Growing up, my coaches always emphasized how important it was to play a complete game, on all parts of the ice. I’ve tried to take that to heart, and even though I don’t fit the stereotype of a hard-hitting, crease-clearing defender, I always do my best to be responsible in my own end, as well as moving the puck into the neutral zone and offensive zone.

With that sort of game in mind, who better for a young Raiders defenseman to emulate than our former captain, Toivo Kosonen? What a player! Though Toivo has put more emphasis on developing his scoring skill than I will, his ability to move the puck and be useful in both ends of the ice at such a high level is exactly what I want to emulate.

The thing I really admire about Toivo is that he does it all with skill. He’s really not a guy to body people off of the puck. He’s not easy to knock around, but he does his best work with his stick and his positioning, in his own end, and then he’s a great threat to pass and shoot in the opponent’s end. I’ll always be more of a pass-first guy in the offensive zone, whereas he is a better shooter, but I hope to be a threat in that way, as well.

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