kipwinger

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Posts posted by kipwinger

  1. Posted · Report reply

    10 minutes ago, Scott R Lucidi said:

    I hope youre right about Mazur.  He just strikes me as a Maltby type guy and not a Brown type guy.  Me putting him in the bottom 6 wasnt really a knock on him.  More of a compliment based on how our recent cup teams have been built with gritty bottom 6 guys.  I hope youre right and he develops a poor man's Raymond scoring touch.

    Mazur reminds me a lot of Alex Killorn. 

    Scott R Lucidi reacted to this

  2. Posted · Report reply

    19 minutes ago, Scott R Lucidi said:

    Cossa - 2/1

    Augustine - 2/1

    Edvinsson - 2nd pair/1st pair

    ASP - 3rd pair/1st pair

    Johansson - 3rd pair/2nd pair

    Buium - 7th/1st pair

    Wallinder - 7th/3rd pair

    Tuomisto - Europe/3rd pair

    Gibson - AHL/3rd pair

    An. Johansson - Europe/7th

    Cleveland - AHL/3rd pair

    Danielson - 3rd C/1st C

    Berggren - 3rd LW/2nd LW

    Kasper - 4th C/2nd C

    Mazur - 4th RW/3rd RW

    Lombardi - AHL/1st C

    Buchelnikov - Europe/2 LW

    Finnie - AHL/3rd C

    Soderblom - Europe/4th LW

     

    All others do not have NHL ceilings.

     

     

    I generally agree with most of these, but I'd quibble with a few. I see 2nd pair upside with Gibson. I think Kasper plays in the top six no matter what, but maybe on the wing. Mazur will also be in the top six. And after watching Danielson's play in the playoffs I think he's on a steep upward trajectory. I think his floor is 2C.

    Scott R Lucidi reacted to this

  3. Posted · Edited by kipwinger · Report reply

    20 minutes ago, Motor City Mullets said:

    I would think there's hesitation on his part after having surgery on his shoulder...Over time he'll heal up and gain confidence.

    He's committed to Michigan - almost seems this was meant to be.

    I know, you'd have to think that's good for a few reasons. First, the Wings can keep an eye on his development at Michigan. But also, spots on Michigan's team are pretty hard to land in their own right. If Michigan's program wants him that's just another set of eyes that have looked at this kid and liked what they saw. The Wings shouldn't draft him BECAUSE Michigan likes him, but having the additional confirmation from a respected program can't hurt.

    Motor City Mullets reacted to this

  4. Posted · Report reply

    16 minutes ago, stephen-gregory-yzerman said:

    I still want Eiserman understanding hes likely not the pick. Not big on Hage but wouldnt hate the pick.

    Ignoring what?

    I wasn't big on Hage either until I read his story. Missed his entire draft minus one season to shoulder injury and then dealt with the death of his father in his draft season. Despite that he's performed exceptionally well with respect to his counting (especially playoff) stats, and he seems to have a great attitude. Every talent evaluator I've seen says that the kid's physical tools and skills are exceptional: powerful skating, strong, quick hands, excellent passing and shooting. The only knock on him was that he plays on the perimeter too much. I'm willing to take the gamble that's because he's missed a whole lot of coaching and not because he's soft (most people like his effort and head for the game).

    But again, I'm mostly a big fan of any kid that faces THAT much adversity at an early age and still finds a way to keep working toward his goals and succeeding. Sometimes the difference between a good player and a great one is mental toughness/discipline. I'd bet on this kid.

  5. Posted · Report reply

    After careful consideration I’ve decided that Michael Hage is my preferred pick. You can read all about his on ice skill (which is considerable) or his size/speed combination. All of which is attractive. But I read an article about how he handled the loss of his father a year ago. His dad was extremely demanding and had high standards but they were very close and the kid handled the death with a ton of grace. 
     

    I want the player with high standards and emotional maturity. Sign me up for Danielson/Hage as our centers of the future. 

  9. Posted · Report reply

    Friedman reporting that the Hurricanes are not going to re-sign Necas and Pesce. Necas is an RFA so trading for his negotiating rights would give the Wings exclusive rights to the player. Super skilled, fast, big, and wants to play center. Go get this guy now.

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  10. Posted · Report reply

    1 minute ago, Scott R Lucidi said:

    I got the Rags

    Hard not to bet on them. They're playing really really well right now. And as much as I like the way Florida plays, their game is sloppy and New York could expose that. Boston really had no offense to speak of, so Florida could run around all game without any fear of getting punished by the powerplay. New York will wash the Cats if they don't stay out of the box.

    AtlantaHotWings and Scott R Lucidi reacted to this

  11. Posted · Report reply

    Just now, Scott R Lucidi said:

    50+ mil hard to turn down.

    I've been wrong many times before, so maybe I'm galaxy braining this. But I think it's a little easier to turn that money down if you think you're going to get 10+ million per year (on an 8 year deal) when you're 27.

  12. Posted · Report reply

    I'd be surprised if either Raymond or Seider sign 8 year deals. Raymond's offense kicked into hyperdrive at the end of the season after being pedestrian the two previous years. Seider's offense suffered from the hardest usage in the league. It's pretty easy to imagine a reality where the next three seasons are miles more productive than the last three and their value skyrockets. So why would they want to be locked in long term at a lower value? I think both these deals fall in the 4-5 year range just in time for their big payday in UFA.

  15. Posted · Report reply

    8 minutes ago, Scott R Lucidi said:

    And the team wasnt really doing well during the regular season until Cossa took over starting duties.  He's a winner.

    That's true, but it wasn't just him. I commented on this throughout the season but it wasn't until Watson elevated the young guys into key positions that the Griffins started winning. Early in the season he deferred a lot to the veterans, which is understandable for a rookie coach. But part way through the season you started to see Kasper, Mazur, Johansson, Lombardi, and Cossa climbing the depth chart and veteran players taking on support roles. That's when the team took off.

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  17. Posted · Report reply

    7 hours ago, Scott R Lucidi said:

    1st Overall, Pick 31

    1st Overall, Pick 19, Pick 31

    1st Overall, Pick 32

    7th Overall

    3rd Overall

    1st Overall

     

    How can you suck with these consecutive NHL drafts?  Hard to believe the NHL allowed this to happen.

    Isn’t this just more evidence of what I’ve been saying forever? Winning the lottery doesn’t really matter all that much? I’d rather have the 5th overall pick and a competently run organization than the 1st overall and be the Oilers/Buffalo/Arizona/Toronto/etc.

    Akakabuto, Daisy The Cow, town123 and 1 other reacted to this

  18. Posted · Report reply

    6 hours ago, Scott R Lucidi said:

    100%.  Cossa is probably going to struggle for a year in the NHL, but if everyone doesn't go full regard, they'll realize that the Redwings/SCAM just groomed an NHL goalie in 3 years and he's 22 freaking years old.  That's an incredible feat.  Most goalies aren't ready for NHL action until they're 26-28 years old, and most of them that do come up at that age aren't carrying all the accolades that Cossa already has at 21 years old.  That's the thing that amuses me about Cossa.  I find it funny how all the "Good Players" keep ending up on his team.  He keeps ending up on teams that are making deep playoff runs with all the "Good Players".  Wait until he wins a cup for us.  We'll have all the "Good Players", I'm sure.  

    There’s something to this. All season long he’s played head to head against peers Wallstedt and Askarov in the same AHL conference. Wallstedt’s team sucked, but when you watch us play Iowa he was regularly getting beat clean by our shooters. So was Iowa bad because their star goalie couldn’t make saves? Similarly, Milwaukee is a “good” team and Askarov isn’t starting for them in the playoffs, so clearly they think they’re better without him in net. Cossa’s the only one of the three that’s the top goaltender on a good team. 

  19. Posted · Report reply

    38 minutes ago, Scott R Lucidi said:

    Cossa has a couple things to work on before he's complete.  I've watched about 10-15 games of his now (not a huge sample), and the only things I've seen that need immediate improvement before he goes super sayan into his best form are 1) his rebound control and 2) his recovery time.  The guy is an absolute beast and gets in the way of the 1st shot every time.  He is always in a great position for the first shot, so the ones that go in on him are only the REAL flukey ones that he can't see or get directed.  He doesn't have those mental lapses where an average snap shot from 40 feet that he's had 2 seconds to prepare for go under his glove.  Husso has been plagued by those "stinkers" his entire time with us.  I've only seen Cossa give up one of those, and it was only because the guy fired the shot from a weird spot along the boards and surprised Cossa.  But the 2nd shot is another story.  Shots that hit Cossa's pads find their way to the dots far too often instead of finding their way to the corners.  The skill level in the NHL allows the shooters to fire low at the off pad to create juicy rebounds far more than it does at the AHL level.  And Cossa seems to give up too many tasty rebounds that NHLers will put in almost every time.  He needs to learn to direct the puck to steeper angle rebound opportunities.  2ndly, his first movement from side to side is incredible.  It's not fast, but he's so big that it seems like he can move across the net in a nanosecond.  But when the puck goes back the other way, it takes him FOREVER to get back across.  That's something he can fix with strength training and repetition in his flexibility drills, though.  As he matures in his body and gets stronger, this should help itself out.  Outside of those 2 things, this cat is the real deal.  He's an animal.  He hates losing, but he has that ability to put things in the past and play his best going forward.  That's a good trait for our goalie to have, as we seem to fall behind a lot.  We need a mentally strong goalie that will right the ship and allow us to come back on other teams.  Excited to see Cossa get some NHL experience.  

    I'll leave the goalie analysis up to you. I'm out of my depth on that. The only thing I'd add is that it seems like a big part of playing the goalie position is just experience. Knowing what to do, when to do it, and what to expect from the opposition seems just as (or more) important as developing the physical tools. For skaters it's almost the opposite. If you're Taro Hirose you're never going to see NHL time because despite your experience you'll never have the physical skill to play in the NHL. For goalies is different. Your body can be more than ready, but until you've had the reps you're just not going to be any good against pro shooters.

  20. Posted · Report reply

    We were badly out shot that game. While I don't put too much stock in the "shots tell the whole story" approach to analyzing hockey, I do think Cossa was the difference in that one. We're going to need to clean up our game a little before Game 2. We looked pretty sloppy with the puck at times.

  23. Posted · Report reply

    1 hour ago, Scott R Lucidi said:

    Lombardi is in complete control of his own destiny.  He skates all the time and is in the play all the time.  End board to end board.  He just isnt strong enough right now.  If he gains 30 lbs of muscle and can be tougher on the puck and battle, he's going to be fantastic.

    100%

    He doesn't ever need to be huge, but if he can get as strong as Helm or Glendening he'll be a really really good NHL player. He's got all the talent in the world. 5'11, 190 lbs isn't unrealistic for this guy and if he can get there he's going to have a career.

  24. Posted · Report reply

    4 minutes ago, stephen-gregory-yzerman said:

    Danielson should be playing. Hes instantly an upgrade over most of the vets on the team as well as a couple of the young guys. They probly wouldnt take out a vet so Id take out Lombardi.

    It's a tough decisions because you don't want to mess with a winning lineup, nor do you want to hinder the development of Lombardi to accommodate Danielson. Danielson is a better player, I totally agree with you. But maybe that means he doesn't need these games a much as Lombardi does. I think if anyone comes out it's got to be one of the 3rd or 4th line vets. I'm not sure who's the other wing with Lombardi and Sodorlbom on the 3rd line, but that might be a prime candidate.

  25. Posted · Report reply

    Despite Nate Danielson's best efforts the Winterhawks fell to Moose Jaw last night in the WHL finals. Nate was excellent but Moose Jaw is absolutely stacked with first round talent and they overwhelmed Portland. Danielson finished the playoffs with 24 points in 18 games, won a series for the Winterhawks more or less by himself, and was only outproduced by four top end talents who are all on the same team. I really really liked his game in the playoffs.

    I'd imagine the next stop is Grand Rapids and it will be interesting to see if he gets a spot in the lineup or if he's a black ace throughout their run.