Nikkō Ice Bucks
CityNikkō, Tochigi
LeagueAsia League Ice Hockey
Founded1999 (1999)
Home arenaNikkō Kirifuri Ice Arena (capacity 2,000)
Colours     
Owner(s)Kobayashi Sumio
Head coachAri-Pekka Siekkinen
CaptainSetaka Tetsuo
AffiliateTampereen Ilves[1]
Websitewww.icebucks.jp

The HC Nikkō Ice Bucks (ホッケークラブ日光アイスバックス, Hokkē Kurabu Nikkō Aisu Bakkusu) is an Asia League Ice Hockey team based in Nikkō, Tochigi, Japan.

Logo design: The word IceBucks in italicized English in black with white trim, with the words "NIKKO KOBE" in bold italics in orange trimmed with white

Mascot: An orange and white furred male deer wearing a hockey helmet.

History

Nikko Icebucks in 2018

The Nikkō area has a long history of ice hockey, with the Furukawa Electric semi-professional team (one of the oldest in Japan) having been established in 1925, and becoming a founding member of the Japanese Ice Hockey League in 1966. In 1999, however, the team was forced to disband due to financial difficulties.

A outflow of support from the city and local financing allowed the team to be recreated as a club team, supported locally. It was renamed the HC Nikkō IceBucks and joined the league in time for the next season's start. The team, despite fervent local support, was never one of the successes of the JIHL even when they were supported as Furukawa Electric, and had a rocky start as the HC Nikkō IceBucks, having to relaunch their business model in 2001. The team has consistently placed near or at the bottom of the league.

When the league expanded into the Asia League Ice Hockey, Nikkō was one of the teams that was part of the new league. In the summer of 2005, the team arranged to play a number of its home games in Kobe, Hyogo, and changed its name to the Nikkō Kobe IceBucks to reflect its new two-city home. In 2007–2008 season Kobe is no longer home and the name was reverted to the older HC Nikkō Ice Bucks.

On January 29, 2020, It was announce that five players would represent Japan in the 3rd round of qualifiers for the 2022 Beijing Olympics.[2]

Honours

Year-by-year record

Sumida Yousuke wearing the team's away jersey which was introduced in 2011

JIHL 1999–2004

SeasonGPWW(OT)W(PS)TL(PS)L(OT)LGFGAPTSFinishPlayoffs
1999-00 30352245106116th/6Out of playoffs
2000–01 401012991164216th/6Out of playoffs
2001–02 40622222610316323.06th/6Out of playoffs
2002–03 3270412186811423.05th/5Out of playoffs
2002–03 241010121331124.54th/4 ?
2003–04 12000001219560.04th/4 ?

ALIH 2003–present

complete records for previous seasons[3]

SeasonGPWW(OT)W(GWS)*TL(GWS)*L(OT)LGFGAPTSFinishPlayoffs
2003–04 1620—2—012386765th/5No playoffs due to shortened season
2004–05 42131—2—224110125456th/8–
2005–06 38162—2—117103118556th/9Lost in quarter-final
2006–07 34120—1—02190158376th/8Lost in semi-final
2007–08 3082—2—01860109306th/7Lost in quarter-final
2008–09 36421—112774161207th/7–
2009–10 361221—2217103118466th/7–
2010–11 361031—022095112406th/7–
2011–12 361804—0113158103633rd/7–
2012–13 421533—2019123141595th/7–
Totals 34611015109591889541212–––

*prior to the 2008–2009 season, there were no shoot-outs and games ended in a tie

Current roster

Roster for the 2023–24 season.[4]

Goaltenders

No. Nat Player Pos S/G Age Acquired Birthplace
33 South Korea Dohyun Sung G L 20 2023 Seoul, Seoul
44 Japan Yutaka Fukufuji G L 41 2010 Kushiro, Hokkaido
90 Japan Issa Otsuka G L 19 2023 Nikkō, Tochigi

Defensemen

No. Nat Player Pos S/G Age Acquired Birthplace
4 Japan Shun Sakata D L 36 2018 Kushiro, Hokkaido
5 Japan Takahiro Ishikawa D L 30 2016 Nikkō, Tochigi
8 Japan Shuto Soma (A) D R 27 2019 Sapporo, Hokkaido
9 Japan Hiroto Sato (C) D L 30 2014 Kushiro, Hokkaido
12 Japan Mitsuo Fukuda D L 24 2021 Nikkō, Tochigi
20 Japan Seiya Hayata D L 28 2022 Hiroshima, Hiroshima
40 Japan Yuki Sasaki D R 31 2023 Sendai, Miyagi

Forwards

No. Nat Player Pos S/G Age Acquired Birthplace
10 Japan Taiga Abe F L 23 2023 Tomakomai, Hokkaido
13 Japan Keita Deguchi F L 23 2019 Tomakomai, Hokkaido
14 Japan Sota Isogai F L 22 2023 Karuizawa, Nagano
18 Japan Makuru Furuhashi (A) LW L 30 2016 Nikkō, Tochigi
21 Japan Daisuke Miyata F R 22 2023 Obihiro, Hokkaido
22 Japan Maito Omuku F L 30 2013 Obihiro, Hokkaido
29 Japan Toshiyuki Ito F R 24 2022 Nagano, Nagano
37 South Korea Jinhyuk Mun F R 23 2023 Seoul, Seoul
38 Japan Yuta Suzuki RW R 34 2019 Sapporo, Hokkaido
48 Japan Ryo Shimizu F L 25 2021 Obihiro, Hokkaido
81 Japan Kento Suzuki (A) F L 29 2019 Sapporo, Hokkaido
88 Japan Yuri Terao (A) RW R 28 2021 Nikkō, Tochigi

Past import players

References

  1. ↑ "Ilves ja Nikko Icebucks yhteistyöhön".
  2. ↑ "2022 北京冬季オリンピック3次予選 チームから5選手が選出".
  3. ↑ "Archive Record". Alhockey.com. Archived from the original on October 6, 2008. Retrieved 12 January 2009.
  4. ↑ "TEAM". icebucks.jp/ (in Japanese). HC Tochigi Nikko Ice Bucks. Retrieved 6 October 2023.
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