Chie Sakuma

Japanese-American ice hockey player and administrator

Ice hockey player

Chie Sakuma 佐久間千絵
Born	(1972-03-01) 1 March 1972 (age 52) Houston, Texas, United States
Height	158 cm (5 ft 2 in)
Weight	63 kg (139 lb; 9 st 13 lb)
Position	Defence
Played for	Iwakura Peregrine Brown Bears
National team	Japan
Playing career	1990–c. 1998

Chie Chie Yard née Sakuma, also known as Chie Sakuma (佐久間千絵, Sakuma Chie) is a Japanese-American retired ice hockey player, currently serving as the National Hockey League (NHL) Vice President of Events. She represented Japan in the women's tournament at the 1998 Winter Olympics.^[1]

Playing career

Sakuma was introduced to hockey by her older brother, Teppei, and began playing as a child in her hometown of Houston, Texas. When she was 10, Sakuma's father, Hajime, coached her on a boys' peewee team. Connections Hajime had forged with the ice hockey community in Japan made it possible for the team to travel from Houston to Hokkaido for a tournament.^[2]

Sakuma's college ice hockey career was played with the Brown Bears women's ice hockey program under head coach Digit Murphy during 1990 to 1994.^[3]

Several months after graduating from Brown University with a degree in anthropology and management, she moved to Japan. While living in Japan, Sakuma worked as a translator for the owner of a major trucking company, who was also president of the Hokkaido hockey association.^[4] She played ice hockey with the company-sponsored Iwakura Peregrine of the All-Japan Women's Ice Hockey Championship and with the fledgling Japanese national team. Born and raised in the United States, Sakuma qualified to play for Japan because of her ancestry.^[2]

NHL career

Following the 1998 Olympics, Sakuma joined the NHL as an intern. As of 2021, she is NHL Vice President of Events, with a portfolio that includes such signature events as Kraft Hockeyville, the NHL Winter Classic, the NHL All-Star Game, NHL Awards, outdoor hockey games, and numerous other projects.^[5]^[6]

Awards

In 2018, Sakuma was selected as a part of Sports Business Journal's eighth annual class of Game Changers.^[7]

References

^ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Chie Sakuma Olympic Results". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 27 May 2019.
^ ^a ^b Hersh, Philip (2 February 1998). "Japan Getting (Stick) Handle on Women's Hockey". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 9 March 2021.
^ Staffieri, Mark (7 September 2012). "Digit Murphy: Possibly the Final Piece of the Boston Blades Clarkson Cup Puzzle". Bleacher Report. Archived from the original on 9 December 2012. Retrieved 9 March 2021.
^ "Chie Chie Yard, National Hockey League". Sports Business Journal. 10 September 2018. Retrieved 13 March 2021.
^ Thomas, Ian (29 October 2018). "NHL's event guru is fire on ice". American City Business Journals. Retrieved 13 March 2021.
^ "NHL, NHLPA celebrate more than 200 women in hockey community". Pro Hockey News. 8 March 2021. Archived from the original on 8 March 2021. Retrieved 13 March 2021.
^ "Game Changers: Class of 2018". Sports Business Journal. 8 June 2018. Retrieved 13 March 2021.