Canucks' Kassian explains odd jump onto opponent's bench

From his missing teeth to his penchant for undisciplined play, Vancouver Canucks forward Zack Kassian doesn't strike most observers as the savviest of NHL players.

So on Thursday night, when Kassian rather oddly jumped onto the St. Louis Blues' bench, most observers - theScore included - assumed Kassian had just made an honest mistake. 

Well perhaps it's time we start giving Kassian a bit more credit. As it turns out, when Kassian leaped onto the Blues' bench Thursday night, he was actually looking to avoid a bench minor for too many men on the ice.

"(Alex Burrows) got stuck with a guy, and that (was) the closest bench I could jump into so the ref couldn’t see," he explained to Jason Botchford of the Vancouver Province after the game.

So the jump was intentional, and Kassian's unorthodox hiding place also proved effective. The Canucks weren't called for too many men.

"A couple of them started grabbing me," Kassian continued, discussing how the Blues players reacted to his sudden presence on the bench. "But it happened so fast, they didn’t have time to do much.

"It worked out. That’s something you’ll probably never see again."