GROwl

Huh? 1.) Samuelsson doesn't have any size to work with. 2.) Doesn't Franzen have the 2nd highest number of goals for the Wings and 4th highest points? This on a team laden with talent! Most of Franzen's goals aren't exactly finesse (like Datsyuk's) - they are gained from using his big body to crash the net for the rebounds. He also gets beat up by the goalie and defense for playing "Holmstrom" when Homer is out. I don't know how you can say he doesn't use his size.

Boredom set it. Three weeks was way too long to go without a home game! I even considered going down to Kalamazoo for a K-Wings game last weekend.

Hopefully, you are only referring to Ryno?

Canadians call American beer water since it has a lot less alcohol than Canadian beer. If you plan to sneak in a 6 or 12 pack to please him, better make it Molson or Labatts. A two-four would make him even happier, eh?

Aaron's Canadian. Doesn't that say it all? The kind of beer he prefers is one after another. Preferably to have the next one in line in front of him before the first one is completely empty. We've been skating after the game occasionally as the boys are coming through to board the bus. Most have dinner with them. Several are carrying pillows. Some have DVD players/videogames. They like playing cards too for awhile to wind down after the game. That might be your best opportunity to reconnect with Downey. Bring along your skates and lace them up after the game!

That's going to be tough. Normally I'd recommend hitting the downtown drinking establishments if you're looking for Downey...he sure likes his brew. However, the boys will probably be boarding the bus either right after the game or early morning to head to Peoria.

Does anyone else really like this Defensive pairing? I think they look great together - the veteran and the rookie. Its got to be like a dream come true for Jonathan Ericsson. It reminds me of an article in the Griffins magazine a few years ago: Ericsson article Keep in mind, this was still when Jonathan was still a forward.

After watching Ericsson in 20+ home Griffins games in each of the last three seasons, Helm for two seasons, and Leino for one...here's my opinion. Ericsson is ready for Detroit. Leino maybe not as a starter, but at least a 3rd liner. Helm one more year in GR, but with call-ups whenever needed. Darren's had a fair year in GR, but nothing wonderful in terms of scoring. He generates energy on the ice, but points would be great too. Both Leino and Helm are waiver-exempt next year; but not Ericsson. If Detroit even thought about sending Ericsson down, he'd be claimed within 5 minutes.

He shouldn't be too hard to find from Row B! I hear flights are inexpensive these days.

I've met just about all of the former Griffins at one time or another. When they are here in GR, they are required to do a lot of promo and charity fundraiser events. The young ones are really fun to meet...they don't get too many people who recognize them...so they actually like it when someone does stop and talk. My kids enjoyed going on a hayride with Jonathan Ericsson and some of his teammates last fall. It was a lot of fun; though it was the night before the Red Wings went to DC to meet the president, so Helm and Downey were missing from the group. Mike Knuble went to one of my hockey nights last summer. He's friends with my coach, so Mike got on the ice with us and showed us some drills and moves. He expected us to be able to do them with as much speed and finesse as he does. "Its easy...1-2-3...very simple", he kept saying. Yeah, maybe for him. His son who is like 10 years old did them better than most of us. I'm proud to say I could keep up with his daughter though. She was about 6 and wore figure skates!

Great move, I've been watching this kid all season. Pare and Abdelkader are tied for the most ever goals in Grand Rapids for a rookie - only Frankie has done it in a about a dozen less games than Justin. Justin has earned his through size and strength; Frankie via finesse.

She learned from Don MacLean several years ago. He picked her up at an event one night and put her on his lap so she could see better. All Griffins boys became fair game after that move. A short while later, she was sitting on Ryan Oulahen. We have a picture of it on her mirror. His expression is clearly WTF - poor kid, he didn't know what hit him - but was too polite to dump her off!

Scoreboard: 1. Gelech 2. Downey 3. Meeeeeeeeeeeech Ryan Barnes & Daryl Bootland are also somewhere on the scoreboard too, though I can no longer keep track of where. She's a female, so the list is always allowed to be changed with no rhyme nor reason. Kolosov, Ritola and Ericsson are frequently discussed, but since they are European rather than Canadian, apparently they get placed on the 2nd team (reserve squad). Sorry, UK_redwing...

It must be the bad boy thing. Ever since he blew my daughter a kiss, he's moved into second place in her hockey boy heart. I am so in trouble as she grows older!

Did you all catch the 1st intermission interview between Kaser and Oulahen? It was actually taped on Wednesday. Ryan stopped downtown to see his teammates. He said he was totally bored sitting around on the couch. He'll be stuck on crutches for 4-6 weeks and then hopes to start rehabbing. If all goes well, he'll be in shape for training camp. That seems so far away! I also got an update from a friend on the referee whose neck was sliced the same night as Ryan's injury. He's doing okay and is expected to make a full recovery.

He's back into tonight's lineup! In the coach's interview before the game, Fraser said that he might need a tranquilizer gun for Downey...Downey was so lively in practice this morning. He's had a couple of good hits already in the game. Ritola is also back; 1-2 weeks ahead of the prediction. Ville Leino is expected to play in tomorrow night's game. Tardif skated yesterday for the first time, but isn't expected to play this weekend. Between these four being back and the 4 boys from the juniors, Fraser said that the ice was filled with energy compared to the last few weeks. Time to capture home ice advantage for the 1st round!

Those stories would be a funner post! Call her and have her sign up for LGW.

He can best contribute to the organization's overall success as a motivator in Grand Rapids for their playoff run. He fits in well and the young boys really look up to him. His 4 rings provides much needed leadership.

Have you looked at Jakub's stats lately? While he's improved from last year, he's still a -12! If you don't like Lebda's +/-, you'll get worse with Kindl and without the speed of Lebda. Jakub Kindl's stats in GR: GP G A PTS +/- PIM 74 5 27 32 -12 72 2008-09 Regular Season 75 3 14 17 -34 82 2007-08 Regular Season IMO, Kindl needs another full year with the Griffins before thinking about going to Detroit.

You're correct about the cap and the 23-man roster limit going away for post season play. However, its unlikely the Wings will gut the Griffins if or until the Griffins themselves are out of the playoffs. Detroit may take a few if they intend on playing them. But they want the young boys to get the valuable playoff experience too. And they can't very get that if they are sitting in the press box or the family waiting room at The Joe watching the game on tv. The Wings are a team that has always been very pro-veteran. You can bet that Maltby/Draper/Chelios, etc. will get ice time during the playoffs unless they are injured or demonstrate that they aren't getting the job done. Same thing for DMac and Downey too. If the Griffins are to go deep into the playoffs, they need veteran leadership from DMac, Downey, Stafford and Haydar. It only benefits Detroit in the long run to keep those guys in GR during playoffs if the alternative is to sit them. GR is only a 2 1/2 hour drive to Detroit and the Wings can call them up when needed without having them waste away idle on the bench.

Nope, I dont' believe he ended up flying out to meet up with the team this past weekend. Still listed as day-to-day. The Griffins flew home today and don't get on the bus again until Thursday, so this will give Aaron a few more days rest or to practice before the 3 in 3 next weekend. I'm hoping that Jamie Tardif might be ready to play next weekend also to get in a few games before playoffs - but I haven't heard any updates on Jamie.

Wouldn't this help Justin's stats more if anything? +/- isn't a factor on the power play or penalty kill (unless you or your opponent score short-handed), but the goals and assists count in the points standing. Therefore, to the extent that any of Justin's points were earned on the power play or to the extent that it gives him more TOI, it would inflate his stats compared to Pare. Where Justin's +/- stats might be down compared to Pare, is the fact that Justin has played on one of the top two lines most the season (and matched against the opponents top two scoring lines), so he is on the ice against more frequent scorers. Up until the Pare-McGrath-Lemieux took off flying, Pare was usually on the 3rd or even 4th line (matched up against lines that don't score much - i.e., Francis was not as likely to get a -). As a 3rd line, the Pare-McGrath-Lemieux trio is probably the best 3rd line in the league.

I think Downey, DMac and Ville have all been upgraded to day-to-day. Ritola is likely 3-4 more weeks and Tardif 1 week or two.

Update... Just before the game started tonight, Kaser talked about the injuries to Oulahen and the Referee. He also interviewed Griffins Trainer Rob Schnitzer who was on the ice for Oulahen's. Ryan has a dislocated hip and went off on a stretcher. It was re-adjusted back into place. He was released from the hospital and was able to fly back to GR today. He is on crutches but isn't able to put any weight on the hip. Almost certainly season-ending, but he will be examined by the doctors here. The referee's neck was lacerated pretty deeply. However, the cut missed the jugular. He was given a tranfusion while still on the ice/at the arena before being taken to the Norfolk hospital. He is expected to be released from the hospital in the next day or two and to make a full recovery. Griffins in really bad shape injury-wise. McCarty bruised/sore and not playing tonight. Sounds like Downey has not re-joined the team as was expected. Tardiff, Ritola still out. I just noticed on the roster that GR is playing with 8 defensemen tonight and 10 forwards. I don't know which two D are actually playing up front.

We got an email note regarding a youth hockey camp for Defensemen. The group putting it on is Simply Defense (www.simplydefense.com). The note said that they have run camps for 5 years in the Detroit and Port Huron areas and are just now expanding over to the west side of the state. Anyone have any experience - good or bad - with this camp? I'm thinking about sending my kid to one of the 2-day Easter camps.