]

my pt was to show that the nhl didn’t really try with kariya. they tried to try, lol

They set up a whole thing to get him playing over there. To expect them to literally force a team and player to agree to a contract is probably unrealistic and possibly in contravention of labour laws.

 

[vadim sharifijanov]

They set up a whole thing to get him playing over there. To expect them to literally force a team and player to agree to a contract is probably unrealistic and possibly in contravention of labour laws.

if the guy can let an nhl team play in a 5,000 seat party school rink, he can convince the mighty ducks that paying paul kariya his money will earn them more in the long run than what they’ll gain haggling for an extra few months

 

[RobertKron]

if the guy can let an nhl team play in a 5,000 seat party school rink, he can convince the mighty ducks that paying paul kariya his money will earn them more in the long run than what they’ll gain haggling for an extra few months

I'm sure he made some calls, but if the Ducks weren't swayed by their Captain and arguably best player missing like half the season, then there's really only so much he could have done.

 

[Cancuks]

What's the appropriate Calgary welcome then?

Canadian flags, "F*ck Trudeau" bumper stickers, and pictures of middle fingers with "vaccinate this" written underneath.

 

[F A N]

Even local women's hockey players or fictional characters from Pride are much more prominent than someone like Paul Kariya. He really is a total nobody in Japan even among sports fans, and so will Hirose be.

Honestly it's just about sport popularity

Jeremy Lin was a huge hit in China not only because he spoke some Chinese but because Basketball is Chinas most popular team sport that they watch.

Same with Nootbar in Japan. Those fans who are fans of the sport will obviously gravitate to a player of their nationality.

Hockey is nothing in Japan, which is why no one will know Hirose either.

Of course Hirose has to reach great heights to be noticed first. If Hirose is winning Norris trophies you don't think he can get a following in Japan with his looks?

 

[Albatros]

First you'd have to explain what a Norris Trophy is and what the NHL is, some people might have seen parts of a women's ice hockey game at the Olympics.

 

[JoeCool16]

Honestly it's just about sport popularity

Jeremy Lin was a huge hit in China not only because he spoke some Chinese but because Basketball is Chinas most popular team sport that they watch.

Same with Nootbar in Japan. Those fans who are fans of the sport will obviously gravitate to a player of their nationality.

Hockey is nothing in Japan, which is why no one will know Hirose either.

One thing I was kind of disappointed in was finding that any German I brought up Draisaitl with had no idea/barely an idea on who he was, despite being one of the best players in the world

 

[vadim sharifijanov]

Heh, that dolt who said that Jett Woo would bust 'because there are no Chinese players in the NHL' must be fuming about this signing.

hey now, that’s how we ended up with luc bourdon (rip)

 

[vadim sharifijanov]

I had to Google that name to make sure this wasn't a joke.

legend. the shammgod is like a basketball version of the datsyuk deke. no matter how many times i see it, i can’t figure out a way for my body to do execute that geometry.

 

[MS]

hey now, that’s how we ended up with luc bourdon (rip)

That was only half as bad because at least Kopitar was actually Slovenian.

Jett Woo's mom is white and he's like a 3rd-generation Canadian on his dad's side - his dad was actually a WHL goon in the 1980s - but he wasn't going to make the NHL 'because he was Chinese and there are no Chinese NHL players'. It was just blatantly racist because he would never have said, say, that Bo Horvat would never make the NHL because there are no Hungarian NHL players.

 

[vadim sharifijanov]

That was only half as bad because at least Kopitar was actually Slovenian.

Jett Woo's mom is white and he's like a 3rd-generation Canadian on his dad's side - his dad was actually a WHL goon in the 1980s - but he wasn't going to make the NHL 'because he was Chinese and there are no Chinese NHL players'. It was just blatantly racist because he would never have said, say, that Bo Horvat would never make the NHL because there are no Hungarian NHL players.

fair

ftr i have no idea who the he you’re referring to is (and that’s probably for the best) but i like a good nonis dunk when it’s there

 

[Vector]

Woo’s dad had a speaking role in Goon. Here’s a Global News report on Larry Woo winning coach of the month. f*** racism.

 

[vadim sharifijanov]

Woo’s dad had a speaking role in Goon. Here’s a Global News report on Larry Woo winning coach of the month. f*** racism.

damn that guy looks way too good to be old enough to have an NHL aged kid

 

[MS]

damn that guy looks way too good to be old enough to have an NHL aged kid

Uh, have you seen his mom?

 

[rypper]

Uh, have you seen his mom?

Just randomly posting a pic from his draft, no reason here.

 

[Vector]

Just a disgustingly beautiful family.