Nobumasa Kinugasa used to dream about an NHL career, only to have the Pacific Ocean and minimal professional hockey heritage in his homeland get in the way.
Still, the native of Kobe, Japan, got further than most compatriots: Playing a few semi-pro seasons in places such as North Carolina and Quebec. And now, as coach of a Nikko Icebucks 12-Under squad of top players from the Tokyo metropolitan area, Kinugasa, 43, is helping Japanese youngsters step across that ocean to play the sport they love.
Last weekend, the Icebucks partook in a 12-Under tournament at the Kraken Community Iceplex, surprisingly knocking off a pair of British Columbia teams from the Vancouver area 6-4 and 5-4 before falling 5-0 in Sunday’s championship to another Canadian squad from the Semiahmoo First Nation community near White Rock. For the young Japanese hockey aspirants, invited overseas by the Kraken, it was a chance to grow both on and off the ice.
“For a lot of the kids, it’s their first time coming to the United States,” Kinugasa said. “It’s a good environment here, the people are very nice and the kids are enjoying it a lot.”
The visit was made possible by a relationship between Kraken chief operating officer Rob Lampman and Icebucks’ COO Hiyoki Takayuki, who worked together for soccer’s FIFA global body at the men’s 2002 World Cup shared jointly between Japan and South Korea. The Icebucks used to do exchanges with the New York Islanders back when they were owned from 2001-2016 by Chinese American billionaire Charles Wang – who wanted to expand the game’s reach within Asia – and had since been looking to partner with another NHL squad.
“We’re always looking for ways to promote the game outside of our traditional markets,” Lampman said. “So, when this opportunity was presented, it made sense for us to explore it and see where it took us.”
The Icebucks have a team in the Asia League Ice Hockey pro circuit and also a junior program with teams of varying age levels.
They spent a week in Seattle touring the city, taking part in on-ice clinics run by Kraken player development coach David Kyu-Ho Min, playing in the tournament and attending a pair of Kraken home games. Kraken head coach Dan Bylsma also visited the Icebucks’ bench to offer words of encouragement to the young players ahead of Sunday’s tournament finale.