The magnitude of the moment is not lost on Alain Vigneault.
Reminded by associate coach Rick Bowness that it took him 20 years to get back to the NHL’s version of the Final Four, the Vancouver Canucks bench boss pledged that reaching the Western Conference championship plateau is not the zenith for the Presidents’ Trophy winners.
“Rick made it 20 years ago [as head coach of the Boston Bruins] and to get back is not easy,” Vigneault said Tuesday. “When you’re here, bust a gut and that’s what we’re going to do. The accountability makes me a big believer that these guys aren’t satisfied at all. We need people to step up and be counted on and I’m confident that’s going to happen.”
Ryan Kesler has done all of the above. That last thing the NHL playoff scoring leader needs is a rallying cry from his coach or some inspirational message scribbled on the board. He is a Selke Trophy favourite and now a Conn Smythe Trophy front-runner.
After all, the centre’s face is still a little swollen from absorbing a deflected puck to the chin Saturday. A playoff beard can’t hide a zipper of stitches and Kesler even lost a tooth in his brief exit from Game 5 of the conference semifinal. Of course, he came back to score and nearly single-handedly lifted his club to a comeback victory. That’s why he’s drawing comparisons to prime-time playoff performers.
“He’s been unbelievable,” said Canucks goaltender Roberto Luongo. “He has taken his game to a level that I’ve never seen before in the second round and he’s probably one of the most dominant players in the league right now.”
It’s not just the goals, it’s the kind of goals. Driving to the net, fending off Shea Weber, splitting the defence and letting that laser-like wrister go in a quick and accurate fashion.
Kesler has produced 15 points (5-10) in 13 games, and had 11 points (5-6) in a six-game, second-round victory over the Nashville Predators.
“As you play longer and realize you don’t have many opportunities to win a Stanley Cup, it’s your will and drive and you want to compete," Kesler said. "That evolves over time. It’s a mindset. As a kid, you dream of winning the Stanley Cup, and it’s no different for us.”
Truth be told, Kesler always possessed an incredible will to win and put the team first, but the Livonia, Mich., native once considered putting hockey on the back-burner.
A debilitating medical condition called Osgood Schlatter, which ruptured growth plates in his legs because of a teenage growth spurt, had Kesler considering quitting long before the Canucks came calling in the 2003 entry draft.
Kesler was 13 when the medical condition – a rupture of the tibial tuberosity just below the knee that causes a visible bump and is extremely painful when struck – kept him from cracking the roster of top travelling teams in the Detroit area.
But when the leg pain finally subsided after six months, and his father Mike got involved in coaching Kesler, the goal to play professionally wasn’t just a hope. It was a pledge.
And because the road to glory is full of twists and turns – and a few potholes – the drive to excellence has tested Kesler on many levels.
He was outspoken about his peers taking pay cuts so the Canucks could remain competitive, but a one-year, $1.9-million-US offer sheet from the Philadelphia Flyers in Sept. 2006 painted Kesler as a villain, not a budding restricted free agent catching the league-wide eye. He was about to sign for two years at the same amount with the Canucks and there was a clamour to trade Kesler as soon as the year expired after matching the offer. Last March, he signed a six-year, $30-million extension to become one of the franchise’s cornerstones.
“When you prove people wrong, it’s nice,” recalled Kesler. “I wasn’t the most liked guy here four or five years ago and people probably hated me. Just to prove my dad right. He always knew I had it, and I always knew I had it, but to prove … myself and my family right, that’s satisfying.”
Kesler cited the guidance of Brendan Morrison, Markus Naslund and Trevor Linden in getting him through a rough time and becoming a better player. And after the 0-for-3 disappointment last season – losing the Olympic gold medal to Canada, losing to Chicago in the second round and losing the Selke to Pavel Datsyuk – Kesler’s dad predicted his son would take his game to new heights. Forty-one goals spoke volumes. So has his playoff dominance.
Against the Predators, he manhandled Mike Fisher after negating Chicago’s Jonathan Toews. Fisher had one assist, 11 shots and was a minus-3, while Kesler responded with a Conn Smythe-like 11 points (5-6), had 24 shots with a plus-2 rating. In the opening round, Kesler was confined to four assists and 23 shots, and a plus-4 rating, but Toews didn’t have a goal until Game 7. He finished with four points (1-3), 19 shots and a minus-4 rating.
“To be honest, I’d didn’t change my game that much,” said Kesler. “I was still getting good looks in the Chicago series, but it just wasn’t going in. I had some more chances in the Nashville series and just stayed positive. As a player, you love it. Everything you do, it just seems like the puck is following you out there.”
The Canucks have had a rabid following all season. A preseason pick to win it all, you could say the pressure is finally off a team that finally cleared the second-round hurdle for just the third time in franchise history. Can they play better?
“I definitely think we can,” said Kesler. “We were picked to do big things and had a mature way of going about it.”
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