Takala on his performance in the VHLM so far.

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When asked by the Philadelphia Reapers to join their organisation, Finnish RW Matti Takala knew the learning curve would be steep but he didn’t fully understand the extent of that learning curve. Coming off a 41 point U20 SM-Liiga season, he had expected to keep that pace or similar in the VHLM. In 30 VHLM games, Takala has a stat line of 10-5--15 with a -15 plus/minus. This has led the goal scoring winger to be frustrated with his performance in Philadelphia, with which he had the following to say to a Finnish news outlet.

 

“The VHLM is in a different league than the U20 program, obviously. I’m playing against men and people who have far more experience than I do as an 18 year old. Even then, I expected to be doing better than I am. I hope to score more and put up more points to improve Philadelphia’s chances at making the playoffs. I’d like to round out my defensive game as well, since that is holding me back from being the best player I can be”

 

Takala is shaping up to be a top 30 prospect for the Season78 VHL draft, with high hopes of being a consistent player in the league, so we can only hope that he achieves what he wishes to become as a player and see his career flourish.