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Jannik "Stone Hands" Hansen


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Hansen getting some well-deserved recognition in this article from today's Vancouver Sun: http://www.vancouversun.com/touch/story.html?id=11547028

Quote

Canucks’ Jannik Hansen a natural handling double trouble

By Brad Ziemer, Vancouver Sun November 26, 2015

 

DALLAS — Nearly everywhere he goes, Jannik Hansen is seeing double.

At work, he plays alongside the Sedin twins. At home, he and his wife Karen have twin 2½-year-old boys who run around almost as fast as their dad can skate.

Hansen joked Thursday that his older twins — that would be the Sedins — are the tougher ones to handle.

“The little ones at home are easier,” Hansen said with a smile before pointing to the Sedins’ locker-room stalls at American Airlines Center and adding: “These two are high maintenance. If you don’t tend to them they start yelling and screaming and pounding their fists.”

He’s joking, of course. About the only yelling and screaming that has been going on is when Hansen and his new linemates combine to score a goal for the Vancouver Canucks. And that’s been happening quite a bit of late.

Hansen has always been the Canucks’ Mr. Versatility. The former seventh-round pick can play anywhere, plug any hole in the lineup. That includes the top line where he has found a home with Henrik and Daniel Sedin. The trio has been on a tear since coach Willie Desjardins threw them together for a game in Columbus earlier this month.

In the last eight games, the Sedins and Hansen have combined for 35 points.

Hansen has had short stints with Daniel and Henrik before, but this is the longest. There’s no reason to think it’s not going to last quite a bit longer.

“I think the fact we had success right away helps,” Hansen said.

The line combined for 11 points in that Nov. 10 game against the Blue Jackets.

“Obviously that helps put a little more trust in you and if you have a game or two when you are maybe not creating as much, maybe you get a third as well because you know there is something there. Fortunately, we haven’t gone too long without creating or scoring.”

Hansen thinks his speed adds a different element of sorts to the line. Wednesday in Minnesota was a perfect example. Hansen used his speed to sneak behind the Wild defence, accept a stretch pass from Daniel Sedin and skate in and score what proved to be the winning goal.

“I think they can use my speed to their advantage,” Hansen said of Daniel and Henrik. “They can slow the game down, but then they have the option to throw a long one that I can chase down. Defenders can’t gap up on them really well. They have to be aware in case I am sneaking in behind them as well.”

“His skating is big,” added Daniel Sedin. “When he gets in on the forecheck he skates hard and you get energized. He opens up things for me and Hank and he does that with his skating. And he’s a smart player. It has been fun.”

Desjardins thinks Hansen’s personality is also a nice fit with the Sedins. The three are close friends off the ice and like to needle one another.

“He adds some chemistry to the line as well,” Desjardins said. “Janny is an interesting guy, he has got a pretty good sense of humour. You can get him going and the Sedins are like that. They are pretty dry with their humour. I think it’s a good match. When they come on the ice they seem to have a lot of energy.”

Desjardins noted that Hansen never lobbied for the job.

“I talked to him about playing in that spot this summer and he wasn’t opposed to it, but I don’t think he thought he would be a great fit. He’s a pretty honest guy. Right now, he sees he is a good fit.”

Hansen now has seven goals — only Daniel Sedin, with 10, has more on the Canucks — and 14 points in 23 games. He is on pace to surpass his career-best numbers of 16 goals, which he has done twice, and 39 points.

But Hansen does not want to go there. He has been around long enough to know that things can change in a heartbeat during a season. For now, he wants to see if the line can keep things going and, more importantly, help the Canucks build on their 3-2 win in Minnesota.

“Pace is one thing,” Hansen said. “Let’s talk at 82 games and see where we’re at. That’s really what matters.”

bziemer@vancouversun.com

Twitter.com/bradziemer

� Copyright (c) Vancouver Sun

 

 

 

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Been a Hanson fan ever since his Moose days.

He can play up and down the lineup without a worry. He is having a great offensive season and continues his great PK shifts. The team is depending on his offense right now and that could dry up. It does not change his long term value.

Sadly the better Hanson plays the more expendable Burrows becomes by trade deadline. I prefer that Higgins is moved but Burrows has more value to a CUP contending team.  

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Love what you're saying, but I think it was about 2011 that he really improved in that area and started to shed the 'stone hands' image.

I remember worrying every time he was in alone in 2008/009/10. He would cause the opposition to cough up the puck but couldn't finish.

I think he worked on it a lot that summer and it started with the wrist shot. Since then "the best practice player" has been tough as nails to play against and a frightening prospect on a break away.

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His work ethic is amazing. Second to none. He's also blazing fast Hope we keep him until he retires, he's a great player for the prospects to learn from. Never gives up

Also I feel like part or the stone hands label was put on him because of the amount of breakaways he gets. He gets so many I think it just looks like he misses a lot.

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On 2015-11-27, 10:30:40, SID.IS.SID.ME.IS.ME said:

Hansen getting some well-deserved recognition in this article from today's Vancouver Sun: http://www.vancouversun.com/touch/story.html?id=11547028

 

 

 

Well written article. Love Hand-sen.

Money can't buy a player like this. He's been an extremely valuable player for us for years, but has always flown under the radar. He has all the character you can ask for. He's been one of the few players who has been in mind "untradeable" for years. He's the all situations player, who is one of the hardest workers in the league, who is a 100% team first player. How can you trade that away, especially when you are trying to have your young guys be mentored. Hansen is the perfect vet to surround young guys with, as he took the hard route to the NHL and knows EXACTLY what it takes to become an NHLer. Hard work, practice, hard work, patience hard work, dedication, hard work, tenacity, and did I mention hard work?

I will clarify that by untradeable I mean that his value to the team far exceeds his actual trade value. If Johansen was coming back straight up, of course Hansen is expendable. But a trade like that would never happen. At best you will get a lateral return, and a home grown player with an excellent track record is worth more to us than a player of similar, or even *slightly* greater, caliber.

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Hansen is the sort of gritty, hard working two-way player that this team's rookies need to play with. If we can get skilled kids like McCann and Virtanen playing with the effort and tenacity of Hansen, Higgins or Burrows, we'll have some really special players on our hands.

That was Kassian and Vey's biggest problem - not much work ethic, especially defensively. I've seen glimpses of that in Virtanen's game but it's early days obviously, hopefully he can play on a line with one of those 3 veterans consistently. McCann has really shown that hard dogged work ethic consistently which is why I think he's going to be our next captain. That kid is special and he's learned off the veterans pretty quickly.

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