About the Team

TheTokyo Canadians are an amateur independent ice hockey team made up of ex-pat Canadians hailing from Vancouver Island to Prince Edward Island. In addition to the boys from the Great White North there are six Japanese and four American pucksters on the squad.

The Tokyo Canadians play exhibition games in Japan and also participate in tournaments throughout Asia.

The Candians have participated in tournaments in Hong Kong, Korea, Malaysia, Singapore and annually in Thailand since 1997. Team members have also participated in tournaments in Las Vegas, Amsterdam, Dubai, and Mongolia.

The Tokyo Canadians won the Bangkok Tournament in 1998 and again in Chiang Mai, Thailand in 2002. In November, 2001 in Chiang Mai, a depleted Tokyo Canadian team was swept out of the preliminary round for the first time ever. The 2001 tournament was won by Team USA led by Neal Broten of NHL and "Miracle on Ice" Olympic (Lake Placid 1980) gold medal fame.

2003 was the inaugral year for the Tokyo International Hockey Tournament, and another hugely successful tournament was held in December, 2004.

For more information on upcoming tournaments and previous tournament results, please see the Tournaments section of this site.

The Tokyo Canadians also host biannual fund raising parties, with partial proceeds going to support local charities such as the Y.M.C.A. Special Children's Fund (Tokyo) and Father Joe Maier's Human Development Center in Bangkok, Thailand.

Team Origins and Archived Stories.

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 History of the Team

In the Beginning...

In 1991 and 1992 current Tokyo Canadians Brent Carlson and Mike LaRose along with alumnus John Richmond, joined a rag tag group of hockey playing Tokyoites who banded together to go to Seoul, Korea to play in a tournament. The Tokyo team won both tournaments and after returning to Tokyo on both occasions they thought it would be great to get a Canadian team together in Tokyo on a more regular/formal basis.

At the time LaRose was still in university playing hockey for the Toyo University varsity team while Richmond and Carlson were toiling for different teams in the Tokyo Men's League.

Nothing really happened until...
...a sweltering 36-degree Celcius weekend at the end of July, 1995 the Tokyo Canadians Hockey Club was formed and, with select members of the Tokyo Canadian Club, a social club for Canadians and friends of Canada living in Tokyo, went on the road to an Ikaho onsen in Gunma-ken.

Then TCC President Connie Kaneko and former Canadian Chamber of Commerce Executive Director, Neil Moody, a founding TCHC member, persuaded some hockey 'has-beens' to take up the invitation of the Gunma Seals Hockey Club's Masami Ueki and off we went to enjoy the soothing baths and the seething competition.

Group camaraderie was the strong suit from the moment they departed Ueno station, with everyone getting acquainted over lunch and afternoon pleasure skating. Before starting the first game, they had to chase away the fog gathering on the ice at Ikaho's mountain top sports complex. The hockey team then got down to brass tacks and despite falling behind while shorthanded, they were able to rally after Connie and Sasaki Manabu (the honorary Canadian) "explained" the rules to the referee. On the sidelines the Canadian Embassy's own John Tennant led an assorted group of Canadian and Japanese 'friendlies' in some spirited vocalizing while on-ice leadership was provided by Gord "Howe Elbows" Kask and Nathan "the Saskatchewan Streak" McLeod. In the end, the Canadians prevailed 11-7, and then it was back to the ryokan for some real fun.

Sated by an outstanding dinner and lulled to sleep by the karaoke crooning of Gordo and Eddie Takaya, we bedded down secure in the knowledge that Canadian-style hockey could overcome the fiercest competition while the Seals had nightmares about how to stop Speedy Stadnichuk, Thundering Takaya and Komet Koszec. Needless to say, it couldn't be done and the Canucks skinned the Seals 10-0 the following morning to repay them for their gracious hospitality.

Congratulations and commiserations were exchanged over the ceremonial luncheon after which all enjoyed some hard-earned sight-seeing before boarding the bus for the return leg.