Drake_Marcus

I just wanted to give the stats for each of our rookies and give their projected season totals as well. I figure this will be useful to the discussion or at the least it'll be interesting... Season Stats: Ericsson Current: 20gp 3g 7a 10pts -3 22hits 17:06 ATOI Projected: 80gp 12g 28a 40pts -3 88hits Notes: 3rd in defensive scoring, 7th in team scoring, has yet to get PP time, ample PK time. Leino Current: 21gp 3g 2a 5pts -2 3hits 14:05 ATOI Projected: 81gp 11g 7a 19pts -3 11hits Notes: 11th in forward scoring, 16th in team scoring, struggled to find stay on one line Helm Current: 17gp 2g 3a 5pts +1 41hits 13:26 ATOI Projected: 77gp 9g 13a 22pts +1 185hits Notes: 12th in forward scoring, 17th in team scoring, no PP time, ample PK time, 2nd in forward hitting, 3rd in team hitting, 50.5% on face-offs (4th on team). Abdelkader Current: 19gp 3g 1a 4pts +1 52hits 9:41 ATOI Projected: 79gp 12g 4a 16pts +1 216hits Notes: 13th in forward scoring, 18th in team scoring, no PP time, some PK time, 1st in forward hitting, 2nd in team hitting, 40.8% on face-offs (10th on team), ranks 1st in hits among NHL rookie forwards. Note that last year the rookie (and overall) hits leader was Cal Clutterbuck of the Wild (with 356 hits). If we compare Abdelkader's projected hit total to the top hitting forwards in the league last season he would rank 11th overall, with Clutterbuck, Brown, Callahan, Cook, Lucic, Dubinsky, Artyukhin, Ovechkin, Ruutu and Ott rounding out the top 11. I make note of this because Abdelkader's on pace to be one of the top hitters in the league (in terms of frequency). Right now he sits at 23rd overall among forwards with Ovechkin directly above him and Cole right below him. Also of note is that Helm sits 48th overall among forwards in hits. So we've got two of the top 50 hitters (and 4 of the top 65). EDIT: Also note that Ericsson would sit 3rd in rookie defensive scoring (if he was technically a rookie) with the guy right above him holding a 3pt lead having played 5 more games (thus if you project E's pts forward to 25 games he'd be tied with that kid). He also ranks 2nd in rookie defensive goal scoring. He'd also be tied for 2nd in PIM among rookie defensemen. Also note that Hedmen, who's playing on a team with a similar record and getting significantly more minutes (but is also much younger) has the following stats: 20gp 0g 5a 5pts +1 23:45ATOI.

I have to disagree with you about Howard. There are two Jimmy Howards who play for the Wings: Jimmy Howard 1: Confident, makes big plays, excellent positioning and good rebound control. When he does let a rebound out he's good at directing it away from danger or to a teammate. Capable of stealing games. Able to shake off a bad goal and make the next save. Jimmy Howard 2: Easily shaken. Lacks confidence. Not sure where to be in the net and scrambles too much. Poor rebound control sends rebounds right back into the slot and creates dangerous second chances. Prone to letting a deflating goal in. That's been Howard's problem for years now. He struggled with inconsistency for his entire GR career. Don't let his age fool you, 25 isn't old for a goaltender entering the NHL. Most goalies are about that age when they finally get their first season long backup job. Also don't forget that if there's one thing we've seen from Howard it's that he's progressed since his first game this season. Look at his stats so far: October: 1-2-1 3.26 GAA 0.879 SV% November: 4-1-0 2.17 GAA 0.916 SV% So in both months he played 5 games. But look at the difference in his stats. No matter how good the Wings were playing in Nov compared to Oct, the team's PK has sucked just as bad and the team's defensive play certainly hasn't been that different. The only way you can account for the difference in Jimmy's stats is to say Jimmy's played significantly better. Compare Jimmy's stats to Osgood's month by month: October: 4-2-2 4.85 GAA 0.889 SV% November: 2-2-1 2.19 GAA 0.919 SV% Osgood's improved his GAA and SV% in to nearly identical levels with Jimmy. The biggest difference, however, is that Osgood's W-L record declined, going from 4-4 in October to 2-3 in November. Jimmy managed to improve his W-L from 1-3 to 4-1. That's significant. Also note that Osgood's been pulled twice so far (both in October) while Jimmy's yet to get the hook. Overall I think it's clear that Howard's acquitted himself well so far. All we can do is hope his November numbers stay the way they are and carry forward through the rest of the season. He did have a string of continuous starts in November, so it'll be interesting to see if he can stay hot when playing irregular starts once Babcock decides he needs to start giving Ozzy the lion's share of starts to get him back in gear. Still, at the start of the year did any of us think Howard would be able to take the reins from an injured Ozzy and do so well? I don't think so. However, in the end, because Larsson's tearing it up in GR right now (and also tore it up last year before being injured and trying to play through the injury only to hurt his stats) and McCollum is nipping at his heals it's clear that Howard is expendable. If a team offers Holland some excellent young forward or even defensive talent for Howard odds are he'll bite so he can pick a veteran back-up and wait on Larsson's development. However, I'm betting that Holland will want to see Larsson play an NHL game or two before he makes a deal to ship Howard out. On top of that I'm sure Holland will want to let Larsson play through the first half of the season in GR in make sure he doesn't hit another wall due to fatigue.

Abdelkader-- not quite ready to score at this level, but he's young and definitely has a good set of hands. All he needs right now is the confidence... you can definitely see his offensive game blossom when he's confident out there. Physically he's mature and ready to play in the NHL. He's definitely looking like he'll live up to expectations. However, his confidence would best be served by playing the season down in the AHL as their go-to forward. I'm worried this season might mold him into more of a checker instead of letting him blossom to his full potential (which would be a 2nd line winger). If he doesn't put much up in terms of numbers this year we can only hope it won't hurt his offensive development. Leino-- Confidence is a big issue here. When he believes in himself his hands and hockey sense really shine. This kid has huge potential, he just needs to live up to it. His 5g 4a effort in the 13 game call-up last year created really high expectations for him. Unfortunately he slumped early in this year and has played most of the year in a checker's role. This kid is 100% top six material and doesn't play the kind of game that's conducive to success on the 4th line, so his demotion to the bottom 6 has fed into his lack of confidence which in turn hurts his production. Once he got a sniff of playing on Zetterberg's line it was clear he has the chops to be a top 6 winger. He just needs to get through the NHL transition and play a more consistent game (a common theme with young players). In my opinion his development is looking very similar to Hudler's. I'm thinking he'll have a 25-30 pt season, which is down from my earlier expectations of a 35-45 pt season. Filppula-- He's looked much more consistent this year. His lack of scoring touch is offset by his great hockey sense and hard working game. He'll definitely be a 2nd line centre on this team for years to come. Don't expect him to be the next Datsyuk, though. Helm-- Helm's Helm. Great energy, strong defensive game, could compete for the label of 'best skater in the NHL'. His game will never be one that impresses with numbers but he'll impress you everywhere else on the ice. He looks like he'll develop into the new Draper. Physically he's very mature but could use a bit more weight to throw around (as long as it doesn't hurt his speed!). Ericsson-- He's showing why he projects as a top pairing d-man. Putting up very strong numbers so far this season with 3g 7a 10pts in his first 20 games (all without playing a second on the PP). His defensive game still looks like a rookie's because he's still learning to read plays and make the right decisions when pinching in, moving up for a hit or making a dangerous first pass out of his zone. Like all rookie d-men he'll improve as he gets more games under his belt. His +/- has been hurting a bit due to this as well as having to play with a shaky partner like Lebda who he ends up having to bail out more often than not. The Wings' defensive struggles sure haven't helped him either. Ericsson's struggled on the PK as well, mostly due to his lack of experience reading plays at this level and the rest of the team's defensive struggles sure haven't helped him look good either. Howard-- Has the skill and technique needed to be a dominant goaltender out there sometimes. He's played a couple of games where he kept the Wings in there the whole time (Vancouver being the best example). But he's also struggled early in the season. Still, in his most recent games he's been very good for a kid with his level of experience. He's showing people why the was considered a blue-chip prospect for the last 4 years.

Now that we know Kronwall's out for 1-2 months we can expect Babcock to do some serious surgery on the back end. Available defensemen: Detroit: Lidstrom, Rafalski, Stuart, Ericsson, Lebda, Meech Grand Rapids: Janik, Kindl (less likely options: Delmore, Kolsov, Pyett) How would you pair everyone up? I'd try this 5-on-5: Lidstrom-Ericsson Rafalski-Stuart Lebda-Meech/Janik/Kindl PP: Lidstrom-Rafalski Ericsson-Stuart PK: Lidstrom-Ericsson Stuart-Rafalski/Lidstrom/Ericsson (rotating those three on the second pairing to minimize Rafi's time out there) The PK is where having a guy like Janik up would do a world of good. Lebda and Meech are too small and defensively porous to be effective PKers. The top four is set, so the only question is whether you go Lidstrom-Ericsson or Lidstrom-Stuart. I'd rather not put Ericsson with Rafalski based on Rafalski's poor defensive play. On top of that the Lids-E pairing was great in the playoffs and Lidstrom will steady Big-Rig and help teach him the game. This is a huge opportunity for E to grow while playing with the best defenseman in the world. Add to that the fact that we finally get to see Ericsson's 100 mph slapshot and excellent offensive instincts on the PP. Overall this injury will be a huge opportunity for Ericsson to grow and steal a spot on the PP that he can claim for the rest of the year. This injury is going to be another huge test for this team. I can't help but feel like nothing's been going right for the Wings ever since the injuries started piling up in the playoffs last year.

Thanks. I've been on a Cyanide and Happiness binge lately after forgetting to read it for a few months. At least we know Zetterberg's transition to captain will be smooth. Just like Lidstrom was, Zetterberg's been the heir apparent to the C for quite some time now. And just like Lids, he backed it up with a Conn Smythe

Agreed. I just wish I could relive it. It's going to be hard to see him decline and retire. About as hard as it was to see Stevie go through that.

Agreed. The fact that Holland is fast-tracking this kid speaks volumes in my opinion. Remember that once he's played the full 4 seasons in the AHL he's got to pay in the NHL or hit waivers. So Holland's obviously confident this kid will be an NHL'er at or before his 22nd birthday.

Honestly I'd try it. There's no way it'd make Datsyuk less productive right now.

Ericsson's been great. He makes some rookie mistakes and people act like he's not a f***in' rookie. Christ. He's still got 10 points in 20 games. I can't wait to see people act like they weren't being ******-bags on here when he has the best Wings defensive rookie scoring season since Lidstrom's amazing 60pt rookie campaign in 1991. EDIT: Man I'm aggressive when defending Ericsson. I must be his friggin' Mother.

I don't know how you do it man. I feel like I'm suffering with how the Wings are playing right now. You had to sit through a loss where you team poured 62 damn shots on the net. Kudos to you man, you're a true fan. Still, the Leafs better turn things around-- I told my father at the start of the season that this year's Leafs team would be competitive and he's not happy with me right now.

I don't get to take shots at you often, so I've gotta taken 'em while I can.

Heyyyyy! There it is!

Yeah... yeah. I mean Puliot was a 4th overall pick, so he's got that upside for Montreal, and like you said-- Latendresse has been awful for them. From what I've heard his attitude is the biggest problem. Anyone think we'll get a certain someone come in and gloat about his feeling that Abdelkader was the better pick?

Frig. That's brutal. And here I thought the Wings were the masters at making ordinary goalies like like Vezina candidates.

And that's the difference between Todd Bertuzzi and Brian Campbell.

Jacob Marley

Zetterberg's inability to draw calls despite being swarmed by the Preds is a good example of how the reffing was off tonight. They only went to the box twice even though they had 3 guys swarming on Z all night. How many hacks, hooks and awkward sexual advances must Zetterberg endure from the predators in one night?

Dude I've been driving the don't chirp Ericsson, chirp Rafalski bus all year. Of course I threw Meech and Lebda under that bus long ago, so it's not that I'm incredibly generous, I just wish Rafalski would play like he's capable of playing, especially defensively. Offensively, we need Lidstrom to get off the easy chair and start taking some damn shots. Lidstrom's shot per game average has fallen over the last 3 seasons and so has his offensive output. Is that a coincidence? Of course not! Lidstrom is at his best when he gets his accurate, cleverly placed shots off from the point as often as possible.

If he's second in shots then I'm obviously exaggerating. Still, come on man! He's giving up golden shooting opportunities every night! Plus we lost 3-1 to the Predators and I had to listen to train whistles and country music for 3 hours. Who else am I going to rag on?

Honestly, the only thing that made this game satisfying was Miller's "Hey look I'm Zetterberg" goal and Ericsson's assist. It's nice to see Big Rig pick another helper up (I swear to god- no bitching about him tonight, he was fine aside from not playing the side of the net aggressively enough on the 1st PP goal, although I think he expected Ozzy to hold that puck and was surprised when he released that rebound).

Bertuzzi's job is to be the shooter. WHY DOESN'T HE SHOOT WHEN HE GETS THE PUCK?!? How many times have you screamed shoot at him? I did at least 5 times tonight. If Bertuzzi wants to score he should shoot 10 times a night. The best players take the most shots.

This. All I'm saying is it's odd that Babcock is willing to shake Z's line up tonight while he left Datsyuk's line togther. I don't care what happens with Datsyuk's line-- blend it up. Hell, throw Miller and May on the fricking 1st. All I know is that this version hasn't worked yet. Bertuzzi-Datsyuk-Holmstrom has yet to show anything worth watching (aside from turn-overs).

Don't let off on Bertuzzi. He's single handedly hamstrung Datsyuk. Who's been the least effective member of the top 6 so far this year? Give up? It's been Bertuzzi by a mile. Holmstrom's been doing the same thing all year. Bertuzzi's held the puck when he should shoot and shot the puck when he should pass. This team can't win without Datsyuk and Datsyuk looks terrible out there with no shooter to dish the puck to.

Speaking of laziness, I miss Lang.

That and it's worth noting that players can play at a higher level in the playoffs because they're running on adrenaline. You can't expect people to play 82 games like they do when they get thrown into the playoffs as a rookie looking to prove themselves. On top of that, like you said, a guy like Ericsson is trying to learn the game at the NHL level without the benefit of playing along side the best defenseman in the world. With defensemen you have to budget a few years for them to learn the NHL game. Even the most hyped d-men need that time. A certain #2 overall d-man is in Tampa trying his best to make the transition right now. Doughty was drafted by the Kings #2 overall in 08 and spent last season toiling as their #1 man. He ended up with 6 goals and 21 helpers in 81 games with a -17. This kid looks great right now. But Ericsson's on pace to almost double those numbers while playing 10 minutes less per game, never seeing a sniff of PK time and playing alongside Lebda. Anyone who thought Ericsson would come in his first full NHL season and be a top pairing d-man is insane. It takes years to work up to that level. Look how long it took Kronwall to get to this level. Many forum goers balked at the contract extension Holland signed Kronwall to a few years ago. Now that deal looks like a bargain. Don't be deceived into thinking Ericsson, no matter how much talent and potential he has, is going to take a much shorter path. It takes a few hundred NHL games to start to think at this level as an NHL defenseman.