TheRussianRocket. Posted January 9, 2014 Share Posted January 9, 2014 Zack Kassian has been on fire as of late. No he hasn't been averaging 3 points per game or anything of that sort, but his overall game has bumped up quite a bit. Still has some ways to go with his development but at least we are seeing him progress slowly and steadily. Also want to add Kassian and Torts deserve more credit. Torts when he came here was given a experiment gift wrapped ready to see what was inside beheld in Kassian. Turned out Torts wouldn't give Kassian a get out of jail free card and treated him the same way he has treated every player. If you can't play defense/can't be reliable in your own end you won't play much and seeing that as a flaw in Zack's play, Torts practically disassembled Zack and rebuilt him from the ground up. If you can remember, Zack was initially supposed to play alongside the Sedins at the beginning of the season but I think it was a good move on Tortorella not forcing that and instead slowing down the game for Kassian and giving him smaller sample minutes on the ice to play around with. Guess Torts realized he'd be giving special treatment to Kass if he just slotted him on the top line since there were holes in his game so he crossed off that idea and focused more on fixing his play. Looking at it now, it has gone a long ways in a very positive manner. Kassian could have easily been spoon-fed by the Sedins but that wouldn't have been an honest evaluation of his play cause anyone will inflate their stats alongside the twins. What will happen when the Sedins are injured or retired/gone, would Kassian be able to produce at the same rate then? Most likely not, thus why Torts taking the long route with Kassian I believe has been one of the best decisions he has made in his short time here practically remoulding Kassian almost entirely. Yesterday's game against Pittsburgh was easily Kassian's best game this season and may just have been his best game as a Canuck. Finally after a long waited time, we are starting to see the patient development take it's effect. Kassian played outstanding and was finally given a shot on the top 6 alongside Kesler and Higgins and he took the opportunity and ran with it putting on a solid performance. Kassian recorded a season high 18:03 of total ice time, season high 22 shifts, averaging 49 seconds per shift, 2 shots, 1 goal, 1 assist, +1 rating, 50% shooting percentage, and 6 hits; just brilliant...If that's not signs of a young PF on the rise maturing, I'm not sure what is so cut the kid some slack and he'll turn out just fine. Here are some other general stats Kass has this season which should raise the eyebrows of some: • 8 goals, 3 assists, for a total of 11 points in 39 games played - all of which have come even strength. • averaging only 11:59 of ice per game - considered 3rd/4th line minutes producing at about that rate. • has only 41 shots on net (even Tanev and have Richardson have more) but a whopping shooting percentage of 19.5% good for 35th in the entire league - if anything, this is a positive and shows that Kassian has a very smart shot selection and has a high conversion rate because of it. Basically every 5 shots on net, Kassian will score once which is pretty damn impressive and in the rate of some of the elite scorers...obviously Kassian doesn't have that label but shows he picks his shots wisely. • has a -4 +/- rating and registered 41 hits - pretty good actually considering he was moulded to make defense a priority in his game, something which wasn't there before Torts renovated his play and the hits are somewhat low but I guess they'll come with more icetime as yesterday's game showcased. • on pace for 15 goals, 5 assists, 20 points, -7 rating, 79 shots, 103 hits - based on if he continues to receive an average of 11:59 icetime per game. Not too shabby for 3rd line minutes and his assist stats are somewhat tarnished because passing is a strong area in his game and just seems his line mates aren't able to finish the play with feeds from Zack. • averages 16 shifts per game with a duration of 45 seconds each shift - seems just right so far into the season as Kassian has been adapting to the changes Torts seeks. Not too much more is too little; just right for him to get a hold of things and wrap his head around and play simple. • scored 1 goal when trailing by 2 goals, 3 goals when the game is tied, and 4 goals when up by 1 goal - shows Kass isn't scoring when the game is out of hand and actually contributes during key moments/situations of the game. • of those goals, he has scored once in the 1st period, three times in the 2nd period, and four times in the 3rd period - shows takes time for him to get going as majority of the goals come after the 1st stanza. • has 47 penalty minutes good enough for 54th in the league (three 5 minute fighting majors, two 10 minute misconducts, 2 roughing, 1 charging, 1 boarding, 2 delay of games) - taking a look at the types of penalties he has got, shows most the penalties he receives are a byproduct of his physical play and very rarely will he make a clumsy delay of game play. ..it's nice to see Kassian is making an impact with the limited ice time he's been getting and even then it suits him well as he is learning to play a diff style of hockey, one which brings whole new dimensions into his game and ones which will ultimately make the the best player he can possibly be. Hope Kass starts seeing a bit more ice than his current average. He's proving he is adapting well with Coach T building him from the bottom up to fill in holes in his game and if anything, last nights performance is a sign of better things to come. Very pleased with the slow, steady, patient development of Kass and am looking forward to seeing him play when given a bigger role sometime down the road. Sorry for the long read but hope it was informative Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RKESLER17 Posted January 9, 2014 Share Posted January 9, 2014 Id like to see him flourish in the next few years on a line with Bo Horvat as our 3rd line center. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maz Posted January 9, 2014 Share Posted January 9, 2014 Kass is big and ugly and will turn out great given enough time. Really glad Torts is the coach who isn't afraid to kick his rear into shape and get him where he needs to be. Unlike any previous coaches we may have had who were slightly unwilling to be direct and lay down the law. He's got a great shot too. Once he learns to cause more ruckus in "the blue" is when he'll really start to come into his own Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Outsiders Posted January 9, 2014 Share Posted January 9, 2014 Kassain has been playing great on a line with Kesler Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pennywise! Posted January 9, 2014 Share Posted January 9, 2014 He just needs confidence through experience… you can see him getting better as the year moves on. I think Kesler and Kassian will be a good duo on the second line in the coming years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hectic Posted January 9, 2014 Share Posted January 9, 2014 Great post Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TommiSantala25 Posted January 9, 2014 Share Posted January 9, 2014 Kassian's worst enemy is himself. If he can put any off the ice stuff behind him and act like a professional, he can become a premier scoring threat. He has been playing well lately but consistency is a beautiful thing, and the Canucks need him to show it over a larger portion of games. The sky is the limit for Kassian as long as he applies himself to being the ultimate professional and showing the team that he means business. Let's not forgot (putting that suspension behind him) that Kassian's issues off the ice have been brought to question. The last guy I saw that had that type of personality was Shane O'Brien and we call all agree him leaving was a good thing in terms of team focus. Kassian wants to become the next Todd Bertuzzi, but even Todd didn't have off the ice issues in the early going of his career. So Zack just needs to stay focused and he will gain the trust of the coaches and praise of the fans. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick Grimes Posted January 9, 2014 Share Posted January 9, 2014 I'm not surprised, I've preached patience and have been excited to have Kassian in a Canucks uniform from Day 1. He is going to be something special for us for a very long time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jejejester Posted January 9, 2014 Share Posted January 9, 2014 Kassian has all the tools to be a good nhl player. He is big, fast, good vision, and has a great shot. He is a future top 6 player for this team Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RunningWild Posted January 9, 2014 Share Posted January 9, 2014 A great article on Kassian from Cam Charron (stats nerd). The article talks about Kassians usage under Torts. Personally, it makes ZERO sense to me. A player like Kassian starting virtually every shift in his own zone, playing on the 3rd line? No thanks. He's a way better player than that, his underlying #'s support that. Also extra confusing is Torts refusal to use Kass with twins - the WOWYs (with or without you stats) indicate he's their 2nd best match. Yet he hasn't seen a minute there. So I put blame on the coaching staff. Kass is a top 6 guy now, not next yr or in 2 months. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Warhippy Posted January 9, 2014 Share Posted January 9, 2014 *whispers in OP's ear* Thank you Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RyanKeslord17 Posted January 9, 2014 Share Posted January 9, 2014 For comparison Couturier has 7g, 11a -2 in 43 games averaging 19:25 a night, and you guys are all over his dick. Make that 8 goals he just scored Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Absent Canuck Posted January 9, 2014 Share Posted January 9, 2014 A great article on Kassian from Cam Charron (stats nerd). The article talks about Kassians usage under Torts. Personally, it makes ZERO sense to me. A player like Kassian starting virtually every shift in his own zone, playing on the 3rd line? No thanks. He's a way better player than that, his underlying #'s support that. Also extra confusing is Torts refusal to use Kass with twins - the WOWYs (with or without you stats) indicate he's their 2nd best match. Yet he hasn't seen a minute there. So I put blame on the coaching staff. Kass is a top 6 guy now, not next yr or in 2 months. He is a better player than he was at the beginning of the year. I think the time he has spent learning the defensive side of the game is going to pay dividends years down the line. In fact, I wouldnt put him into a full time top 6 role this year at all. Next year if his game continues to improve. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Webster6 Posted January 9, 2014 Share Posted January 9, 2014 A great article on Kassian from Cam Charron (stats nerd). The article talks about Kassians usage under Torts. Personally, it makes ZERO sense to me. A player like Kassian starting virtually every shift in his own zone, playing on the 3rd line? No thanks. He's a way better player than that, his underlying #'s support that. Also extra confusing is Torts refusal to use Kass with twins - the WOWYs (with or without you stats) indicate he's their 2nd best match. Yet he hasn't seen a minute there. So I put blame on the coaching staff. Kass is a top 6 guy now, not next yr or in 2 months. No no no no no! Quit trying to rush hisdevelopment, like the OP said it will inflate his stats to play with the twins but it will be an unhonest evaluation. PF's take roughly 4-5 years to develop, let him structure his game the next year or two and then we'll see what he has to offer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amish Rake Fighter Posted January 9, 2014 Share Posted January 9, 2014 Bickell's got 3 points in his last 20 games, 6g 2a on the year and he's the only minus player on his team. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RunningWild Posted January 9, 2014 Share Posted January 9, 2014 He is a better player than he was at the beginning of the year. I think the time he has spent learning the defensive side of the game is going to pay dividends years down the line. In fact, I wouldnt put him into a full time top 6 role this year at all. Next year if his game continues to improve. You wouldn't put him in a top 6 role this yr? Interesting. Kassian learred the defensive side of the game under AV. Last yr, Kass displayed remarkable development on the defensive side of the game. For whatever reason, at the beginning of this season he struggled. New coach, perhaps that's why. But last 20+ games he's been lights out. His #'s say he's ready for a top 6 role, I'd put him there. No no no no no! Quit trying to rush hisdevelopment, like the OP said it will inflate his stats to play with the twins but it will be an unhonest evaluation. PF's take roughly 4-5 years to develop, let him structure his game the next year or two and then we'll see what he has to offer This is his 3rd year in the NHL. Putting him in a top 6 role is not rushing him. For example, Lucic was in the top 6 in his 3rd year, guys like Hall/Eberle were in their 1st years. I think people are trying to 'classify' Kass as a powerforward, or 'this' or 'that'. He's a winger who has great underlying #'s and is being used on the 3rd line. His #'s aren't inflated playing with twins when you look at his WOWYs (which the article describes). He's carrying who ever he plays with, he drives play, he makes plays. You won't want that guy in your top 6? I said last yr Tanev was ready for a shut down role on this team. Most people said the same thing "don't rush him, let him develop". It was his 3rd year in the NHL and he had some of the best underlying #'s on the back end. Why wouldn't you give a guy like that an opportunity? And look at him now. Torts is using him in that role and he's excelling. He's the #1 reason this team has a #1PK unit. Kass is ready IMO. He just needs an extended opp. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Western Red Posted January 9, 2014 Share Posted January 9, 2014 A great article on Kassian from Cam Charron (stats nerd). The article talks about Kassians usage under Torts. Personally, it makes ZERO sense to me. A player like Kassian starting virtually every shift in his own zone, playing on the 3rd line? No thanks. He's a way better player than that, his underlying #'s support that. Also extra confusing is Torts refusal to use Kass with twins - the WOWYs (with or without you stats) indicate he's their 2nd best match. Yet he hasn't seen a minute there. So I put blame on the coaching staff. Kass is a top 6 guy now, not next yr or in 2 months. Try looking at it like this... MG may have said, "I'd like to see ZK with the Sedins" JT says "If he earns it, I'd like to as well" I'd state that by not trying him with the Sedins yet, the ultimate goal is to get him up there. I'd be surprised if ZK isn't on the first line come playoffs and frick n frack aren't back together as well. OP: Great Post, thanks for your efforts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Absent Canuck Posted January 9, 2014 Share Posted January 9, 2014 You wouldn't put him in a top 6 role this yr? Interesting. Kassian learred the defensive side of the game under AV. Last yr, Kass displayed remarkable development on the defensive side of the game. For whatever reason, at the beginning of this season he struggled. New coach, perhaps that's why. But last 20+ games he's been lights out. His #'s say he's ready for a top 6 role, I'd put him there. I hear you but he has not had a lot of consistency to his game. I develop him more defensively. He is going to be a beast regardless, lets use this time to make his as well rounded as possible. He will get his top 6 and eventually top 3 assignments. Dont worry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brendan Gaunce Posted January 9, 2014 Share Posted January 9, 2014 Agree with most +1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Canuck Surfer Posted January 9, 2014 Share Posted January 9, 2014 Kassian is coming along nicely. I, among others, have been asking for him to play consistently more physical, as when he does he is most effective. I posted that would be the sign that he may "have figured it out." edit, btw, not taking credit, all on Kass, assists to Richardson and Torts. Boom, what happens the last two games? Forget the assist and pretty goal last game; 6 hits! When we see Kassian fighting on the boards, in front of the net and hitting > I know he is on his game and likely to score that night. Good OP post BTW. Too many that paint an overly rosy or gloomy picture. And it was a good time to be talking about Kass. Lord knows we need something good to talk about. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.