He has done absolutely nothin at the NHL level despite playing with good players on a good team. He looked absolutely lost out there for most of last season and wasn't even playing well in a fourth line role.[/quote]Rumsfeld wrote: I still firmly believe that Kassian will be well worth the wait, but I think we still have a wait. I think he'll come into his own at 24-25 years old like Bert did.
5 goals in 7 games while playing with good players. Demoted for no apparent reason. Playing with fringe NHL'ers and the odd 3rd liner for the remainder of the season. Granted, he was one of the youngsters in game shape after playing in the AHL while the NHL'ers were locked out. But all the same, his time with "good players" was limited to what? A handful of games and practice?
No argument that he looked lost out there on the third and fourth lines.....and on defense in general.
Yes we have, just not as often as we did from Bert.....who btw was also playing with some pretty good players as frequently as Kassian was. The team itself just wasn't as good.....Rummy wrote: Bertuzzi showed flashes of amazing skill, soft hands, great passing and stickhandling before he broke out... have we really seen that from Kass?
This is true. But those flashes are enough to buy him a full season here before we really start to give him the Canucks fan treatment.Rummy wrote: This season he will be 23 and if he doesn't put it together I don't think it's a stretch to say he isn't the player we hoped he would be. I have very high hopes for him because I love what he brings as far as size and toughness with some skill, but if last year doesn't worry you a bit then you either weren't paying attention or you're wearing your rose-colored Corner shades. They're going like hotcakes this summer.