Not the size of the dog in the fight...

[SlapshotWrangler 864]

Ryuu Crimson is known for quite a lot of things like being a goal scorer, a monster in the playoffs, the first rookie to win a Playoff MVP award in the history of the VHL, his stardom in Saskatoon. This season, however, has given him another title. A fighter. That's right. Ryuu was an absolute monster this season when it came to fights, leading the league in most fights won with an impressive total of 4. He seems to like beat up Riga players as 2 of his wins were from Riga Reign players Hunter Hearst Helmsley and former teammate Randoms. The other two wins were against Jack Lynch and Evgeni Komarov, who are on Malmo and Moscow respectively. The question is, is this sudden aggressiveness against this team bitterness from the trade? Ryuu doesn't say so.

 

"No, I don't really have any bitter feelings against Riga. I had a lot of memories here and our GM was just doing his job. While I admit, going against my old team was a motivator to play more aggressive, I didn't do it out of hatred. I have nothing personal against Randoms or Hunter."

 

Now, this next story isn't much of a Ryuu fighting moment, but it is still an interesting (and controversial) highlight of his season. Some of you know what I'm talking about already. For those don't know, it was a regular season Riga vs. Davos game. Ryuu was ejected 3 minutes into the game but for putting his hands on his hips, not for fighting Randoms. That moment started a bit of controversy, and it also started a very very long rant by Stephen A. (If you want to read about the rant, here's a link: https://vhlforum.com/topic/63696-stephen-a-ryuu-crimsons-ejection-was-an-egregious-move-by-the-vhl/?tab=comments#comment-627428) Stephen, and other people in the hockey community called this an egregious move by the Victory Hockey League. But, back to fighting.

 

Now when you think of enforcers, you think of burly 6+ foot big men, who use their raw strength to beat the shit out of opponents like 6'1" Marty McSorley, 6'7" Derek Boogaard (rest in peace), 6'3" Semenko, 6'3" Georges Laraque. But Ryuu Crimson is a measly 5'8 when it comes to height. Not even taller than 5'9" Johnny Gaudreau! You have to wonder how he does it?

 

Well, we asked him about it and he gave us his answer. "Well, I don't really think about the size difference or strength difference. While most players use their big size to beat other players up, I try using my brain. Brain over brawn, like they say. I try to outsmart the opponent and find openings, as well as using my speed and maneuverability. But I think the fact I'm such a small size throws some guys off. They see little ol' me challenging them and expect the easiest fight of their life and then a few seconds later they're on the ground."

 

Despite how he does it or why he does it, people love it and that's all that matters. This also goes to show you, it's not the size of the dog in the fight...

 

 

It's the size of the fight in the dog.