Japan's Akane Shiga finding new home on the ice with Ottawa's PWHL team

The inaugural Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL) season is history in the making and that's just what PWHL Ottawa's Akane Shiga is doing.

At 22, Shiga is the PWHL's youngest player and she's also the only player in the league from Japan.

PWHL Ottawa announced Shiga's signing in December, less than two weeks ahead of the home opener on Jan. 2.

Getting a chance to play hockey aboard is a dream come true.

"Obviously, I'm very excited to be a part of history," she said through a translator. "I think it's great to move the game in Japan forward and make hockey a bigger thing over there. I'm excited for both aspects."

But coming to another nation's capital has its challenges, not the least of which is the language barrier, but she's not without help — Madoka Suzuki, himself a hockey player on Carleton University's men's team, serves as Shiga's translator.

"The teammates, the coaches, the staff – everybody has been so helpful and so thoughtful with the language barrier, so the transition has been much easier than I imagined," Shiga said.

Head coach Carla MacLeod says every effort is made to ensure Shiga feels at home.

"There's always nuances that you try to emphasize and it's just about ensuring that those nuances aren't lost on her," MacLeod said.

Fortunately, the language of hockey is universal.

Ottawa's Akane Shiga (11) makes contact with Montreal's Laura Stacey (7) as they chase the puck behind Ottawa's net during first period PWHL hockey action in Ottawa, Tuesday, Jan. 2, 2024. (Justin Tang/THE CANADIAN PRESS)

"At the end of the day, she should probably ignore what I'm saying and just do what her gut tells her because she's probably making the right read!" MacLeod said.

Shiga's bona fides speak for themselves. She made her national senior team debut at the 2019 IIHF Women's World Championship and was Japan's leading scorer in 2021 and 2022. She won a silver medal at the 2023 Winter World University Games in Lake Placid, N.Y.

Ottawa boasts an international roster, with players from six countries lacing up for the team. In addition to Shiga, the team has 14 Canadians, seven American players, two from Czechia, one from Hungary, and one from Germany.

Ottawa's PWHL team has one win and one overtime loss in two games played so far this season.

• IN PICTURES: Ottawa's PWHL team notched its franchise first win with a 5-1 victory in Toronto on Saturday

"We're ready, we're going to go do what we can, go compete hard, and see where it takes us," said MacLeod.

Shiga, meanwhile, is excited to grow the sport for women around the world.

"I am honoured to be a part of hopefully a long league that's going to provide dreams for the younger generation for years to come," she said.

Ottawa's next game is Wednesday at TD Place against PWHL Minnesota, currently the top team in the league with 3 wins and 1 overtime loss. 

--With files from The Associated Press.