Kuwabara was in the Montreal Canadiens system when Japan came calling. Through family contacts, the federation recruited Yard, then Chie Chie Sakuma, who played for Brown from 1990-94 while earning dual degrees in anthropology and business management. Not being a hockey power, the country's ice hockey federation began scouring the globe for talented players with Japanese roots to help fill out its Olympic rosters. Japan automatically qualified for the hockey tournament as the host nation.
It also marked Japan's return to hockey competition for the first time since 1980. The Nagano Games were historic because it was the first Olympiad that NHL players and women's teams competed. Yard said playing in Nagano and the unique hockey journey that she, Larsson and Kuwabara traveled to get there "just made us stronger and more prepared in life in general." "I think the experience helped them to stay with the game that they really loved, to go with it further." "I think beyond being good players, they all provided an element of confidence and an element of leadership to the teams that they played with, both the men's and women's," King said. Their ascension in the North American hockey ranks doesn't surprise Dave King, who coached the Calgary Flames (1992-95) and Columbus Blue Jackets (2000-03) and was general manager for the Japanese men's national team. He became the first coach of Asian descent in the OHL when he was hired in November 2022. Ryan Kuwabara, a third generation Japanese Canadian, coaches Niagara of the Ontario Hockey League.
Verdun player count series#
The Houston, Texas, native is one of the linchpins of the group that stages some of the NHL's marquee events, including the Stanley Cup Final, the NHL All-Star Game, NHL Global Series and Stadium Series games and Kraft Hockeyville preseason games. Larsson, a Japanese Swede, is supervisor of European scouting for the San Jose Sharks and has been with the organization for almost 16 years.Ĭhie Chie Yard, a former defenseman on Brown University's women's hockey team, is Group Vice President, Events at the NHL. The Japanese men's and women's teams collectively managed only one win at Nagano, but left a legacy of players who have risen to key positions in the NHL and major junior hockey. "It was a mission accomplished for us," he said a quarter century later. Larsson scored in a shootout that gave Japan a 4-3 win against Austria and secured 13th-place in in the 14-team Olympic tournament. "Because then people were going to say that we were there only because we were the host country." Shin Larsson said Japan's men's hockey team entered the 1998 Nagano Olympics with one goal.
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