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Zack Kassian expectations for next season?


The Dark Knight

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Guest AriGold

I want to see what i call a "Physical 20"

He has such a big body i want him to lead the Canucks in hits and get 20 points. Those are my legit expectations for him. Im expecting him to finish roughly -10 this season which is fine, he will get better with age.

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I have high hopes for him though I know it would take time.

I'd really like to see a kid line out there instead of our bangers. Like

Sedins and burrows

Kes/booth/Raymond

Lapierre/Higgins/Hansen

Schroeder/Jensen/kassian

Roll three lines and opportunistically insert 4th. Don't give them too much time 7-8 min let game just quick bursts of attack and roll them out with top D's for back up when it shifts back and train themto attack and back check properly an get off the ice.

Kassian and Jensen realistically need more time in the A but my dream scenario has them just out there having fun and being super creative youngsters and scoring 40-50 goals between the three of them. It could wreak havoc on the opposing coaches line matching that way.

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I have high hopes for him though I know it would take time.

I'd really like to see a kid line out there instead of our bangers. Like

Sedins and burrows

Kes/booth/Raymond

Lapierre/Higgins/Hansen

Schroeder/Jensen/kassian

Roll three lines and opportunistically insert 4th. Don't give them too much time 7-8 min let game just quick bursts of attack and roll them out with top D's for back up when it shifts back and train themto attack and back check properly an get off the ice.

Kassian and Jensen realistically need more time in the A but my dream scenario has them just out there having fun and being super creative youngsters and scoring 40-50 goals between the three of them. It could wreak havoc on the opposing coaches line matching that way.

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Reading the multitude of expectations set for Kassian in this thread, I must admit I see a recurrence of what Hodgson was expected to do when he was the Canuck prosect of choice a couple of years ago. Those are not Kassians personal expectations of himself they are the expectations of those who know litle about him or what he is capable of achieving. All to often, fans set themselves up for disappointment. Only Kassian can control his own destiny.

I only hope fans will accept his development and the time it will take him to develop as a matter of course rather than being over stipulative in that respect.

IMHO Kassian looked like a lost lamb out there on the ice last season. He has little, if any AHL experience and needs to now learn to play the game before he can be graded or predictions are made on his unknown potential.

He needs to develop at his own pace and learn effective hockey skills in accordance with more learned and skilled opposition. He is a big, rugged player who has showed a level of competence for playing hockey but the level of competence he has displayed falls short of what is needed to be an effective hockey player in the NHL. To expect more than that from him, or suggest he should score a certain number of gaols and or assistss is premature at best.

The most important facet or aspect to be learned in hockey in this day and age is to play sound defensive hockey. A player learns to think out there in a split second by being pressed into a frequent and continueous variation of defensive scenerios in order to learn the correct defensive response. Kassian needs that experience. Whatever offensive hockey skill level he has now will certainly not sustain or guarantee him much success in the NHL at this juncture of his hockey career.

I am not trying to discredit Kassian in any way. I simply believe he needs to learn a lot more about his trade and that can only be achieved in the AH for however long it takes. Fans need to remain patient with the development of all our young players.

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I really don't care how many points he puts up. The most important thing for him is to play the right way and try bringing consistency to his game, whether that be in the NHL or AHL. He's still a very raw prospect and his career can either follow Bertuzzi's or Steve Bernier's so let's not rush him.

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It really depends how AV decides to use him. He might even wind up in the AHL for a season depending, who knows.

If he winds up on the 4th line, I'd expect around 20 points and hopefully a positive +-.

I sort of doubt he'll wind up on the 3rd line because AV typically uses that for a checking line...

If they play him on the 2nd line, I'd expect 30-50 points and 15 goals. I have a feeling he'll be bouncing around the 4th and 2nd lines for this season depending, so I'd expect it somewhere in the middle. So 20-35 points seems reasonable. Maybe 8 goals or something.

But yeah, like I said, it really depends on AV and how Kassian gets used.

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I like the guy, and can't wait to see what his body of work will look like in a decade...but Bertuzzi is an exception to the rule. he put in 18 goals his rookie season fresh out of the OHL..no AHL time. Bertuzzi was and is very very elitely good, too bad he broke a guys neck and ended his tenure in Vancouver with just one punch.

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I like the guy, and can't wait to see what his body of work will look like in a decade...but Bertuzzi is an exception to the rule. he put in 18 goals his rookie season fresh out of the OHL..no AHL time. Bertuzzi was and is very very elitely good, too bad he broke a guys neck and ended his tenure in Vancouver with just one punch.

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