Option 2:

Ryosuke Sato is very good at bringing up the mood of the young ones. When the team isn't doing as well as they had hoped and the slow rebuild is still going, Sato is there to wave away the worries of the young guns in terms of their play. They see the aging and old Sato still giving it his all on the ice and making mistakes, but the mistakes and poor statistics don't bother him too much anymore, nor should it bother the future play of the rookies. A lot of the Toronto North Stars are still growing and improving and a lot of mistakes will be made until the team becomes elite, but that is all a part of the process and Sato is there to help them learn and understand that greatness isn't achieved in one season. It took many a seasons before even Sato made an impact in the league and it was a team effort at the end of the day.