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Japanese Goaltender Returns To ECHL

October 7, 2004
ECHL.com Note - Yutaka Fukufuji became the first Japanese-born goaltender to play in ECHL on February 7, 2003, posting a 3-2 shootout win for Cincinnati in his North American debut at Johnstown.


By Mike Griffith
Californian Staff Writer
October 7, 2004
Copyright © The Bakersfield Californian

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. - Yutaka Fukufuji became only the second Japanese player ever selected in a National Hockey League draft when the Los Angles Kings picked the goaltender up in the eighth round of the 2004 Entry Draft.

Wednesday, he became a member of the Bakersfield Condors via a two-way contract with Manchester (N.H), the Kings' American Hockey League affiliate.

That means the top two goaltender prospects for the Condors as they prepare to open training camp on Friday are rookies. Bakersfield signed former Boston University goaltender Sean Fields earlier this summer.

"The Kings feel (Fukufuji) has potential and they want him to play. They want to make sure he gets into some games," said Condors head coach Marty Raymond.

Fukufuji, 22, was a member of the Japanese National Team in the IIHF World Championships last spring in the Czech Republic. In five games (three losses and two ties) he stopped 150 of 168 shots for a .892 save percentage.

The pro scouting report on Fukufuji is that he's quick and shifty, fast on his skates with great lateral movement across the crease.

And the Kings want to see how he fares against North American competition.

He played seven games in the ECHL in 2002-03, going 4-3-0 with a 3.13 goals against and .915 save percentage.

Last season, he had a 1.67 GAA and .945 save percentage in seven games with Kokudo in the Japanese Ice Hockey League. He also played seven games for Kokudo in the Asia League where he had a 1.96 GAA and .916 save percentage.

He became available due to the goaltender glut caused in part by the lockout of NHL players. The Kings recently signed veteran goaltender Mathieu Garon and assigned him to Manchester, leaving the Monarchs with five goaltenders.

The Condors also will have plenty of goaltenders in camp as Jean-Francois Laniel (a third-round pick by the Florida Panthers in 1999) is already in town and veteran Philippe DeRouville is expected.

Raymond and Bob Bartlett, who is serving a director of player personnel for the Condors this year, have been working to get some alignments with NHL teams and Raymond said the deal with the Kings is a step in the right direction.

"This is the start of a little bit of a relationship with (the Kings)," Raymond said. "We want to work with them and they're sending us another young guy, Mike Lukajic."

Lukajic, a forward, was not drafted but had a stellar college career at the University of Oswego in New York where he scored 91 goals in 120 games at the Division III level. He had 59 goals in 64 games over is last two seasons.

"He's a big kid (6-4, 225) and we want to see how he does in camp," Raymond said."


Copyright © The Bakersfield Californian

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