krsmith17

It's not at all that people think they know better, it's that Vilardi was ranked much higher on just about every single draft ranking. There were a few that had him top 3 or top 5. There were also quite a few that had Rasmussen outside the top 10 or top 15. It looks like Red Wings scouts "may have" seen something a lot of other scouts didn't in Rasmussen. Regardless, it's still way too early for "I told ya so's". I was pretty sour about the pick, and I still think Vilardi has a good chance of being the better player, but I'm completely, 100% rooting for Ras to prove me wrong. I'll gladly eat crow if he develops into a stud, or even better than Vilardi.

No chance.

This is correct. Regardless, if we did sign Booth and eventually waive him, I don't think the Red Wings or Booth would necessarily want him to clear waivers. There's more than enough veteran leadership in Grand Rapids, and it would be great for Booth if another team picks him up. I think Booth will be signed. He's earned it with his play in these pre-season games.

Hicketts should be on this team...

A lot of talk about Coreau being claimed when he inevitably hits waivers...

It was also Larkin's second season after being drafted. Larkin was 19 years old, coming off a season of college hockey. Rasmussen is 18 years old, coming off his second season of junior hockey (much weaker league).

Any games he's played, he's been forward (including tonight). He hasn't played any games on D, and likely won't. He was signed to play 4th line. Why? I have no idea. He's not good. I'd MUCH rather have Booth on the team over Witkowski...

Tonight's lineup. Final preseason game... Abdelkader - Rasmussen - Parenteau Sadowy - Glendening - Witkowski Lorito - Holmstrom - Shine Ford - Turgeon - Campbell Lashoff - Saarijarvi Renouf - Hicketts Ouellet - McIlrath Mrazek Coreau

I don't care too much about +/-, as long as he doesn't finish the season -30 on a playoff team. It's more of a team stat, and as the 5-1 deficit indicates, it wasn't a very good night for the team. I watched the highlights and he wasn't really directly responsible for any of the goals, no blatant turnovers or bad pinches resulting in the goals against. I think he'll have a big season in the W.

Not sure if serious...

Frk has earned a spot. Hopefully he keeps it going against tougher competition. Booth has far exceeded my expectations and deserves a contract. He's the ideal player to have as a 12th/13th forward. I can't wait to see Hicketts make the team, but I'd say it will be a few months until he makes his debut. Once we see a few inevitable injuries, he'll likely be first call up. Nah, yours always looks prettier. All centered and what not.

Edit: beat me to it Dabura.

He can be sent down any time, just that once he plays that 10th game, a year of his ELC is burned.

I'm with you. I said from day one that I didn't like the pick, solely because I thought Vilardi would be the better pick, but also that I instantly became Rasmussen's biggest fan. I really hope he develops into a legit 1C. I'm not sure if he'll ever have that sort of ceiling, but I've been very impressed by his play in these preseason games.

Not big is very different from relatively small. Point is, he's plenty big for a winger. I agree that the likelihood of him making it, isn't great, I never said it was. You're acting as if I'm saying he's going to be a 50 point player. I'm not at all. I think he could be a capable 3rd line winger, that puts up 20-25 points, the majority coming on the man advantage. I do think he could net 10 goals on the power-play if utilized properly. We'll see... It's not like I'm just reading a quote from Blashill, I listen to the interviews and you can tell he's been very impressed with Frk. He goes out of his way to say good things about him. Frk has played very well in these preseason games. Will that translate to the regular season? We'll find out soon enough.

Going to be a good PP QB.

Yes. Parenteau is so f***ing bad... Hronek.

Maybe "expect" was a port choice of words here. What I meant was "hope for". Any time you get a top 10 pick, you should aim to draft a top line forward or top pair defenseman. I still don't think Rasmussen was the best player available, but he has definitely impressed me in training camp / preseason. I'm not sure if he will develop into a top center, which we were hoping for with the 9th overall pick, but 2C isn't out of the question. I would have taken Vilardi, but that's personal preference. Who knows who will end up being the better player...

Holmstrom hasn't been all that noticeable in these games, but he looked good in that first period. Rasmussen tips in a blast from the point by Kronwall on the power-play.

Booth continuing to impress. I'd be okay signing him to a one year contract as a 12th / 13th forward.

You would hope so... I don't see it happening though.

Teams must submit their cap-compliant rosters by 5pm EST, Tuesday, October 3rd.

NHL.com. You really think there's a significant difference in one inch or 5lbs though? That is plenty big for a winger, well above average. So to call him "relatively small" is way off base. He's not going to lay punishing hits or anything, but he's plenty feisty. His skating has improved. He's never going to be a great skater, but more than capable of keeping pace. I've never liked the "bad defensively" argument for wingers. As long as you're not a train wreck in your own zone (Frk isn't), that's fine for a winger in my opinion. Also, Blashill said he can provide "back check pressure" when speaking of what he can bring to the team, so he must be at least somewhat impressed by his defensive ability. He may struggle to get his shot off, who knows, but I'd like to see him given a shot before we assume he's going to suck...

Yup, 6'1", 205lbs. is pretty small for a forward... Frk plays physically, Pulkkinen doesn't. Frk is very good along the boards and in the corners, Pulkkinen is not. Frk has a tireless work ethic, have never heard the same about Pulkkinen. Maybe Frk doesn't ever amount to much of an NHL player, but to say that he's at all similar to Pulkkinen in style of play is just wrong. It's like me saying Frk is like Kucherov because they both have a great shot...

Nestrasil isn't even an NHL quality player. I assume you're saying Frk isn't either? I agree on Frk being a bottom 6 forward, and he may end up in Europe at some point, but I think if he's used properly he can carve out a decent career as a bottom 6, power-play specialist. A ton of players, especially in the Red Wings organization have been rookies at the age of 23 or later. Some have gone on to have very good careers, others were gone in the blink of an eye. I think Frk could be a weapon on the power-play, so does his coach, so do his teammates, so do many fans (including others on here)... You don't, and like I said, you may be right. I could care less. I just want him to be given a legit shot, to see what he can do. Why are you quoting "great things" as if it's something I said? I never said that he would be the catalyst for "great things" happening on our power-play, I just think if utilized properly, he could be a key cog in improving a bottom feeder power-play. That's it. Nothing more than that.