krsmith17

Go Tampa! Go Yzerman! F*** anyone that says otherwise...

What I find much more impressive is that he has 34 goals and 47 points in his last 28 AHL games. I hope he continues that same success through the rest of the playoffs and the Griffins win another Calder Cup. Hopefully he works his ass off in the summer and becomes a legit threat for the Wings next season.

As far as I know, we traded away our 2nd and got a 3rd back in the Cole trade. And we lost our 3rd in last years draft in the Turgeon trade... That would leave us with 1, 3 (from Dallas), 4, 5, 6, 7...

He's a decent skater but would be a downgrade from Miller in ever aspect of the game in my opinion... I don't love Miller by any means, and he is very replaceable but there are definitely better options available than Aubry, such as Ferraro / Callahan. There's no question, both Ouellet and Marchenko are ahead of Sproul right now. But make no mistake, there is a huge difference in being ahead in development and being the better prospect. I'd still rank Sproul above any defenseman in our system in overall potential despite his down season.

Aubry is a UFA after this season. He has been much better but still nothing to write home about. We could re-sign him but it won't be a huge loss if we let him walk either. He's no better than Emmerton or Andersson, he could survive a stint in the NHL but he's never going to stick full time in my opinion.

My thoughts exactly amato.

Richdg, I brought up the Sproul situation briefly in another thread, and I'll say the same thing I said over there. He played great in game 2 and 3 of the Toronto series, and it was really unfortunate that he was the odd man out when Marchenko was sent back down. No doubt, Sproul has had a rough season relative to expectations but he still has a ton of upside. I've far from given up on him, and I still believe he will be a top 3-4 defenseman in the NHL some day. In saying that our defensive depth is lacking big time. I would be absolutely shocked if the Wings don't take a defenseman with their first pick in this years draft... Preferably Nicolas Meloche or Jeremy Roy, unless Zack Werenski drops way down to us (not going to happen...).

Nicolas Meloche is definitely my number one pick as it stands right now, unless of course a better player drops back to us.

Werenski would be awesome but I don't see him dropping that much. Either way, we need to take a defenseman in the first round, if possible.

One player I would love to have on this team is Travis Hamonic. I realize that the chances of us trading for him are slim to none and I have no idea what it would cost to get him here, but I think he'd be a great add... Kindl + Marchenko, and/or Ouellet, and/or Nastasiuk, and/or draft pick(s)... I don't see any huge changes. The biggest may be the man behind the bench... Subtractions: RFA's - Andersson UFA's - Cleary, Cole, Zidlicky, Gustavsson, Porter LTIR - Franzen Trades: Weiss (take on an equally bad contract that will at least get a chance to play (assuming Babcock returns...) OR buyout), Kindl (draft pick or even future considerations) Additions / Extensions: RFA's - Nyquist, Jurco, Pulkkinen, Smith, Ferraro, Callahan, Aubry, Jensen, Coreau UFA's - Miele, McCollum Trades - Travis Hamonic Roster Tatar - Datsyuk - Helm Nyquist - Zetterberg - Abdelkader Jurco - Sheahan - Pulkkinen Miller - Glendening - Ferraro Callahan Kronwall - Ericsson DeKeyser - Quincey Smith - Hamonic Lashoff Howard Mrazek

I admit that although Larkin is one of our prospects that I am most excited about, he is probably the one I know the least about, in the sense that other than his Wolverines highlights, I've only seen him play those five games in this past years World Juniors. And although he looked unreal in that tournament, he is still just an 18 year old kid. History has proven that our "over ripening" strategy works, so I don't know why we'd stray from that now. Mantha proved that the transition from junior (or in this case college) to pro is a very big step for a young kid, and he was a year older when he made the jump. I'd personally rather one more season of college and then make the transition to pro in Grand Rapids. I'm sure we'll soon find out where he is headed next season, I hope he continues to impress regardless of where he ends up.

Dylan Larkin 2015-16 - Wolverines 2016-17 - Griffins 2017-35 - Red Wings

I assume they're talking about Ilya Nikulin...

We're playing Rockford next round, which starts tonight. They swept Texas (last years Calder Cup Champs) in the first round. Should be a good matchup.

... Am I missing something? It doesn't say anything about him challenging for a spot in Detroit next season... does it? Or is that just what you expect to happen if he does well in this tournament?... I think there is about a 0% chance he has any chance of making the Red Wings next season. I'm thinking, as well as hoping that he plays another year with the Wolverines next season, and then plays a full season with the Griffins in '16-'17 and becomes a full time Red Wing in '17-'18. I think the part on Mantha right after is a main reason why you should not rush these kids. A lot of people wanted him fast tracked to the NHL last season... I personally hope he plays another full season down in Grand Rapids again next season, and then makes the Red Wings full time in '16-'17. There is absolutely no reason to rush these kids. We've been doing it the right way for quite some time now, we have more forward depth than we've had in years, why rush them and chance stunting their growth? I'm still concerned that rushing Jurco was the wrong decision and his play has suffered because of it...

I watch a lot of games but I know of a few others on here that do as well. I highly doubt I know any more than some of those guys, especially the ones that are fortunate enough to attend the games live. Anyway, the whole "fan boy" thing annoyed me a little and the fact that you had to throw in yet another Smith slight was a piss off, but if you say you were kidding, okay...

I'd also like to add that inside the offensive zone, Pulkkinen is without question the most dangerous player on the Griffins, hence all the different types of goals he has scored. That doesn't change the fact that his zone entries are very predictable. And while they most certainly can work at the AHL level, they don't / won't cut it in the NHL. There is a lot less time and space and no defender is going to fall for that move, and even if they do, the likelihood of the goaltender missing it is even less likely... To compare Pulkkinen's entries to Datsyuk and Zetterberg's is a little foolish don't ya think?... I don't get your sarcastic comments number9... Go troll someone else...

I really don't get your point here at all. You're acting as if I was bashing Pulkkinen when I'm not at all. I'm actually one of the bigger Pulkkinen supporters on here. I'm simply making the point that he needs to add more to his bag of tricks and not be as predictable when entering the zone... I'm not sure if you watch the games or just catch the highlights but I watch a TON of games and Bob Kaser (the Griffins' Ken Daniels) has said numerous times over the course of the season and even in these playoffs how Teemu needs to change up his game a little if he wants to make it in the NHL. That was my only point, I'm not sure what your beef with that is...

Buppy, I'm not sure what your point here is... Did I say that every single goal that Pulkkinen has scored at the AHL level were his patented step over the blue line and fire? No, my point is simply that he is very predictable. 9 out of 10 times he gets over the blue line whether it's a 1 on 2 or a 2 on 1, he's going to do the exact same thing, pull up and fire. I've seen most every single one of his 76 goals at the AHL level, and all 6 you mentioned so far in these playoffs. Just because he's capable of scoring different ways doesn't make it any less concerning that he has one go to play...

I'm high on Nosek but to say that he "should find his way to Detroit sometime next season" is a bit of a stretch in my mind. Unless of course we get hit hard with injuries... Some argued with me about our number one priority at this years draft, particularly our first round pick, NEEDS to be a top pairing defenseman, would you still argue that point?...

I actually did have a little something written up on Mantha but I was having trouble posting this morning and I must have lost it somewhere along the way. But yes, Mantha has been very underwhelming in the playoffs so far. He seems to have one shift ever single game where he absolutely dominates, the rest of the game, he's invisible... I'm not sure if it was game 3 or 4 but he went end to end and beat all 5 Marlies that were on the ice and made a great pass over to Zengerle (I believe it was), who had an unbelievable scoring chance and shot it just wide of the open cage. I still think he has a bright future ahead of him, but he is definitely struggling to find his game at the pro level. He is still only 20 years old and in his first year of pro, and much like every player in our system that makes the jump from junior to pro (with the excepting of Athanasiou) he is having trouble adapting. This is a kid that for the past two seasons could score at will. He makes the jump from playing against boys half his size to playing against men that are much stronger. Like a lot of young kids, he was probably expecting it to be a seamless transition, and with all the pressure on him to produce out of the gate, and coming off a leg injury, he's probably found it to be very overwhelming... It's about time for him to settle in now though...

I've watched a lot of Griffins this season (40-50 games) and I watched all 5 games of the first round against the Marlies, and one thing is for sure, this team is legit. Even with them being down 2-0 in the series, I had a strong feeling that they would come back to Grand Rapids and win the series. After they lost game 1, I made a bet with my two jackass Leafs friends that they would win the series. I ended up winning two cases of beer last night. All of this talk about our center depth and no one has mentioned Tomas Nosek? He was without question, one of our best players in the first round. He's a big body, that protects the puck as well as anyone, and has very deceptive foot speed and hands. He flat out makes things happen in the offensive zone. Last night he split two defenders, dangled around a third man back, waited out the goaltender and feathered a beautiful pass over to Hoggan for the wide open net. Unfortunately Hoggan ended up hitting the post on the play, but nevertheless it was highlight reel material. I'm not saying he will do that at the NHL level but the skill is definitely there and the kid is still only 22 years old, in his first season of North American pro hockey. I think the potential of him making it as a 2nd/3rd line center is definitely there. Pulkkinen has also been very good, but it kind of worries me a little that he still does his one go-to move; walks in over the blue line, puts on the breaks and winds up for the holy slapper. Sure, it works in the AHL but it clearly doesn't at the NHL level. I know he won't ever be the type of player that dangles past defenders but I think he needs a little more than that shot to make it in the NHL as anything more than a 3rd line winger / power-play specialist. In saying that, I don't think 15 goals on the power-play alone is out of reach next season if the Wings would actually use him correctly (ala Stamkos / Ovechkin, hovering around the left faceoff dot). Despite Pulkkinen's huge numbers, I think the best player in Grand Rapids is Athanasiou. The kid is electrifying and is dangerous any time he's on the ice with that blazing speed. The comparison to Fedorov, although it may sound a little far fetched right now, I don't think it's out of the question either. Some of the similarities in their games are definitely there. The way they can take over a game with their speed, their hands, their size, etc. No, I don't think Andreas is going to put up 120 points in a season the way Sergei did, but I do think a few 80-90 point seasons at the NHL level could be within reach. People seem to forget that he is only 20 years old and in his first pro season. He has had a smoother transition from junior to pro than any prospect we've seen in our system in a looong time. Bertuzzi is looking great as well, and although I thought he may max out as a 3rd or a very good 4th liner at the NHL level, I don't think the top 6 is out of the question. He's looking like he could potentially mature into a bigger Marchand type of player. I do still think 3rd/4th line duty is most likely, especially with our depth on the wings, but he continues to impress and exceed expectations at every level. It is still mind boggling to me that Frk is once again out of the lineup. I thought he played great down the stretch in the regular season and in the first two games of the series (despite being losses). I guess it wasn't the worst decision to take him out, since the team rallied back and won the series but I do think he is an upgrade over a couple players in the lineup. One being Hirschfeld (the guy that got the game winner last night...) and the other one being Porter. It seems like he is getting the Weiss treatment, in that he can produce all he wants but he'll still be yanked from the lineup the first chance the coach gets... Ouellet and Marchenko have looked very solid on the defensive side of the puck and are putting up some points as well, which is great to see. I found it to be extremely odd timing when Sproul was hauled from the lineup, as game 3 was by far his best performance of the 3 playoff games. I thought he had a very rough game 1, a solid game 2 and a great game 3. I would have much rather seen Lashoff or Evans out when Marchenko returned rather than Sproul, but again, they won, so you can't really complain with the result... All in all, very impressive squad, and I think another Calder Cup could be going back to GR next month...

Both scores are a little misleading with 3 of the goals being empty netters. However, McCollum was way off last night and Coreau didn't look much better tonight. Both games were in Toronto and the final 3 (if we can pull off a couple wins and force a game 5) will be in Grand Rapids. If there's a team that can come back from a 2-0 deficit in a best of 5 series, I believe it's this Griffins team. Pulkkinen has been his usual dominating self, Mantha has looked good and although Athanasiou had a great game one, I think he played an awful game two. I expect the whole team to be fired up to get back home and pull off a big win in game 3. I just hope the Wings finish the Lightning off tomorrow night so I can watch the Griffins game live on Wednesday. Go Wings! Go Griffs!

I hope you're right because I'm a huge Callahan fan. I'm just worried with him being injured for the latter half of this season, and Ferraro looking to cement his spot in the lineup, there may not be room for both of them... As it stands right now we have Datsyuk, Zetterberg, Franzen (LTIR), Nyquist (RFA), Tatar, Jurco (RFA), Sheahan, Helm, Abdelkader, Weiss, Cole (UFA), Pulkkinen (RFA), Glendening, Miller, Andersson (RFA), Cleary (UFA), Ferraro (RFA), Callahan (RFA)... That's 18 forwards. I think both UFA's (Cole and Cleary) are gone next season. If Franzen remains on LTIR, that's another spot available. We'll definitely be re-signing Nyquist, Jurco and Pulkkinen and likely Andersson as well, although I'd prefer to let him walk... We should look to trade Weiss, although I don't see there being any takers, unless we take back another bad contract... With Larkin, Mantha, Athanasiou, Bertuzzi, etc. all knocking on the door over this next couple years, I'd pass on Hyman, unless he's willing to play in Grand Rapids, which I doubt...

I haven't seen much of either of these guys and I don't think I seen either of them play a single game since last season. In saying that, from the little I have seen and articles I've read, I think Wheaton is the better player. He has had a couple pretty serious shoulder injuries over the past few seasons though... is that enough for the Wings to steer clear of him? I don't know. But I agree, I would like if we could hang onto one of these big bastards...