Phil Kessel heating up

[Lucifer_Devils]

Selected among the stars in both weekend's games he managed to get 4 points and a nice +5 record to help Boston beat Montreal and New Jersey and continue to climb in the standings.

His numbers are close to PPG ratio over the last 10 games. He's still the fastest player on the ice but seems stronger and gives a much better effort in his own zone.

From his recent play, can we expect 2 or 3 years down the road that he will be the dynamic player who can dominate a game like he was in junior ? Does he have the 100 points potential ?

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[Redwingsfan]

Selected among the stars in both weekend's games he managed to get 4 points and a nice +5 record to help Boston beat Montreal and New Jersey and continue to climb in the standings.

His numbers are close to PPG ratio over the last 10 games. He's still the fastest player on the ice but seems stronger and gives a much better effort in his own zone.

From his recent play, can we expect 2 or 3 years down the road that he will be the dynamic player who can dominate a game like he was in junior ? Does he have the 100 points potential ?

he will better every season and imo he will be one of the most dominant offensive players in the league. it was such a close race between the #1 and #5 pick in the 06 draft anyone of the those have the potential to be the best player in the draft.

 

[Rabid Ranger]

Has Kessel gained 20 or so pounds over the last month? He seems much stronger on the puck now then at the start of the season. What I like about Kessel's play of late is he's being productive even though he isn't scoring goals. He's competing on the backcheck and has shown a nice passing touch. I'm not sure if he'll "explode" next year, but by his third year I wouldn't be surprised if he's a PPG player.

 

[8BostonRocker24]

As a Bruins fan, I've watched the kid all year. And it really didn't take much for me to realize why he was the #5 pick in 2006. He has great speed, vision (for someone that is 18, 19 years old), and has a very high hockey IQ.

His numbers were not very impressive for the first half of the season (up to about December 30th) due to poor ice-time, playing a lot of 4th line minutes with 4th line wingers. He did play some on the 1-2 line, but that was short lived. The entire time Bruins fans saw flashes of greatness and some bone-head plays that even the best rookies make. He looked like a raw rookie with a ton of potential.

Then the cancer. With an amazingly fast recover.

Over the past 5-10 games he has been really heating up, and taking his game to a new level. He's looked like a 2nd or 3rd year player. Making smart passes, going hard into the corners but not exposing himself to the huge hit, and he's been in the correct place at the right time.
He's also been Boston's best Shot-Out player all year.

 

[espo*]

Watched about 6 games of him this year and he was struggling at the time (before the cancer) have'nt seen him since then but his pace is better.At the time he was struggling with nhl play pretty badly but to his credit was still hanging in there and playing hard ever shift (which was contrary to what one would expect if his supposed attitude problems were in fact real)

He was weak on the puck and was getting smoked pretty good reguarely when carrying the puck up ice and i did'nt see this great vision (one of my personal questions about the kid) some fans were saying he was showing early in the season.He seemed to need a lot of time and most importantly space to be dangerous out there.But his skills were carrying him through in what was a rough start to a very young nhl career. You could see glimpses of the player he could become if he got smarter/older/stronger and wiser out there.Even at 18,if he got a step on you...............defensemen and opposition players were having a rough time keeping up and although he was missing on opportunites you could see he did have a major league shot that would be trouble once he got his rythym going on it in the future.Every so often every game i watched him you would get a glimpse of his potential.

He's a ways away from reaching it and he has some work to do to get there but the guy is only 18 years old.It's mostly all there for him to become a stinging offensive force in the nhl. In 2-3 years he should (if he does what everyone who watches him knows he has to do to get better) become a dangerous NHL player out there.

he's 18,the raw tools are there,give him time.

 

[Form and Substance]

maybe not having goolie cancer was the reason why he's turned the corner.

 

[BronxBruin]

The thing about Phil that I am most pleased with has been his attitude. Having heard all of the negative things (especially the ESPN article with the Blue Jackets' scouts at the combine), I was a little concerned how he would adjust to the NHL. From all accounts, Phil has been humble, very receptive to learning from the coaches and older players, and seems to get along with everyone on the team. There have been a couple stories of Marc Savard and some of the other vets jokingly giving Phil a hard time and him taking it in stride. Additionally, Lewis benched him a handful of times early in the season publicly stating that Phil's defensive play wasn't acceptable. Phil has since worked on his defense and has drastically improved that area of his game with little to no complaining along the way. Phil is still pretty shy in interviews and doesn't really like the limelight off the ice but seems to have squashed the notions that he's a brat who would be a headache for whatever team drafted him.

 

[Dr Quincy]

Selected among the stars in both weekend's games he managed to get 4 points and a nice +5 record to help Boston beat Montreal and New Jersey and continue to climb in the standings.

His numbers are close to PPG ratio over the last 10 games. He's still the fastest player on the ice but seems stronger and gives a much better effort in his own zone.

From his recent play, can we expect 2 or 3 years down the road that he will be the dynamic player who can dominate a game like he was in junior ? Does he have the 100 points potential ?

And the best part is his defense. I've seen a few plays lately where he's hustled and picked a guy's pocket from behind, creating an odd man break going the other way. It's cool to see him use his speed for defense.

He's just playing with so much more confidence. At the start of the season when he'd get the puck in the corner or on the halfboards he would immediately pass or shoot like he was afraid to have the puck on his stick. Lately he's been skating out with it creating some more defensive breakdowns. He isn't playing scared like he was before. He's really looking very good.

 

[nanzenkills]

I'm glad to see that he's doing well, and doing the little things that he needs to do to make him a good NHL player, not just a good NHL prospect.

 

[CapeB]

Selected among the stars in both weekend's games he managed to get 4 points and a nice +5 record to help Boston beat Montreal and New Jersey and continue to climb in the standings.

His numbers are close to PPG ratio over the last 10 games. He's still the fastest player on the ice but seems stronger and gives a much better effort in his own zone.

From his recent play, can we expect 2 or 3 years down the road that he will be the dynamic player who can dominate a game like he was in junior ? Does he have the 100 points potential ?

I expect the similar learning curve as Vanek. Kessel will hopefully put up 60-70 pts next year. I could see him putting up 100pts a season in the future. He has the skills....

 

[monster_bertuzzi]

Kessel was the most talented player in his draft year, it wouldn't be a shock to see him at a point per game in 2 seasons. Brule has been heating up as well - something like 10 points in 20 games, these guys will both explode offensivley next year IMO.

 

[AgentNaslund*]

Kessel was the most talented player in his draft year, it wouldn't be a shock to see him at a point per game in 2 seasons. Brule has been heating up as well - something like 10 points in 20 games, these guys will both explode offensivley next year IMO.

I think Boston GM and Washington GM would disagree with that comment. Boston wanted to move up to grab Backstrom.

ANyways its nice to see Kessel turn things around have that cancer scare. Keep it up Kessel.