I was picked up by Head Coach at Shinjuku Station 5 days ahead of my first game. It was the open greeting you hope for when joining a new team.

This greeting was also passed along by the team, without yet having earned their respect.

I stepped into my first session with the intent to be the player I came here to be from the first pass of the first drill.

After a couple skates, my first impressions were mostly attuned to timing. It felt like I had none. I'd been accustomed to being given respect on the blueline, but here I felt consistent and immediate pressure.

This adjustment hadn't completely been made when stepping on the sheet for my first game: an exhibition in the mountains of Nikko.

I made good plays consistently, but failed to fully show my strengths offensively, specifically in walking the wall and blueline.

It was great to get a sense of what our team is composed of and the excitement for each other that was shared. Getting a feeling for the room and the bench was cherishable. This team loves to play.

Concluding the game was an honoring of my Assistant Coach. Nikko had been his home for nearly a decade, and you could feel the mark he had left on the game and the community.

A few more exhibition games led us to our home opener. The expectations for the team, and I feel my play, were high. I just went out and played. My timing improved in the games leading up to this one, and I finally had some fun in the O-zone.

I found myself with a fortuitous deflection off a one-timer late in the first and potted the first goal of the 2026-27 XHL season.

Leaving that game with a 3-2 win, I had a good gauge on what was expected from the team and how the game moves over here.

Players play at 100% in every area on the ice. Every shift. This style often leads to gaps and open space when holding onto the puck a bit longer, making switches and picks, and beating the first guy. I found a few times that in beating one guy, there isn't often a second thought for the next guy to leave his man, which creates space to throw the puck behind that incoming pressure.

With two weeks until our next game, I'm working on settling back into my rituals and habits that I've shifted out of in my move across continents.