Canton's Krolicki makes an Impact as rookie with MLS Montreal Former Michigan State standout has started 13 games in his inaugural season

Brad Emons | Hometown Life

If soccer is truly the international game, then Major League Soccer rookie Ken Krolicki is nothing short of an international success story.

Born in Fukuoka, Japan before settling in to live with his father and then his grandparents in Canton as a teenager, the 22-year-old former standout midfielder from Michigan State University has started 13 games this season for the Montreal Impact, who stand 8-12 in the Eastern Conference.

Playing for the Impact in the bilingual city in Quebec province has become just another chapter in Krolicki's international adventure.

"It's not that hard, most everybody speaks English, for the most part, so I think it's not as hard as coming from Japan to the United States," said Krolicki, who is fluent in both English and Japanese. "I'm trying to learn French as well, because I'm trying to fit into the culture here. That's my goal, for now, trying to at least understand what the coaches are saying ... they also speak in English, but sometimes they also speak in French. That's my goal, to be able to communicate with the coaches in French and my teammates."

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After graduating from Canton in 2013, Krolicki enjoyed four productive seasons at MSU, where he recorded seven goals and 14 assists in 81 career games, including 67 starts. As a senior, he helped the Spartans reach the quarterfinals of the NCAA tournament and was named first team all-Big Ten and all-Midwest Region.

On Jan. 21, the Impact took Krolicki with the seventh pick of the third round (53rd overall) in the MLS SuperDraft. He signed a one-year deal (with three option years) Feb. 28.

Although he has yet to score a goal or collect an assist, Krolicki has found his nichè, starting the last three games as Montreal has captured three of its last four while contending for a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.

It's been a rapid learning curve for Krolicki, who had to adjust to the speed of MLS play.

"Everybody is good, so you have to be focused every practice, every play," he said. "As opposed in college, sometimes you don't have to have your 'A' game and you can still get away with it because the level is not as high. But in the pros, if you take a break and you're not playing your best game, then the other team will punish you. I think the mental part of it is the biggest adjustment that I've made within the last year."

The pro game is definitely a different style, according to the 5-foot-10, 155-pound midfielder.

"When I was in college or even at high school, I used to just run wherever I felt like I needed to be," Krolicki said. "But Rémi (Garde), the head coach at the Montreal Impact, taught me a lot of things. It's just not necessarily running a lot, it's just running efficiently and just being in the right spot at the right time. I'm not running as much as I used to, say in college or in high school, but I'm more efficient with the energy that I have on the field. Just the short sprints more defensively, especially when the positioning is important, so he's taught me a lot of things that way. So I think I'm more efficient going forward, as well as defending."

The Impact, who are 6-3 at home and 2-9 on the road, play in 20,000-seat Stade Saputo.

"The fans are great," Krolicki said. "Every game, the turnout is awesome. When you play well, they cheer for you. Even when we lose, sometimes they might be hard on us ... that pushes you throughout the season to be better. Their support is a plus for us. It's been great for me so far."

Krolicki's first home, however, was Japan. That's where his soccer seeds were planted. He was a 2010 all-city select player in Kitakyushu in Southern Japan, helping his team qualify for the all-prefecture.

"I've always wanted to be a professional soccer player since I could remember," Krolicki said. "That has been my goal since I was a little kid. That didn't change, even when I came to the States."

Krolicki's father Kevin, a journalist who currently works for Thomson Reuters in Singapore, Indonesia, relocated to the company's Detroit headquarters with his two brothers Shean and Wray, along with sister Yuki. (His mother Minako Sugiyama still lives in Japan.)

"When I finished middle school, when I was 14, I just wanted to come to the States because my dad was American and I really didn't speak any English," Krolicki said. "It was a better opportunity for me to become a professional soccer player and my dad told me about college soccer. I thought it was going to be better for me to come here and all aspects of my life, soccer-wise and educational-wise. When I was 14, I decided I was going to move in with my dad."

The transition, however, was not easy, to say the least.

"I actually didn't speak any English when I was in Japan," Krolicki said. "That was one of my main reasons I came to the States, to learn English. I really didn't know much about the American culture, the American side of my family. I always lived with my mom. For me, it was to learn the other side of my ancestry. That was one of my main reasons why I came here."

After his father moved to Washington D.C., Krolicki stayed in Canton his junior and senior years of high school, living with his grandparents and playing for the Chiefs. As a sophomore, in 2011, he was a member of Canton's Division 1 state championship team.

Both Shean, who also played soccer at Canton, and Yuki, are University of Michigan grads and engineers living in Michigan. Wray, who is 9, currently lives with his father in Singapore.

"It was very tough," said Krolicki, who majored in applied engineering at MSU. "I was young. Everything I knew about American high school was through CDs or movies. I didn't know what to expect and, obviously, the language part was tough, not being able to express myself and trying to understand what people were saying to me. I think those things were really, really tough, especially when you're 14, 15, 16. But my family supported me throughout the journey, so they made it easier for me and my brother and sister as well."

Krolicki enjoyed a decorated club career, starting with the Michigan Jaguars before going to play for the Crew Academy Wolves U-16 and U-18 teams in 2013 and 2014, when he was coached by Lars Richters and Brian Doyle.

"He's a very, very good man," Krolicki said of Richters. "He was my mentor as well in high school. He gave me a chance to play for him. I learned a lot from him on and off the field, so I'm very grateful for that ... for him and Brian Doyle as well."

With his father being American and his mother Japanese, Krolicki enjoyed dual citizenship. Because of that, he'd be eligible to play for either country's national team.

"If they (Japan) call me or the U.S., I'm more than happy to play for either country," he said. "We'll see what happens."

After growing up in Japan and moving to the U.S., it's ironic that Krolicki now has found a new landing spot in Canada. He first got a taste north of the border when he played last summer for the Kitchener-Waterloo (Ontario) United of the Premier Development League.

"It's a lot easier coming from Japan to the United States, for sure," he said. "It's nothing new to me. I'm a lot older now. ... It's kind of a weird story, but it's interesting as well."

Contact Brad Emons at bemons@hometownlife.com. Follow him on Twitter: @BradEmons1.