Victoria trades Kanzig to the Hitmen

[DoubleF]

Originally Posted by calumniate

Excited to see Kanzig tonight! Think he's going to play?

http://www.calgarysun.com/2014/11/20...-keegan-kanzig

Supposed to make his debut against Moose Jaw according to this.

[Aarongavey]

Originally Posted by Calgary4LIfe

Haven't followed the Royals much at all this season, but seriously doubt things have changed much. Kanzig was the one who played against the other team's best players, was he not? First year on the Royals wasn't very memorable - more of an outright goon than anything else. His second year he worked his way up all the way to the top pairing, and was always on the ice against the opposing team's best players. Saw the toughest quality of competition I believe, and I don't think that has changed since then unless I am mistaken. Anyone who follows the Royals more care to shed more light on Kanzig's role there this season thus far?



Lowry flipped the puck out when that brawl was nearing the end. The brawl never happened because of him. I thought it was a very savvy move, actually. IIRC, the brawl happened because Berube ran the goalie to begin with, and the Ducks responded with sending out their goons and running the Vernon even harder, and then having them fight our non-goons in Iginla and company. Should be on youtube somewhere if you want to confirm (and maybe I am wrong about some parts of it).

Lowry was never a dirty player - tough? Yep, he was tough, but he wasn't a dirty player.

My recollection is that Brown and Cote got the tough minutes. I do not really recall Kanzig ever getting the tough minutes, he is just too slow to handle that type of role. I probably went to about 12 Royals games last year for what it is worth. Either way he was expendable.

[GioforPM]

Just got back from the Hitmen-Rebels game (big win).

Kandic is huge in person. But really slow afoot and not great along the boards in puck battles. Not a lot of skill. Not a lot of meanness in this game, though he took 2 penalties.

[Vulcan]

Originally Posted by MrMastodonFarm

He's as much of a prospect as Wotherspoon was a year after being drafted. Wotherspoon had that 2nd round pedigree but defenceman are pretty hard to peg at this age.

A year after being drafted, Wotherspoon was playing top minutes paired with Seth Jones. He was also on Team Canada and probably their best defenceman. I hope Kanzig has some success but so far he doesn't compare to Wotherspoon as a prospect.

[MrMastodonFarm]

Originally Posted by Vulcan

A year after being drafted, Wotherspoon was playing top minutes paired with Seth Jones. He was also on Team Canada and probably their best defenceman. I hope Kanzig has some success but so far he doesn't compare to Wotherspoon as a prospect.

Should have been more clear, first season after being drafted. The year Wotherspoon played for team Canada was draft year plus 2.

[Resolute 14]

Originally Posted by GioforPM

Just got back from the Hitmen-Rebels game (big win).

Kandic is huge in person. But really slow afoot and not great along the boards in puck battles. Not a lot of skill. Not a lot of meanness in this game, though he took 2 penalties.

In fairness, that second penalty was a joke. He was trying to pinch in at the line to get a loose puck and a Rebels player picked him. The Rebel went down because he was half Kanzig's size, and we got the penalty.

[FlamesAddiction]

Originally Posted by Resolute 14

In fairness, that second penalty was a joke. He was trying to pinch in at the line to get a loose puck and a Rebels player picked him. The Rebel went down because he was half Kanzig's size, and we got the penalty.

Some big players actually end up adjusting better as a pro than they did in junior. I remember watching Chara in Prince George (a 3rd rounder like Kanzig), and it was almost like his size was a detriment at that level. It was like he couldn't play as tough and mean as he was capable of. Similar to like a grown adult man playing with kids... he had to hold back a lot. I think it is also one of the reasons that big players are often late bloomers.

[BigFlameDog]

Originally Posted by Resolute 14

In fairness, that second penalty was a joke. He was trying to pinch in at the line to get a loose puck and a Rebels player picked him. The Rebel went down because he was half Kanzig's size, and we got the penalty.

Yeah....radio guys were all over that one....flabbergasted they were.

[Resolute 14]

Originally Posted by FlamesAddiction

Some big players actually end up adjusting better as a pro than they did in junior. I remember watching Chara in Prince George (a 3rd rounder like Kanzig), and it was almost like his size was a detriment at that level. It was like he couldn't play as tough and mean as he was capable of. Similar to like a grown adult man playing with kids... he had to hold back a lot. I think it is also one of the reasons that big players are often late bloomers.

His first penalty was also one of size. He was just trying to rub his opponent out at the line, but he was standing so much higher than his opponent that his hands end up in the Rebels' player's face. Nothing vicious, but definitely a roughing call.

[DoubleF]

I think he's absolutely trainable. He's only 19 unlike Breen currently at 25. I don't even think it's fair to compare Breen who was undrafted. Furthermore, Breen is a stick in comparison at 6'7 +225 lbs. Kanzig is already 6'7 245 lbs. Get him to add 20 lbs over next few years and work on footwork/hitting, he's going to be scary. I don't think this is Breen 2.0, but I don't think this is Chara 2.0 either.

I was at the Moosejaw game. Kanzig kept smiling like a kid burning ants with a magnifying glass after hits and shots on net. I'm not expecting a Chara out of him, but I'm hoping a bottom 6 call up discussion in 2-3 years would be nice. Kanzig's shots looks weak. His skating is meh, but as a 19 year old, the dice is still rolling.

Here's hoping the development goes well.

[J epworth]

I'm definitely going to withhold judgement of him till he's in the AHL, but of the prospects we do have he's down on my list of "excited for". I would absolutely love it if he becomes a Hal Gill type player, he has lots of development still to happen. Hope with a new team he's going to start scoring a bit more, doesn't need to be a top D scorer or anything but he needs to be getting 5-10 goals this year to have any hope of establishing himself at higher levels.

[GioforPM]

Don't get me wrong - I'm not down on him especially after seeing only one game. I agree that one penlaty was for being too strong, which he definitely is. In fact the erfs were one-sided the whole game, and I almost never complain about reffing.

He needs skating work, maybe fitness work and work on how to position himself in board battles - there no reason for him to lose a single battle.

One thing I forgot - he was pretty effective as a net front guy on the PP. One goal scored while he was causing some havoc there.

[CaptainYooh]

Originally Posted by DoubleF

I think he's absolutely trainable. He's only 19 unlike Breen currently at 25. I don't even think it's fair to compare Breen who was undrafted. Furthermore, Breen is a stick in comparison at 6'7 +225 lbs. Kanzig is already 6'7 245 lbs. Get him to add 20 lbs over next few years and work on footwork/hitting, he's going to be scary. I don't think this is Breen 2.0, but I don't think this is Chara 2.0 either.

I was at the Moosejaw game. Kanzig kept smiling like a kid burning ants with a magnifying glass after hits and shots on net. I'm not expecting a Chara out of him, but I'm hoping a bottom 6 call up discussion in 2-3 years would be nice. Kanzig's shots looks weak. His skating is meh, but as a 19 year old, the dice is still rolling.

Here's hoping the development goes well.

Sometimes someone's posts are an almost word-for-word reflection on my own thoughts and I don't post anything, just thank the poster. This post was just that. I'd just like to add that the moment of bringing a player into NHL is a key here and, hopefully, Flames don't keep this guy out for too long. Kanzig already is a phenomenon from the physical perspective. Get working on him ASAP and, perhaps, invest a bit more attention and effort into his development. Big skilled defencemen are not available "off the shelf" and Calgary can definitely use one in the lineup. This guy could become a Souray-type player, if developed right.

[AcGold]

I think Kanzig works out because he has the intensity, discipline and motivation to get better unlike Breen. If we can add Keegan and Hunter to the team it'll be a huge plus against the big western teams. Engelland should be replaced by Kanzig eventually

[Hugh Jahrmes]

Last minute stuff ended up nixing my plans of seeing him in Red Deer on Saturday.

Anyone had the chance to watch him? How's he look?

[GioforPM]

Originally Posted by Hugh Jahrmes

Last minute stuff ended up nixing my plans of seeing him in Red Deer on Saturday.

Anyone had the chance to watch him? How's he look?

Look up

[Calgary4LIfe]

Kanzig already has plenty of size on his frame. Remember what Conroy said the first training camp? He wondered how out of shape Kanzig was seeing him listed at 246lbs (even though he was 6'7" - still only an 18 year old kid). Goes into the locker room and his first reaction was: "Schwarzenegger". Kanzig is probably one of the more dedicated and driven prospects in the system (and Lowry echoes at how much he works).

On top of this, Button really loved how 'smart' this kid was. Thinks his hockey IQ is very high.

For those two reasons, I will give Kanzig the benefit of the doubt. If a 6'7" 246lb developed defencemen ends up playing on even the bottom pairing, that might be a very nice asset to have. Will he make it? I have no idea, but it seems he is a smart enough kid and is doing absolutely his best to get there.

I actually like that he is in Calgary now. Curious to see if his points go up (though I am not expecting much really). Perhaps a different team and coaching staff will actually help to develop him a bit before turning pro (I bet he goes to the AHL next year). Long-term prospect I would say, but might be worth it down the road.

[DoubleF]

Originally Posted by AcGold

I think Kanzig works out because he has the intensity, discipline and motivation to get better unlike Breen. If we can add Keegan and Hunter to the team it'll be a huge plus against the big western teams. Engelland should be replaced by Kanzig eventually

Kanzig and Hunter training side by side would be interesting. Do you think they would teach each other offense and defense tricks? I think it's a definitely interesting experiment to consider. If they played together, it would definitely be intimidating and the rink would definitely seem way smaller due to their reach.

I looked up Hunter Smith. 6'7 208 lbs? Wow. Huge difference to Kanzig's 246 lbs! For comparison, Brian McGrattan is approximately 235 lbs. Might as well start calling him Keegan Colossus if Conroy actually said that.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colossus_%28comics%29
vs
http://cg2011.gems.pro/Result/ShowTe...vailHeight=760 (second player image)




@CaptainYooh: Thanks for the nice words