North Iowa forward Sato signs NAHL tender

June 3, 2015

The North Iowa Bulls of the NA3HL are proud to announce that Bulls forward Kohei Sato has signed a tender agreement in the NAHL.  

 

Sato took a leap of faith by tendering with the NA3HL North Iowa Bulls in the summer of 2014.  The native of Tokyo, Japan has turned that leap into another tender opportunity, this time in the NAHL with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Knights.  

 

"I saw Kohei at an NAHL pre-draft tryout and was immediately captivated by the speed of his game.  He was flying around the rink, playing physical, and creating scoring opportunities.  That was enough for me to contact his advisor and work towards signing him with us," said Bulls head coach Todd Sanden.

 

Kohei is the second Bulls player to tender in the NAHL who was part of the NA3HL Top Prospects Tournament in Ann Arbor, MI this year.  Kohei was a point leader for the NA3HL 18U Selects team that represented all divisions of the NA3HL at this years event.  Kohei tallied one goal, which was a beautiful break away game winner, and one assist in the event.  

 

Kohei recorded 16 points in 27 West division contests on 7 goals and 9 assists.  He had points in every special teams column as well proving that he could be effective in all situations.  Kohei proved to be a force on the penalty kill where his speed forced opponents into uncomfortable decision making.  During the 2015 USA Hockey National Championships Kohei's speed on the PK resulted in him notching a short handed goal in a 2-1 decision for the Bulls. 

 

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Knights head coach Justin Lyle had this to say about signing Sato, "We are very excited to offer Kohei Sato a tender for the upcoming season.  We believe his foot speed and his skill set will create offense for the Knights." 

 

Sato offered these comments on his time with the Bulls, "I love the Bulls!  This team and my teammates and this town was a great experience for me.  I want to thank my billets Kathy and Tony Corsello, and also Heather Jo Bailey for getting me in Mason City high school to finish my senior year.  I also want to thank my coaches for their time helping me work on the things that I needed to improve on.  Thank you fans for making every home game amazing!"

 

Kohei Sato is the fourth player from the 2014-15 North Iowa squad to sign a tender with an NAHL team and the 16th player overall from this years team to develop and advance as a result of playing with the Bulls.  The North Iowa Bulls wish Kohei Sato and the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Knights much success in the upcoming season and thank both for their commitment to "Bulls Hockey".