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

[Buckskin86]

Kesler starts to resemble every rival's worst nightmare
Canuck forward regains his scoring touch, grit and tenacity to help team put together impressive streak of wins and performances
By Brad Ziemer, Vancouver Sun December 12, 2011


- It's like that scene from the movie Jerry Maguire, when Jerry (Tom Cruise) says to Dorothy (Renee Zellweger), "you ... you complete me."

That's kind of the way the Vancouver Canucks feel about Ryan Kesler.

He may not exactly complete them, but he sure makes them better when he is at the top of his game.

And if he's not quite there, Kesler is certainly close.

He had two goals and an assist in Vancouver's 4-1 win over the Ottawa Senators here on Saturday and is beginning to look like the player who scored 41 goals last season and won the Frank Selke Trophy as the NHL's top defensive forward.

It's probably not a coincidence that Vancouver's current run - nine wins in its last 10 games - has coincided with Kesler returning to form.

Kesler has 14 points in his last 10 games. In the first 14 games he played after returning from off-season hip surgery, Kesler had seven points.

"It's a work in progress," Kesler said after the Senators' game. "I know I wasn't playing my best hockey when I came back and I just tried to stay positive and stay with it and finally I am getting rewarded here."

cont...

Read more: http://www.vancouversun.com/sports/...st+nightmare/5845772/story.html#ixzz1gKKT6Sip

 

[Buckskin86]

Canucks? Ryan Kesler starting to look like his old dominant self
Postmedia News Feb 7, 2012
By Brad Ziemer

NASHVILLE ? If there?s an old country music classic that best describes just how dominant Ryan Kesler was in last season?s playoff series against the Nashville Predators, it just might be Crazy by Patsy Cline.

Kesler was, after all, crazy good in that Western Conference semi-final, which Vancouver won in six games.

The Canucks centre had five goals, including two game-winners, and 11 points in the series.

Nashville coach Barry Trotz hasn?t forgotten and neither have Kesler?s teammates as the Canucks prepare to play Tuesday in Nashville for the first time since last spring.

?Kesler had the all-world series against us, that was one of those dominant performances,? Trotz said Monday. ?It didn?t matter if I had Suter-Weber or if I had Orr and Bourque back there, it didn?t matter. He was having one of those series that was very, very dominant.

?That just proves that a special player, be it a goaltender, a defenceman, a forward, if you get on the right kind of roll and have one of those series, you can really make a difference and he was the difference-maker in that series.?

The Canucks hope Kesler, after a superb 2010-11 season that saw him score 41 goals and win the Frank Selke Trophy as the NHL?s top defensive forward, is beginning to round into the kind of form he displayed so regularly last season.

For the first time this season, Kesler has scored in three straight games and has four in his last five outings. He said Monday he feels as good as he has all season and acknowledged that the road back from off-season hip surgery contained more twists and turns than he had imagined.

?It?s an ongoing process,? he said. ?Obviously, I didn?t start the year the way I wanted to and it has been a battle to get back. But I am starting to feel good. I am starting to feel like myself again.?

cont...

http://sports.nationalpost.com/2012...-starting-to-look-like-his-old-dominant-self/

 

[Buckskin86]

Kesler bears down on comeback
His goal production is off, but the determined centre is solid on defence
By Ben Kuzma, The Province April 3, 2012

Ryan Kesler checks Calgary's Tim Jackman during the Canucks' 3-2 overtime victory Saturday.
Photograph by: Getty Images Files, The Province

At one point during his roller-coaster season, it was suggested that Ryan Kesler should make better use of his wingers. That came from the coach. On Saturday, Kesler's struggling wingers barely saw the ice in the third period and the irony was not lost on the Vancouver Canucks centre.

As much as offseason hip surgery and rotating wingers have hampered his offensive output, Kesler maintained a strong defence-first posture through necessity and one of the game's best shutdown players could contend for a second-consecutive Selke Trophy. He has but one point in his last nine games and those 22 goals are a far cry from a career high 41 last season, but a July 25 procedure to repair a torn hip labrum and an early Oct. 18 return meant Kes-ler had to tailor his game. While he laboured to find a strong stride and struggled with his release and accuracy because of tightness in the hip flexor, Kesler did what he does best. He got back to basics.

"It's been a tough year coming back from injury, but I think I'm skating better now and my game is more complete because I had to focus so hard early on defence being behind the 8-ball skating wise," Kes-ler said Monday. "It was so important for me to be in the right position at a the right time. I didn't want to be a liability defensively. Obviously, you want to help the team succeed on the scoreboard, but I first needed to worry about defence.


cont...

Read more: http://www.theprovince.com/sports/Kesler+bears+down+comeback/6402130/story.html#ixzz1qytHfkFp

 

[Buckskin86]

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DkEnLGTI3ro"]Interview with Ryan Kesler of the Vancouver Canucks - YouTube[/ame]

 

[Tonyank]

Out 6 months with shoulder surgery.

http://espn.go.com/nhl/story/_/id/7906863/ryan-kesler-vancouver-canucks-six-months-shoulder-surgery

Heal up, go to another team :)

 

[Buckskin86]

Canucks? Kesler won?t return from surgery until he?s ?110 per cent?
By Ben Kuzma, Postmedia News May 17, 2012

VANCOUVER ? Ryan Kesler isn?t watching the Stanley Cup playoffs, isn?t coming back early from shoulder surgery and isn?t worried that his bull-in-a-china-shop game needs to be significantly altered to reduce the wear on his battered body after three major procedures in the last five years.

It?s easy to believe the not-must-see TV approach with the Los Angeles Kings steamrolling through the post-season after sending the Vancouver Canucks to the sidelines in just five games. Kesler is still getting over the bitterness of that setback, so he doesn?t need a constant reminder of what could have been for the Presidents? Trophy winners.

It?s now easier to believe the driven centre has learned from past displays of bravado ? returning early on Oct. 18 from July 25 hip surgery ? and won?t push the return envelope before November following a May 8 procedure to mend a torn labrum suffered Feb. 9 in Minnesota. And it?s somewhat easier to believe that if mind and body are sound and if he?s not playing with rotating wingers, the fall from 41 to 22 goals last season means Kesler should be able to reach 30 ? as long as the former Selke Trophy winner practises what he?s preaching. He?s 27, but there are a lot of tough miles on his hockey odometer and four more years left on his contract at $5 million US annually.

?I?m not going to come back early,? Kesler stressed Thursday from his off-season home in West Bloomfield, Mich. ?With the program I have, the fourth-month period is when you can really start pushing the envelope and even if it goes until December, I?m not coming back until I?m 110 per cent when I know I?m ready and able to play my game.

?It?s going to take six months and the surgeon (Dr. Anthony Miniaci of the Cleveland Clinic) is not going to release me until I?m at full strength and mobility. I?m doing rehab two or three times a week with my therapist and rehab on my own every day to get my range of motion back slowly. I?ve started working out this week so my legs are more sore than my shoulder right now, but I?m not going to rush anything.?

cont...

Read more: http://www.theprovince.com/sports/C...y+until+cent/6640692/story.html#ixzz1vJvZvjd3

 

[Buckskin86]

Canucks forward Ryan Kesler won't be ready until January
First posted: Tuesday, October 02, 2012

Rehabbing Vancouver Canucks centre Ryan Kesler hasn't been affected, so far anyway, by the NHL lockout.

Kesler is still being paid after having off-season shoulder and wrist surgeries -- injured players who haven't been cleared to play aren't considered locked out. And the work stoppage likely won't impact him unless it stretches into the new year, since he doesn't expect to be ready to play until January.

"I'm still pretty banged up," Kesler told the Vancouver Sun. "Can't shoot. Can't really even stickhandle yet. I think the timeline was December before the wrist (surgery). When the wrist came into effect, it really hindered the shoulder.

"I couldn't do much for eight weeks so that puts you back two months with the shoulder. Strength-wise, I'm pretty far behind."

Kesler, who had wrist surgery in early May and shoulder surgery in late June, has been rehabbing at the Rogers Centre under the watchful eyes of the Canucks medical team. In addition to the two recent surgeries, he also went under the knife to repair a hip problem just over a year ago.

"No one wants to have three surgeries in a calendar year," he said. "It was tough but, in saying that, I'm just trying to get back to 100%. It's going to take a while but I'm putting in the time and effort. I just have to be patient and let everything heal."

http://www.torontosun.com/2012/10/02/canucks-forward-ryan-kesler-wont-be-ready-until-january

 

[Buckskin86]

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eTiblr3yfZk"]CCHA ProFiles - YouTube[/ame]

 

[Buckskin86]

Ryan Kesler - C - VAN - Jan. 10

Vancouver assistant GM Laurence Gilman isn't sure when Ryan Kesler will be able to return to action following off-season shoulder and wrist injuries.
"I don't know the answer to that question, and that's not being coy with you," Gilman told TEAM1040 radio on Thursday. "He's continuing on his rehabilitation, he's improving the strength in his shoulder. Needless to say, he's a critical component of our team. It's of vital importance that we get him as healthy as possible, as soon as possible, and it's of vital importance that when he get back into our lineup that he is healthy enough, and durable enough, to stay in our lineup." In December, Kesler's agent suggested that the Vancouver center may be "months away" from returning.

http://www.rotoworld.com/content/pl...news.asp?sport=NHL&id=1637&line=171123&spln=1

 

[Buckskin86]

Ryan Kesler: Making Progress
By RotoWire.com Staff | Rotowire.com

Update: Canucks general manager Mike Gillis said Kesler's rehab from shoulder and wrist surgeries has taken a turn for the better recently, the Vancouver Sun reports. "His spot isn't going to be vacant for a long period of time," Gillis said. "Ryan's had a really good three weeks, although you never have a definite time table on these things. He's a competitor and I know he wants to play."

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/ryan-kesler-making-progress-181000552.html

 

[Buckskin86]

Canucks' Ryan Kesler makes a super recovery
By HOSEA CHEUNG, QMI Agency

Canucks forward Ryan Kesler had a full skating session with teammates Sunday for the first time this season after having off-season shoulder and wrist surgeries. (BEN NELMS/Reuters)

VANCOUVER - It was rather fitting that Ryan Kesler was briefly given a cape to wear on Super Sunday.

At least that was what defenceman Kevin Bieksa intended when he jokingly draped a towel with the No. 17 on the back of the Vancouver Canucks star forward as he led stretches to start practice.

Skating a full session with the team for the first time this season, the player dubbed "Super Kes" is on the right track to returning. While he said there's no timeline yet for when he'll be back in the lineup, Kesler was excited to be on the ice again with his teammates Sunday.

"It's been an extremely long, hard road for me and it felt good to be back out there," he said. "I still got a fair bit of way to go."

The 28-year-old had off-season shoulder and wrist surgeries, forcing him to miss the start of the shortened season. For the most part, he's been skating on his own and working with trainers.

"I had to be patient," the second-line centre said. "That was my biggest thing ? I had to keep telling myself baby steps.?

cont...

http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Hockey/NHL/Vancouver/2013/02/03/20550236.html

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tVK0NC0i75Y"]Ryan Kesler back at practice (Feb 3, 2013) - YouTube[/ame]

 

[Buckskin86]

Canucks' Ryan Kesler expected to return to lineup Friday night
Kesler has not played since last April
The Canadian Press
Posted: Feb 14, 2013

Ryan Kesler no longer has to worry about wearing a grey jersey in practice.

After having discarded the grey duds that signal an injured player, he is slated to put on a regular Canucks jersey Friday as Vancouver (8-2-2) hosts the Dallas Stars (7-6-1).

Barring an unexpected change, Kesler will play for the first time since the opening round of last spring's playoffs. He spent the off-season and NHL lockout recuperating from shoulder and wrist injuries that bothered him last season and required surgery.

"My jersey colour changed, and I felt good out there," said Kesler after a practice Thursday.

Kesler wore a blue jersey after instead of the grey one that had warned players not to hit him. The discarding of the grey jersey signalled that he has been cleared for contact. Coach Alain Vigneault confirmed he was also medically cleared to play a game.

"There's all indication that he's ready to go," said Vigneault.

The Canucks freed up a roster spot for Kesler by placing Manny Malhotra on injured reserve Thursday for the balance of the regular season and playoffs. General manager Mike Gillis said Malhotra has not adapted sufficiently since suffering a career-threatening eye injury in March 2011, and therefore is at risk of a serious injury.

cont..

http://www.cbc.ca/sports/hockey/nhl...nhl-vancouver-canucks-ryan-kesler-130214.html

 

[Smudger]

He's been practicing on the 2nd line with Chris Higgins & Zack Kassian, but also the 1st PP unit with both Sedins, Edler & Burrows. Looks like he's going to be right back in the thick of things when he comes back tonight. Vancouver really needs him too, as they've been struggling to score virtually all season.

 

[Buckeye513]

Kesler's 28 and the Sedin window is just about closed. Now's the time.

 

[Smudger]

Kesler's 28 and the Sedin window is just about closed. Now's the time.

Agreed. They probably wish they could have Cody Hodgson back too. I'm really wondering what's going on with the Luongo situation. There had been nothing but talks of a trading him since last summer, but now he's basically splitting time evenly with Cory Schneider. Luongo's started seven games & Schneider will have started seven as well if he get's the expected start tonight. Luongo has been the better goalie this season & playing both of them has worked out well for so far, but I'm curious if they will end up keeping him or not. I get the feeling they are trying to move him & haven't found a suitable deal yet, but maybe, just maybe he's played his way back into there good graces. We'll see.