Han Jae-kuk Making Improvements

[Dtayl 104]

(Han Jae-kuk celebrates after scoring goal for Team Korea)

Seoul - Han Jae-kuk has been tearing up the VHLM in his second season! After a first season that saw him perform admirably on a struggling Marlins team, his second season he has begun to shine. The young defender has turned many heads with his ability to make clutch passes, grading out as one of the best passing defensemen in the entire VHLM, and his stats prove it. Through 19 games, HJK has racked up 19 assists making his average 1 APG. For a defenseman who many pundits said was lacking on the offensive side of the ice it's not too shabby. Indeed it appears that HJK took many of the criticisms he received from VHL scouts to heart, as they have stated previously he is a solid defender with not alot of offensive upside. Since that time HJK has obviously worked very hard on improving his offensive capabilities. According to our sources familiar with HJK and his development, he has been working closely with both the San Diego Marlins and Seattle Bears regarding his training Both organizations have been providing him with much support as they wish to see the young man succeed on the ice. It appears that both organizations were in agreement that he needed to add some sort of offensive ability to his toolkit. Han Jae-kuk himself even admitted that fixing his game on the offensive end was a top priority over the offseason and even now, he was quoted saying “My game was too weak on the offensive end, I’m a defenseman and playing defense is what I do best but being able to add some offensive capabilities is what will allow me to take the next step, so I have worked hard on that”. Whatever the Marlins and Bears are doing with HJK it appears to have been a resounding success as his offensive production has skyrocketed (as we mentioned previously) 

 

Although it must be said that the supporting cast around HJK may also be a reason he has seen his number go up. Adding Pietro Angellini @okifenoki and John Merrick @Steve to the roster has been huge for the marlins on the offensive end. Both players are some of the top point getters in the league, so just sharing the ice with quality forwards like that will surely allow HJK to rack up assists. He said it best himself “When you have deadly scorers to pass the puck to it makes my life so easy, they do the hard work getting the puck into the net. All I have to do is pass to them, Pietro and John are insane around the net.” Indeed the entire team has seen massive improvements over last season so it should come as no surprise that individual stats will improve as well. Whatever the cause of his success, it is nice to see Han Jae-kuk improving and succeeding. As one of the leading figures in South Korea’s hockey scene we look forward to seeing him continue to get better and wish him the best of luck as he pushes forward in his career!

 

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