... Posted February 28, 2012 Report Share Posted February 28, 2012 I'll say this, if it turns out that Kassian's aggression was being kept on a short leash and this kid starts to really show moxie and grit I will be very upset. Having said that, my money is on it not happening. If that happens, it lends credence to the Ruff-Ruins-Players argument. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Who Else? Posted February 28, 2012 Report Share Posted February 28, 2012 Can anyone show me game tapes of Kassian in Juniors or the AHL where he was this gritty, physical player, always strong on the puck, constantly winning puck battles, and finishing his checks? Where is it? It wasn't there in juniors, the JWC, AHL, or NHL. I'm glad he can take a punch and won't back down when challenged but, like Rob Ray was saying, what's the sense of having great size and physical presence if he wasn't going to bring it every night? Is that on Lindy? I doubt it. Foligno doesn't seem to have any problems playing the physical game that Lindy expects out of those types of players. From what I can gather from TSN analysts, Kassian will be brought in to add grit and toughness and be a protector in the lineup. That's NOT a role that he's ever played from what I've seen and it has the potential to retard his development if that's all they ask him to do. GO SABRES!!! I seen Kassian at least 15 times in Junior. The Otters opened and closed the playoffs with them the last two years. Kassian was very noticable because of his size. On the Windsor teams he played on there was a boat load of talent so it was probably hard to seperate himself that way. In those games I can't say I noticed him being rough and tough. Their goalie Jack Campbell seemed to have more of a physical impact. I remember sitting there a wondering why the Sabres were so high on him. I wrote about this before. He is a big kid and when I seen him play live, it was only against the Otters. Erie's team is/ was composed of fast quick smallish players, which didn't really give anyone a chance to drill them and not offering to fight a whole lot. His size may have worked against him when I saw him, but overall I can't say I was impressed. He got his reputation for being a tough guy in the OHL for stupid suspendable hits. In the World Juniors last year he was suspended for an Elbow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drnkirishone Posted February 28, 2012 Report Share Posted February 28, 2012 By the way....Taylor Pyatt had the same numbers as Hodgson his first year in Vancouver! I am VERY happy for Kassian and Grangnani. I think Gragnani was very smooth when playing off of instincts in the playoffs. I have seen way to much over the years...and so has Vancouver as they come to pick the pockets again. This time with an untarnished prospect in Kassian. Vancouver is very strong on the left so Kassian will have a good shot on the right which isn't as strong. Show me where they picked our pockets? what are you gonna do show that list of players that have suited up for both teams? You know the one that shows that they got almost the same production out of them as we did? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bunomatic Posted February 28, 2012 Report Share Posted February 28, 2012 I hate the fact that Kassian is gone but give Hodgson a chance. He will be a difference maker for the sabres. He has instincts you can't teach and a wicked shot. Vancouver was very high on this kid but they are deep at centre so he was only getting 12 min a night but was a difference maker for them. On the 3rd line. The one alarm bell about this deal is I'm hearing from John Garret that his dad interferes so that could be bad a-la Eric Lindros. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shrader Posted February 28, 2012 Report Share Posted February 28, 2012 I hate the fact that Kassian is gone but give Hodgson a chance. He will be a difference maker for the sabres. He has instincts you can't teach and a wicked shot. Vancouver was very high on this kid but they are deep at centre so he was only getting 12 min a night but was a difference maker for them. On the 3rd line. The one alarm bell about this deal is I'm hearing from John Garret that his dad interferes so that could be bad a-la Eric Lindros. He's one year away from negotiating a new contract with a team that know likes to heavily front load contracts. He should have dollar signs flashing in his head. Hopefully he sees just that and goes out and attempts to earn that contract. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
... Posted February 28, 2012 Report Share Posted February 28, 2012 Who is this guy's dad? Why is he allowed to even be a factor between a pro player and a pro team? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Huckleberry Posted February 28, 2012 Report Share Posted February 28, 2012 I'd just put hodgon on first line duty, and get roy away from vanek and pommer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ghost of Dwight Drane Posted February 28, 2012 Report Share Posted February 28, 2012 Who is this guy's dad? Why is he allowed to even be a factor between a pro player and a pro team? Interesting you ask.... http://www.oma.on.ca/en/aboutoma/staffprofiles.asp I'm sure he and Uncle Terry will be talking in the owner's box soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
... Posted February 28, 2012 Report Share Posted February 28, 2012 Interesting you ask.... http://www.oma.on.ca...affprofiles.asp I'm sure he and Uncle Terry will be talking in the owner's box soon. Well, I suppose daddy should be really happy about the trade, if nothing else. Reads like Hodgson should be, too, at least until Obamacare wrecks health care in this country. I still haven't found anything definitive on his dad interfering, except that I thought I read somewhere it had to do with getting Hodgson to seek another medical opinion about his back. If that's all it is, I think any loving father would tell his son to make sure the diagnosis is correct, and, ultimately, he was right to do so. And if the coach acts immature, and unprofessional, what's a dad to do? Papa Hodgson is a big shot bureaucrat, the media is going to run to him looking for comments on what's happening with his son - he's not going to refuse camera time. I think it's much ado about nothing, really. Sounds like the kid could be useful; hopefully he doesn't have the attitude, and hopefully the Sabres find a scary player over the summer. I don't think I can grade the Sabres yet on this stuff, not until opening day next season. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darksabre Posted February 28, 2012 Report Share Posted February 28, 2012 Well, I suppose daddy should be really happy about the trade, if nothing else. Reads like Hodgson should be, too, at least until Obamacare wrecks health care in this country. I still haven't found anything definitive on his dad interfering, except that I thought I read somewhere it had to do with getting Hodgson to seek another medical opinion about his back. If that's all it is, I think any loving father would tell his son to make sure the diagnosis is correct, and, ultimately, he was right to do so. And if the coach acts immature, and unprofessional, what's a dad to do? Papa Hodgson is a big shot bureaucrat, the media is going to run to him looking for comments on what's happening with his son - he's not going to refuse camera time. I think it's much ado about nothing, really. Sounds like the kid could be useful; hopefully he doesn't have the attitude, and hopefully the Sabres find a scary player over the summer. I don't think I can grade the Sabres yet on this stuff, not until opening day next season. There has been criticism of AV in Vancouver as well. He's not known to be a terribly reasonable person. His handling of the goaltending situation in the playoffs led to some hard feelings. And hey, Crosby stepped outside the team for consultation and no one hates him for that, so... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thesportsbuff Posted February 28, 2012 Report Share Posted February 28, 2012 One more reason that I am very happy about the way things played out today is that Buffalo didn't really hurt themselves any. The trade helps them both right now (this season) and in the future. I know the plan shouldn't be to squeak into 8th place and try to make a run, but now that we've made progress by adding a first rounder and a Top 6 goal-scoring centerman in Hodgson, and all we really lost from a short-term point of view is Gaustad and a largely unproductive player in Kassian thus far, Buffalo could still make a playoff run this year. It keeps the fans happy, it could help Hodgson to get comfortable quicker knowing that they're still in the thick of it (it's not like he went to Columbus, where he could lose all desire to play what-so-ever), and if they do sneak in and, god forbid, ride Miller to a first round upset over the Rangers, the Zach Parise's of the free agent world are that much more likely to listen to an offer from the Sabres. I know many of you wanted to see Stafford, Roy, and Boyes unloaded, but keeping them isn't the worst situation either. Boyes is gone this summer regardless -- who cares if we could have gotten a 5th round pick back for him, the best part of him being traded would have been the money off the Sabres books. And it's still coming off this summer. Roy is a different story. As a non-rental player, there was really no hurry to move Derek this afternoon. I think a draft day deal is still a strong possibility and would probably allow Buffalo to really field all kinds of offers and explore different routes. Maybe we could have gotten a more valuable package of picks and prospects today, but on draft day we can get a package that actually suits our needs. This is a purely hypothetical situation to demonstrate my point, but let's pretend the Sabres have a great goaltender, a stacked defense, a prolific offense, and have identified their only need as being a #1 center -- maybe on deadline day, they could have traded their best prospect for two valuable first round picks. But on draft day, you can trade that same prospect for the #1 center you've been looking for. Sometimes you give up a little bit of value just to make sure you address the right needs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
qwksndmonster Posted February 28, 2012 Report Share Posted February 28, 2012 Well, I suppose daddy should be really happy about the trade, if nothing else. Reads like Hodgson should be, too, at least until Obamacare wrecks health care in this country. Please. Please stop randomly peppering in politics to the hockey talk. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eleven Posted February 28, 2012 Report Share Posted February 28, 2012 Please. Please stop randomly peppering in politics to the hockey talk. Yep. There's a whole thread for that. And I hope it stops infecting the book thread, too. Go to the state of the union thing and have it out there, where the rest of us can look at it, or not, as we please. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
... Posted February 28, 2012 Report Share Posted February 28, 2012 Please. Please stop randomly peppering in politics to the hockey talk. Please stop randomly asking people to stop mentioning things randomly. Oh, you're not? Neither am I. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eleven Posted February 28, 2012 Report Share Posted February 28, 2012 Please stop randomly asking people to stop mentioning things randomly. Oh, you're not? Neither am I. Neither your thoughts, nor mine, on health care belong in a thread about how the Sabres did on deadline day. You know that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K-9 Posted February 28, 2012 Report Share Posted February 28, 2012 I seen Kassian at least 15 times in Junior. The Otters opened and closed the playoffs with them the last two years. Kassian was very noticable because of his size. On the Windsor teams he played on there was a boat load of talent so it was probably hard to seperate himself that way. In those games I can't say I noticed him being rough and tough. Their goalie Jack Campbell seemed to have more of a physical impact. I remember sitting there a wondering why the Sabres were so high on him. I wrote about this before. He is a big kid and when I seen him play live, it was only against the Otters. Erie's team is/ was composed of fast quick smallish players, which didn't really give anyone a chance to drill them and not offering to fight a whole lot. His size may have worked against him when I saw him, but overall I can't say I was impressed. He got his reputation for being a tough guy in the OHL for stupid suspendable hits. In the World Juniors last year he was suspended for an Elbow. I missed your reply earlier. Thanks for the insight. Again, it furthers my suspicions as well as others that feel the same way, and that is that while he is good with the fists and has a reputation as a tough guy because of questionable hits and a bar room brawl, he never really possessed the physical game that you'd like to see in a prospect his size and that it was something that he would have to develop going forward. That remains to be seen and I hope he does but I think we will miss his puck control along the boards and occassional good pass more than any physical aspect he currently brings to the game. And no, I don't include his fighting ability in the equation. We didn't draft him to become another Dave Schultz. GO SABRES!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Weave Posted February 28, 2012 Report Share Posted February 28, 2012 Neither your thoughts, nor mine, on health care belong in a thread about how the Sabres did on deadline day. You know that. Is it OK if I blame Obama for Roy still being on the team? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eleven Posted February 28, 2012 Report Share Posted February 28, 2012 Is it OK if I blame Obama for Roy still being on the team? As long as I can point out that he joined the team during the Bush administration, sure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darksabre Posted February 28, 2012 Report Share Posted February 28, 2012 As long as I can point out that he joined the team during the Bush administration, sure. Ohhhh boy, here we go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eleven Posted February 28, 2012 Report Share Posted February 28, 2012 Ohhhh boy, here we go. Nah. Not here. And not weave; he's smarter than that! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darksabre Posted February 28, 2012 Report Share Posted February 28, 2012 Nah. Not here. And not weave; he's smarter than that! It's not weave I'm worried about. :ph34r: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eleven Posted February 28, 2012 Report Share Posted February 28, 2012 It's not weave I'm worried about. :ph34r: It's Mike Grier with a yellow mask that you're worried about? (credit to chz...) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SwampD Posted February 28, 2012 Report Share Posted February 28, 2012 Please stop randomly asking people to stop mentioning things randomly. Oh, you're not? Neither am I. Hodgson is Canadian. They have socialized medicine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spndnchz Posted February 28, 2012 Report Share Posted February 28, 2012 Can anyone show me game tapes of Kassian in Juniors or the AHL where he was this gritty, physical player, always strong on the puck, constantly winning puck battles, and finishing his checks? Where is it? It wasn't there in juniors, the JWC, AHL, or NHL. I'm glad he can take a punch and won't back down when challenged but, like Rob Ray was saying, what's the sense of having great size and physical presence if he wasn't going to bring it every night? Is that on Lindy? I doubt it. Foligno doesn't seem to have any problems playing the physical game that Lindy expects out of those types of players. From what I can gather from TSN analysts, Kassian will be brought in to add grit and toughness and be a protector in the lineup. That's NOT a role that he's ever played from what I've seen and it has the potential to retard his development if that's all they ask him to do. GO SABRES!!! So he'll be turned into the goon he always wanted to be. And end up being a Andrew Peters. Sorry Mr. Kassian. We know it's not what you wanted. You wanted to be a star, a goal scorer, something other than a goon but the rep sticks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ghost of Dwight Drane Posted February 28, 2012 Report Share Posted February 28, 2012 So he'll be turned into the goon he always wanted to be. And end up being a Andrew Peters. Sorry Mr. Kassian. We know it's not what you wanted. You wanted to be a star, a goal scorer, something other than a goon but the rep sticks. Wow.....I bet you charge as much as you can on your ex's credit card #'s you write down, right after you break up. You cold, woman.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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