2x Draft Media Bonus, word count 807

Illness, injury, and rejected visas. It hasn't been an easy 12 months for the young Japanese international with numerous on and off ice incidents turning what was promised to be a highly touted and prospective first round selection into a later draft pick, being selected by the Newfoundland Berserker's in the 6th round, 56th overall of the S53 SMJHL draft. 

What initially had scouts salivating at the edge of the seats was the ability for the massive 6'3" forward's ability to fend off defenders in the corners and in front of the net and use that frame combined with wide vision to make key passes to his line mates for scoring opportunities. The raw strength combined with deft hands saw Minamino being quickly converted from a potential baseball recruit to converting to hockey full-time just in his later teen years. 

"I thought I would be aiming for the High School Baseball Championship with all of my childhood friends when we got into high school together. At first hockey was a fun hobby but I found that I really enjoyed being on the ice more than being on the pitch," Minamino shared when asked about his transition between sports. "The plays in baseball where we connected together to make magic happen was the best but it felt too slow sometimes. Too much like a one-on-one between the pitcher and batter. When I am on the ice with my teammates, everything and everyone is always moving. Taking pass and looking to find the next teammate, finding those open spots on the ice where I know somebody will be. Trying to make the connection of where I should be, it’s fun.”

Those moments of joy were limited when Minamino tried to make the connection multiple times from Japan to North America with numerous work visa issues. A spokesperson from an agency representing the young player addressed the issue, “Much of the complications that arose from Mr. Minamino’s transfer to the North American ice hockey scene resulted from his late entrance as a full-time amateur hockey player and relative lack of history. We are confident that this will change in a short period of time.”

As a result of spending multiple months waiting for the bureaucratic red tape to resolve itself, the hulking right winger could only sit and wait in anticipation. When he made the long-awaited trek to pinnacle of hockey, things continued to go south for Minamino. “It felt like I could not catch a break. One week I would be out because of mono. Then I would get to play a bit only to be taken off the lineup because of a dislocated finger.” That injury would prove to be one of the shorter ones, keeping him out of practice and game time for a month. After successive injuries of a groin strain and then a broken collarbone, another 6 to 8 weeks sidelined became rock bottom for the player wanting to become accustomed to the North American game. That however did not deter his positive attitude from looking for the positive and making the most of his time having travelled from Japan. Minamino laughed it off, “There was not much that I could do but practice my English and watch a lot of Netflix. I spent a lot of time with The Office, the American one.”

With a limited showing of less than 10 games played in the last 12 months in his first draft eligible year, scouts were inevitably unsure of where the winger stood among his peers. “I knew that my goal now is just getting to the draft and showing everyone who passed one me that they made a massive mistake,” Minamino told of his draft day expectations. He didn’t attend the draft in person, instead opting to spend the time at the gym continuing to work towards next season.
Now finally drafted, the 6th round draftee is simply excited to put that all behind him and look ahead. “I feel great, a lot better than I have in a long time. I am excited to really get to show what I can do with my new team and teammates.”

When asked about if there was anything that had changed in his game because of the rough patch of injuries, Minamino paused for a moment before answering, “A little less reckless in the corners and knowing I will not be able to get away with just throwing my body to the net and overwhelming the smaller guys since everybody is a lot closer in size here.”

Much like ‘The Office’, Minamino’s start to his career has been slow but still contains several key components for success. The only thing now is just getting back to playing hockey and showing the high skill play that could make him a high rising star in this league.

Ryuuji Minamino | RW | Syndicate | S53 | 1265 TPE
Birthplace: Sapporo, Japan
Height: 6'3" | Weight: 210lb
SMJHL S52 Draft 56th Overall (NLB)
SHL S53 Draft 11th Overall (CHI)
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SMJHL Regular Season
S52 | 50GP | 3G   | 5A   | 8P   | -5  | 16 PIM | 32 Hits |
S53 | 50GP | 16G | 19A | 36P | +5 | 30 PIM | 46 Hits |
S54 | 50GP | 25G | 28A | 53P | +23 | 22 PIM | 20 Hits |
S55 | 50GP | 21G | 35A | 56P | +17 | 12 PIM | 33 Hits |
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
SMJHL Playoff Season
S52 | 10GP | 1G | 0A | 1P | -4 | 2 PIM | 6 Hits |
S53 | 7GP   | 2G | 3A | 5P | -1 | 2 PIM | 12 Hits |
S54 | 14GP   | 9G | 8A | 17P | +11 | 4 PIM | 7 Hits |
S55 | 17GP   | 5G | 8A | 13P | +6 | 9 PIM | 13 Hits |

Ooff to make it through all that and then get drafted by Newfoundland. Poor guy.

Don’t forget the snow storm we just had here )

Don’t mind the hate either man, NL>NS

Don’t forget the snow storm we just had here )

Don’t mind the hate either man, NL>NS

It’s kind of cute how hard @mxman911 is trying to leech off our relevance. Trying to turn around life in Halifax isn’t an easy task.

Good read Minamino!! Super excited to see what’s in store!

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Don’t forget the snow storm we just had here )

Don’t mind the hate either man, NL>NS

It’s kind of cute how hard @mxman911 is trying to leech off our relevance.  Trying to turn around life in Halifax isn’t an easy task.

Good read Minamino!! Super excited to see what’s in store!

It’s cute how your team moved into our area and did a pale reskin of the Raiders. Smh my head. New ideas are tough though I suppose.

It’s kind of cute how hard @mxman911 is trying to leech off our relevance.  Trying to turn around life in Halifax isn’t an easy task.

Good read Minamino!! Super excited to see what’s in store!

It’s cute how your team moved into our area and did a pale reskin of the Raiders. Smh my head. New ideas are tough though I suppose.

You’re coming off a little desperate to make this a thing but we’ll work on it.

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