A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Toronto...

[der meister 3,248]

               A funny thing happened while Toronto Legion defenseman Ryuji Sakamoto and I were visiting his friends back in Tokyo, Japan last week. Well, a lot of funny things happened, including my tagging along with quite the motley crew of young adults as they went to various hotspots around Tokyo, such as Electric Town, also known as Akihabara, a strange little fishing hole set in the center of the city, and even a day trip to a seaside beach, Odaiba Park. Sakamoto's friend Yusuke, a tall, haunted artist of no small talent, wanted us all to go to a planetarium, but he was voted down by the group at large. For my part, I stayed out of it, happy to simply tag along when invited, and otherwise enjoying a frighteningly delicious curry from Sakamoto's favorite hotspot, a café called Leblanc.

 

               The other funny thing that happened was the VHL Entry Draft, which saw the Toronto Legion drafting near the bottom of the first round. With their pick at 14 overall, they selected, of all things, a 5'7" defenseman from Japan named Isamu Knievel. While I have not had the opportunity to meet young Knievel, I did do a little bit of video scouting and research after his selection, and I find that most scouts agree that he is a jack of all trades, master of none-style of player. He put up 10 goals and 35 assists last season for Houston, and while he seems at least two seasons away from joining the VHL rank and file, I find the move by Legion management intriguing, and perhaps indicative of their satisfaction with Sakamoto's development thus far. When I informed Sakamoto that the Legion selected Knievel, his response was predictable: "For real!? That's so cool!"

 

               We arrived back in Canada earlier this week, just in time for Sakamoto to participate in the customary preseason fitness testing program. While his overall speed isn't quite as blazing as it was in the VHLM, he's steadily regaining form in that area, posting better VO2 testing number than he did last season. His pull-up count was solid, though not at the top of the list, and his overall energy level and demeanor were positive. No longer a rookie, a refreshed Sakamoto seems poised to take over the mantel of leading the Legion defense crew on and off the ice. And while there are still moments that I catch him daydreaming, staring out the window with a listless expression painted on his face, I can sense the overall maturity of the spiky-haired youth growing. I know he misses his friends in Japan, but having met a number of them, I know them to be delightful young people who are nothing but supportive of Sakamoto's venture across the Atlantic. Add in Sakamoto's newly-signed extension with the Legion, and a recent desire to "move out of this shitty apartment and get a condo or something, man," the troubled youth who growled his was through Tokyo a few short years ago is slowly, finally, becoming a man.

 

Odaiba Seaside Park