Sakamoto's First Practice in Halifax

[der meister 3,197]

               "God dammit!"

               The expletive is loud enough to be heard in the concourse, and there's little doubt who's the source. Immediately after the shout, the sound of fiberglass hitting steel rings out. The few in attendance shake their heads at the display.

 

               Ryuji Sakamoto, a 17-year-old product of Tokyo, Japan, and new defenseman for the Halifax 21st, is struggling to get his body to meet up with the expectations his mind has set. It's not necessarily a bad trait to have, especially for a would-be elite athlete. The growing pains, however, are very real, and very much on display.

 

               The practice session morphs into a game of half-ice shinny a few minutes later. Sakamoto makes it a point to drop an attacking winger with a massive open ice hit fewer than thirty seconds into the contest. The pace of the shinny game is off the charts, as players from both squads try to one-up each other with their stickhandling or physical play. Sakamoto ends the contest with a pair of goals and nearly a dozen noteworthy hits, with both goals coming from the top of the circle. When he finally removes his helmet, revealing his crop of blond hair, a toothy grin is plastered upon the youngster's face.

 

               "I don't like to lose," Sakamoto tells me after he gets off the ice. "I'm over that shit. Lost too many battles in the past, and I'm not willing to run down that road again."

 

               "How's the knee holding up?" I ask, gesturing vaguely toward his previous injury, sustained during his track team days at Shujin High.

 

               For answer, he thumps the side of his leg with a fist a few times. "Never been better," he answers with a wild grin, before making his way down the hall to the team locker room.

 

               Speed is Sakamoto’s biggest asset by far. Even as a newcomer to the game, he buzzes around the ice at a speed very few VHLM players can keep up with. He clearly needs to add strength, puck skills, passing accuracy – any number of things – to his game, but the raw talent has scouts excited.

 

               “It’s like in the NFL Draft,” one scout commented, “sometimes you get these players who can play multiple roles, or they’re just these huge, athletic freaks and teams will take a chance on them, to develop them in a way that the team needs. It’s similar with Sakamoto. He has incredible speed, a little bit of defensive talent, and pure, raw potential.”

 

               Another scout disagreed. “I’m not saying he doesn’t have impressive quickness,” he said, “but right now, that’s all he has. No hands, no hockey sense, no strength, nothing. He could be a world class, Olympic-level speed skater, but right now I just don’t see why Halifax, or anyone, would have interest in this guy. That said, considering he just started the sport, maybe there’s a lot of growth hidden beneath that spiky yellow hair, but I just don’t see it.”

 

               While scouts may be polarized on his potential, Sakamoto doesn’t care. “For real!? They’re just a bunch of stupid adults. I’ll show them how wrong they are.”

 

[Grosgars 44]

That’s so good! You really make it easy to understand Sakamoto, his play style and his character. I like that you have the practice description, the Sakamoto interview and the scouts section,  bring an aspect that I don’t see often and is really interesting. 9/10

[atw2592 286]

reviewing: Holy shit it's a Japanese hockey player, nice! You don't see those every day. Sorry you have to play in Halifax, you should come to Houston where it's warm. Hopefully you recover from your knee injury, I like that you are incorporating fake injuries into the storyline for your player, I like the role playing style of the article! It was well written and I wish you luck the rest of the season! 10/10