The were an

Asia League Ice Hockey Asia League Ice Hockey ( ja, アジアリーグアイスホッケー; ko, 아시아리그 아이스하키) or ALIH (AL) is an association which operates a professional ice hockey league based in East Asia, with teams from Japan, South Korea, and ...

team based in

Kushiro is a city in Kushiro Subprefecture on the island of Hokkaido, Japan. It serves as the subprefecture's capital and it is the most populated city in the eastern part of the island. Geography Mountains * Mount Oakan * Mount Meakan * Mount Akan ...

City in

Hokkaidō is Japan's second largest island and comprises the largest and northernmost prefecture, making up its own region. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaidō from Honshu; the two islands are connected by the undersea railway Seikan Tunnel. The la ...

, Japan.

History

The club was founded as Jūjō Paper Kushiro Ice Hockey Club in 1949. They adopted the new name Nippon Paper Cranes in 1993 when Jūjō Paper and Sanyō Kokusaku Pulp merged to form

Nippon Paper is a Japanese paper manufacturing company. The company's stock is listed on the Tokyo and Nagoya Stock Exchange and on the Osaka Securities Exchange. The stock is also constituent of the Nikkei 225 stock index. As of April 2013 the company has ...

. They won the inaugural

title in the 2003–04 season, and have won it four times overall. They also have won the

All Japan Ice hockey Championship The All Japan Ice hockey Championship (全日本アイスホッケー選手権大会) is an annual ice hockey tournament for Japanese teams, that began in 1930, making the tournament one of the oldest sporting competitions in the country. The tou ...

seven times. After the 2018–19 season, the team was dissolved due to financial difficulties, and was replaced by the

East Hokkaido Cranes The East Hokkaido Cranes ( ja, ひがし北海道クレインズ Higashi Hokkaidō kureinzu) are a professional ice hockey team based in Kushiro, Hokkaido, Kushiro, Japan. They are a members of the Asia League Ice Hockey and play their home game ...

Honours

* Asia League: **''Winners (4)'': 2003–04, 2006–07, 2008–09, 2013–14 * All Japan Championship: **''Winners (7)'': 2006, 2007, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2015

Season-by-season record

Asia League

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

Past import players

* Georgy Yevtyukhin, 1996–97 C * Joel Dyck 2003–2009, D * Chris Lindberg 2004–05, LW *

Derek Plante Derek John Plante (born January 17, 1971) is an American ice hockey coach and former professional ice hockey player. Plante played eight seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Buffalo Sabres, Dallas Stars, Chicago Blackhawks and Phil ...

2005–07, D *

Jamie McLennan Jamie McLennan (born June 30, 1971) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender who is now an analyst for TSN, TSN Radio 1050, NBC Sports and NHL Network. He spent eleven seasons in the National Hockey League with the New York Isl ...

2007–08, G * Tyson Nash 2007–08, LW *

Kelly Fairchild Kelly G. Fairchild (born April 9, 1973) is an American former professional ice hockey player. He played in the NHL with the Toronto Maple Leafs, Dallas Stars and the Colorado Avalanche between 1996 and 2002. The rest of his career, which lasted f ...

2008–09, C * Brad Tiley 2008–09, D * Pierre-Olivier Beaulieu 2009–10, D * Ash Goldie 2010–11, FW * Mike Madill 2010–11, D *

Ray DiLauro Ray DiLauro (born July 13, 1979) is an American former professional ice hockey defenseman. He was selected by the Atlanta Thrashers in the 9th round (246th overall) of the 1999 NHL Entry Draft. Career After playing Youth Hockey for the Philade ...

2011, D *

Tyler Mosienko Tyler Mosienko (born March 21, 1984) is a Canadian professional ice hockey player who is currently an unrestricted free agent. He most recently played for the Iowa Heartlanders in the ECHL. He is the grandson of Hockey Hall of Famer Bill Mosienko. ...

2011–12, C *

John Hecimovic John Hećimović (born March 31, 1984) is a Canadian-born Croatian former professional ice hockey player. He most notably played in the Erste Bank Eishockey Liga with KHL Medveščak and Dornbirner EC. Hećimović's ancestors hail from Perušić ...

2011–12, RW

References

{{Asia League Ice Hockey Nippon Paper Industries Asia League Ice Hockey teams Ice hockey clubs established in 1949 Sports teams in Hokkaido Ice hockey teams in Japan Ice hockey clubs disestablished in 2019 2019 disestablishments in Japan