He’s Canadian. He’s a life-long Blue Jays fan. He thought this moment was coming a year ago, but then he stepped on a sprinkler on Day 1 of training camp and tore up his knee.

So, yes, you’ll have a hard time finding a player in the Blue Jays lineup who’s more excited about Friday’s home opener than Michael Saunders.

“This is a long-awaited opening night for me—I’m expecting a playoff atmosphere,” the 29-year-old from Victoria, B.C., said, grinning.

Saunders, the six-foot-five outfielder who the Jays acquired from Seattle in December of 2014 (for pitcher J.A. Happ, who has since returned to Toronto), spent all but nine games on the shelf last season, rehabbing his left knee, instead of starting in left field, as expected.

“I was really excited last year to get traded over here,” he said. “Despite growing up on the other side of the country, this is my hometown team. It was always a dream of mine one day before I hung up the spikes to go play for the Blue Jays.

“I finally got that opportunity, and to have it come to a stop immediately, it was devastating.”

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First, he was supposed to be out four to six weeks. Then Saunders was told the surgery had gone well and he’d be able to return sooner. Then a bone bruise developed in his knee and he was out nearly the entire season. “It was a rough one for me,” said Saunders.

In other words, he’s ready for a full season in Toronto. He missed Wednesday’s 5-3 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays due to a tight hamstring, but says he he’ll be back in the lineup on Friday. Saunders, who’s gone 3-for-12 at the plate, is calling this his “redemption year.”

“I’m starting to come into my own, starting to get into the prime of my baseball career now, more so mentally than physically, and I think I’m ready to take that next step,” he said. “What better lineup to do it with than here and what better team to do it with than here? I’m ready to contribute.”

He also feels as though the jitters he had at the beginning of the season are gone. Saunders is a high-energy guy—you can see it when he’s sitting in the dugout having a conversation, his right leg bopping up and down, non-stop.

“The first couple games, my heart was going pretty fast,” he said, leg bopping. “I’ve finally been able to slow the game down. That’s the thing I battle with most, because I get all excited playing in front of the fans.”

That’s an emotion he’ll have to try to control on Friday night, though he says since he has his long-awaited first home run as a Blue Jay—it came in the second game of the season, off Rays left-hander Drew Smyly—the monkey is off his back: “Now I can relax.”

He’s looking forward to hearing his name announced in the starting lineup on Friday night in front of a sold out crowd in Toronto.

“This home opener is more important than any I’ve been a part of,” he said. “I loved my time in Seattle, but this is a very special place for me.”

As for that playoff atmosphere, Saunders isn’t anticipating it’ll feel that way at the Rogers Centre only on Friday: “I’m expecting it all year,” he said.