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Kesler our own version of Ovechkin? Hear me out!


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I could make this same thread to say Kesler is like Holmstrom since they both are very good sitting in front of the net on the PP, screening and tipping goals in off of shots from other players.

Players have similarities to other players. They aren't the same as, or our own version of, those players, however.

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I don't understand how you can expect kesler just to develop natural offensive abilities. I give him credit for improving his shot but I don't think you can just become, for instance, a Joe Sakic if you never had it in you in the first place.

For the majority of his career, if I'm correct, he was a good two way player not an offensive Juggernaut.

My point is, i don't think he ever will be or have great vision to be a passer if he never was in the beginning. So if he ever was to be Nucks number one centre in the future it probably would be good to have someone on his line who has that offensive vision. Don't forget, Kesler, started to improve point wise playing with Mats Sundin and/or Sedins on the PP.

Who knows if he would of been more than a 3rd line centre if Gillis or Av didn't develop him or provided the pieces to him to be a top notch centre.

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Kesler is an enigma.

He put on one of the best individual performances I've ever seen against Nashville, and scored 5 goals in 6 games. However, in the other 47 playoff games he's played, he has a grand total of...5 goals.

He looks deadly on the PP though. Why? Because he's on the wing, playing with playmakers. So either get a playmaking winger for his line, or convert him to wing.

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I don't understand how you can expect kesler just to develop natural offensive abilities. I give him credit for improving his shot but I don't think you can just become, for instance, a Joe Sakic if you never had it in you in the first place.

For the majority of his career, if I'm correct, he was a good two way player not an offensive Juggernaut.

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Kes has only been back for three games, so how about we give him a chance to fully settle back in before passing judgment?

I think he's looked pretty good for having played three games only, and yes, old habits die hard, but he looks like he's trying to clean up his Greg Louganis impersonations (I thought the diving penalty from the other night was more because of his reputation than what really happened).

If the problem of Kes's one-man show persists, perhaps the one player that can play effectively with him is Burr. Burr is a chameleon who seems to be able to play with whoever and whomever, and he's shown to have chemistry with Kes in the past. Slot in Higgins with them, as Higgins seems pretty unflappable when it comes to who he plays with (i.e., his game doesn't really change regardless of who he plays with). There are options that can be slotted in with the Sedins for moving Burr off that line.

Back to Kes/Ovie comparison...I think Ovie is trying to be something he's not -- a power forward bashing and bruising his way through the opposition defence, when, in spite of his size, he's more of a finesse player who possesses power moves to the net. That's what he did when he was racking up the big points, and that's what he should go back to...Kes is more rounded than Ovie, and his strengths lie more in his ability to be a shut down centerman...maybe he thinks he's a pretty boy since his Selke season (coupled with his 40+ goals) and he needs to re-orient himself to what he does best, which is deliver 60 points per year and shutdown the top centres on other teams.

One thing I can say about Kes is that he makes the Sedins better by taking off some of the scoring pressure that is placed on them. The Sedins look more relaxed since Kes's return and their production has improved.

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Hmmm. Almost seems like the only thing similar is they are getting the same criticism.

2 very different players altogether.

Teams play both players tight now. Though Ovie was pretty darn good at beating double teams and 1 on 1 when he first started, as mentioned by nuck7635. He also can dish too. The numbers are actually flattering for how many assists he has garnered. People just dont key on that because he is expected to shoot first. The last few years he has started to become more rounded defensively, he is still a work in progress, in that regard.

Kes' trajectory is the opposite. He was defensively sound, and made a name for himself for it. And added goal scoring to his repertoire. But he can dish as well. I dont think his strength lies in playmaking as it does forechecking, but he can dish too.

This knock about him not using his wingers will linger because of comments from AV. And given the circumstances, Kes was basically crippled in that particular season, and AV was correct. His shot was hampered and he was best served passing.

The sentiment of moving him to wing 5 on 5 would only happen if we were flush with ace face off centermen. We are not. Kes dominates at the dot. And i like him at center.

Like someone else previously posted, and was a major point of discussion years ago on CDC, was his similarity to Mike Richards.

That is a more apt comparison.

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Kes has only been back for three games, so how about we give him a chance to fully settle back in before passing judgment?

I think he's looked pretty good for having played three games only, and yes, old habits die hard, but he looks like he's trying to clean up his Greg Louganis impersonations (I thought the diving penalty from the other night was more because of his reputation than what really happened).

If the problem of Kes's one-man show persists, perhaps the one player that can play effectively with him is Burr. Burr is a chameleon who seems to be able to play with whoever and whomever, and he's shown to have chemistry with Kes in the past. Slot in Higgins with them, as Higgins seems pretty unflappable when it comes to who he plays with (i.e., his game doesn't really change regardless of who he plays with). There are options that can be slotted in with the Sedins for moving Burr off that line.

Back to Kes/Ovie comparison...I think Ovie is trying to be something he's not -- a power forward bashing and bruising his way through the opposition defence, when, in spite of his size, he's more of a finesse player who possesses power moves to the net. That's what he did when he was racking up the big points, and that's what he should go back to...Kes is more rounded than Ovie, and his strengths lie more in his ability to be a shut down centerman...maybe he thinks he's a pretty boy since his Selke season (coupled with his 40+ goals) and he needs to re-orient himself to what he does best, which is deliver 60 points per year and shutdown the top centres on other teams.

One thing I can say about Kes is that he makes the Sedins better by taking off some of the scoring pressure that is placed on them. The Sedins look more relaxed since Kes's return and their production has improved.

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Guest Gumballthechewy

Kesler is an enigma.

He put on one of the best individual performances I've ever seen against Nashville, and scored 5 goals in 6 games. However, in the other 47 playoff games he's played, he has a grand total of...5 goals.

He looks deadly on the PP though. Why? Because he's on the wing, playing with playmakers. So either get a playmaking winger for his line, or convert him to wing.

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the OP is not saying the Canucks took a sample of Semin (intentional) from Ovechkin and impregnated a woman to carry a clone of OV and sped up its growth and maturation and that turned out to be Kesler. What he is saying is that the circumstances surrounding the two players are similar.

Infact people can make lots of threads about players being like other players cause they play the same sport.

What would be off if the OP made a thread saying something like Kesler is the Canucks' Alex Rodriguez.

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