J-Swift

Does the Czech Republic have a WJHC camp?

Yeah, I know about our European prospects. Kindl should be a second-pairing defenceman in the future, and I also have high hopes for Ryno. He's got the size to be a power-forward. That Axelsson seems like a decent third/fourth line player, but he's certainly not a game breaker. And from what I've read, Ritola is a decent all-round prospect, but I hear he has motivational problems. Even still, I do like having some North American prospects in the system; I've always appreciated a sense of balance.

Your response is appreciated Heaton... Anyways, this was just a long-awaited response to a debate about Latendresse earlier in the thread. But, then again, I think every thread in the "Prospects Watch" forum concerns Latendresse in some way.

From the picture of Opie? You actually expected someone to get that? You had shanny14 hooked though.

No he didn't. He made the list of 18 forwards invited to final camp. He's not garanteed a spot at all. I thought you guys might find this amusing: Canada's team finalized for 2006 WJHC And not a single Wings' prospect to be found...

I second that. But it isn't any worse than physics.

I wouldn't really object to sending Lang to Boston just for Boynton. If they threw in Isbister, I'd be sold.

The chance of Kindl becoming a number 1 defenseman is not much greater than finding a top 6 physical forward late in the first round. Nobody said elite powerforward here. Those are the ones gone in the top 5. Um, have you seen the way Kindl is tearing up the OHL this season? He's been dominating. He was also ranked #4 overall by ISS before he struggled in his first year with Kitchener last year, which is why he slipped to the Wings at 19. Sounds like a solid #1 candidate to me. #1 D-men fall out of the first round all the time. Ever heard of Niklas Lidstrom? Yeah a no. 1 candidate, but most NHL players were stars in juniors. Doesn't mean he will be a no. 1 defenseman for sure. With Detroit's history I'd be happy if he becomes a top 3 defenseman. Yeah the name Lidstrom rings a bell, but that was ages ago. Not that I remember saying that no 1. defenseman never fall out of the first round but... Ever heard of Morrow or Malone? the last two first round picks the Wings have spent on Power Forwards are: Ryan Barnes. Keith Primeau. It's understandable why Detroit might shy away from drafting them. Primeau has developed into a solid player, but he did it after he was forced to elsewhere as the team's best player. Barnes is..well..a minor leaguer. Barnes was a late second-round draft pick, not a first. Just because Detroit didn't have success with drafting power forwards ten years ago does not mean we won't need one when Shanny retires.

Good to hear. I know he started off a little slowly, but it's good to know he's coming on a bit. I still wanted Latendresse more, but it's not like I don't want Abdelkader to do well.

Well, I think it's actually the "Hockey Forecaster" that releases the scouting reports. I haven't read a thing about Lang coming back, but when he does return, I want him on the wing. Zetterberg is far more effective down the middle.

No offense, but I wouldnt want to trade Hudler. How about: To Ducks: Mowers-RW Blatak-D 3rd round DP. To Wings: Salei-D Hedstrom-RW Mowers has zero trade value. Personally, I wouldn't hesitate to trade Hudler at all. His style may be very effective in the AHL, but his extremely small size will make it difficult to compete in the NHL. And in order for most small guys to make it in the big leagues, they need excellent skating ability, which Hudler does not seem to have. Filppula is a far better two-way player, and is a far bigger player (though even Valtteri is under-sized), and it doesn't make sense to hold onto both of them.

martin Brodeur,...nhl backup,....THANKS GARRY! Hey I am just going by the fact that Everyone here is set on Ozzie being backup to Manny. Ozzie and Brodeur have pretty much the exact same stats this year (remember past accomplishment don't mean squat as I was told when regarding Ozzie). So yeah Manny's stats are better than Marty's at this point in time. Its tough but Brodeur is NOT playing like a starter... Especially if Ozzie isn't. Marty's making too much to be a backup. Not to mention the fact that he's the reigning Vezina trophy winner, and arguably the team's most popular player. Brodeur's been on the team for every Cup run and has spear-headed New Jersey's rise to elite status over the past decade. It's hard to compare his and Ozzie's situations.

Lacroix has made some real stinkers lately. Some of his trades have kinda perplexed me.

Thanks for the update. I've done a lot of reading up on Kindl but I still like getting a Ranger fan's opinion.

Are you freakin' kidding me? A fourth-line player in Cleary and a depth defenceman like Rivers going to New York for Darius Kasparaitis and Jason Ward. First off, Kaspataitus is a top pairing defenceman for New York and his salary would put us well over the cap. Not to mention Jason Ward has made himself a fan favorite already with his blue collar style. When New York is playing their best hockey in years, why on Earth would they possibly even consider sending those two over here for a couple of scrubs like Rivers and Cleary?! And if we weren't already over the cap when Kasparaitis came to Detroit, we certainly would be when we acquired Kubina. But this rumour, however, is not nearly as ridiculous as the New York trade. Holy crap, at least e_mcgrath's rumours were plausible.

No argument from me here. I definitely think McGrath deserves a spot on that roster. He's an excellent two-way, play-maker that would absolutely flourish if he got some decent linemates. I think the whole youth movement that the WJC Canadian team is going with is questionable; I don't agree with denying older players the chance to represent their country, when they may never get this chance again. But I'm not going to claim to know more about hockey than the Canadian management team, and the fact is, they thought Latendresse was better than any other Canadian prospect we have. To be fair.

No he didn't. He made the list of 18 forwards invited to final camp. He's not garanteed a spot at all. To be fair, he's a good deal closer to making that team than anyone in our system.

Latendresse can't skate. And what has he done that has been so terrific? Huh? Big deal, he had a good camp with the Habs. That doesn't mean anything. He's not even leading his Junior team in scoring. Get off his lap. I'm not saying Latendresse is going to be an elite power forward or anything like that. But it is well documented that he has dramatically improved his skating since the end of the last CHL season. That is the reason why he nearly made the Montreal Canadiens. And as poorly as Latendresse is doing this season, he's not doing any worse than Abdelkader.

Nope. U.S. RELEASES ROSTER On a completely unrelated note, however, Latendresse made the Canadian WJC roster. But we won't get into that...

I'm really pissed about this snubbing. McGrath is an excellent set-up man with two-way abilities, and his maturity was coming along very well. I was excited to finally see a Wings prospect play for Canada at the WJC (does anyone know who the last one was?), but I guess I'll have to wait. Anyways, McGrath seems to respond to a challenge and this will no doubt get him motivated for the rest of the season.

To be fair, they had no business being in this game at the end anyways. But Garcia did indeed have a man open and threw directly into coverage.

I wouldn't exactly refer to Abdelkader as a "power forward". He is physical, and has solid two-way ability, but doesn't have near the offensive talent it would take to be any more than a checking-line player. I'm not saying he was a bad pick or anything, but it is pretty clear that Latendresse projects to be a power forward, while Abdelkader will likely become a grinder. Funny how I always bring Latendresse up when I mention Abdelkader's name.

Personally, I think we can pencil Kindl in as a offensively-minded, second pairing defenceman on this team in a couple of years. He's got the size, he's got the wheels, and his defensive skills are not bad at all. But to say he's a franchise player is going a little over-board. Though he's played awfully well in the past couple of weeks, he still isn't leading OHL defencemen in scoring, and doesn't play the physical game that could make him dominant. What is very intriguing, however, is the fact that, although there are two other defencemen on the Kitchener Rangers who were taken in the first round of the NHL draft (Lashoff and Valabik), Kindl is almost certainly the team's best d-man. He really is an important part of the Rangers, and though he isn't exactly a physical presence on the ice, he doesn't shy away from the rough stuff after the whistle. It seems Jakub is starting to finally catch onto the NA game. We all knew he was a high risk prospect, and if he continues at this pace, he might pay off. And BTW, Kindl just got another goal.

Sorry, I tend to over-analyze things. I sure would love Trent Hunter on this team too.

Hunter lead all rookies in plus/minus and was tied for rookie goal scoring last season, not to mention the fact that he was a Calder candidate. Trading away Trent Hunter would be the equivalent of us shipping Zetterberg out in his sophomore year. And no way would we get him for a scrub and a mid-draft pick. But if you throw Hudler's name in there, now we're talking.