Tomakomai 2016: Japan team preview

What you need to know about the host nation ahead of the IPC Ice Sledge Hockey World Championships B-Pool. 27 Nov 2016
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Ice sledge hockey players in action on the ice

Satoru Sudo, Kazuhiro Takahashi, Pavel Kubes - Czech Republic vs Japan - 2015 IPC Ice Sledge Hockey World Championships

ⒸBill Wippert
By IPC

Host Japan enter the 2016 IPC Ice Sledge Hockey World Championships B-Pool ranked No. 2, only behind the Czech Republic, whom they are expected to face for gold in Tomakomai.

The Czech Republic has been the spoiler for Japan, beating them 5-1 for seventh place at the Worlds A-Pool (both teams were relegated to the B-Pool), and then in the recent Four Nations tournament. But Japan would hope home-ice advantage will pay off. They have been building up to reach the PyeongChang 2018 Paralympic Winter Games. In April, players from Japan got in some key international competition experience when they formed part of Team Pan Pacific at the first ever Pan Pacific Championships.

Key players

Kazuhiro Takahashi was one of the star players at the 2015 Worlds A-Pool, but his performance was not enough to keep his team from relegation. The forward has vowed to get them to the PyeongChang 2018 Qualification Tournament and win a medal at home in Tomakomai. Defenseman Satoru Sudo has also been in helping developing Japan’s national athletes at training camps.

Roster

Mikio Annaka (F)

Shinbu Fukushima (G)

Susumu Hirose (F)

Wataru Horie (D)

Hideaki Ishii (D)

Nao Kodama (F)

Masaharu Kumagai (F)

Eiji Misawa (D)

Kazuya Mochizuki (G)

Keisuke Nagumo (F)

Taimei Shiba (F)

Yoshihiro Shioya (F)

Satoru Sudo (D)

Kazuhiro Takahashi (F)

Junji Tanaka (D)

Mamoru Yoshikawa (F)

The 2016 IPC Ice Sledge Hockey World Championships B-Pool will feature Japan, Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Great Britain between 28 November – 3 December. The top three teams will progress to the qualification tournament for PyeongChang 2018.

All team previews for the World Championships B-Pool, set to get underway in Tomakomai, Japan, can be viewed at the event website.