Chie Sakuma

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]

Chie Sakuma
佐久間 千絵
Born (1972-03-01) 1 March 1972
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

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 Women's Japan Ice Hockey League (WJIHL) 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]

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
  1. 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.
  2. Hersh, Philip (2 February 1998). "Japan Getting (Stick) Handle on Women's Hockey". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 9 March 2021.
  3. 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.
  4. "Chie Chie Yard, National Hockey League". Sports Business Journal. 10 September 2018. Retrieved 13 March 2021.
  5. Thomas, Ian (29 October 2018). "NHL's event guru is fire on ice". American City Business Journals. Retrieved 13 March 2021.
  6. "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.
  7. "Game Changers: Class of 2018". Sports Business Journal. 8 June 2018. Retrieved 13 March 2021.
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