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Ronalds Kenins | LW/RW


elvis15

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Thought we had one of these going after he signed this summer. He'll be playing on loan with his Swiss league team this year and eligible to join the Canucks or Comets after their season is done. Next year, he should start in North America.

http://www.zsclions.ch/index.php?id=62&no_cache=1&tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=2212

The ZSC Lions share that Ronalds Kenins striker has signed a two-year contract with the Vancouver Canucks. In the coming season 2013/14 but the lettering is still playing with Swiss license for the city of Zurich.

The agreement between the NHL club Vancouver Canucks and Ronalds Kenins is valid for the seasons 2013/14 and 2014 / 15th The Canucks Kenins borrow in the first year but returned to the ZSC Lions. The 22-year-old striker will thus fulfill his contract with the Lions (2014) and only then go to North America.

Ronalds Kenins is since the 2011/12 season in the NLA squad of Zurich. So far the wing, who is also the Latvian national team, completed a total of 119 games for the ZSC Lions and has achieved 47 points scorers. In the organization of Lions Kenins is already since 2008 (Juniors Top, Elite A and NLB).

Google translation from the signing thread, but it basically said he still has a valid contract with Zurich for this season and he'll be on loan there until their season is over. The Swiss league season ends quite early, around the end of April.

Stats:

6'0", 201lbs, plays LW, born in Riga, Latvia (Feb 28, 1991)

Had 17 points (3 goals, 14 assists) in 45 games with Zurich last year, 8 points (4/4) in 12 playoff games

CANUCKS SIGN RONALDS ĶĒNIŅŠ, WHO HAS A COOL NAME, SOME INTERESTING TIES

He played in the Swiss-A league last season, for Zurich, which is interesting for a few reasons. This particular league was actually a relative hot spot during the NHL's lockout, with a handful of guys you may have heard of (Dustin Brown, Damien Brunner, Michael Del Zotto, Logan Couture, Matt Duchene, Joe Thornton, Patrick Kane, and Tyler Seguin, to name a few) heading over to get some burn.

Last season, Zurich had themselves some Canucks ties. They were coached by Marc Crawford, with Ryan Shannon, Gilbert Brule, and Jeff Tambellini on the roster. Dustin Brown also played 16 games for them during the lockout.

As for Ķēniņš himself, he had 17 points in 45 games, with only 3 goals to his name. He has represented Latvia in the past at the World Juniors, and the World Championships, but I'm not necessarily sure that tells you anything really. There's nothing particularly interesting to see here. He has a cool name, and some interesting connections from his past, but that's about it.

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He also has a twitter account, kinda alternates between broken English and what I assume is Latvian :P he doesn't use it very much though. https://twitter.com/Ronaldskenins

Hope to see him in action with Utica once the NLA season wraps up! He played very well in the prospects scrimmage, but I'd like to see a larger sample size.

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  • 3 weeks later...

I'm really curious about this guy and anxious to see what he can do for the Canucks. I wish he wasn't still under contract to the Swiss league for the year. I'd like to get this guy in right now.

The Swiss league ends in early March, playoffs finish in April, so we'll likely see him come over to North America whenever his team's eliminated. Also we'll hopefully get to see him at the Olympics playing for Latvia!

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  • 1 month later...

What is the quality of competition in Swiss A League? Those numbers look decent.

Thanks for the update btw.

It has actually improved quite a bit over the years. I would say it's the league of choice for ex-NHLers after the SEL.

They have also produced notable 1st round picks in the last few years in Niedereitter and Mueller. It's also still a hotbed for goalie talent.

For comparison, when Nash went over to play in the Swiss league during the lockout he put up 18 Pts in 17GP. So it's definitely not a cake walk like some other European leagues.

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I remember when we signed him that his coach in the swiss league said he would be an NHL player in 2014-2015. Nice to have some people believe in you when your trying to make the jump. I'm actually excited to see what this guy brings to the table next year, or maybe even this year after the swiss league is done. His line with gaunce and Jensen had some pretty nice rushes in development camp.

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It has actually improved quite a bit over the years. I would say it's the league of choice for ex-NHLers after the SEL.

They have also produced notable 1st round picks in the last few years in Niedereitter and Mueller. It's also still a hotbed for goalie talent.

For comparison, when Nash went over to play in the Swiss league during the lockout he put up 18 Pts in 17GP. So it's definitely not a cake walk like some other European leagues.

Thanks for your insights. I just want to make sure this is not another Dutch league that Weise can become Dutch Gretzsky in. Glad to see he's doing decent in the Swiss League. His numbers look even better after comparing it to Nash's numbers.

....

....

The next Rick Nash?

:bigblush:

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I remember when we signed him that his coach in the swiss league said he would be an NHL player in 2014-2015. Nice to have some people believe in you when your trying to make the jump. I'm actually excited to see what this guy brings to the table next year, or maybe even this year after the swiss league is done. His line with gaunce and Jensen had some pretty nice rushes in development camp.

His coach is Crawford right? I remember him tweeting a photo of Kenins bringing his hockey equipment to practice or something. Good to hear that there's an ex-NHL coach that thinks he will make the NHL, esp one that worked in Van before.

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His coach is Crawford right? I remember him tweeting a photo of Kenins bringing his hockey equipment to practice or something. Good to hear that there's an ex-NHL coach that thinks he will make the NHL, esp one that worked in Van before.

From Hockey's Future"

2012-13: Kenins returned to ZSC for his second season in the Swiss A league, skating in 45 of 50 regular season games and finishing as the club's fourth-leading scorer in the playoffs. Kenins had 3 goals with 13 assists during the regular season and was +6 with 12 penalty minutes. Zurich, coached by former NHL coach Marc Crawford, finished fourth and lost to Fribourg-Gotteron in the playoff semifinals. Kenins scored 4 goals with 4 assists and was +3 with 10 penalty minutes in 12 playoff games. He played for Latvia in the qualifying games for the 2014 Olympic Games and in the 2013 World Junior Championship. In 10 national team games he scored 1 goal with 2 assists and was -5 with 8 penalty minutes. Kenins signed a two-year contract with Vancouver as a free agent in July 2013 and was loaned to ZSC for the 2013-14 season.

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