AOTW: Taisetsu Ushio’s journey from Japan to becoming one of the Anchorage Wolverines' brightest stars

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) - Talent abounds in the North American Hockey League (NAHL), a Tier-II junior hockey league with clubs in Anchorage, Fairbanks and Kenai.

According to the league, over 2,000 players have gone on to make collegiate rosters in the last eight years, including dozens who once played their junior hockey right here in Alaska.

Of the five current Anchorage Wolverines who have already committed to playing NCAA Division I hockey next season, one of them is a bit unique, and finding other players like him is a bit harder.

Taisetsu Ushio, a dynamic goal scorer who is set to join University of Alaska Fairbanks next season, hails from Japan. The soon-to-be 19-year-old is one of just four current Japanese players in the NAHL and its affiliate NA3HL league.

While just a fraction the size of Alaska — Hokkaido, Japan, covers roughly 1/20th the area of Alaska — the island is home to over 5 million people. But for all of Hokkaido’s differences, its climate and winter recreation are not all that different from Alaska.

“I could just skate around every single day, all day,” said Ushio, who grew up near an outdoor rink and played with his siblings.

At age 12, Ushio moved to Canada for competitive youth hockey, and has slowly climbed the ranks ever since.

“When I go home, there’s some kids [that will] just look up to me. He’s like, ‘Hey, how did you do in the US?’ And then I’ll be like, ‘Yeah, it’s great man,‘“ Ushio said. “In Japan, the hockey is not as big [as] the US, so I’m trying to be that guy that spread the hockey in Japan, get popular, get famous and let Japanese people know they can play hockey as well.”

Ushio’s first major tournament in North America was the Quebec Pee-Wee International tournament.

“That was my first time coming to North America,” Ushio said. “That’s when I thought about, like, ‘OK, I have to take this hockey stuff seriously.’”

Ushio moved to the U.S. at age 16 and played with the Little Caesars 16U and 18U teams in Michigan, before making the jump to Anchorage after the Wolverines made a trade for his services.

“The one thing that really stood out with Tai is everywhere he’s been, he’s scored goals,” Anchorage Wolverines coach Nick Walters said. “He has that knack and ability where the puck always finds him when he’s hanging around the net.”

Ushio has lived up to expectations.

Last season, he was one of five Wolverines to score 20 goals or more. Four of Ushio’s 20 goals last season went on to become game winners for Anchorage.

In the Wolverines' playoff run, Ushio helped bring home the Midwest Division title with three goals and three assists throughout Anchorage’s series against Minnesota and Wisconsin. His standout performance helped earn him a spot in the 2024 NAHL Top Prospects Tournament in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

This year, he’s done more of the same in the early stages, scoring 10 goals and assisting on another 10 as well.

“Scoring goals is hard in this league, so if you’re scoring 20 or more, you’ve got something special,” Walters said.

Here in Alaska, another program would tend to agree.

In late May, Ushio announced his intention to remain in The Last Frontier and join former Wolverines teammates, Bryce Monrean and Fedya Nikolayenya on the UAF Nanooks.

“They were my line-mates, so that’s how things started. I guess staying in Alaska another four years isn’t too bad,” Ushio said.

“Anytime a player accepts a scholarship at the DI level is extremely fulfilling,” Walters said. “Not everyone gets that opportunity so when you have a player who achieves that, it’s a very special thing.”

While there’s still plenty of time until we see him in Blue and Gold, Ushio continues to represent Japan and Alaska at once, learning one culture while passing on another to teammates.

“My team’s actually doing pretty good for me because they’ll just give me some Japanese food, they’ll just go to the Japanese store and buy me some snacks and all that so that helped,” Ushio said.

Ushio and the Wolverines return to the Ice this weekend in Wisconsin in a two-game battle against the Midwest-leading Windigo. You can catch the team at home again on Jan. 3 when Anchorage welcomes the Minnesota Wilderness to the Sullivan Arena.

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