Kassian focuses on role with Canucks
Ex-Sabres forward gets goal, assist against his old team - John Vogl
VANCOUVER — For now, Zack Kassian has taken over the Vancouver hockey scene. Folks are intrigued by the big right winger, whose highlights and clips have been blaring across television screens.
Eventually, though, the Canucks' new forward will fade into the background. The team boasts all-world talent in Daniel and Henrik Sedin, Ryan Kesler, Kevin Bieksa and Roberto Luongo, to name just a few, so the spotlight will inevitably shine elsewhere.
Kassian will be just fine with that.
"I kind of want to fly under the radar here," he said Saturday before facing his former team, the Buffalo Sabres. "You don't want to come in and try to be a world beater. There's enough great players in here already. I just want to do my little piece, work hard and play my role.
"They've welcomed me with open arms. I'm just real excited to get the opportunity to play here. They've got a great team here, and I'm just going to try to be a small piece to a big puzzle."
He's eager to prove he belongs and helped make his case by recording a goal and an assist during the third period of Buffalo's 5-3 win in Rogers Arena. He scored with 2:46 left to pull the Canucks within 4-3.
The 21-year-old was shocked by Monday's trade that sent him to Vancouver along with Marc-Andre Gragnani in exchange for Cody Hodgson and Alexander Sulzer. He wants to show the Canucks they made the right move and remind Sabres General Manager Darcy Regier why he was Buffalo's No. 1 prospect.
"I have something to prove to the Sabres and Vancouver," Kassian said. "As a young player in this league, you have to make a name for yourself. Me being traded away from Buffalo, I obviously want to play well and kind of show them what I could have been. Vancouver has high hopes for me and obviously I want to play well and show them they didn't make a mistake.
"Hockey's a business. If he feels that was the right move, Darcy, so be it."
"crash and bang" LOL Yup ... "more than excited to be here" Cool. "honored to even get the privilege to play"Kassian's role with the Canucks is well-defined. Coach Alain Vigneault sat him down upon arrival and outlined the plan.
"Just crash and bang, be a physical presence, strong on pucks. If I get the chance to score, bear down," Kassian said. "Obviously, anyone that gets traded to a contending team, and they're first in the conference, is going to do exactly what's told of them. I'm more than excited to be here. I feel honored to even get the privilege to play, so I'm just going to work hard, take it day by day, and hopefully, like I said earlier, be a small piece to a big puzzle."
"so I'm just going to work hard, take it day by day, and hopefully, like I said earlier, be a small piece to a big puzzle."
Dunno why Ruff did not play this kid. Maybe Ruff wants all new players to bow and scrape at his image until they get a real chance to play. Dunno.There may have been a mixed message to the forward in Buffalo. The 6-foot-3, 228-pounder entered the organization widely regarded as a hitter with a scoring touch. This season, the physical play had diminished. He said he was trying to concentrate on skill because the physical side would always be there.
Then, in evaluating the trade, Sabres coach Lindy Ruff said his only curiosity about Kassian's potential is whether the player's physical game will develop.
"I think here it kind of resparked my career," Kassian said.
As for the physical game, Kassian has had that from Day 1, even before he made it to the NHL. D'oh ...
Gragnani is also thrilled for the new opportunity. He sat for Buffalo in 13 of 14 games heading into the trade deadline, but he has played in two of Vancouver's three games since the deal.
"I'm happy," Gragnani said in Rogers Arena. "It's the best team. Who wouldn't want to be here?"
Well, the answer to that might be Hodgson. The center, who was playing less than 13 minutes a game for the Canucks, has repeatedly dodged questions all weekend about whether he or someone close to him requested a trade out of Vancouver. Adding to the intrigue is the fact his agent, Ritch Winter, initially wrote on Twitter that he "never demanded ice-time or trade" then deleted the post when chatter increased.
"Like I told many guys beforehand, I was as shocked as anybody," Hodgson said about the trade. "But I don't want to go back. Even when I played here the whole time I never went back and thought of readdressing old issues and that kind of stuff. I just wanted to go play, and that's what I want to do now. I've got a new team with Buffalo and good guys, and hopefully things will work out."
For me, I'm liking the trade. Looks like Kassian is off to a great start with the Canucks.The deal has the potential to work out for both teams. Hodgson is the two-way, playmaking center the Sabres desired. Kassian adds bulk to a team filled with scorers.
"Cody's a great player and he's going to be good for them, but I can't worry about Buffalo," Kassian said. "I've got a great chance ahead of me here to make a name for myself."
Said Hodgson: "Obviously, I was shocked initially, but the more you think about it, it was just a hockey trade. They got some good players and they're helping them win, and hopefully I can do the same in Buffalo. That's all I'm focused on."
