Tag Archives: Kassian

I Find This Photo Odd: Zack Kassian puts Rob Klinkhammer to sleep

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I Find This Photo Odd: Zack Kassian puts Rob Klinkhammer to sleep

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When Raffi Torres left Vancouver for Phoenix, we wondered aloud if the Canucks had anybody on the payroll that could replace what he brought. Two years later, I think it’s safe to say that Zack Kassian is the closest we’ve come. But it’s not just that he’s a big, bruising forward with soft hands, or that he’s a little bit insane. It’s also that photogenic face.

I don’t mean photogenic in the usual sense. It’s not that Kassian’s looks good in photographs, or that his features are stand out in some special way. But a photo of Zack Kassian is likely to be hilarious, much more so than your usual hockey player, in much the same way a photo of Raffi Torres was almost a sure-fire laugher.

And as it turns out, Kassian’s amusing photogenicity is somewhat transferrable. His mere presence in a picture can turn...

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Canucks ship winger Zack Kassian to minors, bring up Nicklas Jensen

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A picture shows The Shroud of Turin (top) on March 30, 2013 in the Turin cathedral. On Holy Saturday, the linen cloth imprinted with the faint brownish image of what appears to be a manís body ó and that skeptics dismiss as ancient forgery ó will be shown live on the Italian state broadcaster RAI, 40 years after its first and only televised ìostentation,î as a public exposure of the shroud is known. On Good Friday, a Piedmont company, Haltadefinizione, introduced a new app, Shroud 2.0, which f

Photos: The Shroud of Turin

The Shroud of Turin went on display for a special TV appearance Saturday amid new research disputing claims it’s a medieval fake and purporting to date the linen some say was Jesus’ burial cloth to around the time of his death. Pope Francis sent a special video message to the event in Turin’s cathedral, but made no claim that...

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GM hopes surgery will accelerate David Booth’s rehab

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Even with David Booth gone for the regular season, and possibly the post-season too, Vancouver GM Mike Gillis claims he isn’t focused on acquiring a winger to improve his team before the trade deadline.

The reason is obvious. The Canucks need a centre.

Gillis said Friday Booth underwent surgery, hoping they could accelerate his rehab.

“There’s a chance,” Gillis said when asked if Booth could still come back for the playoffs.

Of course, that would take a long playoff run and right now the Canucks are in tough just to get in, especially if they aren’t able to pull the trigger on a deal which lands a centre.

It’s also worth noting here, NHL teams can’t buy out injured players which could complicate things this offseason if the Canucks were planning to buy Booth out and he’s not fully recovered.

Gillis said he thought Chris Higgins and Zack Kassian would be back soon and the team was “pretty solid” at wing.

“I don’t think that’s...

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Hansen hit on Hossa: Vigneault ‘got a chuckle’ out of suspension for suddenly dastardly Dane

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DALLAS — Although Marian Hossa may play his next game, Jannik Hansen will not.

The Dane is out tonight in Dallas with a one-game suspension, a decision head coach Alain Vigneault essentially called a joke.

Vigneault said he “got a chuckle” watching Brendan Shanahan’s explanation. In other words, he’s laughing at you, NHL.

The NHL’s suspension, however, does suggest the league is taking head shots seriously. Sometimes, anyway.

Hossa being back on the ice today, of course, suggests otherwise. Sure seems reckless, dangerous and careless that he’s back so soon after being knocked unconscious. More careless than Hansen’s hit?

WILLES: Hansen suspension satisfies optics

But maybe Hossa breezed through his concussion protocol in a couple of days, instead of a week.

“Doesn’t surprise me,” Hansen said of Hossa being back. “I should probably stay out of that one.”

The biggest issue for Hansen is his sullied record. He would now be viewed as a repeat offender.

“You’re trying to play an honest game...

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Gallagher: Canucks’ lost mojo seems to be the status quo

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It would be a wonderful world if you could believe the Vancouver Canucks were just off to a little bit of a sputtering start, and that soon all would be well in this team’s world.

But is that really the case? Or is it true that this team has been playing this same tired, below-expected standards since after that game way back on Jan. 7 against the Bruins — a physical, brawling 4-3 win in Boston — because nothing has changed since GM Mike Gillis admitted things weren’t quite right since that tilt.

“I didn’t think we executed as well or played as well from that point for the remainder of the season,” Gillis said at his April 24 season ending press conference, indicating a cumulative fatigue had befallen his troops.

“There were certain points where our goaltending was so good, it got us through. Heading into the playoffs we won a lot of games at the end that I thought...

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Gallagher: Zack Kassian plays to his potential in loss to Oilers

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Another egg may have been laid by the local hockey team Sunday night but assuming at some point they get this shaky ship turned back in the right direction, one player they may have making a big difference before it's all over is Zack Kassian.

Playing what was clearly his best game in a Canuck uniform, the man who was traded for Cody Hodgson in a deal that will be examined by Vancouver hockey fans until the oil sands run dry, was pretty darn good in a losing cause.

The hulking winger came up with a pretty goal while playing one of two shifts with the Sedin twins, enjoyed another couple of great scoring chances and landed some big hits. And when you include the fact he also drew a first period penalty and then engaged the always-willing Ben Eager in some spirited third period fisticuffs and fared pretty well, there isn't a whole lot more a forward can...

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Canuck Zack Kassian holds back on group skate to test sore back (with video)

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The boys are all back in town, but not all the Vancouver Canucks were skating as a group Thursday at UBC.

Right-winger Zack Kassian went for a twirl by himself as he tested a sore back. He claimed afterwards he was fine and expects to be prepared when training camp opens Sunday. Kassian, who turns 22 on Jan. 24, sat out his last game with the Chicago Wolves as a precautionary move.

“There was no sense in pushing it and being in a high-intensity practice today so I just went for a light skate,” Kassian said. “It felt good. The plan is to be ready when camp opens.”

Kassian, acquired last Feb. 27 for Cody Hodgson, collected seven goals and 13 assists in 28 games with the American Hockey League Wolves. He said the back spasms “just came up” and pledged to take care of the problem so it doesn’t become a recurring issue.

“When you’re playing a lot of hockey in...

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Hungry like the Wolves: Prospects scoring, team losing

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Hungry like the Wolves: Prospects scoring, team losing

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Hungry like the Wolves is an ongoing feature on Pass it to Bulis during the lockout, wherein we keep an eye on the Canucks prospects and property currently playing for the Wolves as it’s the closest thing we’re going to get to Canucks hockey for quite some time.

The Chicago Wolves got their season off to a great start, winning their first four games. Since then, they have struggled mightily. The Wolves have lost four of their last five games and haven’t won consecutive games since that early four-game winning streak. While it’s still early in the season, the Wolves have now fallen to eighth in the Western Conference and need to find a way to turn things around.

The Wolves’ powerplay is atrocious, converting at a paltry 9.9%, which is 27th in the league. Their penalty kill is even worse, as they have killed off just 76.5% of their penalties,...

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Canucks’ Pahlsson looks Sweden bound

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Markus Naslund. Stan Smyl. Trevor Linden. And pretty soon, you can add Sammy Pahlsson to that list. As my friend Thomas Drance reported over the weekend, Pahlsson will most likely be signing in Sweden with his hometown club of Modo, putting an end to his illustrious NHL career. This comes as a blow to Vancouver fans, many of whom were still dealing with the Canucks quick first round exit this year. Fans were so busy trying to figure out what was going to happen with the goaltending situation that they didn’t even bother to think of what would happen if Pahlsson didn’t re-sign. Except now they have to face the reality of going forward without one of the greatest Canuck players of all time. All one has to do is look at twitter to see the fan reaction to this crushing news.

pahlssontweet3 Vancouver legend Samuel Pahlsson An end of... </div> <a href=Read more

Ex-Canuck Cody Hodgson a complainer, ‘didn’t want to be here,’ says GM Mike Gillis

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Cody Hodgson
Brad Ziemer, Vancouver Sun VANCOUVER — Cody Hodgson is gone, but apparently not forgotten. Mike Gillis, who had been largely silent on the reasons why he traded the player he made his first draft pick as Vancouver Canucks general manager four years ago, labelled Hodgson a chronic complainer during his end-of-season post-mortem Tuesday at Rogers Arena. "There clearly were issues that were ongoing," Gillis said of Hodgson. "I spent more time on Cody's issues than every other player combined on our team the last three years." Gillis made the comments while defending the trade deadline day deal that sent Hodgson to the Buffalo Sabres for winger Zack Kassian and defenceman Marc-Andre Gragnani. "We made a determination that he didn't want to be here, we built him into something we could move," Gillis said. "There were six young players that I would have traded him for if any of them were ever made available. One was made available at the trade deadline and it...
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Zack’s come a long way since tragedy; Bounced back from loss of his dad to make NHL

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Jason Botchford The Province Zack Kassian is 21 and may be on his way to having this city by the tail. But he didn't spend his first week in Vancouver blowing up the city with good times. He wasn't tearing a strip off Granville. No, he was where he's been for most of those 21 years. He was living in a quaint, squished apartment. He was getting as much rest as possible, to be as ready as possible for his next hockey game. And his mom, Shirley, was close by, cooking him dinner. Impossible to say how many times this scene played out in their lives. Countless comes to mind. It's understandable, their reunion last week in Vancouver, which also included his sister Amber, had plenty of memories. "We actually were just laughing because we were talking about when money was tight," Shirley recalled. "We were worrying about gas and how I was going to feed [Zack] for the week and he'd go bust a helmet,...
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Q&A: Zack Kassian

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>GLENDALE, AZ - FEBRUARY 28: Zack Kassian #9 of the Vancouver Canucks warms up before the NHL game against the Phoenix Coyotes at Jobing.com Arena on February 28, 2012 in Glendale, Arizona. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
Gord McIntyre The Province He was still eligible to play junior hockey this season, and - including Team Canada - the Canucks became the sixth team Zack Kassian has suited up for since the 2011 world junior championship. Province Sports' Gord McIntyre sat down with the 21-year-old power forward a few days ago. McIntyre: I'm curious, just how nervous you were when that penalty shot was called? (Twenty-six seconds into his second game with Vancouver, vs. Dallas, on March 3) It was so early in the game. Kassian: So nervous. The guys on the bench were telling me it's just another hockey play, but it was my third home game and to get a penalty shot on your first shift is definitely out of the ordinary. That doesn't happen every day in hockey. With the new surroundings, all the fans, it was nerve-racking. M: That's your go-to move, I understand [a deke to his backhand, which he muffed]. K: I don't know. After I...
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Kassian’s proving to be a keeper; Two-way threat acquired from Buffalo has potential to be top-six forward

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Vancouver Canucks Kassian is hauled down by Los Angeles Kings Stoll during the first period of their NHL hockey game in Vancouver
Ben Kuzma The Province Chemistry sets were popular when I was a kid. Fill a test tube with a couple of compatible ingredients and one that maybe isn't. Give it a vigorous shake, stand back and watch the colours change as some sort of weird foam spills over the top. Alain Vigneault is doing the same with his line combinations and having mixed results. The Vancouver Canucks coach wants to know how his NHL trade deadline ingredients - Zack Kassian, Sami Pahlsson and Marc-Andre Gragnani - will react when mixed with the staples, and he's got 16 games to draw the right kind of conclusion from this experiment. In that respect, keeping Kassian on the second line with Ryan Kes-ler and David Booth tonight against the Dallas Stars isn't that surprising. Either is demoting the struggling Mason Raymond to the fourth line while also keeping the winger on the second power-play unit and giving Gragnani a longer look on the back end to...
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