Taro Tsujimoto - Prospect Scouting Report

[Gustav 6,407]

 

It's a bird! It's a plane! Nope, it's the greatest center in Hounds history*.

*Kris Rice played RW in the minors. I did my homework.

 

Taro Tsujimoto came onto the VHLM scene as a super-hyped prospect at the close of S74's (otherwise entirely uneventful) trade deadline. Living up to said hype in the minors with the Mississauga Hounds, he's ready to make the jump into the VHL with HC Davos, who were able to select the draft's top-rated player at #9 overall due to the league's rules pertaining to GM players. It's no secret that quite a bit is expected out of this young phenom, with great expectations coming from not only his franchise but the league community as a whole as he aims to put the Dynamo on his back and reverse a plague of bad management and worse luck. Here, we'll take a look at how Tsujimoto figures to produce as a player in Davos and analyze his performance as a prospect.

 

Strengths:

Offensive output! It's no surprise that this is far and away the number-one spot on the list. Tsujimoto managed to put up VHLM numbers in his first season as a prospect which are often reserved for slower-earning players who begin a season at or near the TPE cap. Managing to hit 50 goals and 119 points (there's a "nice" in there too if you do the math), Taro was a minor-league beast who could terrorize other teams' goalies and defenders, putting up the largest single-season point total the Hounds have ever seen from a center and being one of the driving forces in the team's run to the cup finals.

Defensive positioning: Something often overlooked about Tsujimoto's play is his ability to put himself in a solid spot to disrupt opponents' attacks. With all of his measured defensive attributes being at a solid level for a player at his stage in a career, he wouldn't be the worst choice for a penalty kill unit at some point in the near future--he managed to put up almost 150 hits while staying out of the penalty box much more than most players noted for their physicality.

 

Weaknesses:

NOTHING! Thank you for coming to my TED talk.

 

...ok, so since I do have to write something down, let's talk about physicality. This will be something for Tsujimoto to work on at some point soon--as of right now, it doesn't appear that he's the world's greatest candidate for a checking line, and his workout numbers in the weight room weren't the most impressive. It should be noted that he's embarked on a rigorous training regimen, though at the moment this remains something for Davos to keep an eye out and for other teams to potentially exploit.