Aussie_Wing

I'm sorry but what a disrespectful post. But moving on, more good showings by Helm and Leino. Good to see Mursak score, I really rate this guy.

What's the deal with the transfer agreement; any chance he ever comes over to North America? Stolyarov has recently been traded to Astana Barys and has 2 points in 2 games. He's a massive longshot but given he's only 22 and is 6'4, you never know what could happen...

Well he's certainly made a good start to the OHL season. 4-0 W/L record with a 1.74GAA and 0.943 S%.

Great pics! I've got a good camera but I tell you what, at times I think about going all out and buying an amazing one. Any pics of Fleischmann? The 'one that got away'.

Yeah, it's pretty good I must say, and this coming from a guy who normally hates change.

Lilja only played 5:14, I take it that he didn't play after his fight? Anyone know what the problem may be? Quincey played a bit more tonight, obviously due to the fact Lilja went off early. Samuelsson loves scoring in pairs doesn't he? Whenever anyone wants to write him off he delivers. He's not a great player and will go missing for periods but there's no denying he can score and every now and then he'll have a ripper game. Good even spread of minutes tonight, perhaps Lenio should've played a tad more but on the whole everyone saw a decent amount of ice-time, even the youngsters Mursak, Emmerton and Ritola.

Bit small? We're not still going on about his lack of size are we? I thought he put to bed these thoughts in the playoffs when he had 14 points and looked completely at ease. This was when he was meant to be exposed too.

Helm, what more needs to be said? The guy is a quality player and there is no doubt he is NHL ready. He could handle 3rd line minutes this season. Surely he's done enough to warrant staying in Detroit? I think he's played too well to be sent down but even if he is, I can't see him staying long in Grand Rapids. Good showing by Howard tonight, let's hope he keeps that up. He's probably going to start 1 more pre-season game so it's important he keeps working hard and comes out firing for his next outing. Leino is real impressive, he's just about our leading scorer in the pre-season and although he'll start the season in Grand Rapids, he too probably deserves to be in Detroit as he's done all he can do. He looks a very likely type and it's a shame he won't start with the Wings. Any updates on Chelios' injury? Filppula played 20 minutes tonight and not one post was made about him, was he that unnoticable? And lastly I hope Hossa really doesn't care about pre-season because he's been very underwhelming.

What I mean is that Nicastro is only 18, has just been drafted, and it'll be 3-4 year at least before we get any idea whether he's capable of playing and performing in the AHL. He might never make the NHL. Same deal with Pyett, but he's made a good start. Quincey might be struggling right now, he might have only played a few playoff games, but the fact is he made it there through development and even if the Wings trade him he'll end up on another team and will be a regular. Nicastro and Pyett might not get to that stage, even if they appear to have more potential.

A lot needs to go right for those guys to ever surpass Quincey.

Haha the good old Outback Steakhouse! I guess I should head off, haircut at 12:30, I could sleep in and miss it if I stay up any longer!

I'm so bored. It's 12:45am and I have no intention of heading to bed anytime soon. What to do...?

How could you honestly have Pyett and Nicastro ahead of Quincey? Until they prove that they're even AHL standard then there is no way you could place them ahead of Quincey. Kindl and Smith both are very young and have a lot to prove. The guys ranked 3-6 all might be promising, and MIGHT have higher upside (very questionable on Pyett, perhaps even Nicastro) but they are miles off the level Quincey is currently at and they might never even reach his level.

Howard is an interesting one. When he was first drafted there was talk about his inconsistency and his ability to be dominant and then off the boil. 3-4 years later and the same still applies. He is fitter, has (hopefully) worked on and improved a few of his weaknesses, but his inconsistency and failure to take his opportunities have seem him remain in the AHL and this looks set to continue for another season. In saying all that, I firmly believe he’s only going to get better and be an NHL caliber goalie by playing in the NHL. In the few games he has played he’s looked alright, and he’ll only take the necessary improvements by playing in the big league. That’s where we’re going to get a good idea of whether he’s cut out for it or not. And to this some might say that he needs to dominate the AHL first, but you could argue that playing in Detroit, in front of our defence and seeing on 20 shots a night would make him more successful in Detroit. And you know he’d improve in that scenario.

There's no way he will now, but he will eventually. Reading all of Babcock’s comments about him lead me to believe that he has faith in his ability to succeed in the NHL just as long as he continues to work hard, drives to the net and learns to deal with the speed. Babs is normally pretty ruthless and lets everyone know what he is thinking, and he’s come out a few times and said how Leino can succeed in the NHL with a bit more work. There’s no doubt he’ll start the season with the Griffins though, and the main question will then be how long is he prepared to stay there? If he’s willing to stay there for a while and hone his skills, Babs will reward him and in time he’ll make it with the Wings.

As each game goes by I think Helm is just too good to be playing in the AHL and it would be a waste for him to be down there. He had an excellent playoff run, has points in both the pre-season games he's played, so really there's not a lot more he can do. I just wish we would make room for him in Detroit, he's clearly NHL ready and having him wait can only lead to frustration. I honestly think we'll have an identical situation to what happened with Filppula, impressed during pre-season, was sent down and only lasted 3 games before proving he's just too good for that level and belongs in the NHL. If Helm manages to get a call-up early, there won't be any turning back, he'll be here for good.

I've thought this for a fair while now. IMO 9 is way, way too long and you're right, 5 games sounds about right.

It's been done to death. At the time I thought it was a decent trade considering what the other teams were giving up on deadline day. Of course as it turns out it was a disaster as Bertuzzi failed to have a significant impact and Matthias has gone on to become one heck of a prospect, but I can't blame Holland too much. And besdies, Matthias would be in the same boat Abdelkader is in at the moment.

I actually think it's quite scary for the rest of the league just how many good up and coming prospects we have. Everyone talks about our depth on defence but look at the forward prospects we have. Helm, Abdelkader, Emmerton, Mursak, Ritola, Axelsson, even Ryno. We're going to stay good for a long, long time.

And might I just say, the Aussies are taking over these boards. 3 (well, now 4) posts in a row in this thread.

I'm actually surprised Kopecky is back so soon after his ACL injury. Seems he's made a very quick and healthy recovery and already has a lot of confidence in his knee if he's dishing out hits like that. He was really starting to play well last season before injury struck so it's good having him back on the ice and hopefully he can have a solid season. I like what he adds to the team.

Umm, Jakub Kindl? Seems he's no longer rated by the journalist.

Leino sounds very promising and the Wings will have a very hard time cutting him loose IMO. He just sounds too skilled and too much of a Red Wings ‘kind of guy’ to cut. As for Helm, he is a beauty and an outstanding prospect, and we’re all aware of what he can do, but I think he’ll be sent down to GR and be given a ton of ice-time and be given a real leadership role. I see him as a potential captain down the road. Downey, well I’ve never been big on him. Sure I like what he brings to the table but in the games that he did play last season he barely saw any ice time. We really could do without him, especially as McCarty is here now. But if I had the choice of one of Leino/Helm/McCarty/Downey, I’d go Leino. Only go against Helm because he will probably benefit more from a larger role in GR as opposed to the limited role he would surely get with Detroit. Although having said that, Filppula was meant to be in the same boat in 2006/07, and after 3 games in Grand Rapids enough was enough and he was called up for good and hasn’t looked back since. Helm might not be as good offensively, at least just yet, but he could make a similar impact to start the season.

Of course he'll miss the entire season, an ACL/MCL double is about the worst thing you could suffer. Poor guy.

Chelios certainly loves scoring during pre-season.