Would you believe Zack Kassian is the absolute maximufunk of the Canucks surge right now? Sure, Eddie Lack has played really well and OK fine, the Sedins are borderline top 10 scorers but are they all forever criticized, routinely benched and exaggeratedly photoshopped? I haven’t looked so for the sake of me informing you, the answer is no.
Zack Kassian is a polarizing figure to put it bluntly. He has everyone rooting for him and his true skill set is just emerging. Kassian’s point totals in the last 10 games speak for themselves (7 goals, 3 assists) but it’s no big deal.
With all the Kassion (thats like the word passion with Ka…you get it) lately its easy to get caught up in the hype. You may know his stat line, you might even have his fancy stats memorized or maybe you are Willie D and keep scribbling his name all over pieces of paper every game, with the points and all, but here are 5 things you probably didn’t know about the warrior prince Zackary Fitzgerald Kassian.
That wasn’t one of them, that’s not even his name.
1) Before every game Zack plays a best of 3 match with Milos Raonic.
2) Game in and game out, Zack isn’t alone. His squirrel Bruchester (bruce and chester) rides shotgun in his shoulder pads. Take a peek!
3) Even though hockey is his life, Tier 1A dodgeball is his true calling. He holds every record for dodgeball and hosted the Dodgeball Championships in Vegas after his career was over.
4) Zack has faced a few suspensions in his junior and pro career, but none equal the the suspension he faced last summer…..
5) When Kevin Bieksa went on a blocking streak, Zack Kassian followed each one of those people and bought them a puppy. Ok really none of that is true.
To be honest there is really only 4 things you probably didn’t know about Zack. Hopefully the next thing we find out about him is how he became an NHL superstar.
(In no way are any of these findings true or validated. I do not wish to be sued for slander like a certain Matt Kassian would do any time his namesake or Kassassin is mentioned.)
It was another week of milestones and surprises for the Vancouver Canucks. Clinching a huge win against the Wild at the beginning of the week, capping it off with a win against the Islanders on Sunday and watching the Sedins get back to form kept us buzzing on the twitters, the radio and at the coffee machine, because really, why work?
The Games We Played
Vs. Minnesota Wild – WIN 3-2 (NAIL BITER ALERT)
RECAP: Rookie Alex Biega was called up the night before and was inserted in the lineup when Chris Tanev was a no go. He scored his first NHL goal in his first game and wouldn’t ya know it? It was the game winner. Bo Horvat scored again, feels like we say this a lot now, and Eddie Lack stood on his head at the end of the game but not without a bit of crazy suspense. We beat the Wild, life is good!
@ New York Rangers – WIN VIA SHOOTOUT 5-4
RECAP: This one was basically a dog fight from start to finish. The Canucks stepped up to the challenge and earned their 2 points. Ryan Miller was less than bad against NYR and his team should expect a sizable free dinner in the near future. Bo Horvat scored again on a dirty feed from Ronny Kenins (he’s not two names anymore). Henrik Sedin had a deuce and has been a key member of the Canucks work ethic lately. Huge win against AV; Alex Burrows did a thing with his stick on his shootout goal, meh, it was different.
@ New Jersey Devils – Losedid 4-2 (But C’MON WE SHOULDA WON)
RECAP: Alex Burrows was a late scratch before the game started so even though Zack Kassian wasn’t supposed to play, he played anyways….and he played good! Eddie Lack had a Ryan Miller type game and let in 3 goals early. You could imagine that probably isn’t a good feeling to have when you are in net. Thankfully, good ol’ Zack Kassian continued to impress the coach and put up BOTH goals for the Canucks. The Sedins were in on both goals and quietly are getting back to form. An empty netter sealed the Nucks fate but man what a finish. Sucks to lose those ones.
@ New York Islanders – WIN 4-0 (Is it pronounced IS LANDERS?)
RECAP: So, I’m gonna be honest, I had to work Sunday. So the replays had to do for this one. The early starts sure are buzz killers let me tell you. So Zack Kassian scored the opening goal in the second period which was also a PPG. Willie D is starting to trust young Kass and he is making his coach proud. Miller got injured shortly after and Lack came in to save the day and save the day he did. Radim Vrbata stared in a goal, rookie superstar Bo Horvat and Yannick Weber all had goals. These road trips, I’m telling ya, we’re good.
OK, there is actually a lot to talk about but you know most of it already. Alex Biega’s call up and surprise start for Chris Tanev paid off with a HUGE FNHLGWGG (First NHL Game winning goal goal). Bo Horvat has been an absolute stud lately and it really is a shame he didn’t turn it on earlier, he might have been up for ROY.
Henrik got the 2nd star of the week from the NHL HQ for his sick ton of multi point games last week. The goalie situation took another turn this past week with Miller getting injured. It doesn’t sound good as of right now and Jacob Markstrom got the 911 call to back up steady Eddie.
This is a huge break for the Canucks and may determine how they maneuver at the deadline. Still saying, move one of them for Kelowna Rocket and Capitals prospect Madison Bowey, they won’t be sorry.
I really don’t know how I feel about the Yeezy Boost by adidas. Does it have ANYTHING to do with the Canucks? Nope. But I’m sure you’ll let me know how you feel.
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The new look Jarkko Polo is here! Its pretty much the same stuff with less effort, or more effort, not sure. A lot happened last week and without boring you with all the statistics and details and fancy numbers, I’m going to dumb it down so you basically just have to look at a red balloon flying around and that will make you happy.
One week ago, the Canucks were greeted by the Minnesota Wild who didn’t disappoint, as far as what we expected; they snoozed their way to victory and quite frankly I just hate mentioning the Wild. They smell, they have overpaid greedy americans and ya, we’re still bitter about 2003. A week later as I write this, they just really piss me off.
Here is the new rundown:
The Games We Played (notice the fancy use of caps?)
@ Minnesota Wild – Lost 5-3
RECAP – Former Canuck first rounder Jordan Schroeder put one past Ryan Miller and we all swore at our TV’s. It was one we didn’t want to remember but Zack Kassian netted a beauty far side off the wing and it gave us hope for the young Jedi.
@ Chicago Blackhawks – WON 5-4
RECAP – A true playoff type game ended in heroics from the Sedins. Kassian once again put Canucks fans on notice with his gritty net presence and it paid off with a goal ala Todd Bertuzzi. Bo knows put a beauty rebound past Crawford and the Dads trip sure had some fun attached to it. Side note, Marian Hossa ripped a laser after he skated 200 feet and tied the game up late in the 3rd. Great goal, not gonna lie.
Boston Bruins – made them beg for mercy 5-0!!!
RECAP – You really don’t need to know a lot here. The Canucks out played the Bruins for basically the whole game. Shawn Matthias scored 2 early goals and eventually put up his first career hat trick. It was a special night. Jannik Hansen scored an empty net goal, no breakaway needed.
@ Calgary Flames – Lost 3-2 in a nail biter
RECAP – Somehow when the Canucks face random cold goalies, we lose. Not sure how, we just, lose. The Valentines Day tilt was no different. Even with the loss, the Latvian Lunchbucket Ronalds Kenins scored yet again. It was basically the same goal he has scored every time so you know it was awesome.
Four games in one week? It must be the second half of the season. Feels so good to see hockey every other night even if we forgot they played in some of those games.
The Canucks are going through quite the war of attrition lately with huge losses on the blue line to Kevin Bieksa, Alex Edler, Frankie Corrado (yo Franky!), Chris Tanev and Sami Salo. Sorry, force of habit. It’s quickly becoming the Utica Comets in Vancouver. That’s actually not a bad thing considering the Comets are the talk of the league down south.
Surprise efforts from Ronalds Kenins and Adam Clendening as well as the mentioned hat trick from Shawn Matthias, Zack Kassian’s recent surge and goaltending we are actually proud of has given the Canucks a chance to stay in the playoff race.
It won’t be a cake walk for the rest of the year so every game will be the ever famous “biggest game of the season”. That does it for the important stuff, time for the rest.
The twitter game sure is strong during the week, new feature
The journey Zack Kassian is on is an eventful one. We definitely haven’t seen it all yet and this circus is far from over. Since the trade that brought him to the Canucks for Cody “my dad says im the best” Hodgson, he has experienced extreme ups and downs. The hope that he would turn into the next Cam Neely or Milan Lucic isn’t much more than a wish right now. His play of late has given us a sliver of hope that he indeed is the player we hoped he will be. The Oracle said this would happen.
He’s given us funny gifs, viral memes and other notable internet shenanigans. Zack Kassian basically has gained the love of Vancouver and half of us thought he would be gone already.
His talent, although impressive at times, is still raw and Willie D and his staff are working to push the right buttons to get the beast within to roar on the ice. Zack has a prototypical power forward body and some pretty silky mitts. Up until recently, Kass hasn’t been able to put that all together for more than a game at a time.
But the tide is changing. Neo is starting to believe.
He has always been pretty good along the boards, it would take a gorilla to strip the puck off him most times in that area, he IS good, he needs to believe.
When Zack’s breaking down the wing he should be able to easily power past most defenders and go forehand backhand at will, like Todd Bertuzzi used to do. That underlying mean streak and that edge are one of the big things holding him back.
Tough love has finally been given to Zack with the healthiest of scratchings a week ago. The message was sent and for a lot of young guys like him, there is an “a ha” moment that acts as a wake up call. He was effing mad.
“Am I frustrated? You guys have no idea how effing frustrated I am. But that’s the way it is. I’m not going to sit here and sulk. I just have to find a way. It’s no secret I need to start scoring goals and I need to be more consistent. I have two goals this year. I came in and I had high expectations… it’s tough to score when you’re riding the bike.”
Zack Kassian saw what his career could look like if he doesn’t realize his potential: free popcorn and Farmville game invites in the rafters. You don’t want that Zack, you know this road, you know where it goes.
The Oracle told Kassian the blue paint, shooting at will and playing with an edge will help him achieve his goals; Canucks goals in opponents nets. There has never been a better time for Zack to up his game.
There will be nights where dumb penalties will catch up to him, where he might show some disinterest or he’ll just punch someone out. Actually, the last one is ok, he can do that more.
Being a power forward isn’t easy I’m sure and being a star power forward isn’t something that happens overnight. A work in progress still? You bet. Giving Kass the chance to succeed? That’s a step in the right direction.
This is going to be the team that will turn heads for the next generation of Canucks fans. He’s not the One, heck he’s not even the Two; but Zack Kassian is on the road to realization and he might just be what we wanted all along.
If Willie, Jim and Trevor keep seeing improvements, Kassian can be great.
For now, we all are day to day with our theories. But the Oracle knows.
The week coming out of the All star break wasn’t entirely amazing. The Canucks ongoing struggle to compete has raised a lot of questions as to what is going to be done come trade deadline. This past week the Jets, Sharks and Penguins came to town and man was there stuff to talk about. On top of all this we unearthed some new story lines. So without further ado, JARKKO!………..POLO!!!
Evander Kane a late "healthy" scratch. Wow. #Jets#Canucks
Ok what? Why is he a healthy scratch? Nevermind, we’ll get to that. The Winnipeg Jets came in to Vancouver losing 4 straight, but the Canucks came into this game hoping to score. Eddie Lack got the start and he was ready to make the most of it, you know, because it might be his last….just kidding, it’s not like he has a 10 year contract. Vancouver gave up the early goal again and had their work cut out for them. Alex Burrows took a swede feed from Daniel and tied it all up.
Back and forth they went and rising star and multiple named Ronalds Kenins tied it up once again and scored his 2nd in as many games. The game would need overtime and the obvious happened: a 2 on 1 break with Radim Vrbata setting up Luca Sbisa for the GWG. Just like we all drew it up. Lack got the win and it looked like the week was starting out great!
So later on we would find out Evander Kane wore sweatpants to the game and was not asked to participate. There are many reports of how this all came to be but at the end of the day, Kane looks like he is on his way out of Winnipeg; Vancouver’s gain? But really, SWEATPANTS??? CMON MAN!! They must really not want him on their team. I hope Kane comes back with a vengeance and torches those old planes.
Next up was the San Jose Sharks. The Canucks just can’t seem to beat these guys and this game was no different. Injuries to Chris Tanev, Frankie Corrado and Kevin Bieksa have totally maxed out what the Canucks can offer on the blue line. Adam Clendening and Luca Sbisa are now top 4 dmen. Not good.
Ryan Miller had to put on his hard hat to start the game and was peppered all night. 11-2 were the shots in the first and thankfully it was only 1-0 at that point. It didn’t end well for our Canucks and they were willfully beat down by the Sharks 5-1. Radim Vrbata was the lone Nucks scorer but he can’t score 5 a game.
With the healthy scratching of Zack Kassian for 3 straight games, all the questions about where the goals were coming from and inconsistent goaltending, something had to give. The Canucks were about to host the Penguins and quite frankly, we were all expecting to get plastered. That could be taken a few ways 1) drinking heavily because that helps the pain and 2) the score was going to be unwelcoming.
Sidney Crosby was in town and again the Canucks were facing a team that had played the night before. Ryan Miller got the start again as number ones usually do but it was the play of pretty much everyone in front of him that was the story on Hockey Night in Canada.
Burrows put the Canucks up early, Bo Horvat got his name on the scoreboard and the Canucks were up 2-0 after one. Pretty happy team. It didn’t end there. A disallowed goal by Pittsburgh and a Shawn Matthias laser had Vancouver up 3-0. The real story though wasn’t Crosby, the team’s swiss cheese defense or Miller’s soft goals every game; it was Zack Kassian.
Late in the 2nd, Thomas Greiss misplayed the puck behind his net and Linden Vey set up Zack Kassian with a wide open net and he buried it. A slump buster for sure and potentially a sign of things to come, Kassian was rewarded for going to where he needed to be. Canucks fans right through Rogers Arena applauded Kassian like he had just scored to win a series.
Earlier on, Zack was in a tussle and questioned what his hands needed to do. Looks like scoring a goal was the cure. Kassian has been on a roller coaster from when he first arrived in Vancouver and it’s tough to say how his story will end here. The fans love him and want to see him succeed but he has to want to give that extra effort to make it happen.
(Insert pretty much any awesome self realization joke here)
The Canucks shutout the Penguins 5-0 and they looked like a team that could beat anyone. It was a welcome change from the swamp hockey they were playing for chunks of the season.
We should have a better lineup again soon, injuries only last for so long. It’s great to see the smile on Zack Kassian’s face; he has potential but everyone has to be patient. As for Ryan Miller; he needs to up his consistency because he’s getting paid to be consistant.
All in all a fun week despite the lack of people in the stands.
The living legend Ronalds Kenins (pronounced as one person) has had quite a week with the Vancouver Canucks: he’s scored twice, taken a penalty to fit in and is a solid plus 2. He practically has a roster spot sewn up and its February. We have seen these stars come out of the woodworks before with such names as Jeff “The Brabarian” Cowan and Pavel Bure. Kenins (again, one guy) has already created a fan following somewhere as a Canuck but what DON’T we know about him? Who is this Latvian Sniper?
According to quanthockey.com, Ronalds is the 15th ranked Latvian NHLer of all time….ALL TIME!!! (Link) How did he climb the ladder so quick? Well sit down and grab a cold one cuz I’m about to shock the world, Seahawks style…too soon?
These were both of #41’s goals, STUD in Nucks clothing. Thanks Canucks.com!
Ronalds Kenins (seriously TWO plural names in one, love it) played for Latvia at the last Winter Olympics in Sochi. He shot out like a bat outta hell in 5 GP for Latvia with 0 goals, 0 assists, 0 points, a PIM and he was on the ice when Latvia scored once. But did he play in the Olympics? You bet your Snepts he did.
Fun fact: Harold Snepts, Latvian descent. #themoreyouknow #notthekatyperrycostume
Kenins has played well down in Utica for the Comets this year in 36 GP, with 5 tallies and 7 helpers. (Link, theahl.com)Utica has been quite a surprise this year and Canucks GM Jim Benning couldn’t keep Ronalds away any longer, he made that call.
The struggles of Zack Kassian lately have been Kenins gain and a spot currently on the 4th line is his to lose. Kassian has been asked to be more physical for obvious reasons, get in the dirty areas and at the end of it all, he just doesn’t. Kenins has a touch to his game that coach Willie likes. He’s physical like another man in this photo.
See the resemblance? Even though he has a baby face and probably blushes when pretty girls ask for his autograph, he might be a nice surprise the Canucks can utilize down the stretch and maybe years to come.
Ronalds Kenins is an intriguing character and it makes me want to add S’s to MY first and last name: Ryans Hanks….sounds awesome! The other bonus of Ronalds Kenins thats wes all loves: he’s a better #41 than Andrew Alberts will ever be. It is yet to be proven if he will overtake Arturs Irbe for most successful Latvian Canuck of all time. Time will tell, time will tell.
I honestly don’t know how rumours take the shape they do and what takes it to the next level, but hearing through the grapevine that the Canucks are potentially interested in Bruins forward Brad Marchand is one that would get traction from any media member. The Bruins and the Canucks both have a need and may be in the market to deal. Sometimes being a little nosey is a good thing.
On the surface, Brad Marchand isn’t exactly the ideal candidate to be traded to the Canucks. Unless you were cryogenically frozen in 2011, you know that the Canucks and Marchand aren’t cozy buddies. What most people will remember is the 5 punch beatdown on Daniel Sedin during the Stanley Cup Final. That didn’t go over well and gave the Bruins some extra life when they eventually stole the Cup from the Canucks.
Or maybe it was the taunting a few seasons later when he reminded not only the Canucks but their fans what he accomplished after leaving Vancouver in June 2011.
Courtesy of Bloguin.com
Mr. Marchand is NOT a household favourite in British Columbia with his dirty tactics and just his overall antics, I mean, he pissed pretty much every Canucks fan off and rubbed it in after he won the Cup. But….what if he was a Canuck? When Raffi Torres became a member of the blue and green, he went from hated to beloved. When Raffi was let go, the fans still wanted him back. You need guys like that on your roster.
It’s typical of Vancouver media and local sports fans alike to jump to the ultimate conclusion when a tidbit of info becomes unearthed. There is ZERO mention of Marchand at all here. On Friday evening this is the poll question on TSN 1040 in Vancouver:
Poll q @tsn1040: How would u react if #Canucks acquired Brad Marchand? *Open arms *Okay b/c he could help *Accept it, but not happy *No way
See. No one has even said Marchand is available. Welcome to Vancouver.
A quick look at Marchand’s stats shows he’s someone the Canucks would want. What’s better than two trips to the Cup Final, one ring, a league of haters and the ability to put your team over the edge. Oh I forgot, he draws lots……and LOTS of penalties.
He averages 20 goals, 40+ points, a bucket load of PIMs and all the intangibles that make any self respecting Canucks fan hate him. It’s the things that make us hate him that are the reasons he would be a amazingly valuable piece to the Canucks puzzle.
Vancouver just doesn’t have that on the edge player let alone one that actually produces on the score sheet. He already has 8 goals this year and the Bruins aren’t exactly at the top of the standings. Currently in 9th place, a win from a few teams below puts them in 11th. Yep, the big, bad Bruins.
Here’s another interesting tidbit, courtesy of behindthenet.ca I’m not a huge advanced stats guy but this intrigued me: In 2013/2014, Marchand drew 1.1 penalties over the course of 60 minutes. You can play around with the filters to get other fun numbers but a guy that gives you at least one chance to score a power play goal a game is worth having. That’s over 90 power plays if he plays a full 82 games. Simple math folks.
I wonder sometimes if Brad Marchand paid for his actions in during 2011, or if he wasn’t on that Bruins team, if the Canucks would have walked away with the Cup instead. Makes you think. If I’m Jim Benning, Canucks GM, I pull the trigger and make a deal for the “Nose Faced Killer“. His team needs a punch, maybe not literally and it’s time to get serious.
The question does remain, who goes the other way? Boston is in the market for a top six/top nine forward so maybe utility man Jannik Hansen or struggling defenseman Alex Edler would move. With action comes reaction and moving either of those, mainly Edler, there creates a hole on the back end. The name actually mentioned is Zack Kassian. Is Kassian still a work in progress or is it time to jump ship on him? He’s injured right now but who knows, maybe Benning is cut throat.
Jim Benning is a smart man; he helped build the 2011 Bruins Cup team and he no doubt wants to reciprocate his efforts on their Stanley Cup opponents from that year. I would love to know what Brad Marchand thinks of all this and if I could be so lucky to get an honest, non-hockey answer, would he even care?
Reaching out to fans and media in Boston produced nothing, no one even cares about the Canucks anymore. The Bruins have been to the Final again since 2011, so the guess is Vancouver is not on the top of their worry list. On the other hand, will Canucks fans ever forget?
If Brad Marchand DOES make his way to the west coast, the drama alone will be worth it, in my humble opinion:
“The nose never bothered me anyways”
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Well the title is really all I need on this but for kicks, lets keep reading. Zack Kassian was brought in to Vancouver to be the beef. He was brought in to be the answer to the bullying the Canucks were receiving. He was brought in to make teams fear playing Vancouver. Zack Kassian is NOT Todd Bertuzzi. He has not scared anyone.
He might not even be here that long.
When Cody Hodgson was shipped out, Kassian was instantly tied to Cody’s future production. If Hodgson went on to a star career and Zack didn’t, it would be just one more bust trade chalked up to terrible past decisions in Vancouver. Kassian was thrust into the gauntlet and we are all waiting to see how he gets out. Multiple line mates, inconsistent production and the ability to disappear. With a build like Zacks, alarms start sounding when he doesn’t fill out.
The problem with Kassian’s growth is that he doesn’t seem to learn. He has bonehead tendencies which cause him to take the same types of penalties at the wrong times and offensively he doesn’t go where his body should allow him to go. When you are built like Todd Bertuzzi, you drive to the net and play in front of the crease to get what you want. Either he doesn’t want to get banged up or he doesn’t have the ability to be that type of player.
If you remember, Todd Bertuzzi not only had hands softer than pillows, but he used his body to get what he wanted. From driving down the wing on the backhand and pulling it forehand top shelf to taking cross check after cross check to the back while he parked his big ol’ butt in front of goalies league wide. Bertuzzi had it all and for a time was THE best power forward in the game; he had a Gatorade commercial. He used what he had and knew how to translate that into point production. It didn’t hurt that he had Markus Naslund as his line buddy.
While its plain to see that Kassian is not Big Bert, its frustrating to see why he hasn’t made the next step in his progression. His hands are indeed smooth, he has the ability to puck control along the boards and keep it from going to his opponents stick. What Kassian doesn’t do is drive the net when we all know full well it would be tough to take that puck off his stick. So why not just adapt and take the league by storm? I can’t speak to that as anyone that knows me knows I can’t exactly play. Ask around.
The thing is: Kassian’s time is running out. There are players more than willing to take his spot. Hunter Shinkaruk and Bo Horvat, Nicklas Jensen and eventually Dane Fox; these guys are young, hungry and uber talented. Zack Kassian needs to get his game in check. The NHL is for the elite and Kassian hasn’t proven he is indeed that; not in the NHL and definitely not in Vancouver.
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A L W A Y S 9 0 F O U R 