Sakamoto's Rookie Experience After 12

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"So you guys all know that I only started playing ice hockey after high school, right?" Ryuji Sakamoto, rookie defenseman for the Toronto Legion told reporters late last week. "The thing of it is, as soon as I started, it felt right, man. Like this was the thing I was supposed to be doing, but I just never had the chance before or whatever. So I started by declaring my interest in the VHLM, and Halifax took a chance on me. It was a bit of a jump from the level I was playing at in Japan, but it wasn't too bad. I think I had, like, 10 points in 16 games or something. Then at the VHLM Draft, I got picked up by Mexico City, and everything kinda fell into place, man."

 

Sakamoto pulled his jersey over his head and took a gulp of water before continuing. "I got a ton of hits, a ton of points, a ton of blocked shots. I felt like I was on fire and couldn't be stopped. Season ends and I get picked up by Istanbul for the VHLE. So it's back to packing my shit, flying to a different continent, and starting all over. But again, I felt really good. Maybe didn't have as many points, but my hitting game was even better, and my shot blocks were on point. Both years, the team fell short, but I felt like I accomplished a lot and was one of the top guys in the league on defense."

 

"So far this year, though, the skill jump is massive. I've only got like 3 points, and they were all assists. My timing on blocking shots is off, and sometimes when I hit a guy, I'm the one who ends up on my ass. It's embarrassing, man! Right now, things aren't going so great for me, you know, personally. As a team, we're doing great. Second in the conference, but there's only two teams that are really rebuilding or whatever. It's gonna be a dogfight all season, and at some point, I hope I start to feel more like myself, more like I'm pulling my weight instead of being an anchor around the other guy's skates. It's not easy to go from feeling on top of the world to feeling like a drag on the team, but I just need to keep plugging away, training hard, and working on becoming the best player I can be to help Toronto win it all."