GDT Jan 23/13 Flames VS Canucks 7PM on Splortsnet Pacific

[dbr]

We'd still have gone into the season looking for a RW in the top six (maybe Chris Higgins, maybe Jannik Hansen, maybe Kassian), you know how AV likes to juggle lines so it's probably Kassian would have got a look.. AV has also given Jannik Hansen time with the twins while Alex Burrows skated on another line so it's not a reach to think he might have tried the same with ZK.

Finally, we still would have gone into the season with a first line center, a second line center and two fourth line centers if Ryan Kesler were healthy.. the third line still needs competent vets on the wings so it's still probable that AV would have spread out his top nine wingers like Higgins and Hansen (or even Burrows) out a bit.

So far this season we've been missing one winger from the top nine and yet we've seen AV try two young players (Kassian and Wiese) in those lines.. is it so farfetched to think that even if we weren't missing that one winger that Kassian still would be getting a look in a few different spots?

Ultimately I think the only way Kassian would not have seen some time in the top six and a most of his time in the top nine so far (again with Kesler and Booth healthy) would be if AV found two scoring lines that were clicking and Kassian's play was nowhere near where it's been so far.

[coco_canuck]

How much is Kassian's ice time dictated by injuries to Booth and Kesler?

I say about 90%.

I doubt he would have been given a chance to play with the Sedins if they were available. he would be on the 3rd or 4th line.

So you don't think he'd be given a chance to play in the top 6 if the team struggled in the first couple of games and Kassian was one of the best skaters the team had on the ice?

That's some assumption, considering how AV likes to juggle lines when things go poorly.

I saw you made an earlier comment about why Kassian only got 11 minutes of ice-time a game last year...did you watch him struggle to keep up with the play and running out of juice midway through games? How the phyiscal presence disappeared late in games as he grew increasingly fatigued?

You know what's much worse than being patient with a young player? It's putting him in a position to fail by giving him too much responsibility and having the situation go over his head.

A player's performance and consistency dictates how much they play under AV.

Hansen, Raymond, Edler, Tanev, and Hodgson came up as rookies under AV.

Hansen and Raymond bounced around on the bottom two lines and were healthy scratches a few times until their two-way game and consistency was good enough to take a regular shift.

Edler and Tanev came in and played so well defensively that AV gave both of them a solid amount of ice-time for rookie D-men with little to no pro hockey experience. Defense is the hardest position to master after goaltending, and it typically takes young D-men longer to develop than forwards, yet AV gave these two D-men a larger role than any rookie forwards because these two D-men had poise and ability well above their age and experience level.

Fact is, too few here really understand what it takes to be a solid 2-way player and paying attention to defensive responsibilities, namely positioning and effort. If a forward doesn't have the defensive understanding and his offensive skill isn't overwhelming enough to override any defensive concerns, then he's not going to play much under AV.

As much potential as Hodgson may have had in the eyes of many, he was overmatched and could barely get any separation when he played in camp for a couple years before cracking the team. Cody played on the team when he was ready to do so.

People like to talk about Ballard and Rome, but the more you watch Ballard and the rumors that he really doesn't keep himself in as good a shape as his teammates, it's easier to understand why AV went to Rome over Ballard on a few occasions.

I can't recall a single young player or even a good veteran that AV has ruined.

Oh, and yes anyone is allowed to have an opinion without backing it up with evidence, but it doesn't make it a very good one.

[Reefer2]

OK I am wrong 5 players in the period that AV has been coach is enough to confince me.

[dbr]

Reefer look at the drafts Nonis had in 2006 & 2007 and for that matter the one Gillis had in 2008.

It's looking like 2 NHL players from 3 drafts and one of those spent a year and a half injured... AV did fine with the players from before those years and I don't think you can pin the lack of growth of guys like Daniel Rahimi, Taylor Ellington and Yan Sauve on him considering they mostly did not even get close to an NHL roster.

The only situation I can think of that might look bad on AV is Sergei Shirokov.. And he never even tried to make an NHL team after he was traded so its tough to say whether he had what it took or not.