I turned on the World Junior Championship final game last night and watched overtime and the shootout, which had me on the edge of my seat. The USA managed to pull it out in the end, with Tyler Parsons stopping all 5 shots in the shootout, and Troy Terry was the hero again with the lone shootout score. Can’t wait for this tournament to come back to Buffalo next year!
Category: Junior Hockey
-
Kassian Not A Solution
First spotted via a Bob McKenzie tweet, Zack Kassian is expected to sign his entry-level deal today. BZK is tearing it up with the Spits, with 7 goals, 13 assists in 11 games. He is the Sabres’ 1st rounder from 2009, 13th overall.
However, he’s not a solution for the Sabres woes, as he is not eligible to play except in an emergency situation, since he was not under contract before the NHL season started. What is an emergency situation? Here’s a good quote from The Puck Stops Here, who covered a similar situation with Brayden Schenn last season:
Under normal circumstances, after an NHL team sends a player back to junior, they cannot call him up for the remainder of the season. The only exception to this is in an emergency situation, where the team could not otherwise ice a full lineup of players.
So that means no healthy scratch forwards. Also, Kassian would have to be closer than the potential AHL call-ups, so he’d have to be the only option that could get there in time. Not very likely. So, we’ll still have to hold out hope for a shake-up trade of a certain top 20 center.
-
On Zack Kassian
As you all have heard by now, Zack Kassian was arrested after a bar fight the other day. The linked article at the Windsor Star has what few details there are, along with an epic picture of BZK that more than anything makes him look like a jerk. One of the commenters at this article says the other guy ‘got what he deserved’. Put as much stock in that as you would any random, anonymous internet comment.
You have to wonder what this will do to Zack and his ELC. Just a few weeks ago, it looked like Darcy was leaning towards signing him up and giving him a shot, now, who knows? Would another year in juniors fix maturity issues? Will being in Portland? For that one, it might depend on whether or not Kevin Dineen jumps on one of the NHL coaching jobs. The Sabres NEED his size and physicality, so it’ll be interesting to keep an eye on this situation over the next few weeks.
edit: Well this post was timely. The Buffalo News reports Kassian was formally charged in this matter.