oldnews Posted April 17, 2017 Share Posted April 17, 2017 17 minutes ago, Canuck Surfer said: Man, you have to give Zack credit. In Edmonton, he dropped weight like Virtanen just did in Utica. And now he has the puff in him to chase guys a whole penalty kill. And be effective. He always had speed. Just could not go at full tilt a full shift. So many stories, not all rehab related, of guys figuring it out and about 24/25. A switch goes on, and the realize they have to do more than they did in junior if they are going to stick in the NHL. And they start realizing more of the potential they always had. Good on him. But it's also a shame. Imagine if he had been that fit, playing at that pace 5 years ago? He would have had chances to play with better players. To learn, experience & do things that he may never catch up to? that's about the point at which we start to grow brains. up til then, it's a lot of fast growth, not yet full strength, a bit too many growing pains, tendencies towards overcompensation, can't really grasp or sort all the noise in our heads, etc, lol. (generalization of course, but 'generally' true, with not a whole lot of exceptions). 25 is somewhat of a general intersection - between having grown into the man-body-strength, peak energy and almost some glimpses of self-esteem. approaching the ability to harness it. a great time to be alive. anyhow, (serious) jokes aside, I'm really enjoying seeing Zack break out. To a lot of people he seems like he's been around a long time, but really, he's still pretty young (and a good example that the tendency to consider people busts in around the 22/23 yrs pt doesn't always stick). Young guy has a great toolbox - and imo there were always the glimpses of his emerging hockey intelligence - nice to see it coming together for him. And the point here isn't to be hard on the young. Quite the opposite- ie, if you're 22, 23 yrs old - and struggling - don't give up on yourself (or listen to others that might write you off) - you're younger that you probably realize - and if you talk to most older guys, if they're honest with you, they'll probably acknowledge that they (even the better adjusted ones, ones with great support networks, etc) for the most part had next to no clue at that stage of their life either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr.53 Posted April 17, 2017 Share Posted April 17, 2017 I think Kassian is growing fond of his new home. he even gets to play on the same team as McDavid providing a much needed gritty role like Lucic. He doesn't need to go anywhere. He's in the perfect spot for himself. However, I do feel a really bitter that after taking all the heartache and then finally doing the right thing to help him get better, our rivals get to have him smash our players heads in for the foreseeable future. Benning wanted a gritty forward who could score. We had him, he just had to hit rock bottom before he could get better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cbdoubleu Posted April 17, 2017 Share Posted April 17, 2017 Not to say their situations are at all alike in terms of off-ice issues, but this should give the "Virtanen is a bust" crowd some perspective. Some guys just figure it out later in their 20's than others. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
N4ZZY Posted April 18, 2017 Share Posted April 18, 2017 9 hours ago, cbdoubleu said: Not to say their situations are at all alike in terms of off-ice issues, but this should give the "Virtanen is a bust" crowd some perspective. Some guys just figure it out later in their 20's than others. Absolutely. And that doesn't make them bad players. Every player develops differently. I think that point has been hammered to death on these forums particularly the one with Jake. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
189lb enforcers? Posted April 18, 2017 Share Posted April 18, 2017 Redemption Looks good on him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boudrias Posted April 18, 2017 Share Posted April 18, 2017 1 hour ago, 189lb enforcers? said: Redemption Looks good on him. Yes it does but you and I know that unless Zach scores another spectacular goal tonight he will be a bust! Even scoring one from a deflection off his arse will not save him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NewbieCanuckFan Posted April 18, 2017 Share Posted April 18, 2017 18 hours ago, cbdoubleu said: Not to say their situations are at all alike in terms of off-ice issues Kassian isn't a fan of Justin Bieber so as far as I know. (maybe he's a Nickelback fan? ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
*Buzzsaw* Posted April 19, 2017 Share Posted April 19, 2017 There was nothing the Canucks could have done to make Kassian a better player at the time they had him in the roster. It was all in his head... he was too busy sabotaging himself with self indulgence, booze, drugs and ego to be taught anything by the coaches. It took five big wake up calls for him to finally come back to reality. - Being demoted by Buffalo to minors - Traded to Vancouver... failing there and being benched - Being traded by Vancouver to Montreal for a has-been 4th liner - Getting into the accident in Montreal while he was pissed and getting sent to a substance abuse program - Being demoted to the minors again in St John's... just about the worst place you can imagine in the AHL. He finally woke up and realized he was on the point of oblivion... then he got one last chance when he was traded to Edmonchuck and re-assigned to Bakersfield. He took it and the rest is where he is now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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