LW Yu Sato - Dynamo-Altay Barnaul, VHL (2020 undrafted)

[Caser]

After two years in the USHL he is now on the tryout with KHL's Torpedo.

 

[Kshahdoo]

His statistics isn't very impressive. Not sure he's able to make a VHL ream let alone a KHL one.

 

[SoundAndFury]

His statistics isn't very impressive. Not sure he's able to make a VHL ream let alone a KHL one.

This is either some kind of marketing plot or it's MHL for him. Or both. But I think most likely it will just end with that try-out, good experience for him and way to make some headlines for Torpedo.

 

[Kshahdoo]

This is either some kind of marketing plot or it's MHL for him. Or both. But I think most likely it will just end with that try-out, good experience for him and way to make some headlines for Torpedo.

He used to attend Larionov's camps, when he was a kid, and Larionov is now Torpedo's head coach.

 

[ozo]

This is either some kind of marketing plot or it's MHL for him. Or both. But I think most likely it will just end with that try-out, good experience for him and way to make some headlines for Torpedo.

Take a look at two other try-outees that were signed along with him, it is a joke of a signing. Although Sato probably is the best out the lot, I refuse to believe Torpedo would waste KHL foreigner spot on him.

 

[SoundAndFury]

Take a look at two other try-outees that were signed along with him, it is a joke of a signing. Although Sato probably is the best out the lot, I refuse to believe Torpedo would waste KHL foreigner spot on him.

Yeah, I saw it.. Probably the Larionov angle explains it all but like you say, I don't think this favor to the new coach will go further than letting these guys train with the team for a month or so.

 

[Smirnov2Chistov]

I stumbled across Sato while playing NHL 20.

I assume that he and Iguchi won't be cutting in out in North America any time soon (or ever)

 

[Caser]

Signed a full-time deal with KHL's Torpedo for the next season after a successful tryout.

 

[Gordon Graham]

Take a look at two other try-outees that were signed along with him, it is a joke of a signing. Although Sato probably is the best out the lot, I refuse to believe Torpedo would waste KHL foreigner spot on him.

 

[Albatros]

I stumbled across Sato while playing NHL 20.

I assume that he and Iguchi won't be cutting in out in North America any time soon (or ever)

Iguchi to my understanding is attending university in Japan and not even pursuing a pro career overseas. Sato is obviously grasping at straws already and eventually will have to decide between a more modest hockey career in Japan and other challenges in life.

 

[Gordon Graham]

Iguchi to my understanding is attending university in Japan and not even pursuing a pro career overseas. Sato is obviously grasping at straws already and eventually will have to decide between a more modest hockey career in Japan and other challenges in life.

Sato was just signed by Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod after a pro tryout.

 

[Albatros]

Sato was just signed by Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod after a pro tryout.

Good for him, but that tells more about what joke of a league the KHL has become. He's not an exceptional player even by Japanese standards and that's already a pretty low bar when discussing overseas pro career perspectives.

 

[Gordon Graham]

Good for him, but that tells more about what joke of a league the KHL has become. He's not an exceptional player even by Japanese standards and that's already a pretty low bar when discussing overseas pro career perspectives.

Perhaps not an exceptional player (time will tell whether he can develop into one) but a player who is good enough to not have to decide about a hockey career in Japan and other challenges in life

 

[Albatros]

Perhaps not an exceptional player (time will tell whether he can develop into one) but a player who is good enough to not have to decide about a hockey career in Japan and other challenges in life

He wouldn't get a contract in the AHL, DEL, Liiga, or any other alternative address. Even the KHL has not weakened enough for a serious career there.

 

[Gordon Graham]

He wouldn't get a contract in the AHL, DEL, Liiga, or any other alternative address. Even the KHL has not weakened enough for a serious career there.

Meaningless speculation...He's in the KHL now. Good for him. He played well in his pro tryout 4G in 6 games and a shootout goal. He deserved his contract

 

[Albatros]

It's not speculation when discussing a 20-year-old scoring winger with 13+23=36 points in 104 USHL games. He hasn't performed very well even at a fairly modest junior level.

 

[Gordon Graham]

It's not speculation when discussing a 20-year-old scoring winger with 13+23=36 points in 104 USHL games. He hasn't performed very well even at a fairly modest junior level.

Any phrase that includes "wouldn't" is speculative (see subjunctive clause). He was a 4th line winger in the USHL who only got limited minutes, because most people can't fathom that a small Japanese player could be anything but a 4th liner. No one knows him besides Larionov. That got his foot in the door. He earned his contract from there precisely because he performed very well...4G in 6 games. Playing up in the lineup has a huge effect on stats.

 

[Albatros]

He wasn't small growing up, on the contrary the reason why he even got a chance in the QMJHL despite having played at a low level in Finland was because he was unusually big for a Japanese talent. But besides passable skating he showed nothing that would have made him good enough for major juniors and now in pro hockey even that size advantage is gone.

 

[Gordon Graham]

He wasn't small growing up, on the contrary the reason why he even got a chance in the QMJHL despite having played at a low level in Finland was because he was unusually big for a Japanese talent. But besides passable skating he showed nothing that would have made him good enough for major juniors and now in pro hockey even that size advantage is gone.

He was 5'9" 165lbs when he played for Quebec. He was small playing in Finland. He was small playing minor hockey in Russia from pee wee. He's still small. His agility, high hockey IQ, tenacity and elite shot are his advantages, size always has been and always will be a disadvantage. What he can improve on greatly is strength which could make him into "an exceptional player". How many games have you seen him play live?

 

[Albatros]

These are junior leagues where players smaller than that frequently perform well. The USHL is even younger and smaller than the Q and he still didn't perform well there age 18-20. An elite shooter gets in more than 17 in three seasons and 143 games of junior hockey, I don't see how watching him live instead of videos and stats could change that perception. Hirano got 24 in a single season and he's a rather limited ECHL-level player.

 

[Gordon Graham]

These are junior leagues where players smaller than that frequently perform well. The USHL is even younger and smaller than the Q and he still didn't perform well there age 18-20. An elite shooter gets in more than 17 in three seasons and 143 games of junior hockey, I don't see how watching him live instead of videos and stats could change that perception. Hirano got 24 in a single season and he's a rather limited ECHL-level player.

"An elite shooter gets in more than 17 in three seasons and 143 games of junior hockey" Not if he's buried on the 4th line he doesn't. Given some pp time and a 2nd line slot on a KHL team, he managed 4G in 6 games. Also, 165lbs isn't big in any league outside of pee wee. It's not even "big" in pee wee. Your claim was that he got a shot in the Q because of his size. Hirano scored 12pts in 30 games in the AHL last season...called up after scoring 29 pts in 25 games as a "rather limited ECHL-level player"

 

[Albatros]

I wrote "because he was unusually big for a Japanese talent" which he was. Even at the most recent junior tournament he was towering above the other forwards. Perhaps you have personal reasons for pumping this guy's tires all you can, but there's no rational argument for it based on his performances.

 

[Gordon Graham]

I wrote "because he was unusually big for a Japanese talent" which he was. Even at the most recent junior tournament he was towering above the other forwards. Perhaps you have personal reasons for pumping this guy's tires all you can, but there's no rational argument for it based on his performances.

You wrote "He wasn't small growing up, on the contrary the reason why he even got a chance in the QMJHL". His being bigger than Iguchi or Ueno didn't get him a spot on the Remparts, showing well in the top Finnish league (17pts in 12 games) after showing very well in the 2nd tier Finnish league (62pts in 24 games) did. His contract with the KHL is a result of his "performance" vis a vis his pro tryout. There's no "rational argument" against that...

 

[waitin425]

Hey look it's Japan's next superstar hockey player!!!! Or not. The average NA kid following the same path has never been heard of, let alone had pages on HF boards. That Aito kids thread was my all time favorite of nonsense. A few dipsy doodle videos with Pavel Barber and some people hyped that kid like there is no tomorrow. Until there is a legit prospect worth discussing, these threads will be nothing by funny.

 

[Albatros]

You wrote "He wasn't small growing up, on the contrary the reason why he even got a chance in the QMJHL". His being bigger than Iguchi or Ueno didn't get him a spot on the Remparts, showing well in the top Finnish league (17pts in 12 games) after showing very well in the 2nd tier Finnish league (62pts in 24 games) did. His contract with the KHL is a result of his "performance" vis a vis his pro tryout. There's no "rational argument" against that...

That's just obfuscating how junior hockey works in Finland, he played exclusively 2nd tier hockey there which is not much of an achievement as far as pro careers go.