Surprising Insight from Sakamoto

[der meister 2,903]

               “What the shit, man?” a visibly agitated Ryuji Sakamoto asked no one in particular, clearly not expecting an answer. “I know Hailfax didn’t make the playoffs, but for real? How long am I gonna have to wait for the goddamn Draft to happen? What am I supposed to even do with my time? There’s nuthin’ to do, nuthin’ to talk about, just a whole lotta nuthin’.“

 

               “I’ve been spending most of my time trainin’, you know, runnin’, stayin’ in shape. My buddy Ren found some imported protein powder that works real good,” Sakamoto continued. "Runnin’ around Shujin, my old high school. Sometimes visitin’ some friends. Yusuke is still weird.”

 

               With no hesitation, Sakamoto pivots his train of thought. “I didn’t even watch any of the VHLM Finals. Why would I bother? The General Managers and scouts who have reached out to me before the draft are all looking at me in the first half of the first round. Teams in the Finals don’t draft in the first half of a round unless they make a trade or somethin’. And in a junior prospect league like the VHLM, the rosters change so much that it doesn’t really matter anyway.”

 

               As a VHL reporter specializing in human interest stories, I’ve found my time being embedded with Ryuji Sakamoto to be some of the more honest moments of my career. In an age of well-rehearsed and carefully-scripted answers, Sakamoto’s angsty diatribes are a breath of fresh air.  “So what is it you’re hoping for at this point?” I asked, curious to see the young defenseman’s reaction.

 

               “What I hope for?” Sakamoto slouched before rubbing an uncertain hand through his spiky blond hair. “I hope I get paid enough to go out for sushi and not panic when I see the bill. I hope I keep getting faster. I want to be the fastest guy in the league. And, I guess, I hope I can be part of a team again, to feel that sense of working together to make something bigger than any of us are on our own.”

 

               The answer surprised me. This is one of the first times I’ve heard the irascible young Tokyo native talk about being a team player. I’ve known he has friends, of course, but any time we talk about hockey, it’s all about his speed and how he wants to do whatever he wants, whenever he wants. It’s cliché to say it, but if you looked up the word “impulsive” in the dictionary, you’d probably see a picture of a sheepish Ryuji Sakamoto.

 

               “It’s kinda like this, man,” Sakamoto continued, looking down at his bowl of ramen. “I was a part of the school track team, and I felt like I belonged, you know? Then Kamoshida broke my leg, and I attacked him, then got kicked off the team. When I met Ren, and heard the rumors about him being a criminal, we just kinda fell in together. Things sort of went crazy after that. It all feels like a dream, man. It’s a dream I’ll never be able to have again, but it’s something I know I’ll be looking for for the rest of my life.”

 

[MubbleFubbles 1,186]

Review: 530+ words of Ryuji goodness! No spelling or grammar errors as to be expected from yourself. Yeah as much as I would like to bring your player in to Vegas, there's absolutely no chance of that happening since, like you say, you're projected first half of the first round and, as of right now, we have our earliest pick as a 5th, so...oh dear. Also, yes, Yusuke is weird. Best of luck to your new player and look forward to more articles of this kind in the future!

 

BTW somewhat related, I've actually been listening to the Persona live concert at work on repeat, I love the music in those games!