Fukufuji to play in Holland

26 year old goalie Yutaka Fukufuji has signed with Dutch club DESTIL Trappers of Tilburg. He hopes that this move will open doors for him to move around in Europe aiming for higher leagues in Germany, Italy, France, etc. Fukufuji and the Trappers’ new coach Mark Pederson were together with the Bakersfield Condors last season. Fukufuji did not receive an offer to re-sign with the team, but he did not make the reason clear in his blog. He considered returning to Japan, but he feared that once he gets back here, that he would never challenge himself again abroad.

Despite the fact that he sunk when thrown into NHL waters prematurely when the LA Kings wanted to avoid having Jason LaBarbera claimed off waivers, Fukufuji did put up respectable numbers in the AHL when given the chance. But I guess he felt frustrated that he was not being given a chance to perform at a higher level in North America despite performing well on mediocre teams.

Advertisement