Ralph.

Not looking forward to being reminded how people down here drive in snow. Most can't even drive right in the rain. I mean, I know drivers everywhere suck, but a little snow and cold down here stirs panic like a pandemic in Madagascar.

So, the Canucks have put out their new wallpaper for October, as many of you know. If you haven't seen it, take a look: Now, look to the right and you'll see Ryan Kesler, as brought to CDC's attention by "Crazy'nucksFan" in Canucks Talk. Now, this may be a reference to Kesler's signature habit of "Keslurking," but then again, he's not wearing any shades, nor is he sporting John Garrett's old mask while creeping on Garrett and Shorthouse, as they try to hold back their smirks. There's nothing goofy like that, and that's what caught my attention the most. Look as his face. He's got his game face on, and he's all business. Looking at him in this wallpaper made me realize that my mind refuses to accept the Stanley Cup Finals as it stands, and it still hurts. That damn Stanley Cup Finals patch... As a fan of a team who's top players still get called "The Sisters" by some, even after back to back Art Ross winning seasons; A team home to a city that went insane after Bieksa sent the Sharks packing in the Western Conference Final for the first time in 17 years; and a team full of players I've loved watching my whole life... Seeing that little patch just kills, knowing what it's come to represent. I'm not saying the Bruins didn't deserve to win, because in all honesty, they did. They have their own story, their own passion, and their own determination to win, and they turned their dreams into a reality... On our home ice. What the patch means to me is it represents a season where the team finally became a winning team, without actually winning what matters. Had they stayed healthy, I believe they definitely could have beaten the Big Bad Bruins. Not that Boston wasn't a very worthy opponent, but you just can't deny all the skill this team has. People want to say the Canucks weren't tough? Tell that to Ryan Kesler's hip, Manny Malhotra's eye, and the many other players who played despite significant injuries. Kesler and Henrik Sedin essentially single handedly defeated the Nashville Predators and San Jose Sharks, respectively. Nobody can say that the two would could combine for zero points and a -6 in a game for the Stanley cup unless their capabilities were very significantly hindered. Not that the team claimed an excuse, but some slack needs to be cut. It was an incredibly emotional post-season to be a Canucks fan, and the whole time everyone I knew kept themselves in check and not getting ahead of themselves. Alex Burrows swats down a puck and slays the dragon in an instant. "They haven't won the cup yet." Daniel Sedin's PPG stands as the Game 6 and series clinching winner against Nashville. "They haven't won the cup yet. They've won nothing until Henrik lifts the Stanley Cup over his head." Kevin Bieksa astonishes everyone as he discovers the puck and throws it past Antti Niemi out of nowhere in overtime to send the Canucks to their first Stanley Cup Final since Greg Adams in 1994. "They haven't won the cup yet. They've won nothing until Henrik lifts the Stanley Cup over his head as the Canucks parade down Robson Street." I'm attending my first Canucks game tomorrow, and I can already tell it's going to have such a surreal feeling. I'll recognize every square inch of the arena I've spent so much time seeing it on TV. I'll look to my right and see the Canucks's blue line and all that'll pop into my head is, "That's where Bieksa scored that goal." Further to my right I'll see Vancouver's end-boards and think, "That's where the celebrations should have been on June 15th." And lastly, I'll look at my Canucks' bench and think, "That's where some of my heroes physically couldn't hold back tears, because something so personally tragic occurred to them, despite devoting their whole lives this this game and giving it everything that had, and then some." But it will hurt just the same, seeing it in person as it did on TV. It was the chance they had to silence all the critics, but just couldn't beat the inhuman Tim Thomas. Lots of people still blame Luongo, but it's a team game win or lose. In the three games the team won in that series, Luongo was as solid as anybody.There was such a complex combination of factors that led to the crumbling of the team, and when you watch your team play with such desperation and still come up short, after being so unstoppable all season long, it's not the easiest pill to swallow. The Art Ross, the Hart, the Selke, the President's Trophy — It all means nothing. But Kesler's expression leave's more than that. What it leaves is hope. You can feel exactly what he's feeling. He knew that if his team had won, everything he worked for his entire life would have finally paid off. If it didn't, he would have to face heartbreak and another season just to get a sniff at seeing his name etched in that silver. Obviously Game 7 hadn't ended yet, but his intensity and compete level is there. "The most Canadian American in the game." He has the drive and passion to get back there, and it's infectious among teammates and fans alike. We all know the Canucks are getting back into the playoffs this year, likely with their fourth consecutive division title. Let's not kid ourselves. But that doesn't matter. What matters is the 16 wins they need to get after Game #82. He and the rest of the team know what they have to do to be prepared to get back to the big show in 2012, and I think they'll get there. They've all been there once now, and they're hungrier to win than ever. If they do win it all this season, what that patch represents will be changed entirely. It will not longer represent what was arguably the most heartbreaking season in Canucks history, but the last bit of hunger it brought that the team needed to gain before they were starving enough to say, "Enough is enough. We're taking home the cup now, and nobody is stopping us." Bring on 2012.

Nothing in Abbotsford.

Oh, derp. I can't believe I missed that.

I wouldn't think so. Pretty sure this is a separate system.

Thanks! I was thinking about looking for some more and go into it a bit further, but I've had a headache all day and hoped this would be enough to make his case. Cheers!

Alright, let me start off by saying this: I'm not typically a blogger. However, in this case I figured since there have already been so many Kesler/Selke threads, this might be an effective alternative. I was just pondering the other day about just how realistic the odds are that Ryan Kesler of the Vancouver Canucks wins the National Hockey League's Frank J. Selke trophy at the season's conclusion. Below is a series of tables depicting the stats of Ryan Kesler and Pavel Datsyuk (Kesler's most significant competition for the trophy). These two players should be considered consistent enough to keep these paces all through to the end of the year. Now, before you jump to conclusions, I am in no way claiming Kesler is seven times the defensive player Datsyuk is. These numbers represent these two players only, and compared to the league average, they are both miles and miles ahead. When looked at on a greater scale (comparing to the rest of the players in the league), these two would both be at the top, and the apparent difference between them would be drastically less. keep that in mind when you look at the above tables. All stats taken from NHL.com. Anyway, on to to argument! Games Played has been left out of the final equation, as this is based on averages (what they do per game). While Datsyuk's games missed will likely factor into the debate, that is not a factor that should be added into these numbers. Hits: Finishing you check does more than make a player realize he shouldn't be watching his pass or help get the crowd into the game. When a player receives a hit, it adds into his mental awareness, thus causing a sleight distraction from the play he is making. A player anticipating a hit may be more prone to give aways, for example. It also can cause the opposition to become frustrated and lead to a bad penalty. It's not the most important defensive ability, but it's a start. Kesler gets almost an extra half a hit per game than Datsyuk, so he is the winner under this category. Shot blocks: Shot blocking, whether it be on the PK or at even strength is a huge asset to any team. Obviously goals come directly from shots, so it's clear why it's defensively huge. While not all shot blocks stop shots that are absolutely guaranteed to go in anyway, it's always a plus if you can help out your goaltender. need I go on? I was surprised to learn that Datsyuk had just 11 shot blocks through his 37 games. Considering Kesler averages one a game, he wins this category by a considerable margin. Give Aways: It doesn't take a genius to realize giving away the puck is bad. Posessing the puck means the opposition likely won't score (unless you're Shane O'Brien ). Giving away the puck, especially at the blue line, tends to lead to either break aways or 2-on-1 rushes against your team. Even giving it away in your own zone can lead to miniature instances of those. Kesler's 0.25 give aways/game is less than half of Datsyuk's 0.57/game. By giving up the puck half as much as Pavel, Ryan simply protects his team from more scoring chances. Take Aways: The opposite of give aways. Once again, the more your team possesses the puck the better. Taking the puck away from the opposition is just that. Just like giving the puck away can lead to breakaways and odd man rushes against you, take aways can lead to them for you. Now I don't completely buy into "a good offense is a good defense (and vise-versa)," it's pretty hard to get scored on when you have the puck 190 feet away from your goal, while putting the puck in their. This is the area Datsyuk wins easily. With 80% more take aways than Kesler, Pavel wins this round hands down. Give Away/Take Away Ratio: If a player takes away the puck ten times as many times as he gives it up, it can be accepted if the player in question gives up the puck a bit more than most. Datsyuk and Kesler are both very good in this department. You can't complain about Datsyuk taking the puck over twice as much as he gives it up, and you certainly can't complain about Kesler taking it three times as much as giving it. Er, we're talking about hockey, not the bedroom, right? Anyways, all... distracting thoughts aside, Kesler does win in this area. However, both players are absolutely phenomenal. Faceoffs/Faceoff Percentage/Total Team Faceoffs: Right off the bat here, I want to say that Kesler and Datsyuk are so evenly matched in the dot, that I wouldn't consider Kesler's extra .3% success rate too significant. What is significant, however, is the amount Kesler takes. Now, I'm not saying the Red Wings aren't good down the middle. What I will bring up though is that Vancouver is just a bit deeper. The Canucks are the 1st ranked faceoff team in the league, while Detroit is 4th. Now, with Malhotra being our main defensive center and Henrik our offensive, Kesler falls into the middle. Datsyuk doesn't seem to be utilized as much as Kesler on faceoffs. Both players put up points offensively, but Kesler takes almost 6% more of the team's faceoffs than Pavel. One can only assume that Kesler takes more defensive zone draws, even with Manny Malhotra, a faceoff and defensive juggernaut, on the team. This is why Kesler wins in the circle. he doesn't beat him out by a whole lot, but faceoffs are huge, as our Canucks have learned this season. Special Teams Minutes: Penalty killing is a large reason why defensive players are so valuable. This season at least, Datsyuk doesn't appear to be much of a PKer. He averages 47 seconds of short-handed time a game. It isn't nothing, but it's significantly less than RK17. Kesler averages 2:23 of PK time a game. Still, not really huge compared to other players in the league, but here's the thing: he also averages 3:42 of power play time. It's just a tad bit more than Datsyuk's 3:21. This means that while Kesler has been effectively matching Pavel's offensive play this season, he's also been superior in contrasting situations. Again, I don't want to give the impression I consider Kesler a much better player than Datsyuk. In fact, I think anyone who doesn't consider Datsyuk one of the league's elite never had any marbles to begin with. Not every season is the same story though, and this season is just that. Kesler has stepped up in a huge way. He's been disciplined, he's played with heart, he's a great leader, and he's been absolutely lights out at both ends of the rink. Some are even considering him the dark horse for the Hart Trophy, and that's a huge compliment to his play. When you really break it down, it's looking more and more like this is the year Kesler wins his first major NHL award, while the same can be said about the trophy his team has been after all these years in this, their 40th season. Looks an awful lot like the saying, "You can't spell Kesler without Selke," used amongst Canucks fans may soon realize what it suggests. Thanks for reading, and Go Canucks Go! Legend: GP - Games Played Hits - Self Explanitory BkS - Blocks GvA - Give Aways TkA - Take Aways G/TR - Give Away/Take Away Ratio FO - Total Faceoffs FO% - Faceoff Percentage %TmF - Percentage of Team Faceoffs The "losers" percentage is the base percentage (100%). The winner's is compared to that.

You guys have it easy down there. I had to walk half an hour in -30 wind chill to a 5 minute job interview, and back (up hill the second time). It was cold, snowy as hell, and dark. But I did it in my Canucks sweater.

Awesome!

I haven't really played this in about two months. Maybe I'll give it another go tonight.

Come Clarity - In Flames