snapshots

Good Luck. EHM fans everywhere will be rooting for you!

Superstar? Hell no. If we're lucky, he'll pan out as a decent second liner or a good third liner with some offensive pop. I agree that he's sort of physical and that he has skills. But he's nowhere near superstar material

No. It makes YOU wonder. Not me. Detroit doesn't have anywhere near the depth or star quality of any of those teams you compared to them. ya just if that was true. you know since most of the teams he compared them to are just setting the league on fire. (sarcasm) We're talking about prospect systems, right?

No. It makes YOU wonder. Not me. Detroit doesn't have anywhere near the depth or star quality of any of those teams you compared to them.

If you love HF ratings sooo much, really, then where does HF rank the Wings as an organizaiton? Let me tell you: 25th. Problem with comparing the Wings top guys with other teams top guys is that each writer interprets the ratings a bit different. And not every writer has the same ability to cast aside the home team biases. 25th sounds about right, given when this thing was writtem// But we've seen lots of good things out of Grigorenko, Hudler, Helm, May and others since this was written.

We ARE NOT in the top ten. TOP 20, maybe. We don't have any superstar potential guys like Malkin or Ovechkin. We don't have the second tier stars like Ryan or Jack Johnson. Our best guys (Kronwall and Grigorenko) are getting a bit old to be called prospects anymore. Others like Hudler and McGrath aren't can't miss players, despite some tantalizing potential. After Kronwall, our defensive depth in the system is weak. Quincy and Lebda have their strengths, but they have shortcomings as well. Detroit's prospect system is doing pretty well, considering how many 1st rounders we've traded and how low we usually pick. But calling it a top 10 system is plain inaccurate. What the Wings really need is for some of those "project" picks to pan out. Guys like Jonathon Ericsson, Anton Axelsson, Andreas Jamtin and Christofer Lofberg. We can't wait until these guys are 22 any more. Anton Axelsson could be the one. Yeah, his offense has been good and he's got defensive upside as well. I'd hoped Jamtin might be the guy, but it looks like Axelsson might be another late round gem.

We ARE NOT in the top ten. TOP 20, maybe. We don't have any superstar potential guys like Malkin or Ovechkin. We don't have the second tier stars like Ryan or Jack Johnson. Our best guys (Kronwall and Grigorenko) are getting a bit old to be called prospects anymore. Others like Hudler and McGrath aren't can't miss players, despite some tantalizing potential. After Kronwall, our defensive depth in the system is weak. Quincy and Lebda have their strengths, but they have shortcomings as well. Detroit's prospect system is doing pretty well, considering how many 1st rounders we've traded and how low we usually pick. But calling it a top 10 system is plain inaccurate. What the Wings really need is for some of those "project" picks to pan out. Guys like Jonathon Ericsson, Anton Axelsson, Andreas Jamtin and Christofer Lofberg. We can't wait until these guys are 22 any more.

Good rankings. I'll give it a better look later. But those are pretty good. A little high, in some cases.

It is. People ought to temper their expectations with Grigorenko. I know he's stepped up and he's made a remarkable comeback, but still. He's still not back to where he was two years ago in terms of speed.

it's 4 games into the season, and so far, Cleary has been no more productive than Mowers, but Mowards has not made huge defensive mistakes like Cleary did vs Vancouver. What makes you think Cleary can resurrect his career yet Mowers is doomed to failure? Cleary has shown flashes of upside that I really haven't seen from Mowers. Mowers is a borderline NHLer. Cleary could develop into a solid energy line/PK guy. I mean, Cleary is all ready getting time on the PK in Detroit. Have we ever seen Mowers get any special teams duty? I don't think so. Mowers was never given any sort of ice time under Lewis, and he's played are more sound defensive game with fewer mental mistakes than Cleary this year. Neither have been explosive offensively but both have created chances. I mean, Cleary has made ONE bad play since joining the team. And he made up for that with some very hard work to set up the tieing goal. I have nothing against mowers. But he's not going to get better. He is what he is. What am I missing here? Why are you defending Mowers like I've insulted a future all-star or something.? He's a career 4th line/AHL guy. He was never drafted. He couldn't stick as a fourth liner in freakin' Nashville. He's got 8 goals in 141 games. He's a decent skater. He's versatile. He's cheap. That's why he's in the NHL. He'll never be more than a 4th liner. Ever. He's 31 years old and played 140 NHL games. Cleary obviously has been a disappointment in his career. But that's because he was a first round pick who scored 50 goals in junior. He's got good speed. He can kill penalties. He's four years younger than Mowers. He's got some offensive ability. He works hard. He can hit (unlike Mowers). He's hasn't seen minor league hockey action since 99-00. He's a bonafide NHLer. He's four years younger than Mowers and he's played more than twice the amount of games and scored 5 times more goals. There is no comparison. Cleary is better. Has been better. And he's upside is far better. Why is this even an issue? Grow up. I've never claimed Cleary was more than he is. A fourth liner with some third line potential and the ability to kill penalties. Likewise, I think Mowers is a useful guy to have around. A fourth liner who plays all three positions and who knows he can't get all bitter about sitting in the press box because he knows he's lucky he's not playing in Switzerland. All I did was compare Cleary to Mowers after your assinine misreading of what I said. Let's look back shall we: I said: You responded I never said anywhere that Mowers was doomed to failure. You completely made that that up. The only thing "doomed to failure" in this debate is your unsupportable opinion.

Good question. Illitch would have no problem paying players to stay in Europe. I have no idea if it would count against the cap or not. AHLers don't, so why would Europeans count against the cap. I'm not sure. We'll find out more in coming months I'm sure.

it's 4 games into the season, and so far, Cleary has been no more productive than Mowers, but Mowards has not made huge defensive mistakes like Cleary did vs Vancouver. What makes you think Cleary can resurrect his career yet Mowers is doomed to failure? Cleary has shown flashes of upside that I really haven't seen from Mowers. Mowers is a borderline NHLer. Cleary could develop into a solid energy line/PK guy. I mean, Cleary is all ready getting time on the PK in Detroit. Have we ever seen Mowers get any special teams duty? I don't think so. Mowers was never given any sort of ice time under Lewis, and he's played are more sound defensive game with fewer mental mistakes than Cleary this year. Neither have been explosive offensively but both have created chances. I mean, Cleary has made ONE bad play since joining the team. And he made up for that with some very hard work to set up the tieing goal. I have nothing against mowers. But he's not going to get better. He is what he is. What am I missing here? Why are you defending Mowers like I've insulted a future all-star or something.? He's a career 4th line/AHL guy. He was never drafted. He couldn't stick as a fourth liner in freakin' Nashville. He's got 8 goals in 141 games. He's a decent skater. He's versatile. He's cheap. That's why he's in the NHL. He'll never be more than a 4th liner. Ever. He's 31 years old and played 140 NHL games. Cleary obviously has been a disappointment in his career. But that's because he was a first round pick who scored 50 goals in junior. He's got good speed. He can kill penalties. He's four years younger than Mowers. He's got some offensive ability. He works hard. He can hit (unlike Mowers). He's hasn't seen minor league hockey action since 99-00. He's a bonafide NHLer. He's four years younger than Mowers and he's played more than twice the amount of games and scored 5 times more goals. There is no comparison. Cleary is better. Has been better. And he's upside is far better. Why is this even an issue?

He's got a chance to play in the World Championships again, which will put him excactly where he was just prior to the crash. No hurry, I just hope Holland doesn't wait until the last minute to sign him and lose his rights entirely.

it's 4 games into the season, and so far, Cleary has been no more productive than Mowers, but Mowards has not made huge defensive mistakes like Cleary did vs Vancouver. What makes you think Cleary can resurrect his career yet Mowers is doomed to failure? Cleary has shown flashes of upside that I really haven't seen from Mowers. Mowers is a borderline NHLer. Cleary could develop into a solid energy line/PK guy. I mean, Cleary is all ready getting time on the PK in Detroit. Have we ever seen Mowers get any special teams duty? I don't think so.

I like what I read about Ericsson, but the main problem I see is that he is 21 years-old now but Red Wings Central says that he is AT LEAST 5 years away from panning out. So by the time he would really be ready to contribute with us he would be like 26 or 27. How could ANYONE take that long to develop? As for Seluyanov, he's very talented and I think if he comes over with the right attitude I think he could be a valuable contributor for us. He is only 23 so if we bring him over next year and let him develop, he could be in the rotation for us by the time he is 24 or 25. His main flaws seem to be his attitude and the fact that he is a risk-taker on the ice. Both of those traits can be "fixed" by working with a no-nonsense coach like Babcock who will make sure that he knows that if he wants to see minutes on the Wings he will have to step it up. It looks like both he and Ericsson may be late bloomers as far as their Wings careers are concerned, but if both of them can step up and perform as well for us as we all hope, then it would be a case of better late than never. RWC says he's five years away? Maybe the report is a bit on the old side. Because I think the Wings lose his rights after next season, along with a dozen other prospects. He'll be competing with a lot of guys for a contract. Including all Europeans and CHLers drafted this past year. So he's got to step up. Soon. Long term prospects from Europe are going to be a thing of the past. Anyway, a lot depends on this season

Lofberg? Ryno? And hopefully Kopecky pans out... Except for Ryno, none of those guys has shown much physicality to go with the big frame. And even Ryno is pretty soft for his size.

Hudler's stick handling skills aren't even that impressive. He just has instincts. He knows where to go. He knows where the holes are. He sees the passing lanes. He's got a pretty good wrister and slapper, too.

Lots of this year's Red Wings are playing for small contracts (Mowers/Cleary/Samuelsson). Cleary and Sammy could resurrect their careers and sign bigger contracts with teams that have more cap room. Then again, with yzerman probably retiring, and Lidstrom's contract being up, we should have some room to sign them if we still want them. But IMO, shrewd GMs will be replacing $500,000 a year veterans every year.

Everybody who is questioning Hudler's work ethic, size, and speed needs to realize that if they feel this way, so do GMs around the league. Hudler is not going to draw much in a trade. He's more valuable to us if he makes the teams and produces points. Then we can decide whether he should be traded or not. But as of now, he won't bring much return. For what it's worth, they're virtually the same age. I think Hudler is really underrated on these boards. I mean, in the pre-season, Hudler was miles ahead of Filppula, in terms of offensive anticipation. He was among the Wings' best players in two or three games. Filppula wasn't really that effective. But he'll improve as he gets used to the speed and style of the North American game. Filppula is faster and not so tiny, which obviously works in his favor. But I think Hudler's offensive instincts are pretty impressive.

Seluyanov is a guy who I thought was a darkhorse. Great skills. But he's apparently got attitude problems. It's doubtful he'll ever be signed. I still have some hope for Jonathon Ericsson.

Uh. No. Not even close. You've vastly overrated these guys. I mean, if you're talking about playing style, maybe. But no defenseman on this team projects to be anywhere near as good as Brewer or McLaren. Kindl: Kindl thinks himself as an offensive defenseman. His stats don't agree. Way to early to say, but he's not ANYWHERE near Eric Brewer potential. Quincey: Think Steve Chaisson. Solid, second pairing defenseman if he pans out. Might not though. Might not ever stick in the NHL. He's NOT a sure thing. Miro Blatak: Think Dmitry Bykov. Could make it as a 5-6 D-man and maybe see some second PP unit time. Maybe. Time is running out on him as a Wings prospect. Meech: He'll be lucky to make the NHL. The new rules sure help him. But still. His defensive game leaves A LOT to be desired. And his supposed strength, his offense, hasn't really been evident yet in the AHL. He NEEDS to produce this year. Kolosau: IMO, he's a potential gem. He loves to hit. He's big and strong. But he has virtually NO offensive skills whatsoever. His skating isn't real bad. But considering the direction this league is going, he might have a tough time ever making the NHL.

He's probably going to have to make it as a scoring line forward. His speed is undeniable. He's got skills too. But I've read that he's not strong enough and that he doesn't have the mindset to excel as a defensive forward. Like lots of Wings forwards, it's scoring line or bust.

Yeah, that pick came out of left field. Like the Lofberg pick. He really didn't seem high on anyone's list at HF. But I've read some decent things about recently. I suppose one plus is that the Wings have his rights for four years instead of two. Meanwhile, I like what I'm seeing out of Jeff May and Darren Helm so far this year. he wasn't ranked high by HF...but CSS had him 25th of North American skaters while Latendresse had moved UP to 52. Less out of left field than Latendresse would have been based on those rankings, which are the primary ones used by NHL teams. True. But there wasn't much buzz about him, that's for sure. Latendresse, despite poor CSS ratings, was still being talked about as a top 15 pick by pundits on draft day.

i know that rookie salaries are capped. However, with the Wings likely to be somewhere close to the cap, there is a big difference between $450,000 and $850,000 (rookie max). That kind of thing could be a deal breaker. Especially if Grigorenko suddenly captures the attention of Omsk or Dynamo.

Yeah, that pick came out of left field. Like the Lofberg pick. He really didn't seem high on anyone's list at HF. But I've read some decent things about recently. I suppose one plus is that the Wings have his rights for four years instead of two. Meanwhile, I like what I'm seeing out of Jeff May and Darren Helm so far this year.