UNIONDALE, N.Y. -- Of the almost 50 players that attended the New York Islanders' developmental camp last week, there was one invitee that really stood out -- for geographic reasons.
Mei Ushu, a 20-year old, 6-foot, 196-pound defenseman from Japan started playing hockey when he was seven years old after friends got him into it. Even with the young start he didn't expect to be playing at age 20, Ushu said through his interpreter, Taka Shirai.
In those 13 years since taking up the sport, Ushu has quickly risen up the ranks of the growing hockey culture in Japan. Currently playing for Waseda University in Shinjuko, Tokyo, Ushu has played for Japan's U-18 and U-20 National teams, captaining the latter.
The connection between the Islanders and Ushu is through Shirai, who used to intern with the team. He keeps in contact with Islanders GM Garth Snow and arranged for Ushu to participate in this year's development camp. At last year's developmental camp, Kotaro Yamada represented Japan as an invitee.
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He's a pretty big boy, but it remains to be seen if he can handle the physical nature of the North American game
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