Women's Japan Ice Hockey League
Ice hockey league in Japan
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Women's Japan Ice Hockey League (Japanese: 女子日本アイスホッケーリーグ, Hepburn: Joshi Nihon Aisu Hokkē Rīgu) or WJIHL is the premier women's ice hockey league in Japan. Officially nicknamed the Smile Japan League,[1] it is also known as the Smile League (Japanese: スマイルリーグ). The league was founded in 2012 by the Japan Ice Hockey Federation and is contested in addition to the All-Japan Women's Ice Hockey Championship tournament. Twelve teams participated in the 2023–24 season, of which eight were based in the northern island-province of Hokkaido, two in the Tokyo Metropolis, and two were junior teams comprising youth players from across Japan.
| Sport | Ice hockey |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2012 |
| Founder | Japan Ice Hockey Federation |
| No. of teams | 12 |
Most recent champion | Seibu Princess Rabbits (2023–24) |
| Most titles | Seibu Princess Rabbits (9) |
| Domestic cup | All-Japan Women's Ice Hockey Championship |
The league’s most successful team, the Seibu Princess Rabbits, won the first eight league titles and have been WJIHL Champions a total of nine times. DK Peregrine claimed second place in seven of the first eight league finals and won the league championship in 2021. Daishin IHC are the only other team to have played in the finals, finishing second in 2014 and winning their first league title in 2023.
History
2012–13 season
The first season of the JWIHL, 2012–13, was played in two stages: a placement tournament and a final tournament. In the first stage, held during 5 to 8 October 2012, the ten participating teams were divided into two groups of five and each group played a single round-robin of ten games.[2] The top two teams from each group and the third ranked team with the higher point total from the first stage qualified for the top league and the remaining five teams competed in the lower league of the second stage tournament. The second stage was also played as a single round-robin and was held during 22 to 25 November 2012. The first champions of the WJIHL were the Seibu Princess Rabbits.[3]
Teams
2023–24 season
| Team | Location | Est. | Head coach | Captain |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daishin IHC | Kushiro | 1997 | Yūjirō Nakajimaya (中島谷 友二朗) | Ayaka Tomiuchi (冨内 彩花)[4] |
| Douro Kensetsu Peregrine | Tomakomai | 1977 | Yukiya Terao (寺尾 幸也) | Suzuka Taka (高 涼風) |
| Jr. High School Selects | – | Kanae Aoki (青木 香奈枝) | Rena Tsunoda (角田 怜奈) | |
| Kushiro Bears | Kushiro | 1979 | Hiroyasu Tōda (任田 大泰) | Shioe Omori (青木 亜優子) |
| Sapporo Infinitys | Sapporo | 2012 | Takanori Maejima (前島 臣政)[5] | Sana Kato (加藤 早菜)[6] |
| Seibu Princess Rabbits | Nishitōkyō | 1974 | Tomohito Okubo ( 大久保 智仁) | Momoka Miura (三浦 桃佳) |
| Showa University Blue Winds | Kanagawa | (佐久間 勇) | Anri Ogino (荻野 杏梨)[7] | |
| Takasu Clinic Mikage Gretz | Shimizu | 1997 | Hiroki Ota (太田 博樹) | Harua Umemori (梅森 遥愛) |
| Tokachi Obihiro Ladies | Obihiro | 2003 | Nana Ataka (安宅 奈々) | Reina Satō (佐藤 礼那) |
| Toyota Cygnus | Tomakomai | 2001 | Kon Takayuki (今 隆之) | Yuuki Ito (伊藤 優希) |
| U18 National Selects | – | Yujiro Kasahara (笠原 裕二郎) | (朝比奈 京) | |
| Vortex Sapporo IHC | Sapporo | 2012 | Nachi Fujimoto (藤本 奈千) | Aoi Sawada (澤田 葵) |
- Team name history
- Bears
- → 1979–1993: Kushiro Bears
- → 1993–2007: Rokkatei Bears
- → 2007–2012: Kamori Kanko Bears
- → 2012–present: Kushiro Bears
- Mikage Gretz
- → 1987–2008: Mikage Gretz
- → 2008–2018: Full-time System Mikage Gretz (FTS Mikage Gretz)
- → 2018–present: Takasu Clinic Mikage Gretz (TC Mikage Gretz)
- Obihiro Ladies
- → 2003–2019: Obihiro Ladies
- → 2019–2023: Obihiro Cranes Ladies
- → 2023–present: Tokachi Obihiro Ladies
- Peregrine
- → 1977–1991: Tomakomai Peregrine
- → 1991–2010: Iwakura Peregrine
- → 2010–2015: Mitsuboshi Daito Peregrine (MD Peregrine)
- → 2015–present: Douro Kensetsu Peregrine (DK Peregrine)
- Princess Rabbits
- → 1974–1992: Kokudo Keikaku WIHC
- → 1992–2006: Kokudo Ladies
- → 2006–present: SEIBU Princess Rabbits
Past participants
Champions
| Season |  Champion |
 Runner-up |
 Third Place |
Fourth Place | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | 2012–13 | Seibu Princess Rabbits | MD Peregrine | Daishin | FTS Mikage Gretz | [13] |
| 2nd | 2013–14 | Seibu Princess Rabbits | MD Peregrine | Daishin | FTS Mikage Gretz | [14] |
| 3rd | 2014–15 | Seibu Princess Rabbits | MD Peregrine | FTS Mikage Gretz | Toyota Cygnus | [15] |
| 4th | 2015–16 | Seibu Princess Rabbits | Daishin | DK Peregrine | FTS Mikage Gretz | [16] |
| 5th | 2016–17 | Seibu Princess Rabbits | DK Peregrine | Toyota Cygnus | Kushiro Bears | [17] |
| 6th | 2017–18 | Seibu Princess Rabbits | DK Peregrine | FTS Mikage Gretz | Toyota Cygnus | [18] |
| 7th | 2018–19 | Seibu Princess Rabbits | DK Peregrine | Toyota Cygnus | Obihiro Ladies | [19] |
| 8th | 2019–20 | Seibu Princess Rabbits | DK Peregrine | Daishin | Kushiro Bears | [20] |
| 9th | 2020–21 | DK Peregrine | Seibu Princess Rabbits | Daishin | Toyota Cygnus | [21] |
| 10th | 2021–22 | Season cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic | ||||
| 11th | 2022–23 | Daishin | DK Peregrine | Seibu Princess Rabbits | Toyota Cygnus | [22] |
| 12th | 2023–24 | Seibu Princess Rabbits | DK Peregrine | Daishin | Toyota Cygnus | [23] |
| 13th | 2024-25 | Daishin | Seibu Princess Rabbits | Toyota Cygnus | DK Peregrine | [24] |
All-time medal count
| Team | | | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Princess Rabbits | 9 | 2 | 1 |
| Peregrine | 1 | 9 | 1 |
| Daishin | 2 | 1 | 5 |
| Mikage Gretz | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Cygnus | 0 | 0 | 3 |