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Cole Cassels | C


JE14

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Cassels had his best series of the playoffs in the championship round, when the stakes are at their highest and with the hardest job in the CHL: keeping McDavid from being an absolute monster.

Round 1 vs. the Petes
5GP
1 goal
7 assists
8 points
+3

Round 2 vs. the Ice Dogs
5GP
4 goals
4 assists
8 points
+1

Round 3 vs. the Battalion
7GP
1 goal
2 assists
3 points
-4

Round 4 vs. the Otters
5GP
4 goals
8 assists
12 points
+7

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Watched the game on TV tonight. Cassels was a demon in the face-off circle in addition to having a great game overall. He finishes second in scoring in the OHL playoffs behind McDavid.

McDavid had to win the MVP award for the playoffs overall, but if there was an MVP award for the final series between Erie and Oshawa the MVP was Cassels hands down.

Cassels did not look that big on the ice and did not show a lot of speed, but he plays a high intensity game, is very good with the puck, and also plays well without the puck.

It is not completely obvious that his game will translate to the NHL but he looks like an excellent prospect right now. Like I have said in other posts, as a 19-year old his OHL performance has been at the level of low mid-to-low first round picks. Pretty good for a third rounder.

I guess he will be in Utica next year. I think he does need to add size and strength to play his kind of game effectively in the NHL but I like to think he has an outside chance to make the Canucks next year. He is the kind of guy who can be effective at 4C if he can add some strength.

And like I have mentioned before, I would like to see him on the Canucks but Columbus must have some interest in him given that he is local kid who is still followed in the Columbus press.

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Funny to think that Gens vs Battalion was probably the best of the series in terms of determining the best OHL team.

Cole was a beast as usual. Thought he should have got the 99 award considering he dominated the finals which is by far the most important series

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The first time I saw him which was the training camp in 2013. Something just looked right about him, he was a smooth skater, made good decisions with the puck, had high level of hockey IQ and played like a pro. I had no idea who he was, I knew who the 4th rounder Jordan Subban was but not Cole Cassels. No idea if he was a offensive player or defensive player.

Today, after seeing him several times this season. He doesn't quite remind me of a Bolland. The playmaking, vision and skating reminds me of Nicklas Backstrom. He isn't that physical, he plays tight-checking, gritty hockey but not a physical beast out there. I think maybe a Plekanec is what we get out of Cassels.

But anyways, I think our prospect pool sort of reflects who we should draft in 2015 and I'll post why in the draft thread.

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Watched the game on TV tonight. Cassels was a demon in the face-off circle in addition to having a great game overall. He finishes second in scoring in the OHL playoffs behind McDavid.

McDavid had to win the MVP award for the playoffs overall, but if there was an MVP award for the final series between Erie and Oshawa the MVP was Cassels hands down.

Cassels did not look that big on the ice and did not show a lot of speed, but he plays a high intensity game, is very good with the puck, and also plays well without the puck.

It is not completely obvious that his game will translate to the NHL but he looks like an excellent prospect right now. Like I have said in other posts, as a 19-year old his OHL performance has been at the level of low mid-to-low first round picks. Pretty good for a third rounder.

I guess he will be in Utica next year. I think he does need to add size and strength to play his kind of game effectively in the NHL but I like to think he has an outside chance to make the Canucks next year. He is the kind of guy who can be effective at 4C if he can add some strength.

And like I have mentioned before, I would like to see him on the Canucks but Columbus must have some interest in him given that he is local kid who is still followed in the Columbus press.

A 1st round pick in 2015 sounds like an equitable trade :bigblush:

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The first time I saw him which was the training camp in 2013. Something just looked right about him, he was a smooth skater, made good decisions with the puck, had high level of hockey IQ and played like a pro. I had no idea who he was, I knew who the 4th rounder Jordan Subban was but not Cole Cassels. No idea if he was a offensive player or defensive player.

Today, after seeing him several times this season. He doesn't quite remind me of a Bolland. The playmaking, vision and skating reminds me of Nicklas Backstrom. He isn't that physical, he plays tight-checking, gritty hockey but not a physical beast out there. I think maybe a Plekanec is what we get out of Cassels.

But anyways, I think our prospect pool sort of reflects who we should draft in 2015 and I'll post why in the draft thread.

I hate to rain on peoples' parade(s) so soon after Cassels plays a monster game to win the OHL championship, but his development path to this point does not point to an upside above a 3rd line centre. That's not saying that it is impossible, but that it is very likely that he becomes an elite 4C -- like Kruger on Chicago -- or very serviceable 3C.

There's nothing not to be pleased with, with regards to his progress, but I can't help but feel that people seem to overlook the fact that many bottom-6 NHLers are prolific scorers at some point of their respective junior careers, and that Cassels has developed similarly on a season-to-season basis to these players.

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Virtanen and Cassels seem like opposites in some ways. Virtanen has tremendous natural skill. He was the top skater at the prospects combine in his draft year and is certainly a contender to be the best skater in the CHL. He has a great shot. He is big and he is strong. And he was a high first round pick. But somehow his results seem to be less that we would expect given his talent. And there have been questions about his hockey IQ, his judgment, and his attitude.

Cassels, on the other hand, is an overachiever. His underlying talent is not all that impressive and he is not that big. This of course explains why he was not drafted until the third round.

But he plays hard and he plays smart, with an excellent hockey IQ. And he is a real team-first guy.

Most people will still rate Virtanen ahead of Cassels, of course. But I think there is a good chance that Cassels continues to be overachiever -- getting the most out of his talent -- kind of like Alex Burrows. And I am afraid that Virtanen might not live up to what Canuck fans are hoping for.

I know that Virtanen fans will complain that it is "too early" and give lots of excuses for his somewhat disappointing performance and I hope they are right.

But from what we have seen this year, Cassels has moved up the prospect depth chart a lot and I am not sure that Virtanen has.

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This isn't directed to you specifically, but I'm surprised by how many times I see people mislabel players as "overage". Cassels isn't an overager this year...

Some Coil were calling him a 20yr old, i guess they trying to justify it.

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The first time I saw him which was the training camp in 2013. Something just looked right about him, he was a smooth skater, made good decisions with the puck, had high level of hockey IQ and played like a pro. I had no idea who he was, I knew who the 4th rounder Jordan Subban was but not Cole Cassels. No idea if he was a offensive player or defensive player.

Today, after seeing him several times this season. He doesn't quite remind me of a Bolland. The playmaking, vision and skating reminds me of Nicklas Backstrom. He isn't that physical, he plays tight-checking, gritty hockey but not a physical beast out there. I think maybe a Plekanec is what we get out of Cassels.

But anyways, I think our prospect pool sort of reflects who we should draft in 2015 and I'll post why in the draft thread.

This is the only full game I've seen him play, but he was finishing checks and getting a piece of guys all night long, more than most out there and he's not the biggest guy. No thundering hits, just always leaving a mark -- exactly as when Smyl asked who other players said they least liked playing against.

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- Hunter Smith has some skill and hands, but super-twiggy

- I liked Latour's game, even before he scored

- McDavid doesn't take any/many draws? Seems Marchment was always in the circle.

- Pettit looked solid, especially on face-offs

- despite some late saves by Appleby, none too impressed by the goaltending on either side

What can be said about Cassels has already been said. Voted by OHL coaches as the second-smartest player after 18YearOld, he always seems to be in the right place and gets on the puck at just the right times. Has the ability to turn the play over quickly and his skating is pretty decent, but if he can improve as Horvat did this year he could become very dangerous. He plays bigger than his stature and have to think that Canuck mgmt is anticipating him coming in and making a serious case to make the team out of camp.

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This is the only full game I've seen him play, but he was finishing checks and getting a piece of guys all night long, more than most out there and he's not the biggest guy. No thundering hits, just always leaving a mark -- exactly as when Smyl asked who other players said they least liked playing against.

Some thundering hits would be most welcomed too.

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Seen on HFboards(as per Hippy & James sayin'), apparently CBJ has the hots for this kid.

To gauge value, & how much our fans want to keep all our OHL C-beauts. (just for curiosity's sake)...

Cassels + Lack

CBJ: Their 8th overall?

Is this value fair or unrealistic? What if we could make it Markstrom(+ a Jensen-type?), instead of Lack?

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