I remember after the first period being kinda choked, Kessel bailed on a couple hits, skating around looked disenterested.
Then bang, hatty plus the clinching assist.
He is, they say, “powerful” – enough to belt a golf ball more than 350 yards, manhandle a leg press or blow away from them on the ice in practice.
And if that’s “out of shape,” they’d like to be signed up.
“Extremely powerful,” Leafs netminder James Reimer said of Kessel’s deceptive gifts. “It’s just sneaky, strong power. I don’t know what he does in the summer to work on it or if that’s just natural ability, but he’s got probably the strongest legs on the team.”
“He’s as strong a skater in the lower body as we have on our team,” added head coach Randy Carlyle, who credits Kessel’s strength and low centre of gravity with both his remarkable acceleration and quick, hard shot. “I think he’s just got God-given talent.”
Lupul, meanwhile, can only chuckle when asked why appearances are so deceiving when it comes to Kessel. He has known him long enough now to realize Kessel is simply one of the most athletically talented people he’ll ever meet, whether they are on the rink, the golf course or anywhere else.
And he doesn’t underestimate him any more.
“Any sport you want to play him in, he’ll beat you at,” Lupul said. “That’s just natural fast-twitch muscles. It’s the same thing if you go play golf with him. … You wouldn’t picture him driving the ball 50, 60 yards past you, but it happens.
“Some people are naturally powerful, and in his case, that’s what gives him that extra gear.”
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/spor...stick-and-deceptive-strength/article16677523/
No post from this article? Quotes include:
And