Akane Shiga is the PWHL's lone Japanese player, and the league's youngest player. She's come a long way to chase her dreams, and she's not done yet.
Akane Shiga is the PWHL's lone Japanese player, and the league's youngest player. She's come a long way to chase her dreams, and she's not done yet.
On February 12, 2022, 20-year-old Akane Shiga in her number 11 red and white Team Japan jersey shot the puck between the legs of Finland's goalie to score Japan's only goal of their quarterfinal game at the Beijing Winter Olympics.
At the time, the Olympic Games was the most television coverage and attention she would receive as a women's hockey player.
Jumping forward to January 2, 2024, the now 22-year-old Shiga stepped on the ice at TD Place Arena still as number 11, but in slightly different red and white jersey to play for PWHL Ottawa.
The game was streamed 131,000 times on YouTube and 8,318 fans attended in person setting a new attendance record for a professional women’s ice hockey game.
Who is this young Japanese hockey player who in the last two years has played in front of two massive audiences?
Born in Hokkaido, Japan which is known for producing Japan’s hockey players, Shiga picked up hockey at the age of six alongside her older sister Aoi Shiga. Like her sister Aoi, Akane started as a defender, but later switched to forward and never looked back. This season the duo were set to play together with the PHF's Buffalo Beauts before the league was acquired and the sisters went separate directions with Aoi playing in Switzerland, and Akane heading to North America to chase her dream.
On the ice, “for young player, she has an incredibly high hockey IQ, and is a terrific skater,” said Ottawa’s general manager Mike Hirshfeld.
Prior to the Olympics, Shiga played for the Japanese national U-18 team, participating in the IIHF U-18 women’s World Championship at the Division 1 level in 2016 and 2018. In 2019 she made the jump to Japan's senior national team in the World Championships tournament. There, she scored her first goal against Sweden in the preliminary round. At the 2021 and 2022 Worlds, she was Japan’s top scorer.
Later in 2022, Shiga went on to compete in her first Winter Olympic Games, a dream she had been chasing since watching Japan’s team in the 2014 Sochi Winter Games.
Though she did not win a medal at the Olympics, Shiga did take home silver in Lake Placid, New York with the Japanese national under-25 team at the 2023 Winter World University Games (Universaide). Once again she was Japan's leading scorer in the tournament notching four goals and two assists.
Shiga has been a force to be reckoned with for years and she has now taken on the PWHL as not only the lone Japanese player in the league, but also as the league's youngest player.
“Akane has had a really nice start to the season,” said Ottawa head coach Carla MacLeod. “She continues to find ways to impress with the puck and we can see her game growing every game.”
Shiga has said that playing overseas has been her goal since she first picked up a stick all those years ago. She achieved that goal making her PWHL debut on Tuesday January 2, and has not left Ottawa's lineup since.
"Akane has been an amazing teammate and we are all in awe of how she’s been able to thrive here," said PWHL Ottawa forward Lexie Adzije. "I don’t know if I’d be able to go to a completely different country not knowing the language or many people, she is so brave. She is one of those teammates who is happy to see others thrive and succeed and is always the first one to give you a fist bump when you do something good. She sees the ice so well, is very patient and poised with the puck, has a great shot and is extremely skilled. We are so lucky that she is on our team."
It is safe to assume say Akane Shiga will be racking up points for PWHL Ottawa in the near future.