Asia League Ice Hockey
Current season, competition or edition: 2016–17 Asia League Ice Hockey season
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| Sport | Ice hockey |
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| Founded | 2003 |
| CEO | Kozo Takano |
| No. of teams | 9 |
| Countries |
 China Japan Russia South Korea
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| Continent | Far East (East Asia and Russian Far East) |
| Most recent champion(s) |
Anyang Halla (3rd title) |
| Most titles | Nippon Paper Cranes (4) |
| TV partner(s) |
JPN: Ex Sports KOR: SBS ESPN |
| Official website | Official website (international) |
Asia League Ice Hockey (ALIH) is an association which operates a professional ice hockey league based in Far East (East Asia and Russian Far East), with nine teams from Japan, China, Russia and South Korea. The league is headquartered in Japan. At the end of the playoffs every year the winner is awarded the Championship Trophy.
The league was formed in 2003 due to declining popularity in the Japan Ice Hockey League and the folding of the Korea Ice Hockey League. It was formed with the goal of promoting hockey and developing players' skills. The league initially comprised five teams in two countries. It expanded to highs of four countries (2004–05 season) and nine teams (2005–06 season) and it comprised eight teams from three countries in the 2013–14 season. Prior to the 2014–15 season a team from Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, HC Sakhalin, was affiliated to the league.
The league draws most of its players from the home countries of its teams. However, to help build skill and raise the level of competitiveness the league allows each team a certain number of foreign imports on their roster.
The league was formed after the collapse of the Korean ice hockey league and dissolution of the Japanese league. It was started with the goal of promoting hockey in Asia as well as helping the various participating countries develop their hockey programs and increase their showing in the Olympics. The first season was a shortened season of only five teams, and played as a tournament rather than a regular season. Four Japanese teams and a Korean team participated. The tournament lasted just two months and each team played four games, two at home and two away, against each other. Due to the shortened tournament format, there were no playoffs and the winner was declared from the point tally. The Nippon Paper Cranes won the tournament with 39 points. and Joel Prpic from Kokudo was the assist and points leader with 25 assists and 33 points. Ryan Haruo Kuwabara, of the Cranes, was the scoring leader with 15 goals.
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