HJK on Playoff Loss and More!

[Dtayl 104]

Han Jae-Kuk speaks on Playoff Exit & More...

Seoul - Han Jae-kuk and the Seattle Bears were stunned by the Toronto Legion in the playoffs and handed an early exit. After being eliminated 4-1 the Bears will undoubtedly be disappointed, but more importantly they will be undergoing some major changes on defense. The Bears two best defensemen will be moving on to greener pastures as they head into retirement, which leaves a big hole in the team to be filled by the Bears younger players. HJK and fellow former Marlin, Lucifer Olivier Leveque will most likely be relied upon to step up and perform next season. After a strong season in the VHLM Leveque will be asked to do a lot in his rookie season. Meanwhile, after mainly riding the bench and developing for Seattle this past season HJK will look to show that he is ready to step into a bigger role with the Bears. For Leveque it will be a trial by fire, for HJK it will be a thoroughly prepared ascension but both players will have lots of pressure to perform. To get a feel on how the players feel we caught up with HJK to ask him about everything: 

 

“First of all, losing in the first round of the playoffs was a huge disappointment and moving forward we have to do better. The loss of Sundqvist and Hogan will be a big loss for us, both of those guys have been rocks for Seattle for a long time and both are for sure going down as all-time greats for the Bears. Their moving on into retirement obviously opens up an opportunity for me and Luci and we're ready! I have been preparing for his moment since I was drafted by Seattle a season ago. I know I’ll have big shoes to fill but I know I can do it. As for Luci, he will be ready too, he went off in the VHLM and I think that momentum will carry over into the big leagues. We’re both really excited to play together and help take Seattle back to the championship. Right now we’re just gonna chill recuperate and then in a week or two before we head back to the facility to prep for next season. I’ll be visiting my family in Korea this week, and I’ll probably take a small vacation to Japan as well. Overall though I’m really excited to get back to work and I know everyone else it too” 

 

Encouraging words from the young defender, surely Seattle will be pleased with his attitude. While he is approaching his situation in the right way, ultimately on-ice performance is what matters so we’ll just have to wait to see how it turns out. Either way, you cannot fault HJK for his work ethic and mentality, the way he carries himself is very professional if that translates to the ice we could be in for a big season from the youngster but only time will tell. As always we wish him and Seattle nothing but the best moving forward. GO BEARS!

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Review: You should get excited for Leveque, he absolutely ripped up the VHLM this year. I think it's cool that you made a Korean player. Good article overall, nice italics for the quote and bold for Seoul. 

9/10