Cole Cassels (MOD Warning Post #417)

Kickassguy

High-End Intangible
Sep 24, 2002
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The player we watched in the OHL playoffs should not be struggling this badly.

He was basically unable to train most of the summer and is pretty clearly still not right.

I forget now which thread it was posted in, but someone had linked to a Travis Green interview in which he mentioned specifically that Cassels was still very much in the recovery/rehab process, which is why he isn't playing right now, and the plan was to give him a significant amount of time off (through Dec) to get his conditioning and feet back, then ease him back into games.
 

biturbo19

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Jul 13, 2010
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I wonder how much that strategy is informed by the experience with Shinkaruk coming off injury last year, and how long it took him to really get going, and now carry through to this year with that full offseason of work?

Cassels being a guy with a foot issue, and with skating already being the likely biggest obstacle to Pro success for him, and coming off that very long season and short summer to begin with, i suppose it might be a pretty sound strategy to let him get himself prepared before really throwing him to the wolves. Though it's probably going to be a bit strange, basically inserting him mid-season, when the league is humming along at full game speed and he's basically just starting out.

Will be interesting to follow and see how it pans out.
 

VanJack

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Jul 11, 2014
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Sounds like this kid was seriously banged up at the end of last season...and I'm sure the AHL has been an eye-opener in terms of speed and finesse....but it's fascinating to see what TG has done with Grenier as a hockey player....if he's taken on Cassels as his next 'project', it'll be intriguing to see how it turns out.
 

go comets

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Jul 10, 2013
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Cole can already grow a manly beard, he's ready for the NHL ha.

F28njDF.jpg


I type in Cole Cassels in google image search past 24 hours, all it shows is Connor McDavid's sad face. lml ctfu
He is not even ready for the ahl..... Maybe echl ready????
 

NoShowWilly

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Apr 4, 2010
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hope Cassels can find some semblance of game here. I haven't seen a comets game this year but the harshness with which people tear into Cole has me pretty concerned.
 

Jimson Hogarth*

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Nov 21, 2013
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Hopefully Green and Benning show some more patience here. The Comets might have to continue to drag him around until henis recovered.
 

CanaFan

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Feb 19, 2010
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Moving up to pro hockey would normally be a big challenge for a player like Cassels, who is an average skater and relies on time and space to create offense. The pace and strength of his opposition at this level would have been a big challenge for any 20 year old kid who plays the way Cole does.

Now factor in an offseason where he was rehabbing rather than training his body for this tremendous jump. It just got 10x worse.

Hopefully he can eke through this season in a limited role and get to the summer uninjured. A full offseason of strength and skating work, plus the experience of this season, will do wonders for him.

That said, people who speculated (seriously or just falling into the playoff hype) that Cole could play in the NHL last season should give their heads a shake. His skating was always going to be a problem at a higher level, even without the injury.
 

sting101

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Feb 8, 2012
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hope Cassels can find some semblance of game here. I haven't seen a comets game this year but the harshness with which people tear into Cole has me pretty concerned.
Yes seemed to have the IQ size and poise that would translate well.

I had to laugh when his dad said he see's him as a 3rd 4th liner. I guess he was the best scout of his upside after all.

I don't know what happened to him but I swear at 18 in his first camp he was skating better than I've seen since and I'll add that scouts considered him the best forechecker in the OHL post draft year. You can't be that guy without decent closing speed.

In the Memorial cup year he seemed so methodical and poised but his skating looked laboured and without any semblance of top end gears.

Really disappointing start to his pro career.
 

Drop the Sopel

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May 4, 2007
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That said, people who speculated (seriously or just falling into the playoff hype) that Cole could play in the NHL last season should give their heads a shake. His skating was always going to be a problem at a higher level, even without the injury.

Yeah, I watched Cole at the Memorial cup and commented that he looked too slow for the AHL, let alone the NHL. Guy looked slow in Juniors, as he was playing through some type of injury. Couldn't believe some were even giving management crap for thinking Cole wasn't a serious threat for an NHL roster spot this summer.
 

DL44

Status quo
Sep 26, 2006
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^ (Canafan )the only part I will disagree with you about is Cassels was an average Jr. Skater...
At present he's a below average AHL skater and well below average NHL skater.

I just hope it's all due to last season's injury... But considering the timeline, that explanation will slowly fade as the weeks roll by... like Shinkaruk and Virtanen last season....

But we'll Get the most accurate glimpse of what the kid has to offer with his skating ability at 2016 camp if he has a healthy summer... Like Shink and Virt this fall.

I'm a little sceptical he'll be an NHLer at this point... But I'm waiting till next camp to really figure him out.
 

CanaFan

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Feb 19, 2010
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^ (Canafan )the only part I will disagree with you about is Cassels was an average Jr. Skater...
At present he's a below average AHL skater and well below average NHL skater.

I just hope it's all due to last season's injury... But considering the timeline, that explanation will slowly fade as the weeks roll by... like Shinkaruk and Virtanen last season....

But we'll Get the most accurate glimpse of what the kid has to offer with his skating ability at 2016 camp if he has a healthy summer... Like Shink and Virt this fall.

I'm a little sceptical he'll be an NHLer at this point... But I'm waiting till next camp to really figure him out.

It's tough to say exactly if he's "average" or "average+a little" but I caught two of his games in 2014-15 and thought his speed and pick-up looked poor. Now I know that's not everything that goes into being a good skater but my impression at the time was not good.

Now maybe he has improved it since then (prior to the injury) but he was coming from a place where even in junior it looked 'average', at least for his size and scoring pedigree.
 

crobro

Registered User
Aug 8, 2008
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Send John wild down to Utica for some power skating tips like half the kids in the lower mainland
 

biturbo19

Registered User
Jul 13, 2010
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Moving up to pro hockey would normally be a big challenge for a player like Cassels, who is an average skater and relies on time and space to create offense. The pace and strength of his opposition at this level would have been a big challenge for any 20 year old kid who plays the way Cole does.

Now factor in an offseason where he was rehabbing rather than training his body for this tremendous jump. It just got 10x worse.

Hopefully he can eke through this season in a limited role and get to the summer uninjured. A full offseason of strength and skating work, plus the experience of this season, will do wonders for him.

That said, people who speculated (seriously or just falling into the playoff hype) that Cole could play in the NHL last season should give their heads a shake. His skating was always going to be a problem at a higher level, even without the injury.

Yeah. Well said.

Cassels looks like the type of prospect who is going to find a way, in some capacity, to make it eventually. But the jump to Pros is a big one, and especially for a player with the sort of traits Cassels has. And how he deals with some of those weaknesses like his skating, will go a long way in determining how high he can go as a Pro player.

Throw in a long season followed up by a rehabbing offseason, and that's about the last thing he needed when making the jump. Gonna take time.
 

Zarpan

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Apr 27, 2010
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It's tough to say exactly if he's "average" or "average+a little" but I caught two of his games in 2014-15 and thought his speed and pick-up looked poor. Now I know that's not everything that goes into being a good skater but my impression at the time was not good.

Now maybe he has improved it since then (prior to the injury) but he was coming from a place where even in junior it looked 'average', at least for his size and scoring pedigree.

When did you watch his games? Apparently he was first injured in December and played with that injury through the rest of the year.

He was still very effective in junior with that injury, but was averaging a tremendous 1.77 PPG before December.
 

CanaFan

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When did you watch his games? Apparently he was first injured in December and played with that injury through the rest of the year.

He was still very effective in junior with that injury, but was averaging a tremendous 1.77 PPG before December.


Both were after Christmas for sure. One was a late season game (caught it on Sportsnet) and another was a playoff game IIRC. So if his skating was impacted by injury I guess that could have factored in to what I recall of it. What was the injury btw? Was it a groin or something that would have allowed him to play but impacted his 'explosiveness'?
 

fancouver

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Jan 15, 2009
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Vancouver
Skating. That's really what he's struggling with. And the rehab set him back a lot.

But even in Junior, his skating did not stand out. I can't imagine how behind he is in the AHL. Skating seems to be the biggest hurdle for every prospect. Even Horvat had to work harder on his skating in 2013.
 

VanJack

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Jul 11, 2014
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Important to remember that both Cassels and Subban were 3-4th round draft-picks in the same year....they're weren't first-rounders for a reason....going to take both some time in Utica to refine their games....Cassels issue is skating and with Subban it's defensive positioning....I know one thing...whether or not they get better, it won't be for a lack of effort on the part of either one.
 

Jay Cee

P4G
May 8, 2007
6,151
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Halifax
Huge disappointment. Hopefully he bounces back. The fact he couldn't do much in the AHL at all is not encouraging.
 

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