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Everything posted by J-Swift
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Uh.....besides the jackman one all of those pretty much suck for the wings. McLaren and Hannan are studs. They're both big, strong, punishing defencemen that Detroit could really use right now. I think I'd want San Jose to throw in a draft pick or minor leaguer, but I'd love to have one of those two on the Wings. The problem is, why would the Sharks take on another center? They already have Thornton, Marleau, and McCauley; it wouldn't make much sense.
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I think I'm about ready to put it in my sig. Had Pavel came over at the age Hudler did he'd have been traded off for Macoun or Mironov at the deadline by Wings fans. Jiri is still a full year younger than Pavel was when he first came over and your description fits Datsyuk of '01-'02 to a T. peace Hudler is also smaller than Datsyuk, and Pavel is under-sized as it is. Jiri has undeniable talent, there's no doubt about that, but his less-than-amazing skating ability, and more importantly, his lack of size and strength, could keep him from being anymore than an AHL super-star. Though we all knew Hudler was a high-risk/high-reward player when the Wings drafted him, and he still could be a major point-producer. But even if he does develop into the talented, play-making center that Datsyuk is, do we really want another player like that in the lineup? We've got too little muscle in the top six as it is, and Hudler only makes Detroit smaller. I think we have to deal from our strengths in order to address our weaknesses, and right now, our strength is play-making centers. Though Hank and Pavel are generally seen as being untouchable, one of either Lang, Williams, or Hudler could be shipped out. Though I suggest we hang onto J-Will. Unfortunately, he's probably the most physical of anyone on the top two lines, and his defensive lapses mainly only come into play while he's playing point-man on the PP. And he shouldn't be there in the first place anyway; I hope Kronwall gets his spot when he gets healthy. Yeah, let's just get rid of Datsyuk, who needs any players like that who lead your club in scoring year after year... I wasn't insulting Datsyuk, nor did I once say we should dump him. Care to read my post again? Sorry I don't believe this team should be composed of all flashy, play-making centers, that's not how you win the Cup. You win the Cup by having a team with a balance of both finesse and grit; we already have the finesse in our lineup, now we need the grit. Datsyuk is a vital part to our offence, no doubt about that, but I'm sorry I don't feel our top six should be composed of the exact same type of players. I want Pavel in the lineup, don't get me wrong. Datsyuk fills the role of play-making center on this team, that is what makes Hudler expendable. That's all I was saying.
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I think I'm about ready to put it in my sig. Had Pavel came over at the age Hudler did he'd have been traded off for Macoun or Mironov at the deadline by Wings fans. Jiri is still a full year younger than Pavel was when he first came over and your description fits Datsyuk of '01-'02 to a T. peace Hudler is also smaller than Datsyuk, and Pavel is under-sized as it is. Jiri has undeniable talent, there's no doubt about that, but his less-than-amazing skating ability, and more importantly, his lack of size and strength, could keep him from being anymore than an AHL super-star. Though we all knew Hudler was a high-risk/high-reward player when the Wings drafted him, and he still could be a major point-producer. But even if he does develop into the talented, play-making center that Datsyuk is, do we really want another player like that in the lineup? We've got too little muscle in the top six as it is, and Hudler only makes Detroit smaller. I think we have to deal from our strengths in order to address our weaknesses, and right now, our strength is play-making centers. Though Hank and Pavel are generally seen as being untouchable, one of either Lang, Williams, or Hudler could be shipped out. Though I suggest we hang onto J-Will. Unfortunately, he's probably the most physical of anyone on the top two lines, and his defensive lapses mainly only come into play while he's playing point-man on the PP. And he shouldn't be there in the first place anyway; I hope Kronwall gets his spot when he gets healthy.
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Ovechkin could clearly use better linemates, but, as shown by the fact that Washington did next-to-nothing in the off-season, the Caps seem weary to take on any big contracts again. And Lang was a failed experiment anyway, though he played awfully well for them, he wasn't able to help make them a winning team; it'd be like us reacquiring Cujo. I don't know that Washington management wants to degrade themselves by crawling on their hands and knees back to Robert Lang. It's not that I don't like this deal, I'd love Witt here and Clark would be sweet on the third line, but I just don't know if the Capitals would go along with it.
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I don't know if Washington would even want to take Lang back. They really have no reason to; they're just as bad a team as when they traded him to us. The Caps are no doubt tentative to take on big contracts again, after that failed experiment of theirs a couple years back.
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Helm was a very nice pick in the fifth round. He is a very hard worker and is well-documented as being gritty by everything I've ever read about him. Darren was unranked going into the draft, but the fact that he's now producing in the WHL has raised his stock dramatically. I hope to see Darren Helm and his enthusiastic attitude on the Wings someday, but realistically, he's probably never going to be anything but a checking-line winger.
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This debate comes up in every thread. I'm not so sure why Holland shies away from guys who drop the gloves so much, seeing as Darren McCarty was one of the most popular players this team ever had.
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Kindl is probably more physical. As NN said, Kindl is a high risk pick, as well as being a long-term prospect if there ever was one. He has the natural ability to become a top-pairing d-man in the NHL, however, realistically I see Jakub becoming a second pairing guy in a couple years or so.
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Yeah, I remember Lang's trade being like the week before or something. I actually can't recall a trade (of some significance) occuring well before the deadline. I guess the Wings have never been in a whole lot of trouble at any point in the regular season during Kenny's tenure, so he must've never felt the need to make a move.
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I wasn't aware that the Wings' organization was run in accordance to what the CSS said. Andrew Cogliano was rated 63rd by Central Scouting and was taken in the first round, and has impressed many with his creative, determined and exciting play in the WJHC this year. Ask Montreal fans if they're happy with the selection of Latendresse, and you'll get one big resounding "yes". Ask Wings fans if they're happy with the selection Abdelkader, and responses are mixed at best. Personally, I do like Justin Abdelkader. He has a lot of heart and a decent amount of grit, but as NN alluded to, he just does not have the offensive talent to be taken high in the second round, especially at the expense of drafting what this organization really needs, which is a power-forward. After watching Calgary's defence absolutely man-handle the Wings' forwards last season, it is painfully obvious that Detroit could use an offensively gifted forward capable of smashing his way to the net. We better hope Grigorenko pans out...
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I re-read the article, and you may be correct. Originally I had seen it as Babcock trying to get Mowers to play a bigger role on the team, and carrying over what he had done in practice into game situations. Sadly, I doubt Mowers is going anywhere, because Holland seems to have attachments to all of his players. Unless of course they're prospects, in which case he hands them out like candy.
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Oh goodie, now we know that we'll be seeing a lot of Mowers until Yzerman comes back. Anyway, Bootland is 24 now. He's never going to become an offensive force for us, and could not possibly learn anything more in GR. He's really buckled down and improved greatly on his overall play from last season. Daryl is an effective penalty-killer for the Griffins, and has played a solid physical game all season. And if not Bootland, why not Ellis? Nobody on the Wings works harder than this guy, and he's played well beyond his capabilities to try and make Detroit's roster. If not this year, I sure hope guys like Bootland and Ellis get a chance next season.
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Johan Ryno definitely turned it up in the late stages of the game. You could see the kind of reach he had when he wrapped the puck around Rask at the side of the net, and ringed it off the post. I thought Axelsson played well, though. Sweden was trying to establish a fore-check, and Anton was taking Finn defenders into the boards. He had a couple decent chances, and was awfully persistent. I think I was a little more impressed with Ritola than you were, but he kinda disappeared in the third period as well as in the OT. He did some decent work in the first, though, when the Swedes were all over Finland. Yeah, Ken Holland was in the stands, as was Jim Nill apparently. Pierre McGuire (sp?) was gushing over the Wings' scouting staff. They were saying that Ryno projected to be a "really big Holmstrom", but IMO, Ryno is a better skater and seems to work better in the corners and along the boards than he does in front of the net.
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It figures. Ryno gets tripped up at the side of the net (and hits the post as NN mentions) and then a Swede trips up a Finn in the exact same manner and finds himself in the penalty box for the OT winning goal. Anyways, here's my take on the three Swedish Red Wing prospects: Johan Ryno was the guy I was keeping the closest eye on. I've heard lots about him and was excited to finally see him play. I had the impression going into the game that he was a big softie, but he really isn't. He finishes his checks and was involved with the fore-check late in the game. Though in the first and second periods, he was a little unnoticeable, as he wasn't really involved in any special teams play. In the third and OT periods, however, he was using his size effectively and was working the puck in the corners. On his last shift of the game, he was dynamite, getting a great scoring chance and not letting the Finn defenders get control of the puck. His skating was admirable for such a big guy, but he doesn't have real break-away speed. Johan's reach was giving the Finnish troubles late in the game, but he could definitely spare to put on some more weight. That way I think he could keep his feet better when he heads into traffic. Ryno showed some hustle back-checking and played the puck smartly in the neutral zone. Anton Axelsson was probably the best of the three prospects tonight. He was certainly the most physical anyway. Anton was hammering Finnish defenders all night as they tried to move the puck out of the zone (like Kirk Maltby does), and on top of that, he received major time on the PP. He had some great chances and was standing in front of the net and trying to make plays happen along the boards. He did get an empty net opportunity at one point, but was hammered down from behind, and the puck rolled wide. Anton seems to know how to get open, but his finishing skills were a little suspect, so I really don't see him being any more than a checking-line player. Mattias Ritola showed some definite promise tonight. For a guy who's been labelled lazy, he actually did some fine work in the corners. He didn't pull off any big dekes, but he seemed kinda tricky and smart with his stickwork in the offensive zone. Mattias was quite good at taking the puck in the corner or near the boards and centering it out front. The Swedes never got great chances from this centering pass of his, but he was still noticeable out there. Even Ritola got involved in the physical play, though not much, I saw him throw a check near the boards that didn't really connect, but he was involved in the fore-check. Like Ryno, however, he did not see much time on the PP or PK. All in all, I think Ritola, Ryno, and Axelsson are actually half-decent prospects. I don't see real top-line material in any of them, but Ryno and Ritola do have the offensive flair of a second-line player, and Axelsson could make a strong third-line checker sometime in the future. These guys still need work, though, as it was blatantly obvious that Backstrom and Bergfors were the offensive stars on this team and were the ones having the most impact out there. Those two played like half the game.
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Yeah, I'm watching too. And I think the Czech team will be on later, so I'll get a decent look at Kindl too.
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The trade is believable, however, I'm not liking it much at all. Zetterberg is a mature two-way player now, and has been arguably our best offenceman all season. Brodeur has yet to regain form this season, and may not want to be moved anyway. I don't like the idea of sending out a key part of the Wings' future core (who we have locked up for several years) for a goaltender who has lost a step. And, as of late, goaltending hasn't been an issue. With Brodeur on the team, there'd be no question over who the #1 was, and as we've seen so far this season, Osgood is useless with limited playing time. I think other players would have to be involved in this deal, otherwise we'd be practically touching the cap.
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Sounds like a plan! I don't know. Are you sure you wouldn't rather have another power-play specialist defenceman?
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If Lidstrom leaves, I so want Redden. The guy is smooth and steady, just like Nick. Personally, I wouldn't mind Jovanovski at all, but the problem is, he is awfully overrated and will likely be able to get up near five or six million, and that's just too much for a player I consider to be a number 2 defenceman. Chara is almost certainly going to get near league maximum.
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I thought he played okay. Unlike many of the other Czech defencemen, I found he payed more attention to his defensive assignment than he did to the puck. As well, I felt that the Canadian fore-checking (they were really coming in hard) didn't affect him as much as it did the other defencemen on his team. You're right his break-out pass looked good, but I have no idea why he doesn't jump into the play more. You're kind of grasping to see a bright side of his game that night. He's having a good year with Kitchener, thought and it was the first exhibition of the WJC so it way to soon to tell. I hope he does well! Maybe if I'm very lucky I'll get to see him in person if I can score tickets... He kinda looks like Lang out there with the cut pants... Well, you kinda focused on the negative parts of his game, so I thought I might tell some of the guys who didn't get to see the game the things I thought he did well. But yeah, that first goal Canada scored was partially his fault; the pass came right in front of him, and all in all, he had a pretty weak first period. I felt he picked it up though. It also didn't exactly seem like the Czech players had half as much instensity as the Canadians did, so, as you said, I don't know that we can read too much into the game. You're right about him in Kitchener, he's immerged as a half decent prospect I feel, and I'm glad to see Jakub is indeed progressing. I can't say I agreed with the pick at the time, but now that he's gotten better adjusted to the NA game, he should be a second-pairing defenceman one day.
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I thought he played okay. Unlike many of the other Czech defencemen, I found he payed more attention to his defensive assignment than he did to the puck. As well, I felt that the Canadian fore-checking (they were really coming in hard) didn't affect him as much as it did the other defencemen on his team. You're right his break-out pass looked good, but I have no idea why he doesn't jump into the play more.
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Is that an original Nintendo I see in the background? Nice.
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That's correct, they already have John Madden. Who is essentially the exact same player as Draper, except he's a little more expensive and has put up slightly better numbers so far this season. Sure, I'd take Gomez, but does he really provide much more than one of either Zetterberg, Datsyuk, or Lang? Gomez might be a little tougher than those guys, but it'd be stupidity to acquire him unless Lang was being shipped the other way.
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Yeah, but unlike Howard, there is very little chance that one of either MacIntyre or MacDonald will be a starting goalie one day. I think most people project MacDonald as being a back-up due to his steady, yet unspectacular play, so I don't think we should be as concerned about their development as we should about Jimmy's.
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Here's a link to something that might help you: Team Sweden U20 Roster I dono, looks to me like they have too many of each position, so I guess this is just a list of tryouts. Man, that Ryno is way bigger than anyone in that offence. He's the tallest person on the team, and one of the heavier guys too. We sure could use a guy that big upfront on the Wings. I guess Johan is a real worker too.
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I believe Axelsson did, but I don't think Lofberg (who we selected in the third round this year) made the team.