What the Vancouver Canucks need to do to finally win the Stanley Cup -NHL Special Part 3
Ryan Kesler needs to be Healthy
One of the major reasons why the Vancouver Canucks did not go deep into the 2012 National Hockey League (NHL) Stanley Cup Playoffs was due to the fact that Ryan Kesler was unhealthy and inconsistent because of being unfit whenever he did come out to play.
Vancouver Canucks need their American All-Star forward to be ready and determined to perform when the need arises and consistency is something from him without which the Canadian franchise will not be able to succeed in any circumstances.
Kesler, a former 23rd overall draft during round-one of the 2003 NHL Entry Draft by Vancouver Canucks, has been just outright amazing for the club ever since he was picked up. They saw a major contribution from him during their second run in history
to the Stanley Cup Finals back in 2011 as he potted 19 points (7 goals, 12 assists) in 25 games played to end it with a Game Seven loss to the Boston Bruins, and will now need to be as good, if not better, to actually take home the cup next time around.
Despite not being fit, Ryan Kesler still managed to pot 49 points (22 goals, 27 assists) in the 77 performances he did have last season and managed to get just three assists in their five games played during the quarterfinal competition against the eight
place Los Angeles Kings.
He dropped in terms of ranking within the NHL and could have been much better if it had not been for the nagging shoulder and wrist problems he faced over the offseason, forcing him to undergo surgery on both parts and is reported to be healthy by mid or
late December later on this year. But there is no telling whether Kesler will be back to full health by then and should use this extra time at hand to assess where he just stands as a player at this moment.
Luckily, Kesler is also not locked out like the rest of the players due to still being injured according to his status and can avail all franchise facilities like arena, medical staff and salary as well. Some experts also term his return to be not before
January of next year and if he does come back in full strength, ready to go, competitors of the Vancouver Canucks will definitely be having a hard time doing anything against the club.
To be continued in Part 4...
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