Takeshi Saitō
 Takeshi Saitō 
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|---|---|
| Date of birth | March 8, 1981 |
| place of birth | Kushiro , Japan |
| size | 176 cm |
| Weight | 75 kg |
| position | striker |
| number | # 19 |
| Shot hand | Right |
| Career stations | |
| until 2003 | Sapporo Polaris |
| 2003-2014 | Ōji Eagles |
| since 2014 | Nikko IceBucks |
Takeshi Saitō ( Japanese 齊藤 毅 , Saitō Takeshi ; born March 8, 1981 in Kushiro , Hokkaidō ) is a Japanese ice hockey player who has been playing for the Nikkō IceBucks in the Asia League ice hockey since 2014 .
Career
Takeshi Saitō played for Sapporo Polaris , the former team of Yukijirushi Nyūgyō , until 2003 . For the first season of the newly founded Asia League Ice Hockey , he moved to the Ōji Eagles, the team of the paper manufacturer Ōji Seishi . In the 2007/08 and 2011/12 seasons, Saito and his team won the championship. In 2010 he was named the best defensive striker in the Asia League Ice Hockey. In 2014 he was not only elected to the Asia League First Team, but also the most valuable player in the main round. He then moved to the Nikko IceBucks , for which he has been playing ever since. In 588 games so far, he has scored 568 points, making him currently the most successful scorer of the ALIH.
International
For Japan Saitō took part in the junior division of the U20 Junior C World Championships in 2000 and Division II in 2001 . In the senior division, he was in his country's squad at the World Championships in the top division in 2003 and 2004 and at the World Championships in Division I in 2005 , 2006 , 2008 , 2009 , 2010 and 2014 . At the 2009 World Cup he was in Group A of Division I together with the Kazakhs Vadim Krasnoslobodzew top scorer and together with the Slovenian Mitja Šivic and the Kazakhs Yevgeny Rymarew top scorer. At the 2014 World Cup, he gave the Japanese a 1-0 lead in the last decisive group game against Hungary after just under three minutes, thus maintaining the hope of being promoted back to the top division after ten years. Since the East Asians finally lost 4-5 after a penalty shoot-out, they missed the jump to the top and Austria rose instead of them.
He also played for Japan at the Winter Asian Games in 2007 and 2011 , where he won gold and silver medals with Japan. He also represented his colors at the Olympic qualifying tournaments for the 2006 Winter Games in Turin , 2010 in Vancouver , 2014 in Sochi and 2018 in Pyeongchang . In 2006 and 2007 he took part in the Germany Cup with Japan .
Achievements and Awards
- 2008 Championship of the Asia League Ice Hockey with the Ōji Eagles
- 2010 Best defensive striker in the Asia League Ice Hockey
- 2012 Championship of the Asia League Ice Hockey with the Ōji Eagles
- 2014 Most valuable player of the main round and first team of the Asia League Ice Hockey
International
- 2007 gold medal at the Asian Winter Games
- 2009 Topscorer of the World Championship Division I, Group A.
- 2009 World Cup Division I, Group A top scorer
- 2011 silver medal at the Asian Winter Games
Career statistics
| Main round | Play-offs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| season | team | league | Sp | T | A. | Pt | SM | Sp | T | A. | Pt | SM | ||
| 2003/04 | Ōji Eagles | ALIH | 14th | 8th | 3 | 11 | 12 | |||||||
| 2004/05 | Ōji Eagles | ALIH | 40 | 16 | 12 | 28 | 24 | 4th | 2 | 1 | 3 | 8th | ||
| 2005/06 | Ōji Eagles | ALIH | 38 | 21st | 19th | 40 | 44 | 7th | 3 | 1 | 4th | 22nd | ||
| 2006/07 | Ōji Eagles | ALIH | 29 | 13 | 15th | 28 | 49 | 4th | 1 | 4th | 5 | 8th | ||
| 2007/08 | Ōji Eagles | ALIH | 30th | 11 | 23 | 34 | 38 | 9 | 6th | 9 | 15th | 20th | ||
| 2008/09 | Ōji Eagles | ALIH | 25th | 11 | 12 | 23 | 16 | 4th | 1 | 2 | 3 | 8th | ||
| 2009/10 | Ōji Eagles | ALIH | 31 | 16 | 17th | 33 | 28 | 4th | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | ||
| 2010/11 | Ōji Eagles | ALIH | 36 | 19th | 28 | 47 | 34 | 4th | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4th | ||
| 2011/12 | Ōji Eagles | ALIH | 36 | 20th | 20th | 40 | 32 | 7th | 4th | 4th | 8th | 12 | ||
| 2012/13 | Ōji Eagles | ALIH | 29 | 17th | 13 | 30th | 36 | 6th | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | ||
| 2013/14 | Ōji Eagles | ALIH | 41 | 20th | 40 | 60 | 40 | 7th | 0 | 5 | 5 | 27 | ||
| 2014/15 | Nikko IceBucks | ALIH | 48 | 16 | 28 | 44 | 46 | |||||||
| 2015/16 | Nikko IceBucks | ALIH | 48 | 15th | 30th | 45 | 52 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||
| 2016/17 | Nikko IceBucks | ALIH | 48 | 15th | 17th | 32 | 30th | 6th | 1 | 4th | 5 | 2 | ||
| 2017/18 | Nikko IceBucks | ALIH | 28 | 11 | 6th | 17th | 12 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 6th | ||
| ALIH total | 521 | 229 | 283 | 512 | 493 | 67 | 24 | 32 | 56 | 121 | ||||
International
Represented Japan in the senior sector at:
| year | team | event | GP | G | A. | Pts | PIM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Japan | WM | 6th | 1 | 0 | 1 | 6th | |
| 2004 | Japan | WM | 6th | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | |
| 2005 | Japan | WM, Div. I. | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4th | |
| 2005 | Japan | Olympic qualification | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |
| 2006 | Japan | WM, Div. I. | 5 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 6th | |
| 2008 | Japan | WM, Div. I. | 5 | 2 | 2 | 4th | 6th | |
| 2009 | Japan | WM, Div. I. | 5 | 5 | 4th | 9 | 27 | |
| 2009 | Japan | Olympic qualification | 6th | 0 | 1 | 1 | 6th | |
| 2010 | Japan | WM, Div. I. | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2013 | Japan | Olympic qualification | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2014 | Japan | WM, Div. I. | 5 | 1 | 4th | 5 | 2 | |
| 2016 | Japan | Olympic qualification | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |
| Men's World Cup overall | 42 | 12 | 12 | 24 | 53 | |||
| Olympic qualification overall | 14th | 0 | 1 | 1 | 10 | |||
( Legend for player statistics: Sp or GP = games played; T or G = goals scored; V or A = assists scored ; Pkt or Pts = scorer points scored ; SM or PIM = penalty minutes received ; +/− = plus / minus balance; PP = overpaid goals scored ; SH = underpaid goals scored ; GW = winning goals scored; 1 play-downs / relegation )
Web links
- Takeshi Saitō at eliteprospects.com (English)
Individual evidence
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Saitō, Takeshi |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | 齊藤 毅 (Japanese) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Japanese ice hockey player |
| DATE OF BIRTH | March 8, 1981 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Kushiro , Hokkaidō , Japan |