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As the injuries piled up the past several weeks for the Red Wings: Cleary, Hasek, Lidstrom, Rafalski, Kronwall, and Chelios, the team has looked suprisingly young. A team that many people believed would be a permanent reality following the NHL lockout three years ago.
The current team shows all the signs of a struggling youth movement. Battling inconsistency, going through scoring droughts and losing close games are just a few of the symptoms of youth hockey in the NHL.One of the reasons the Wings have been such a dominate force in the NHL for the past two decades has been their ability to ease young players into a lineup of veterans. As those veterans retired or move on, the now experienced youth can taken over (i.e. Datsyuk/Zetterberg for Yzerman/Shanahan).
It’s not a bad concept and one that has kept the team very competitive on a yearly baisis.
However, the injury bug has swept through the wings roster like the plague, forcing the team to play prospects that have seen little-to-no ice time in the NHL.
The only bright spot of all this, management has been able to see many of these prospects in key situations at the NHL level.
Jimmy Howard looks confident, poised and ready to be an NHL netminder. He came in strong relief twice for Osgood and played extremely well in a 1-0 loss to Dallas on Feb. 17 before being sent back down to Grand Rapids earlier this week.
Kyle Quincey has shown he could be a solid sixth defenseman or a good plug-in during a string of injuries. Derek Meech has logged significant minutes since being recalled to the big club, averaging more than 20 minutes a night and consistently contributing on the offense. Another prospect, Jonathon Ericsson, Detroit’s 10th choice, 291st overall, in 2002 NHL Entry Draft has shown he can play at the NHL level, using his 6’5” frame to his advantage.
After running away early this year with the NHL’s best record, the wings now find themselves just five points ahead of the Dallas Stars for top spot in the NHL.
For the first time in several years, the team will play meaningful games in March and April.
A little adversity is something all championship caliber teams need to and will face during the course of the season.
Fortunately for the Red Wing faithful, who have probably spent more time looking up the new roster than watching the games themselves, will be happy to know the mystery lineup will be one that is short lived, at least for now.
Mike Morland is a writer for LetsGoWings.com, the University Record, and the Michigan Journal. He can be heard every Tuesday from 3:00-4:00pm on WUMD's (www.wumd.org) sports talk show "The Upper Deck." Guest appearances include 88.3 WCBN-Ann Arbor and 89.3 WHFR-Dearborn.
