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C Ryan Kesler (Anaheim Ducks, 2011 Selke Trophy, All Star)

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I'm watching the Vancouver/Calgary game and Kessler just dropped the gloves with Igilna. After the fight, the Vancouver announcers said Kessler is getting a lot of ice time now and "has become a first class irritant for his opponents". Kessler's line goes out ever time the Vancouver coaching staff see Igilna on the ice. That's a huge compliment for Kessler that they want him to match up against a player of Igilna's caliber. Right at the end of the 2nd period, Kessler scored his 6th goal of the year. If he gets an assist, he'll have a "Gordie Howe" hat-trick. (Goal, assist and a fight) It really looks like Kessler is making a name for himself in the NHL.
 
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http://dispatch.com/bluejackets/bluejackets.php?story=dispatch/2006/02/07/20060207-E4-01.html
Ex-Buckeye carves out niche
Kesler catches on to subtleties of NHL game with Canucks
Tuesday, February 07, 2006
Aaron Portzline
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
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VANCOUVER, British Columbia — With Markus Naslund, Todd Bertuzzi, Ed Jovanovski, the Sedin twins and so on, the Vancouver Canucks have always given opponents a lot to think about.
This season, another name has emerged, though not in the ultra-skill class as those mentioned above.
Center Ryan Kesler, who played at Ohio State during the 2003-04 season, has garnered a lot of headlines on Canada’s West Coast lately for his physical, relentless play on both ends of the ice.
"I think I finally figured out how I have to play," Kesler said. "I’ve got a role on this team now, and it’s not the role I played last season (in the minors) or at Ohio State.
"And I’m finally starting to get the bounces I wasn’t getting earlier in the year."
Kesler, who started on the Canucks’ grind line last night against the Blue Jackets in GM Place, has played in all 55 games for Vancouver this season, totaling six goals, eight assists and 62 penalty minutes.
Since Jan. 10, Kesler has two goals, seven assists and a plus-7 rating in 13 games.
But Kesler has taken on a physical role, including a well-publicized fight with Calgary Flames standout Jarome Iginla on Friday.
"I think if you’d ask him, he’d say he got off to a slow start," center Brendan Morrison said. "But the last month or so, he’s been great for us.
"At first, he was a little unsure how he should play. But he’s started to figure it out. He’s that guy who brings energy and he’s physical, but he can score goals, too."
Kesler’s tussle with Iginla seemed to surprise everybody in Vancouver except his fellow Canucks.
Lately, they note, he hasn’t backed down from anybody. Two weeks ago, when the Jackets played the Canucks in Nationwide Arena, Kesler lined up Rick Nash for hits at least twice.
"The best part about R.K. is he’s playing physical with everybody," Morrison said. "Nobody’s untouchable. Whether it’s Nash or Iginla or whoever, he’s right up there on top of them."
Kesler was asked by a Vancouver radio reporter whether, three nights after taking on Iginla, he’d go after Jody Shelley, the Blue Jackets’ enforcer.
"No, no," Kesler said. "He’s a little out of my league."
As for leaving OSU after only one year, Kesler said he has no regrets.
"I definitely miss the guys," Kesler said. "But I wouldn’t change a thing. I think I definitely, 100 percent, made the right decision to leave early and go pro."
Slap shots

In a departure from the norm, the Jackets spent last night in Vancouver and planned to fly back to Columbus early this morning. They will not practice today. . . . Blue Jackets general manager Doug MacLean left yesterday morning to attend the NHL general manager meetings in Las Vegas.
[email protected]
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kesler has been placed on long term ir. im not going to lookup and crunch the numbers but im more than willing to wager a bet that ryan cannot be acitvated until the playoffs come around or the canucks will be over the cap. once the playoffs start no cap is in place.

i dont know how far a long he is from his hip surgery in jan. but i hope for the best and maybe come playoff time hell be back on the ice.
 
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Datsyuk, Kesler, Richards named Selke Trophy finalists
The National Hockey League announced the three finalists for the Frank Selke Trophy on Tuesday with Pavel Datsyuk, Ryan Kesler and Mike Richards getting the honours.
The Selke is awarded "to the forward who best excels in the defensive aspects of the game."
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Kesler helped the Canucks to the fourth-best defensive record in the Western Conference and seventh in the NHL, Vancouver only allowed 220 goals-against last season. He led the Canucks in takeaways (74) and ranked first among Vancouver forwards in shorthanded ice time per game (3:19). He also scored two shorthanded goals, had a plus-8 rating and won a career-high 54% of his face-offs (527 of 976).
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The Hockey News: Top Shelf: Top Shelf: Time is now for Kesler to lead Canucks
It’s a little too soon and tacky to say the Vancouver Canucks need a hero.

But the left-coasters could undoubtedly use a lift.

Most believe that charge must originate from the crease, where Roberto Luongo has been more Bobby Lose – even Bobby Booed – than the sweet Bobby Lou Canucks fans have come to adore.

That trend has all the staying power of Cooperalls.

True, Luongo’s struggles are made a touch more troubling by the fact last season ended on a sour note for him and the club, but better play from the Canucks goalie is as assured as the tide.

The player I believe needs to take Vancouver by the throat and drag them out of an early-season rut and beyond is Ryan Kesler. On a team where the captain stands in the crease and the two most skilled players are frequently mistaken for each other, but never Mark Messier, there’s need for a leader like Kesler, who has enough skill and will to be a defining skater on any NHL club.

(Come to think of it, references to Mark Messier’s leadership abilities might be lost on Canuck fans.)

To be clear, I’m not one of those who contends the Sedins are incapable of leading a team to glory based on the fact more than their hands are soft. My go-to “for example” on this remains how nobody thought Henrik Zetterberg and Pavel Datsyuk had the gumption to lead a team to glory – until they did.

Maybe the Sedins have it in them, too, but Kesler, for my money, shows all the signs of a guy ready to assume the role of team bus driver.

Fourth-liners who fling themselves in front of shots or gleefully go face-first into the boards are easy to identify as grinders whose contributions go beyond what their actual athletic ability should dictate. Kesler is a higher form of that. His baseline skill set his better than most, yet not elite, but he consistently exceeds the parameters of what his god-given ability suggests he should provide.

He’s basically Mike Richards West, as long as we acknowledge nobody does what he does as well as Richards, a player whose two-way, jam-filled game is without equal right now.

Still, despite a 25-point chasm in potential offensive output, there are undeniable points of comparison between Kesler and Richards, starting with the fact Kesler was taken 23rd overall, one spot ahead of Richards in the 2003 draft.

They were also potential teammates when former Philadelphia GM Bob Clarke signed Kesler to an RFA offer sheet in the summer of 2006. I suspect tendering that offer, which Vancouver obviously matched, may have had more to do with Clarke recognizing what Kesler has in common with a former Flyer captain as much as any similarities with Philly’s current ‘C’ bearer.

Keith Primeau had finally succumbed to the concussion problems that plagued him throughout his career when Clarke went after Kesler. (Kesler, it should be noted, can become an RFA again next summer.)

The last season before the lockout, Primeau led the Flyers to within one game of the Stanley Cup final with an inspired playoff performance that saw him net nine goals and 16 points in 18 games. Primeau never scored more than 73 points in a season over his career, which is about where I’d put Kesler’s absolute high-end potential. But no Flyer – regardless of talent level – did more to advance Philly’s cause than Primeau that year.

Kesler fits that mold.

If Canucks fans want an example that hits closer to home, take a look at the banner hanging at GM Place in honor of Trevor Linden. The second overall pick from 1988 hit the 70-point barrier just four times in his career, but was slightly better than a point-per-game player during Vancouver’s run to the ’94 Cup final. That’s because the kind of game Linden deployed does wonders for a team when space becomes sparse and every inch must be earned.

We’re nowhere near that time of year yet, but the Canucks could use a bit of that skill-injected grit it once got from No. 16 – and No. 17 is just the man to provide it.
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[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v9NDguqiWDU]YouTube - Ryan Kesler's answering machine[/ame]

:lol:

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LqiWOv1xVKA&feature=related]YouTube - NHL 2K10 TV :30 Commercial[/ame]
 
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