Masahito Haruna

{{Infobox ice hockey player

| image =

| image_size = 230px

| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1973|7|16|df=y}}

| birth_place = Kushiro, Hokkaidō, Japan

| height_cm = 184

| weight_kg = 78

| position = Goaltender

| catches = Right

| played_for = Furukawa Electric
Nikkō Ice Bucks
Quad City Mallards
Oji Eagles

| ntl_team = JPN

| career_start = 1997

| career_end = 2016

{{Infobox Chinese/Japanese

| kanji = 春名真仁

| kana = はるなまさひと

| hiragana =

| katakana =

}}

| medaltemplates =

{{MedalCountry | {{JPN}} }}

}}

{{Nihongo|Masahito Haruna|春名真仁|Haruna Masahito|born 16 July 1973}} is a Japanese former professional ice hockey goaltender and current assistant coach of the women's, women's under-18, and men's national ice hockey teams of Japan.{{Cite web|last=Merk|first=Martin|date=2019-10-06|title=Smiles in Japan|url=https://www.iihf.com/en/news/15222/smiles-in-japan|access-date=2021-08-12|website=IIHF|language=en}}

Playing career

As a child, Haruna played as a goalie for ice hockey and football teams, though he was ultimately more interested in hockey. After graduating from Kushiro Koryo High School, he attended Waseda University and played on the school's ice hockey team.{{Cite web|last=Jiro|first=Kato|date=2016-04-07|title=Masahito Haruna to Announce Retirement|url=http://lovehockey.jugem.jp/?eid=1963|access-date=2021-08-12|website=Love Hockey|language=ja}}

Haruna played in the Japan Ice Hockey League (JIHL) with the Furukawa Electric during 1996 to 1999, and with the Nikkō Ice Bucks during 1999 to 2002. He played with the Quad City Mallards of the United Hockey League (UHL) in the 2003–04 season, the only season in his twenty-year career played with a non-Japanese team.{{Cite web|last=Wendland|first=Jeff|date=2003-09-05|title=Mallards' recruiting expands to Far East|url=https://qconline.com/sports/professional/mallards-recruiting-expands-to-far-east/article_8674d4ae-6b16-5551-8930-db489c5e3cbb.html|access-date=2021-08-12|website=The Dispatch-Argus|language=en}} Returning to Japan before the 2004–05 season, he re-signed with the Ice Bucks, which had transitioned to the Asia League Ice Hockey in 2003. Haruna remained with the Nikkō Ice Bucks through the 2005–06 season and then signed with the Oji Eagles, also of the Asia League.{{Cite web|last=Souilliere|first=James|date=December 2008|title=The Iceman Cometh|url=https://jselect.net/english-the-icemen-cometh/?lang=en|access-date=2021-08-12|website=Japan Select Magazine|language=en-US}} He played with the Oji Eagles during 2007 to 2015, serving as player-coach in the 2014–15 season. He then spent one final season back with the Nikkō Ice Bucks before retiring in 2016.

= International play =

Haruna represented Japan at many international competitions during his playing career, including at a number of IIHF World Championships and World Championship qualification tournaments, most notably at the 2003 Top Division tournament; at the Olympic qualification tournaments in 2005, 2009, and 2012; and at four Asian Winter Games, winning gold in 2003 and 2007 and silver in 1999 and 2011. In total, his playing career with the Japan men's national team spanned seventeen seasons, from 1996–97 to 2012–13.{{Cite web|date=1997-02-21|title=Japanese National Team Defeats Team Canada 4-3|url=https://www.hockeycanada.ca/en-ca/news/1997-nr-024-en|access-date=2021-08-12|website=Hockey Canada|language=en-ca}}