krsmith17

Yeah, I was always hoping McKee would be able to put it all together and become a half decent hockey player. No one is expecting him to put up huge points, but he needs to show some promise playing university hockey. Just one point (goal) in 30 games at WMU isn't enough, even for a goon like McKee. If he could round out to be a solid shut down guy that can skate, hold on to the puck, kill penalties and eat up a few minutes at the NHL level, he would be a great guy to have on our forth line. Sadly, I don't see it happening...

I agree, but to be fair, I would absolutely take Van Riemsdyk over Hicketts. Hicketts is putting up great numbers in the WHL but he is extremely undersized at just 5'8", and he may not be able to put it all together as a pro. Van Riemsdyk is 5 years older, 6" taller and shoots right. I'd take the NHL ready defenseman over the undersized prospect.

I don't think Goodrow was much of a miss. Like number9 pointed out, he was invited to camp and didn't show enough to make the 50 man roster. Also, if I'm not mistaken, Holland did offer him a one-way contract with Grand Rapids but he turned it down. As for Van Riewmsdyk, I would have liked to land him for sure. Oh well, it's not like we're lacking depth on defense right now. I'd love to land Morrison as well, but chances are we won't, and it won't be the end of the world there either.

I've watched just about every game so far, and from what I've been seeing, they've been outplaying the opposition every game, they just aren't having any puck luck. Their defense has been great, if I'm not mistaken they're number one in shots against per game. Mrazek has looked very pedestrian so far this year compared to the past two seasons, but I'm sure he'll pick up his game and with his improvement the team will improve. Pulkkinen is carrying the load right now, he has that patented lazar shot that he will take from anywhere on the ice (and is capable of scoring from anywhere) and has underrated speed. Athanansiou had a slow start but is really starting to show how good he really is as of late. He has speed and hands that will dominate the minors, and hopefully it translates to the NHL in a year or two. Callahan has been playing great again this season, and deserves a shot with the big club real soon. Nosek was a big loss when he went down, he was playing great. Hopefully he gets back sooner than later. Mantha will be back for the next game, so that should be a huge offensive boost to the team. I still think Jurco needs more seasoning down in the minors and that would help the team out significantly as well. On defense, Ouellet has looked amazing and he really needs to make the jump really soon. As great as Kindl has been playing lately I still think Ouellet would be an upgrade. Jensen has looked really solid and can move the puck really well. I haven't been overly impressed with Marchenko so far, and despite no points yet, I think Backman has looked great. Sproul definitely needs more time in the minors but has been playing better the past couple games. He scored his first goal last night on a bomb. It was a little fluky but it still counts. He skated over the blueline, let one go, it went over the net, hit the glass and came back in front and hit the goalie in the back and trickled in. His offense should get going now I would think. All in all, they will be fine. I think they will get into the playoffs with ease and make a decent run again this season. I'm really looking forward to Mantha's debut this weekend. On nights when both the Wings and Griffins are playing, I usually watch the Wings live and watch the recorded Griffins game after, I might be doing the opposite tomorrow night. Can't wait to see what he can do at the pro level.

Morrison is a 22 year old free agent defenseman out of Western Michigan, originally from Lloydminster, Alberta. He's 6'2", 205 lbs, shoots right, has a cannon of a shot from the blueline, and is an incredible skater. He's a solid two-way defenseman but his biggest asset is his offensive game and he's a huge threat on the power-play. All signs point to this guy being a stud, and the perfect fit for the Wings, but it looks like the Oilers may be the frontrunners right now, being only a couple hours away from his hometown. He played with DeKeyser a couple years ago at WMU, maybe he can lure him in. I know we have a ton of capable defensemen in Grand Rapids but I don't think any other than Ouellet are as polished as Morrison. The guy in our system that resembles him the most is Sproul and he's certainly not ready yet. I hope Kenny makes some phone calls on Kenney. You can never have too many assets. If he is the real deal and he can walk on as DeKeyser did 2 years ago, we then have some assets that we could turn around and trade. Maybe Ouellet can be packaged in a trade to get a top 6 winger...

I'm not in any way saying that he will slot in above our top 4 defensemen in Grand Rapids because he went to college, I'm saying that he is one of the most sought after free agents right now, and I highly doubt the same hype would be for all of our guys in Grand Rapids. It is possible that Ouellet is more NHL ready right now and I do think that in the long run Sproul will be a better player, but all of the hype (the same hype there was for DeKeyser) is not all for nothing... Only time will tell what kind of player he will be, and I think we'll see sooner than later.

Yes, I think DeKeyser going undrafted has a lot to do with him going the college route. College hockey has gotten much more recognition the past few years, largely because of some of the talent that is coming out of the NCAA. Some others that went undrafted from the NCAA in recent years include Ben Lovejoy, Torey Krug, Kevan Miller, Mark Letestu, Trevor Van Riemsdyk, Luke Glendening, Mark Arcobello, Christian Folin, Mike Weaver, Andy Green, Stephen Gionta, Cory Conacher, Cam Talbot, Matt Read, Matt, Irwin, J.T. Brown, Andrej Sustr, Tyler Bozak and Chris Tanev. Others a few years back include Curtis Glencross, Teddy Purcell, Ben Scrivens, Ryan Carter, Rene Bourque, Dan Boyle, Martin St. Louis, Chris Kunitz, Jason Garisson and Jay Beagle. There are going to be more and more of these guys coming from the NCAA and the biggest name out there right now is Kenney Morrison, a guy I think could help out the Wings on the back end...

There's a huge difference between being mature as a person and mature as a hockey player... It's no secret that college hockey is more structured while junior is more run and gun, hence why scouting college players is becoming more and more common for NHL teams. Also, Morrison is playing for the Broncos under Andy Murray, a pretty decent coach who is definitely instilling good habits and preparing him for the next level. I get the argument that Morrison should and more than likely will choose a different team (Edmonton), but you're making it seem like Holland shouldn't even go after him because we have other capable defenders... I do believe he is just as good or better than anyone else we have in the system, but even if he isn't, what's the harm in adding another asset? I think he will be another DeKeyser type signing for whichever team is lucky enough to land him.

I agree that Edmonton would be the better choice if he's looking for a definite shot at cracking an NHL lineup right away, but I wouldn't be so sure that he wouldn't crack our lineup right away either. We're trying to find that coveted right handed defenseman and I think he could possibly be ahead of any of our prospects, maybe even Ouellet, and I'd be surprised if he would be behind any of the others. You have to remember that a lot of defenseman that take the college route tend to be a lot more mature physically and mentally than your average defenseman out of the CHL. Morrison is also a year older than our two current top defensive prospects (Ouellet and Sproul) at 22 years of age. He has the frame to step into the league right away and everything I've seen and read says that he has the skill to step in right away, the question is, does he have what it takes between the ears to play in the NHL... Either way, I think who ever lands this kid is going to have a beauty on their hands. He seems like a DeKeyser with more offensive upside.

A lot of speculation. My bet is that this move was made just for this week. Mrazek will get the start down in Grand Rapids against Lake Erie on Wednesday and then they'll probably swap again, having McCollum get the start against Texas and Mrazek backing up Howard against Chicago on Friday... Who knows though... McCollum was having a better start, but he has lost his last few as well. I highly doubt he is up to be showcased...

Exactly... AND vice versa... Like I said, Howard is not the issue, it's a team issue. The team hasn't been good at shootouts.

Kip, fair enough. I get as frustrated with Babcock as anyone, but he is finally addressing the need to get better in the shootout, and that's what matters. Leftwinger, how about Howard is practicing against players that are horrible in the shootout, they probably have a big problem scoring and he gets a false sense of being good in the shootouts... Howard hasn't been good in the shootout by any stretch, but the shooters have been just as bad... It's a team problem, not a Howard problem. But hey, there's a chance to bash Howard in the spectacular start to the season he's having, so why not, right?...

Kip, your innate desire to bash Babcock every chance you get is a little tiresome. I get that you're not fond of the guy and you think he is overrated but c'mon, the assistant coaches are there to do specific jobs. He has Granato on the penalty kill, Hiller on the power-play, and Brewer as video coach helping choose who goes in the shootouts (among other things I'm sure). Yes, Babcock has the final say in who shoots for us, just as I'm sure he has the final say in who is on each power-play and penalty kill unit, but these guys deserve some of the credit (whether positive or negative) as well. I didn't say that none of the onus falls on Babcock, I simply said "So much for blaming it all on Babcock"... I agree that much more time needs to be spent on the power-play and as frank pointed out, they are spending time on that in practice today. Just like you said, "final responsibility falls on him", so I'm sure if Babcock isn't at practice today, he told the assistant coaches to spend time practicing for shootouts...

Babcock regarding the shootouts... "Obviously, that's something I don't spend a whole lot of time on." No s***!... "That's why I got this great video guy named Andrew Brewer. He does all that work and comes out and tells me who to shoot"... So much for blaming it all on Babcock... We are 0-3 in the shootout after last nights loss. We have scored 1 goal (Nyquist) on 8 opportunities, and the opposition has scored 5 goals on 7 opportunities. Both, the shooters and the goalie (Howard) definitely need to be better in that area and our coaching staff really needs to address it this week while they have 4 days off. We would be tied for 1st in the East with 22 points if we had won three of those shootouts... We cannot be throwing away these points. Let's hope they can turn their shootout woes around, like they did their power-play. They have gotten two power-play goals in each of their past three games, going 6 for 13 (46.2%). In the first 12 games of the season they had gone 5 for 46 (10.9%). They now sit at a respectable 18.6% and I expect that number to rise even more as the season goes on.

Ever since Bertuzzi was drafted 58th overall in 2013, he has been proving that he is more than just an agitator. He has put up spectacular numbers since coming back from that scary neck / spinal injury last season. Last year he put up 51 points in 47 (regular season and playoff) games, along the way winning the J. Ross Robertson Cup (OHL Champions) and then went on to the Memorial Cup Finals, scoring 5 goals in 4 games. He has improved on those numbers so far this season, putting up 23 points in 17 games, helped by his 7 point performance yesterday in a 9-4 win over the London Knights, where he racked up 2 goals and 5 assists. Of course I don't expect much more than a 3rd / 4th liner out of this guy but he could be a great one for a team that lacks grit. I'd love to see a 4th line of Bertuzzi - Glendening - Callahan in a few years, they would drive the opposition insane...

derblaue, you're forgetting that Cleary is a LGW whipping boy favorite... Don't you know that it doesn't matter how he plays, he f*cking sucks... Same goes for Franzen and Kindl... Cleary has looked great out there. I'd love to see him take over Andersson's spot on the forth line if he can keep up the same pace.

I agree with jimmy, Jurco should not be sitting. Terrible management of this guy so far... I said before the season started and I still think he should be spending some more time in Grand Rapids but if he isn't down there he needs to be in the lineup in Detroit, not watching the games...

Dickie, why can't you just post the name of the site here? I'm interested in having a look for sure. If it's half as good as RWC I'd be very impressed.

Relax man. I'm just pointing out on that one play, it absolutely WAS Kindl's f*** up, not Smith's. Slow the play down all you want, it was a terrible change (and yes, I'm aware it wasn't just Kindl) and Smith had no chance there. I'll admit that Smith f***ed up on the third goal because of an untimely pinch, terrible read. I'll also say that I have no issue with Kindl. He has played a lot better than anyone has expected and that's great for us. I also think Lashoff is a great 7th defenseman. When he does get into games, he's solid. He's not going to put up points and he's not expected to but he doesn't usually hurt the team either. In saying that I would love to see Ouellet up at some point really soon. Also, I'm not sure where I read you say this, if it was here or another thread, but I 100% agree that there is way too much blind hate on certain players. A lot of people on here are watching the games and posting on here for the sole purpose to ***** and complain about the same players every night. Every night it seems to be one of the whipping boys fault, no matter how well they play. And lately all the usual whipping boys have been playing great, but yet they're still to blame...

Kip, you still haven't addressed derblaue's main point, the same point I was going to bring up before I read further... Kindl was the reason for at least one of the goals that Smith was on the ice for. I remember specifically the Rangers second goal last night Kindl made a terrible decision to change and Smith jumped on and was way behind St. Louis only to watch him score on a clear cut breakaway...

Again, just because the playoff streak means nothing to some people, doesn't make it meaningless. It's a huge deal to ownership, management, coaching staff, players, and most fans...

Lol ok let's just agree to disagree. Partly because I'm sick of discussing this Smith thing with you and partly because I'm on my way to the pub for a few beers to prime for the big game. Go Wings! I expect a big win tonight and Smith to double his point total for the season with a goal and an assist.....

Green costs more in cap but would certainly cost a lot less in assets for the reason you stated, he in not under contract, and I'm quite okay with that. We have some prospects that we need to make room for over the next couple years and I think Sproul will fill a huge void in the not so distant future... Also, my point was that Yandle isn't good defensively and Green isn't any worse, not that he is better. And the fact that he has played less minutes, is not their number one defenseman (which by the way, neither would be here either) and has put up virtually the same points, shouldn't that be a positive?...

What we would have to give up (Smith PLUS assets) would be a huge mistake in my opinion. Again, this is all just my opinion. You don't need to agree with me, or see it from my perspective, but I see a ton of potential in him. You see Yandle as one of the top defensemen in the league. I don't see that at all. Sure he puts up a lot of points but he isn't great defensively by any stretch. I don't put much stock into +/- but he was a team worst and one of the league worst -23 last season. If we're going after a purely offensive guy, I would much rather a right handed shooting defenseman. I'd rather take a gamble on Green than Yandle.

Again, I never once said that Smith will be "better" than Yandle. I'm not sure where you're getting that... I just don't want to give up on a kid that I really like and have followed since he was drafted PLUS other assets for a guy that in a few years won't be much of an upgrade. Losing Smith plus other assets and adding Yandle does not put us over the top this year and certainly won't in future years, in my opinion... I think we agree on Smith's potential but I'm a little more certain he will reach that potential... I think we agree on where Helm should be in the lineup but not on the position he should play... We definitely agree on Semin. Exactly what this team needs. We do not need 12 two-way forwards, we need a couple guys that can concentrate fully on offense. Semin is that guy.