Del Rio Posted January 9, 2014 Share Posted January 9, 2014 Shink - Horvat - Kassian Future top line Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mpass1 Posted January 9, 2014 Share Posted January 9, 2014 He has great size, speed and hands. Hopefully it'll come all together Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nuxfanabroad Posted January 9, 2014 Share Posted January 9, 2014 So much desire to cry..First about the original Coho/Kassian deal; now, how he's utilized. Some will NEVER be pleased. Then I liked Volpatti too, but Sestito is becoming something of a revelation. Initially heard some crying about this waiver-wire(supposed double-gaffe). Of course most of these naysayers FORGET their initial reactions! Next if Archibald can fulfill his early-seasom promise, we're well on our way to building a younger, rugged team! Add in names like Weise, Grenier, Mallet, Horvat, et al, & the future looks decent, in terms of physicality. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JiffyPB Posted January 9, 2014 Share Posted January 9, 2014 Looking good since his awful stretch in November. Glad he is putting it together. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goblix Posted January 9, 2014 Share Posted January 9, 2014 Kassian has great hands and a pretty underrated playmaking skills. I like his vision and is willingness to try a new move on the rush. I like him with Kesler at the moment and another big top 6 forward on the left wing would make that line pretty tough to deal with. I also think he needs to improve on his board play mainly his positioning of his body to keep the puck better protected and provide more puck control in those situations. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dogbyte 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. lol those stats are almost twice as good as Kassian's. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Absent Canuck Posted January 9, 2014 Share Posted January 9, 2014 lol those stats are almost twice as good as Kassian's. Your math is off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silfverberg Snipes Posted January 9, 2014 Share Posted January 9, 2014 Should have been a playmaking center. His vision is wasted on the wing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldnews 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. You are comparing apples to oranges. There are very solid reasons why people love Couturier, as there are with Kassian, and they are extremely different reasons. Couturier is a young shutdown center who handles very strong competition, a heavy load of defensive zone starts, and chips in offensively as an upside under the context of his play. On the other hand, the story on Kassian is that he needs to improve his defensive game. However he's been a better and more responsible two way player over the past three seasons than he gets credit for. As a rookie he had positive underlying corsi numbers with slightly over 50% offensive zone starts. Last year he played a revolving bottom six role for the most part, much like this season, got 44% offensive zone starts, had moderate negative underlying numbers to reflect that, and produced some positive territory (48% ozone finishes). Again this season, his offensive zone starts are even lower (39.8%), his underlying corsi in the -6.6 range, about +4% ozone finishes again....mid range on the team. Kassian has held his own since the day he arrived here, playing reasonably responsible defensive hockey for a young player. In this sene, I don't buy the Tortorella has turned him around fiction - Kassian has been on a steady trajectory. Tortorella simply hasn't vaulted him into the top 6 - something the Canucks have never really done. Under AV (and to a lesser extent Crawford), the Sedins took years to earn top 6 minutes, as did Kesler and Burrows. Kassian's development, imo, has been steady and impressive. He has made exceptionally few mental errors - the most notable mistakes that drew the ire of Tortorella were instances of struggling to clear the puck in the defensive zone, which is less a matter of lacking defensive responsibility or a proper mindset than it is fumbling the puck a few times under pressure (or anxiety). He'll grow more confident, and when he does feel confident, it is really evident. Aside from that, he backchecks, he maintains good positioning, he is mindful of where his team-mates are, he does not run around getting out of position attempting to throw big hits, he doesn't lose his cool and take undisciplined penalties, and he picks his spots exceptionally well where stepping up where protection/intimidation is concerned. I think one of the things that defines the fact that Kassian will be a great case of slow and steady development is the fact that he has so many aspects to his potential. He has great speed, He has great hands and a very heavy shot. He has great vision and passes the puck exceptionally well for a big, young forward. He has great strength and grit. He can score on the rush. He can cycle. He has impressive playmaking ability. He can go to the hard areas and provide a net presence. He has that element of intimidation that requires he also protect the marquis players on his team and provide deterrence. He has certainly done exactly that in the most important instances - he stopped Eager dead in his tracks from taking runs at the Sedins. He turned the LA game earlier this season around in a single shift. He intimidated Phaneuf and neutralized Toronto's attempt to strong arm. He simply has a whole lot of things going for him, and can play a wide range of roles, contributing in a wide range of ways. That isn't all simply going to explode overnight. He has the potential to have a very complete game - and that simply takes any player lots of time. The very best have taken years and years to get there. His steady progress has been very impressive imo. People just tend to be too impatient. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TOMapleLaughs Posted January 9, 2014 Share Posted January 9, 2014 Good game. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coconuts Posted January 9, 2014 Share Posted January 9, 2014 Wow, what a post. Fantastic. I'd plus it a hundred times if I could. There's been so much negativity in regards to this guy, but he coming along nicely enough for a young power forward. The stats you put together are very encouraging, he really has been improving as the season goes on. I'm not a fanboy by any means, I just really want to see that trade work out for us on some level. It'd be nice to see us develop a young guy into something nice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShakyWalton Posted January 9, 2014 Share Posted January 9, 2014 Wow, what a post. Fantastic. I'd plus it a hundred times if I could. There's been so much negativity in regards to this guy, but he coming along nicely enough for a young power forward. The stats you put together are very encouraging, he really has been improving as the season goes on. I'm not a fanboy by any means, I just really want to see that trade work out for us on some level. It'd be nice to see us develop a young guy into something nice. Very good post,,Im glad there is actually a thread giving Kass credit for buying in at least to this point instead of another slash and bash thread. Kass is and will be a fan favorite for awhile on this team, his play has improved and we are noticing,,Im sure he will have some more clinker games but its all part of the process, I will continue to stay positive about him. Last night he was a beast, sure Crosby got a goal and an assist but I noticed Kass more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hlinkas wrister 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. Is this still an issue with him ? With O'Brien he was expendable so the organizations tolerance for those kinds of things was always going to be low (Zack has more goals this year than O'Brien has probably for the last 7 years combined so I imagine his leash is a little longer). Plenty of time for the kid to grow up in my opinion and there are plenty of players in todays NHL who have gone down a similar path and ended up being stars. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheRussianRocket. Posted January 9, 2014 Author Share Posted January 9, 2014 ^I'm most certain that's not the case anymore. It was 2 or maybe 3 years ago but haven't heard a thing since. Kass has almost perfected his off ice issues and doubt he still has these problems. Correct me if I'm wrong though but again I'm most certain. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DownUndaCanuck Posted January 9, 2014 Share Posted January 9, 2014 It's Kassian's time with the Sedins. They're hurting, and they need a big body on their top line. Kassian has 8 goals in 39 games, good for around a 16-17 goal pace despite playing 3rd or 4th line minutes. He needs to be in our top-6 because so far he's been our most efficient forward by a LONG shot. Sedin - Sedin - Kassian Higgins - Kesler - Santorelli Hansen - Richardson - Booth Sestito - Dalpe - Weise Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
riffraff Posted January 9, 2014 Share Posted January 9, 2014 Is this still an issue with him ? With O'Brien he was expendable so the organizations tolerance for those kinds of things was always going to be low (Zack has more goals this year than O'Brien has probably for the last 7 years combined so I imagine his leash is a little longer). Plenty of time for the kid to grow up in my opinion and there are plenty of players in todays NHL who have gone down a similar path and ended up being stars. Fleury led the league while on goofballs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Henrik Kesler Posted January 9, 2014 Share Posted January 9, 2014 Kassian is going to be one hell of a player. He's learned to drive play this year while playing on the third and fourth line. It's time for him to get a top 6 role because he is no longer a passenger, but a player that pushes the puck toward the offensive zone and makes things happens. I want more of that HIggins-Kesler-Kassian line. 3 players who have above average size, lots of speed, and good shots. Kassian's ability to find seams for passes could make that one hell of a transition line, but he's also good enough on the cycle that they could have some epic shifts where they hem in the opponent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hlinkas wrister Posted January 9, 2014 Share Posted January 9, 2014 Fleury led the league while on goofballs Not at the same level but Probert didn't do to bad either. Didn't end Carter / Richards / Lupul's careers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Henrik Kesler Posted January 9, 2014 Share Posted January 9, 2014 Not at the same level but Probert didn't do to bad either. Didn't end Carter / Richards / Lupul's careers. Cocaine makes you superman for a short period of time. Perfect pre-game pick me up when you want to play lights out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
morrissex95 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. It makes perfect sense to me personally. He's trying to teach Kassian how to push play from his own zone into the offensive zone as quickly as possible. So far, I think Torts has done a great job of doing this. Mark my words, Zack Kassian will have a breakout season on the second line next year when he starts to ease into more offensive zone starts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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