Players based in marginal or burgeoning hockey markets often have to broaden personal horizons to further their careers.
At the age of 15, Kenta Isogai moved to Austria to join the Okanagan European hockey program. He not only had success in the U18 league but also led his U20 team in scoring by the end of the season.
Success so quickly turned heads in North America and brought interest from the Youngstown Phantoms of the elite USHL.
Isogai spent three seasons in Ohio, posting an improvement in production every year as his development progressed. He was part of the Clark Cup Championship-winning team in 2023.
The Nagano native was selected in the 2023 CHL Import Draft by the Winnipeg Ice, before the team was relocated to the state of Washington and based in Wenatchee.
At 18 years of age, Isogai agreed to terms with the Wenatchee Wild and enjoyed immediate success.
He was Wenatchee’s leading scorer during the 2023/24 WHL campaign and named a U.S. Division First Team All-Star.
Named an alternate captain for the most recent campaign, Isogai faced more change in his tentative career as the overager was traded to Victoria Royals for not an insubstantial package in return.
Forty points in 31 regular-season games were followed by seventeen points, including six goals, through the playoffs for the Royals.
Victoria endured a second-round defeat at the hands of Spokane in heartbreaking fashion.
With the series tied at 2-2, the Royals lost at home in overtime in game five and were eliminated in game six following double overtime.
An undrafted free agent upon his junior career ending, the Ontario Reign signed the Japanese left-winger to a two-year deal.
Having recently turned 21, Isogai is an invitee at the Los Angeles Kings development camp, which features fifteen alumni of the Youngstown Phantoms.
If he suits up for Ontario this season, Isogai will become only the third Japanese player to do so in the American Hockey League.
The first was legendary goaltender Yutaka Fukufuji, who went on to reach the NHL.
The second was Yushiroh Hirano, a cult figure for his national team, who is currently plying his trade in DEL2. (Simon Denis is a dual national)
Speaking of the national team, Isogai is yet to play for Japan at any level, but surely it’s only a matter of time. His brother Sota is a regular member of the squad, and the national program must be keenly watching the development of the younger sibling.
Taking the step up to the professional game is a real test of character for any young player, but I doubt it will faze the determined Isogai.
He’s a fearless forward who enjoys using his speed and skill to beat opponents in driving to the net. Whether he can do that against stronger and more experienced defenders at this stage is debatable.
I would not bet against a young man who has done incredibly well to achieve so much in six years since packing his bags for hockey ports far from his home.
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