Hockey in Japan

[ElfanuReinhard*]

Do you people think hockey will ever get popular in Japan? I have friends in Japan who like hockey and I've watched a few hockey games (Nikko Ice Bucks), but it's very empty compared to even British league teams (Who I feel are already really bad in attendance).

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[SpookyTsuki]

It will take a superstar. And even then probably not.

 

[hui43210]

Well, there is that kid in Saitama, Aito Iguchi, who could be NHL caliber if he keeps developing at the rate he is going.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kwALB_Ypuy8

Also, the recent Anime ERASED has some hockey in it, maybe it will inspire some Otaku to get into the game lol.

 

[S E P H]

It will take a superstar. And even then probably not.

If you didn't know, which it sounds like you don't, but Japan is in the top 15 for the most registered players for the IIHF (more than Slovakia FTR). They are producing some good projects like Yuri Terao, Yushiroh Hirano, Yusaku Ando, Yuya Okegawa, and Yuki Miura the last couple of years or so.

Miura in particular just got drafted in the USHL and will probably follow the footsteps of Terao and Hirano, who both posted like 0.80 PPG in a very defensive USHL league. Then you have the hype of Iguchi as well, who could be a serious contender as a 1st rounder in 2021. In the north regions, it is the most popular sport, even over baseball and football. The problem with Japanese hockey is two things, the most major is that it just doesn't get the funding from the Japanese Winter Sport Federation. Normally all their money is going in to develop speed skaters and long distance ski jumpers. And because of their lack of funding for the sport of hockey, majority of the junior development time is spent in "club teams" like high schools and universities. There is even legitimate talk that Japan Ice Hockey Association spent money to help Hirano transfer to Sweden, train in Sweden, and finally move him to the United States so he could play in the USHL this prior season.

Don't know what the future holds for Japanese hockey, but it did lose quite a bit of registered users during last IIHF's bi-yearly report of how much hockey has increased. Japan was one of the notable countries who lost some of the most players, while Hong Kong gained like a 250% increase in involvement (another Asian territory). So it is what it is, a regional sport which has a good cult following. Based on the players I listed above, it is has developed for the better, but without a steady income, their long-term sustainability seems questionable or clouded. Though, if Iguchi becomes as good as Kopitar is, then it might trigger a chain-reaction for the head officials in charge of winter sports to see hockey as a legitimate team sport deserving money for development. Trust me, from what I've seen, Japanese people are very patriotic, they CONSTANTLY talk about famous Japanese people across the world, especially when it comes to sports figures (that baseball pitcher for the Yankees and Keisuke Honda in football). Iguchi will definitely get noticed.

To add more info, they do have Saitama Sakae High School which is an "elite" sports high school in Japan leading the way in track, field, and hockey in their respected sports. Their hockey coach in particular is Pervukhin from the amazing Soviet Union era of the 80s.

 

[Milos Krasic]

Shuhei Kuji went from 61 points and 31 goals in 39 games in the Asia League, to 0 goals and 2 assists in 37 games with Eisbaren Berlin. Kind of puts things in perspective as far as level of play.

 

[S E P H]

Shuhei Kuji went from 61 points and 31 goals in 39 games in the Asia League, to 0 goals and 2 assists in 37 games with Eisbaren Berlin. Kind of puts things in perspective as far as level of play.

Not really, Kuji went from 1st line minutes to 4th, that could be more on the coach than his talent level IMO. Or a combination of both, Kuji has never been an amazing international player for Japan as other have been.

 

[bobby183]

Unfortunately, Hockey will never develop into major sports status in Japan, like baseball or soccer. Although there are some 19000 registered players kids to adults in Japan, most are played in Hokkaido, some in Tohoku and less in most populated major cities, if they play most as short life.
Reasons are
- high expense much more than NA (considered rich kids sports, equipments cost 50% or 100% more than Canada) not enough teams in vicinity to play means more over night trips, etc. Much more expensive than baseball or soccer.
- not enough hockey ice rinks and more expensive to rent rinks. very little opportunity and exposure of the game even if interested. Must move to Hokkaido to see half descent environment, but still expensive.
- general public does not understand the game of hockey, nor the rules. No interest, no broadcast on TV and too minor and not marketable for money to be generated.

It often becomes chicken and egg question..."if they have this in place it will become established"...but there just isn't any basic sustainable fundamentals or base in place in Japan for hockey culture to mature and sustained...even if it produces a star NHL players by a fluke, the infrastructure and the required base and the scale for hockey development just does not exit in Japan (except for the distant Hokkaido)....its unfortunate but this is my opinion having lived and played hockey in both Japan and Canada with families in both.

See below post if interested to know about Japanese Peewee elite level hockey, which isn't bad at all.
http://hfboards.mandatory.com/showpost.php?p=121989325&postcount=174

 

[Tuoppi]

You know what they say things are easy when you're big in Japan oh when you're big in Japan.

 

[OscarsCards]

Japan is one of my favorite National Team. They have a huge unused potential to grow and develop hockey.

 

[Rob]

No team in Tokyo?

 

[crobro]

An Asia superleague could certainly sell the game but where would these teams come from?

Tokyo
Sapporo
Seoul
Pyongyang(would love to see this)
Vladivostok
Hong Kong
Beijing
Shanghai

With a tv deal and decent imports it could potentially break new ground

Imagine getting traded to pyongyang?

I know I'm missing a few more Japanese teams as well as a few more Chinese teams.

Hong Kong would not have much of a problem rewriting decent imports.

 

[vikash1987]

I was just wondering about the state of hockey in Japan, and the influence of past visits by international teams to Japan---the first one by the NHL being in 1976:

http://hfboards.mandatory.com/showthread.php?t=2359821

Also, I am curious: why is Hokkaido the lead market within Japan for hockey?

 

[Urbanskog]

Also, I am curious: why is Hokkaido the lead market within Japan for hockey?

Because it happens to be Japan's coldest region.

 

[sytheman]

Unfortunately, Hockey will never develop into major sports status in Japan, like baseball or soccer. Although there are some 19000 registered players kids to adults in Japan, most are played in Hokkaido, some in Tohoku and less in most populated major cities, if they play most as short life.
Reasons are
- high expense much more than NA (considered rich kids sports, equipments cost 50% or 100% more than Canada) not enough teams in vicinity to play means more over night trips, etc. Much more expensive than baseball or soccer.
- not enough hockey ice rinks and more expensive to rent rinks. very little opportunity and exposure of the game even if interested. Must move to Hokkaido to see half descent environment, but still expensive.
- general public does not understand the game of hockey, nor the rules. No interest, no broadcast on TV and too minor and not marketable for money to be generated.

It often becomes chicken and egg question..."if they have this in place it will become established"...but there just isn't any basic sustainable fundamentals or base in place in Japan for hockey culture to mature and sustained...even if it produces a star NHL players by a fluke, the infrastructure and the required base and the scale for hockey development just does not exit in Japan (except for the distant Hokkaido)....its unfortunate but this is my opinion having lived and played hockey in both Japan and Canada with families in both.

See below post if interested to know about Japanese Peewee elite level hockey, which isn't bad at all.
http://hfboards.mandatory.com/showpost.php?p=121989325&postcount=174

Same reasons in Korea.
Even if Korea wins the gold in this upcoming Pyeongchang Games on the next February, hockey will never surpass basketball nor volleyball, the de facto most popular winter games in the country.

 

[bobby183]

After having seen the recent hockey of Peewee and Bantam levels in Japan. I have to say that caliber of hockey in Japan is improving...good for the game! I say this because the quality of the play in Japan's minor hockey is good today. It has to be a result of existing good development programs there and that is promising.

I found this high light reel of top Bantam level tournament in Japan (14U) held in March 2018. Several games on it, semi final, bronze medal game and the last one being the final game.

Take a look below link, many kids have good hands, speed and hockey IQ.
I would say that many of them can play at a tier1 Bantam level here in Canada.

 

[bobby183]

Oh my gosh....I youtube and saw some recent games of Japan's mens national team...as well as sime games played by jitsugyodan semi pro league....omg...they are terrible...pathetic.
Probably same caliber as bottom end junior B teams in Canada. No wonder they are around 25th in the world.

I don't understand how the Japanese go from the good caliber of players we see in their peewees and bantam level (which is closer to the top levels in NA) to that. I hope it's just the generation gap or Japan's Men's have no future in hockey.
Girls are faring better.

 

[Boonk]

It's astonishing how their pee wees and bantams can compete with the top level north american programs in tournaments but the actual men's teams look like a bunch of beer leaguers. Hopefully they do something at the mens level that can somewhat replicate what's been done for the pee wee and midget programs.

 

[TheWhiskeyThief]

Oh my gosh....I youtube and saw some recent games of Japan's mens national team...as well as sime games played by jitsugyodan semi pro league....omg...they are terrible...pathetic.
Probably same caliber as bottom end junior B teams in Canada. No wonder they are around 25th in the world.

I don't understand how the Japanese go from the good caliber of players we see in their peewees and bantam level (which is closer to the top levels in NA) to that. I hope it's just the generation gap or Japan's Men's have no future in hockey.
Girls are faring better.

It’s partially a size thing, but the game I just went to, not many players thought the game fast. The time and space you have at bantam goes away as you climb the pyramid, but not in Japan.

 

[hypereconomist]

Oh my gosh....I youtube and saw some recent games of Japan's mens national team...as well as sime games played by jitsugyodan semi pro league....omg...they are terrible...pathetic.
Probably same caliber as bottom end junior B teams in Canada. No wonder they are around 25th in the world.

I don't understand how the Japanese go from the good caliber of players we see in their peewees and bantam level (which is closer to the top levels in NA) to that. I hope it's just the generation gap or Japan's Men's have no future in hockey.
Girls are faring better.

Edit: didn't realize this thread was two years old. Sorry for the necro bump

Their women's team is faring better because there's a greater willingness to play abroad. At the last olympics, a few members of the Japanese women's team were playing overseas in the CWHL/NWHL. Having a Canadian-Japanese player captaining the team and multiple players that were training/playing with/against the best women players in North America probably played a huge role in why they improved so much in such a short period of time.

It looks like the men's development is opening up a little bit with Ando, Sato, and Hanazawa playing in North America, but the reluctance for the Japanese to play abroad or allow foreign influence into their development system is really strange. The men's national teams are fully coached by Japanese nationals that grew up in their domestic system, all the players are Japanese nationals that play in the Asia league, and the players themselves also don't seem to have a large interest in or confidence to play abroad.

Remember a few years back when they had 2-3 players (Yushiroh Hirano, Yuri Terao, and another player) that were very good USHL players...those players immediately went back home once they aged out of junior instead of giving the NA and Euro professional circuit a try. Same thing with the other half of their current crop of promising youngins that are staying at home (e.g. Iguchi and Nakajima).

They should adopt a similar approach that South Korea took by bringing some North American coaches to help improve their development system.

 

[PanniniClaus]

Edit: didn't realize this thread was two years old. Sorry for the necro bump

Their women's team is faring better because there's a greater willingness to play abroad. At the last olympics, a few members of the Japanese women's team were playing overseas in the CWHL/NWHL. Having a Canadian-Japanese player captaining the team and multiple players that were training/playing with/against the best women players in North America probably played a huge role in why they improved so much in such a short period of time.

It looks like the men's development is opening up a little bit with Ando, Sato, and Hanazawa playing in North America, but the reluctance for the Japanese to play abroad or allow foreign influence into their development system is really strange. The men's national teams are fully coached by Japanese nationals that grew up in their domestic system, all the players are Japanese nationals that play in the Asia league, and the players themselves also don't seem to have a large interest in or confidence to play abroad.

Remember a few years back when they had 2-3 players (Yushiroh Hirano, Yuri Terao, and another player) that were very good USHL players...those players immediately went back home once they aged out of junior instead of giving the NA and Euro professional circuit a try. Same thing with the other half of their current crop of promising youngins that are staying at home (e.g. Iguchi and Nakajima).

They should adopt a similar approach that South Korea took by bringing some North American coaches to help improve their development system.

As of last year Hirano and Terao were in the ECHL. I get your point though. The Japanese need to branch out more if they want to move up the rankings.

 

[hypereconomist]

As of last year Hirano and Terao were in the ECHL. I get your point though. The Japanese need to branch out more if they want to move up the rankings.

They came back to NA last year or the year before after a couple years of lost development in the Asia league.

Update: the third player from my post was Yuki Miura, who stayed in the US and went the NCAA route, but he wasn't nearly as talented as the other Terao and Hirano.

 

[JMCx4]

I've been impressed watching the speed & stick handling & extra effort on every shift of Kohei Sato, in his 4th year with the NCAA Division I University of New Hampshire Wildcats. But he seems to have topped out on North American hockey ladder.

 

[FrHockeyFan]

So East Hokkaido Cranes (formerly Nippon Paper Cranes) are dropping out of the Asia League. Only 5 teams left now. A shame if the league doesn't hold on much longer.

ひがし北海道クレインズの今季（2023-2024シーズン）のリーグ戦不参加について

ひがし北海道クレインズは現時点において選手登録条件を満たさなかったため、同チームは今季のリーグ戦に参加できないこととなりました。 ひがし北海道クレインズからリーグチェアマンに対し、経営改善に向けた各種計画、蓋然性を示す資 […]

asiaicehockey.com

 

[Albatros]

Kushiro is a dying city, having an international pro hockey team there without a major sponsor footing the bill just isn't realistic anymore.

 

[Albatros]

About Kushiro, their ex-Cranes team played series of exhibition games rebranded as the Hokkaido Wilds this season with an exceptionally good pro-level roster. Unfortunately their final home game took place last weekend and the team will now relocate to Tokyo, potentially joining the Asia League there in the future (or disbanding altogether). For now that's the end to 75 years of men's hockey in Kushiro, still the most successful Japanese town in the Asia League and home to numerous Japanese champions as well.



At least it all finished on a high note as they pummeled Asia League's Yokohama Grits 7:2.