Ostersund 2017 factfile: Japan

With less than a week to go until the World Para Ice Hockey Paralympic Winter Games Qualification Tournament in Ostersund, Sweden, we’re taking a closer look at each of the five teams competing for the chance to appear at PyeongChang 2018.

Next up is Japan, who have a history with the Czech Republic. Twice, the two teams faced each other for the gold medal in the World Championships B-Pool, and both times the Czechs ended their hopes. Japan are expected to face tough competition from the Czechs again in the battle for a top-three finish.

Paralympic Winter Games

Vancouver 2010 - silver

Torino 2006

Salt Lake City 2002

Nagano 1988

World Championships history

2016 World Championships B-Pool – silver

2013 World Championships B-Pool – silver

Key players

Mikio Annanka and Nao Kodama were Japan’s top scoring threats at the 2016 World Championships B-Pool. Also watch for Satoru Sudo on the defensive end, who has played a crucial role in developing Japan’s national athletes at training camps.

Roster

Offence:

No. 27 Mikio Annaka

No. 70 Nao Kodama

No. 96 Masaharu Kumagai

No. 79 Keisuke Nagumo

No. 16 Taimei Shiba

No. 40 Yoshihiro Shioya

No. 55 Kazuhiro Takahashi

No. 32 Daisuke Uehara

No. 13 Mamoru Yoshikawa

Defence:

No. 6 Wataru Horie

No. 33 Hideaki Ishii

No. 25 Eiji Misawa

No. 18 Toshiyuki Nakamura

No. 24 Satoru Sudo

No. 15 Junji Tanaka

Goalkeepers:

No. 21 Shinobu Fukushima

No. 30 Kazuya Mochizuki

Head coach: Kojin Nakakita

Ostersund 2017 runs from 9-14 October. The top three finishers will earn the last qualification spots available at PyeongChang 2018, joining Canada, Italy, Norway, South Korea and the USA in March.

Live coverage and the game schedule are available on the official Ostersund 2017 site.