Seibu Prince Rabbits
Seibu Prince Rabbits | |
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Greatest successes | |
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Club information | |
history |
Kokudo Keikaku Ice Hockey Club (1972–1991) Kokudo Ice Hockey Club (1991–2006) Merger with Seibu Railways Ice Hockey Club (2003) Seibu Prince Rabbits (2006–2009) |
Location | Nishitōkyō , Japan |
Club colors | blue |
league | Asia League Ice Hockey |
Venue | DyDo Drinco Ice Arena |
The Seibu Prince Rabbits ( Japanese. 西武 プ リ ン ス ラ ビ ッ ツ Seibu Purinsu Rabittsu ) were a Japanese ice hockey team that last had its headquarters in Nishitōkyō and played in the Asia League ice hockey until 2009 .
history
The club was founded in 1966 as Seibu Tetsudō Ice Hockey Bu ( 西武 鉄 道 ア イ ス ホ ッ ケ ー 部 ) as a works club of the railway company Seibu Tetsudō (English Seibu Railways Ice Hockey Club ). 1973 this factory club was relocated as Kokudo Keikaku Ice Hockey Bu ( 国土 計画 ア イ ス ホ ッ ケ ー 部 , English Kokudo Keikaku Ice Hockey Club ) independently of the Seibu Tetsudō and moved to Karuizawa , Nagano . Kokudo Keikaku belongs to the Seibu Tetsudō group of companies. In 1974 the club won the Japanese championship for the first time, a success that could be repeated nine times in the years to come. In 1984 the club moved to Shinagawa , Tokyo , and in 1991 it moved again to Yokohama . In 1992 the company Kokudo Keikaku was renamed Kokudo and with it the team. In 2003, Kokudo was merged with the Seibu Railways Ice Hockey Club . The seat was moved to Nishitōkyō . In the following years the club won the newly founded Asia League Ice Hockey twice (2005 and 2006).
Since 2006, the club (like the Kokudo company) has belonged to Prince Hotels - a subsidiary of Seibu Holdings - the games of the men's and women's teams have been played under the name Seibu Prince Rabbits and Seibu Princess Rabbits .
Due to the withdrawal of the main sponsor and the unsuccessful search for a new sponsor, the team was dissolved at the end of the 2008/2009 season on March 31, 2009. In its last season the club won again the runner-up title in the Asia League Ice Hockey .
Well-known former players
- Yutaka Fukufuji , Los Angeles Kings goalkeeper and first Japanese in the NHL