By Andrew Stille/Coralville, Iowa – Six thousand miles separate Coralville, Iowa, from Tokyo, Japan. For perspective, if you stacked Mount Everest end to end 1,000 times, it would still fall short of the total distance between the two cities. Yet, for Iowa Heartlanders forward Yuki Miura, this trip is ingrained in his DNA, and he attributes his resilience to the endless support he’s received in his career. Now, as he enters his fifth season with Iowa, Miura has planted roots in the Heartland with the latest addition to his family: his first daughter, Erika.

Miura is the only player to skate in all five seasons of Heartlanders history. In those five years, he has spent countless hours putting the love and support he receives from fans right back into the community. He has done close to every team community appearance over his time with the Heartlanders, been a guest speaker teaching Japanese at the University of Iowa, and developed countless relationships with young Heartlanders fans that are learning to love hockey as much as he does.
 

“I really like being here,” Miura expressed. “It’s very different compared to Tokyo, but I like how everything feels calmer here. My wife and I prefer how everything feels less complicated.” 

While the journey from Japan to Iowa is complicated in its own right, Miura’s wife, Akane, joined him in the move back three years ago. Despite facing countless hurdles, the Miuras have fully embraced Iowa as their home. This past September, they welcomed their first daughter to the world, Erika.
 

“I am really thankful for my wife. It’s been really hard on her to have a baby in a different country, but she fought through the nine months,” Miura said. “My wife helps a lot when I have to go on the road; we try to switch taking care of Erika every night, but she is so helpful when I have to play.”

Despite being a month into fatherhood, Miura’s dedication to hockey has not skipped a beat. Over the offseason, he was on the ice day in and day out, even after Akane gave birth to Erika. The new Heartlanders bench boss, Chuck Weber, took note of his unwavering dedication to the team, giving Miura the chance to serve as an alternate captain alongside returner Jonny Sorenson. 

“I was pretty nervous when [joining the leadership group] was brought up to me. It’s something special, and you always learn so much from being in that role of responsibility,” Miura recalled.

While many Heartlanders fans are familiar with Miura’s rise to the pros, he attributes his ability to overcome the challenges of raising a family in a new country to the hard work it took to become a hockey player in America.

“Growing up, I was living right next to the hockey arena, which made it very easy to keep working on my skating,” Miura recalled. “Before I even noticed, I was already on the ice.”

Miura’s hockey roots stem from his father, Takayuki. Takayuki spent 14 years playing for the Seibu Bears Tokyo in the Japan Ice Hockey League, even winning a championship with the club in 1996. When Yuki was two, his father received the honor to serve as a defenseman for Team Japan in the 1998 Winter Olympic Games. Japan went 0-1-2, falling short of qualifying for the first round.

After being coached by his father during his high school years, Miura spent three seasons playing in Czechia before making his North American hockey debut for the USHL Waterloo in 2016. Almost ten years later, he still recalls the stark difference between his childhood hockey experience and playing in the United States.

“Hockey [in Waterloo] was very different. I had no experience with American hockey before, so I had to adjust to the style,” Miura recalled. “Everywhere I went, both in Czechia and America, I had lots of help learning the languages and learning the culture. It helped me become a better pro hockey player.”

Following his time with Waterloo, Miura spent four seasons in the NCAA with Lake Superior State University, leading to a tryout contract at Iowa’s inaugural season 2021 training camp. He impressed first-year Head Coach Gerry Fleming so much, he earned an ECHL contract within days of first putting on a Heartlanders practice sweater.

Coralville has become a second home to Miura. Now, as he raises his daughter alongside his wife, Miura looks to cement the Heartlanders in ECHL history through the shared goal of every member on the team: bring home the Kelly Cup.

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