What is Wrong with Toronto?

[der meister 2,968]

The mood of Toronto Legion defenseman Ryuji Sakamoto has not improved much since last week. He has toned down his propensity to break sticks in frustration - a significant decrease happened directly after his remarkable five assist game against the London United, a game in which the Legion still managed to find a way to lose - and has begun speaking again, at least from time to time.

 

I’d like to take a moment to really focus on that game against London, as there are several things that are perhaps indicative of why the Legion have struggled so much this year. First, the team’s offense has, more often than not, been missing in action. They are frequently outshot and have struggled to even remain competitive in most of their games. The tilt against London was the opposite. The Legion outshot the United 42 to 36, although Legion starting netminder Oskar Lindbergh was pulled halfway through the game after letting in 5 of 18. The Legion also managed to pile up five goals, their highest output of the season. Sakamoto had three primary assists on those goals, to go along with five hits. The Legion also had a significant advantage in the special teams category, having five attempts on the power play versus London’s two.

 

And yet they found a way to lose.

 

It might be easy to pin this lose on Lindbergh’s performance, as 5 on 18 is well below what one would expect of a VHL goaltender – a 0.722 save percentage. Heading into Sunday's games, it's hard to find much silver lining in Lindbergh's season. He has allowed the third most goals against in the league, despite having faced 116 fewer shots than the second place Ed Nu of London, and nearly 300 fewer shots against than Riga's Tobias Reinhart, who leads the league in allowed goals. But there's more to the story of Toronto's woes than in net. Lindbergh's individual statistics are some of the worst in his career; last season, for example, he finished the season with a 0.925 save percentage and a 2.46 goals against, versus this season's 0.905 and 3.27. Three-quarters of a goal a game is significant, but still wouldn't be enough to overcome Toronto's nearly -30 goal differential.

 

Perhaps it's the sheer number of hours I've spent with Sakamoto over the past few years, but something in me says that the Japanese defender could be the key to turning the Legion's frowns upside-down. I hate to say that he needs another year of development before he reaches his full potential, as that seems like something of a cop out answer, but I do think there is some credence to the argument, especially seeing the skill gap between the VHLE and the VHL. A dominant force in his only VHLE season, Sakamoto has yet to come anywhere close to that level of production as a member of the Legion, but I have seen signs that the pieces are starting to fall into place. The real question is: how many more broken sticks is it going to take?

 

Legion hockey in its current state