By Taylor Lupetti — Assistant Executive Editor
Ambition — it’s what separates the good from the great.
Lior Raskin is in his first full season on the San Jose State club hockey team. Since joining the team at the end of last season, Raskin has brought fire to the team on and off the ice.
For the senior forward, hockey was not a game that was just picked up. Raskin stepped onto the ice for the first time when he was 5 but did not play hockey until he was 10.
“My dad wanted me to start learning how to skate better before I could start playing hockey,” Raskin said. “It’s like the integral of all of what hockey is and once you know how to skate, you can become better at any type of skill on the ice.”
The five years spent learning to skate gave the Taurus the benefit of being one of the fastest in the rink. The speed gives him an advantage over other teams, especially because he knows when to project his energy during a game.
“I bring energy to the bench and I also bring a lot of speed, since I did practice skating before I got onto the ice,” Raskin said. “I know when to use and generate my speed well.”
Before fully committing to the ice, Raskin spent time experimenting on other playing fields. Baseball and wrestling were both tried by the Taurus before realizing the true connection was with hockey.
“I had no hand-eye coordination in baseball and I didn’t do as well as I wanted to in wrestling,” he said. “I was already playing hockey during wrestling but I wanted to grow more into the sport because I felt that I could excel more in it.”
Joining the team in January as a walk-on, Raskin stepped up and viewed the opportunity as a chance to improve his game. Recognizing the chance to play with the best athletes of the team, he brought the Taurus ambition to the ice.
In addition to passion, Raskin prides himself in bringing positivity to the arena — not only for himself but his teammates as well.
“A lot of guys put their head down sometimes,” he said. “But I always say, there’s always another shift, there’s always another period, there’s always another minute of the game, there’s always room to excel and get better.”
The energy doesn’t go unnoticed by his teammates. Fellow forward, junior Nicholas Romeo recognizes the effort Raskin puts in to keep his team going in tough times.
“It’s easy to be a good teammate when things are going well, but it can be hard to maintain a good attitude in the rink when things aren’t going well personally, or for the team,” Romeo said. “He always has the same infectious intensity no matter the situation.”
Another trait the Taurus projects on to his team is reliability. His team can always count on him to be there in one way or another, according to senior defenseman Connor Downing.
“You can always trust that he’s going to wear his heart on his sleeve on the ice,” Downing said. “He’s going to make the plays that need to be made, even if it means getting hit to make the play.”
Although he doesn’t necessarily believe in the zodiac, Raskin displays the best traits displayed by the Taurus.
His passion and ambition drive himself and his team to be the best on the ice.
Follow Taylor on Twitter @tayclupetti