"Where is the machine that has Tommy Johns?" - A Story of Anonymous Moscow Menace Staff Member Exploring Foreign Land

[jRuutu 2,485]

The VHL regular season has reached the halfway point. The teams and players are working hard each day to ensure they reach the playoffs. Meanwhile, the staff of each team is also preparing for the future by traveling all over the world in scouting missions to find the hidden gems that could be drafted in the upcoming drafts. Usually, this type of work is done by the scouts, but sometimes exciting prospects or convenient trips can lead staff members higher up in the food chain to take time out of their busy schedules to watch a game or two live. This is exactly what happened to one anonymous Moscow Menace staff member who combined business and pleasure as they traveled to Japan.

 

VHL has historically featured multiple elite-level Japanese players with the likes of Ryuji Sakamoto, Taro Tsujimoto, and Nezuko reaching all the way to 1500 TPE.  From the active players, Red Panda is a star. Moscow Menace also has two Japanese prospects Kazuma Satou and Seto Kaiba who could play for The Menace in the future, so Japan is a market where VHL teams could find hidden gems. It is not a surprise to hear that the very first thing the anonymous Moscow Menace staff member did after landing in Japan was getting tickets to a game between Yokohama Grits and Tohoku Free Blades. The rumors suggest the main focus was on Yokohama player Hoshi Tama, a talented defender who is available to be drafted in a few years. What makes Tama exciting is his ability to play with both, left and right-handed sticks, he switches the stick each period depending on how he feels.

 

After taking a nap at the hotel, the anonymous Moscow Menace staff member started walking towards the arena. As the game was not going to start for some time, they decided to see what Yokohama had to offer. After walking a bit the anonymous Moscow Menace staff member realized they could also eat. At this very moment, they walked past an alley, on the corner of their eye they saw a familiar sign at the other end of the alley: McDonald's. Seduced by mental images of a McTofu Sandwich, they decided to go through the dark-looking alley. Just as they were almost on the other end they came by a vending machine: "Underwear - Once New".  The anonymous Moscow Menace staff member was not sure what to make of what he saw as even in Moscow with the flexible rules and regulations something like this would be considered odd. They leaned closer to see the available options, only ladies' underwear.   "Where is the machine that has Tommy Johns?" - thought the anonymous Moscow Menace staff member to themselves as they started making their way towards McDonalds.

 

Belly full of food the anonymous Moscow Menace staff member was ready to do scouting. The game between Yokohama Grits and Tohoku Free Blades ended 3-3. Hoshi Tama played decently, they got one assist. Hoshi played the whole game with a left stick just to annoy any potential scouts in the audience who hoped to see how well the Japanese defender could play with the right-handed stick.