The is an

Asia League Ice Hockey Asia League Ice Hockey (; ) or ALIH (AL) is an association which operates a professional ice hockey league based in East Asia, with teams from Japan, South Korea, and formerly China and Russia. The league is headquartered in Japan. At the end of ...

team based in Nikkō, Tochigi,

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

. Logo design: The word ICEBUCKS in English, ICE in white and BUCKS in orange, with the words "HC TOCHIGI" in orange on the puck in the foreground. Mascot: An orange and white furred male deer wearing a hockey helmet.

History

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 Kobe ( ; , ), officially , is the capital city of Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. With a population of around 1.5 million, Kobe is Japan's seventh-largest city and the third-largest port city after Tokyo and Yokohama. It is located in the Kansai re ...

, 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 The 2022 Winter Olympics, officially called the XXIV Olympic Winter Games () and commonly known as Beijing 2022 (2022), were an international winter multi-sport event held from 4 to 20 February 2022 in Beijing, China, and surrounding areas wit ...

Honours

* Japan League championships: none * Asia League championships: none *

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 ...

: 2015, 2019, 2023, 2024

Year-by-year record

JIHL 1999–2004

ALIH 2003–present

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

Current roster

Roster for the 2024–25 season.

Goaltenders

Defensemen

Forwards

Past import players

* Curt Bennett 1980–82, F * Harvey Bennett, Jr. 1980–82, D *

Eduard Novák Eduard Novák (27 November 1946 – 20 October 2010) was a Czechoslovak ice hockey player, a bronze medalist from the 1972 Winter Olympics, and a silver medalist from the 1976 Winter Olympics. He was born in Buštěhrad, Czechoslovakia ...

1982–84, F *

František Kaberle Sr. František Kaberle (born 6 August 1951 in Kladno, Czechoslovakia) is a Czech people, Czech former professional ice hockey defenceman. Kaberle spent the majority of his career with HC Kladno where he won five Czechoslovak Extraliga championships a ...

1982–84, D (father of

František Kaberle František "Frank" Kaberle (; born November 8, 1973) is a Czech former professional ice hockey defenceman. His playing career extended over 20 seasons, most notably in the National Hockey League with the Los Angeles Kings, Atlanta Thrashers, and ...

and

Tomáš Kaberle Tomáš Kaberle (; born March 2, 1978) is a Czech former professional ice hockey defenceman. He played in the National Hockey League (NHL), most notably for the Toronto Maple Leafs, as well as for the Boston Bruins, with whom he won the Stanley C ...

) * Mark Kaufmann 1999–03, C * Patrik Degerstedt 1999–2001 * Martin Kariya 2004–05, LW (Brother of

Paul Kariya Paul Tetsuhiko Kariya (born October 16, 1974) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey winger who played 15 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL). Known as a skilled and fast-skating offensive player, he played in the NHL for the Mig ...

and Steve Kariya) *

Shjon Podein Shjon Walter Podein (born March 5, 1968) is an American former professional ice hockey left winger who played 11 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Edmonton Oilers, Philadelphia Flyers, Colorado Avalanche and St. Louis Blues. He ...

2005–06, LW * Chris Paradise 2005–06, C *

Mike Henderson Michael James Henderson (July 14, 1953 – September 22, 2023) was an American singer-songwriter. In addition to his solo career, which included five studio albums, Henderson was a member of the country band The SteelDrivers from 2005 to 2011 an ...

2006–07, RW * Eric LaFreniere 2008–09, RW *

Mickey Gilchrist Mickey is a given name and nickname, often a short form (hypocorism) of Michael (given name), Michael, Michaela, and Michelle (name), Michelle, and occasionally a surname. Notable people and characters with the name include: People Given name o ...

2008–09, C *

Bud Smith Robert Allan "Bud" Smith (born October 23, 1979) is an American former baseball pitcher. Smith was active at the major league level in 2001 and 2002, playing for the St. Louis Cardinals. Minor leagues In 2000, Smith led the minor league Cardin ...

2009–11, C *

Richard Rochefort Richard Rochefort (born January 7, 1977) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who played for Nikkō Ice Bucks of the Asia League Ice Hockey (ALIH). He was selected by the New Jersey Devils in the 7th round (174th overall) of the ...

2010–11, D/C * Andrew Kozek 2011–12, LW *

Petteri Nummelin Timo Petteri Nummelin (born November 25, 1972) is a Finnish former professional ice hockey defenceman who played in the National Hockey League for the Minnesota Wild and Columbus Blue Jackets. He was drafted by the Columbus Blue ...

2017–18, D

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nikko Ice Bucks Asia League Ice Hockey teams Ice hockey teams in Japan Nikkō, Tochigi Sports clubs and teams in Tochigi Prefecture