When Scott Murray and friends opened the doors to the RHP Training Centre earlier this summer, they were looking to attract young athletes from beyond just the Sudbury region.

To the east, they were optimistic about welcoming young hockey talent from the likes of Verner, Warren and Sturgeon Falls, perhaps even North Bay. But it's unlikely the business plan included importing goaltending talent from as far east as Japan.

Japanese netminder Daisuke Sakai, a native of Nagano, Japan, spent one week of his Canadian hockey sojourn in northern Ontario, working with the staff at RHP in Sudbury. A 23-year-old goalie who suits up with the Tohoku Free Blades of the Asia League Ice Hockey, Sakai had talked to his coach back home about wanting to get better.

"The Import players in our league are very good, and I want to get better at stopping them," Sakai said, through translator and former University of Toronto Lady Blues goaltending coach Dave Wakabayashi.

Despite the fact that hockey is infinitely less popular in Japan than Canada, Sakai noted his transition to goaltending was likely similar to many youngsters from British Columbia to Newfoundland.

At the age of eight, his team did not have a goalie, so he figured he would give it a try. With virtually no goalie coaching whatsoever to work with in Japan, Sakai was making up for lost time quickly while visiting the "home of hockey” this summer.

"Driving into the puck, moving into the shot, squaring to the shooters,” are all skill sets Sakai said he's working on extensively in Sudbury. "And because there are no goalie coaches in my league, I'm learning a lot about the butterfly style,” he added.

The learning curve at RHP Training Centre was made that much easier for Sakai via the presence of Wakabayashi, who still works extensively with girls hockey associations in both Leaside and Etobicoke, providing tips for the young ladies who don the pads.

With his week spent in the area, Sakai now has at least a pair of connections to northern Ontario. Former Plymouth Whaler and Sault Ste. Marie native Cole Jarrett is one of three Import players who will suit up alongside the 6-3 netminder when play in the Asia League kicks off in September.

And Sakai said he is hopeful that it will be a noticeably different goalie that Jarrett and teammates notice once he's back on familiar ground.