Our series of top draft prospect profiles continues this afternoon with a look at right winger Zack Kassian of the OHL Peterborough Petes. You can find all of our coverage of the 2009 NHL Draft here. Defending Big D will be in Montreal starting Thursday providing extensive live coverage of the draft.
Zack Kassian
Team: Peterborough Petes (OHL)
Born: Janurary 21, 1991
Hometown: LaSalle, ONT
Height: 6-3
Weight: 210 pounds
Position: Right Wing
Shoots: Right
International Scouting Services: 20th
The Hockey News: 16th
Red Line Report: 16th
TSN: 14th
McKeen's Hockey: 18th
Follow the jump for more stats and scouting reports...
| Regular Season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lge | GP | G | A | Pts | +/- | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | +/- | PIM | ||
| 2007-08 | Peterborough Petes | OHL | 58 | 9 | 12 | 21 | -1 | 74 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | -5 | 2 |
| 2008-09 | Peterborough Petes | OHL | 61 | 24 | 39 | 63 | -14 | 136 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 18 | -1 | 8 |
Why the Stars would want him:
Are you interested in a player who not only patterns himself after the likes of Todd Bertuzzi and Cam Neely, but has drawn repeated comparisons to those two players by many scouts who have seen him play? Zack doesn't skate around people to get to a puck, he skates through them and on top of that has a great shot and does have surprisingly solid passing skills. The Stars don't really have an elite power forward type prospect int he pipeline - not a true physical one like Zack can be anyway. For all the small forwards the Stars have, a kid that may easily be the toughest guy in the draft would be a smart pick.
Why the Stars might pass on him:
Kassian is a power forward with the emphasis on 'power' but that said his skill set isn't as high as others that would be available to the Stars at the 8th spot in the draft. His skating needs work as does his defensive positioning and while he does have top six forward potential, it could be a long way off and there are maybe better bets at forward that rank ahead of Zack in terms of skill..
What others are saying about Scott:
The kid is tough as nails and will hammer you with hits along the boards or in open ice and has no problem dropping the gloves and solving your problem. Kassian should develop into a reliable defensive player as he progresses. At times he can be a little inconsistent, but that is nothing new with prospects and as long as his work ethic is strong.
NHL.com - NHL Central Scouting's Chris Edwards
He is at his best when he is playing physical and tough along the boards. He protects the puck very well and fights through checks. He has very good play-making and puck-handling abilities.
YouTube Video - Zack Kassian tribute