Canucks get Zack Kassian

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Fred
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Re: Canucks get Zack Kassian

Post by Fred »

Jovocop wrote:
Fred wrote:Words from Elliot Friedman
4. In the March 6 edition of this blog, I mentioned that Vancouver "targeted" a few players in a possible Cody Hodgson deal. Zack Kassian was one, obviously. I also noted Brandon Sutter, who the Carolina Hurricanes love, and made an educated guess at John Carlson (which appears to be true). Canucks GM Mike Gillis said Tuesday there were six players. According to a couple of sources, sounds like the fourth was Erik Gudbranson and the fifth Kyle Clifford. No. 6? Not sure.
Clifford, seriously?? At most, he is a third liner. Kassian at worst can put up better numbers than Clifford.

Kassian, 44GP 4G 6A -2, 0.23PPG
Clifford, 157GP 12G 14A -15, 0.17PPG
Yeah I thought that was a strange comparison, but 0.06 difference in PPG is not a huge difference is it ? ( 5 assists per season ) A while back another analyst compared Kassian to Chris Neal in Ottawa. This kid is not universally well thought of. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.....but.... I like Gudbranson but Tallon is not looking to even the Vcr/Panthers score with that trade
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Jovocop
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Re: Canucks get Zack Kassian

Post by Jovocop »

Fred wrote:
Jovocop wrote: Clifford, seriously?? At most, he is a third liner. Kassian at worst can put up better numbers than Clifford.

Kassian, 44GP 4G 6A -2, 0.23PPG
Clifford, 157GP 12G 14A -15, 0.17PPG
Yeah I thought that was a strange comparison, but 0.06 difference in PPG is not a huge difference is it ? ( 5 assists per season ) A while back another analyst compared Kassian to Chris Neal in Ottawa. This kid is not universally well thought of. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.....but.... I like Gudbranson but Tallon is not looking to even the Vcr/Panthers score with that trade
Unfortunately, the 0.06 difference is only based on Kassian's 44 NHL games. Their statistics in junior tell a better story of who they really are.

Kassian's last year (10/11) in OHL, 56GP 26G 51A +10, 1.38PPG
Clifford's last year (09/10) in OHL, 58GP 28G 29A +32, 0.98PPG
Neil's last year (98-99) in OHL, 66GP 26G 46A +2, 1.09PPG

Neil's NHL career stat, 731GP 90G 110A 0, 0.27PPG but in his first NHL season, 72GP 10G 7A +5, 0.23PPG

Kassian put up the same PPG as Neil in his first NHL season with 28 less games played. I remember most of the Canucks fans would like to have Neil. Now, at the least, we get a younger and cheaper Neil on the team. The upside is that Kassian could be a lot better player than Neil in a couple years.
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Blob Mckenzie
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Re: Canucks get Zack Kassian

Post by Blob Mckenzie »

Fred wrote: Yeah I thought that was a strange comparison, but 0.06 difference in PPG is not a huge difference is it ? ( 5 assists per season ) A while back another analyst compared Kassian to Chris Neal in Ottawa. This kid is not universally well thought of. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.....but.... I like Gudbranson but Tallon is not looking to even the Vcr/Panthers score with that trade
So John Shannon or Doug Mclean's opinion is more valuable than the 7 or 8 analysts ( Bob Mckenzie, Ray Ferraro, Pierre Maguire, Pierre Lebrun, Brad May, John Garrett) who compared Kassian to Ryane Clowe, David Clarkson and Milan Lucic.

I guess that's how it works. :lol: :lol:

As for Tallon "evening the score" ..... the reason he doesn't want another young centre is because he is fucking loaded with them .... see Bjugstad, Huberdeau, Shore etc. He isn't loaded with big, tough, mobile, cheap d men.
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Re: Canucks get Zack Kassian

Post by FAN »

I think Todd Bertuzzi is a good comparison for Kassian: more playmaker than scorer and doesn't always play a physical mean game.
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Re: Canucks get Zack Kassian

Post by Blob Mckenzie »

I heard the Bertuzzi comparison as well, but Zack doesn't quite have the skill set that 44 had. That said I think he will be more consistant with his physical play. Time will tell, though some on this board expected the 2nd coming of Cam Neely immediately.
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CrzyCanuck
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Re: Canucks get Zack Kassian

Post by CrzyCanuck »

Bert didn't really flourish until the age of 25 or so. Kass got plenty of time to develop. Perhaps his hands will never be as great as Bert, but his physical play and defence? should be better.
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Re: Canucks get Zack Kassian

Post by the Dogsalmon »

CrzyCanuck wrote:Bert didn't really flourish until the age of 25 or so. Kass got plenty of time to develop. Perhaps his hands will never be as great as Bert, but his physical play and defence? should be better.

Kassian will be just as good as Bert as long as we allow him to play an regular shift and develop his skills...it will start with the dismissal of AV...
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Re: Canucks get Zack Kassian

Post by Jovocop »

the Dogsalmon wrote:
CrzyCanuck wrote:Bert didn't really flourish until the age of 25 or so. Kass got plenty of time to develop. Perhaps his hands will never be as great as Bert, but his physical play and defence? should be better.

Kassian will be just as good as Bert as long as we allow him to play an regular shift and develop his skills...it will start with the dismissal of AV...
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Re: Canucks get Zack Kassian

Post by Diehard1 »

Bert and Kassian aren't great comparables - Bert is a supremely skilled big man with great hands and motivation/attitude issues.

Kass is a supremely skilled big man who doesn't have Berts hands or skating abilities, but is very driven to get better.

If Kass can become anywhere close to what Bert was in his prime then the Canucks win this trade hands down. Guys who can score 40 goals, beat up a tough guy on the other team and are immovable in front of the net are worth their weight in gold. There just aren't many in the league anymore.
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Re: Canucks get Zack Kassian

Post by Hockey Widow »

I'd love to see them begin to put him on the PP, stand in front of the net and become our Holmstrom. He needs to use his size again and be a mean mf out there. But if he can play on the 1st until PP and be effective he will earn his money.
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Fred
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Re: Canucks get Zack Kassian

Post by Fred »

Diehard1 wrote:Bert and Kassian aren't great comparables - Bert is a supremely skilled big man with great hands and motivation/attitude issues.

Kass is a supremely skilled big man who doesn't have Berts hands or skating abilities, but is very driven to get better.

If Kass can become anywhere close to what Bert was in his prime then the Canucks win this trade hands down. Guys who can score 40 goals, beat up a tough guy on the other team and are immovable in front of the net are worth their weight in gold. There just aren't many in the league anymore.

Maybe Kassian is Bert prior to hooking up with Naslund and Mo. The Isles moved him because they couldn't get much out of him
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Re: Canucks get Zack Kassian

Post by Diehard1 »

He could be. I'd be very happy if Kass became a guy who can pot 20-25 goals and play on the 2nd line. With his size and toughness he'd be very valuable with that role.

Bert in his prime was arguably the most valuable forward in the game. The Canucks in the early 2000's were a relatively small team overall, but just one guy like Bert playing 20 minutes a night made them a tough team.

We'll see, Zack could have been a star in junior this year and he's going to be on a Canuck workout plan this offseason. If he comes in this fall in great shape I'd expect he will be in the running for a top 9 role, and potentially a top 6 depending on what Gillis does.
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Re: Canucks get Zack Kassian

Post by Arachnid »

Diehard1 wrote:He could be. I'd be very happy if Kass became a guy who can pot 20-25 goals and play on the 2nd line. With his size and toughness he'd be very valuable with that role.

Bert in his prime was arguably the most valuable forward in the game. The Canucks in the early 2000's were a relatively small team overall, but just one guy like Bert playing 20 minutes a night made them a tough team.

We'll see, Zack could have been a star in junior this year and he's going to be on a Canuck workout plan this offseason. If he comes in this fall in great shape I'd expect he will be in the running for a top 9 role, and potentially a top 6 depending on what Gillis does.
As long as Booth doesn't get to him and tells him to repent his evil ways he will become a power forward 8-)

What level, luck, skill, coaching/management and time will tell

Even 15 goals/yr and a fearless hitter would be beneficial to our team. When's the last time we had a guy in front of the net that opposing defence men argued over who should cover them. It will take a few year, as with Kesler and the Sedins but I'm patient (unlike some gumbos on here :evil: )
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Re: Canucks get Zack Kassian

Post by FAN »

There have been different versions of Bertuzzi and I'm definitely not comparing Kassian to the 46 goal scoring version of Bertuzzi. Right now, Kassian is definitely not like Lucic. Kassian doesn't bull over people and isn't a feared fighter. The Kassian I have seen is much more of a playmaker than a scorer. A guy who knows how to use his body to protect the puck. He plays a very similar style to the post-Moore Canuck version of Bertuzzi. Obviously Kassian is younger and has the youthful enthusiasm to throw big hits that the post-Moore Canuck version of Bertuzzi lacked.

It'll be very interesting to see what type of player Kassian will become. He was a mean player and a physical force in juniors. We were told by Sabres fans that his physical game didn't translate into the pro game and thus far it has been true. But Kassian is still really young and he's already a big man with the frame to put on a lot of pounds. I think once he becomes more comfortable with his size and strength in the NHL, he will be more similar to the type of physical force he was in juniors.
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Re: Canucks get Zack Kassian

Post by Madcombinepilot »

I think Booth will benifit from a off season with the canucks as well. 1/2 the team missed the offseason last year, and we were behind as a result.

Next fall, we go 5-5-3 out of the gate, and we will be fine..
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