EDIT NOTE (01/21/2010): Zack Kassian was suspended for 20 games by the Ontario Hockey League for the hit referenced in this mid-January column by Nick Mendola. We've bumped this article to the top so you can watch the offense.

VIEW ZACK KASSIAN'S BIG HIT HERE: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vdo6QudKBuw&feature=player_embedded

In case you missed it, it's been a whirlwind week for Canadian tough guy/Sabres first-round pick Zack Kassian.

Kassian was dealt from the Peterborough Petes to the Windsor Spitfires as a much-coveted and dominant OHL player, with 41 goals, 70 assists and 268 penalty minutes in 152 games. Sent to the Spitfires, Kassian made a major impact in his first game, scoring a goal and laying out a massive dirty hit you can watch HERE.

The hit was filthy beyond a shadow of a doubt, earning Kassian an indefinite suspension, which you can read about HERE.

On the opinion side of things, it's well-known that I spent the entire 2009 NHL Draft preview show on our station advocate that the Sabres pick Kassian if he were available. They did, and I was and still am thrilled. The responsible thing to say is that I hate the hit and, truly, it should be eradicated from iced hockey. Still, juniors have away of ironing out dirty players. If they don't, the Sabres will take on that onus, and we all know the Sabres need aggressive, big men.

So, lose that hit, Zack, but keep that aggression. Hockey is a split-second sport, so you'll have to learn to adjust mid-stride, but as long as this particular feet-leaving-bonecrusher is a one-time deal, get back to making legal hits, scoring and fighting... more like this.

In all fairness, if someone just sent me the link and I didn't know any of the players were involved, I would say, "Young hockey players are silly and stupid," and proceed to watch the link 20 more times. Honesty's the best policy, right?

Your thoughts? Email: nick@wgr550.com or message me on Twitter.