Drake_Marcus

Ovi is the best offensive forward in the game, so yeah- he's better than anyone on the Canadian team. Kovalchuck? Really good, but he's no better than a guy like Vinny Lecavalier. Malkin... the 08-09 Malkin is better than any of the Canadian forwards. Datsyuk? No one on Canada can come close to the combination of his combined offensive and defensive skill level... the only guy close is Getzlaf, but Getzlaf gets lots of point on shear size and strength, while Datsyuk's are 100% skill based, plus Getz can't touch Dats defensively (not that Getz is bad defensively, he's just not Selke good). I'll agree that your top six is superior based on the 08-09 season. Who knows what super elite players will dominate next season. It's not like Iginla, Lacavalier or Crosby haven't dominated the league before. Regardless, I still give you Ovechkin as the best overall offensive forward in the game. What about the bottom 6? Canada's got more depth there.

He's an under the radar type prospect. Here's what the folks over at griffinscentral.com said about his play this season: First Half Report Card: (They rated 3 forwards above him in that report-- Landon Wilson, Francis Pare and Justin Abdelkader) Second Half Report Card: Can't really fault him for the second half based on what they said about his arm. On redwingscentral.com their end of the year rankings (where Ericsson, Helm and Howard are no longer listed because they've already made the team in Detroit) they have Ritola ranked 9th overall, 5th in forwards and 1st in right wings. He's going to have to have a fantastic year this season because his contract ends in 2010 and he'll be 23 at that point. Last season was his second in GR and the entire second half was ruined by his injury, so he should be able put better numbers up next season if he stays healthy.

Only slightly? The 4th best Canadian D-man would be the top D-man on the Russian squad. Goaltending? Brodeur or Luongo are decidedly better than Nabokov. I think Nabby can get hot and be pretty damn good, even out duel one of those goalies if he gets hot enough, but on paper both are better than him. The Russians certainly have an edge over the Canadians in their top six, but the Canadians superior depth in slots 7 through 12.

More Lucics over Heatleys? Are you serious? Heatley may be a gutless ***** who bails out on his team and paints them into a corner with his public trade requests, but he has an insane scoring record at international tournaments. Lucic has his place dude- the 3rd/4th line. No way are you going to see Heatley down there (although he's not terrible defensively, he's not a Selke quality guy). The States are pretty weak looking right now. Goaltending? Defensive depth? Non-unproven-young-ass-mofo forwards? As others have said- it's a threeway (haha) for the gold- Canada, Russia, Sweden.

Nabokov will make the starting spot over Khabibulin, he's younger and far better. Yashin won't centre a shutdown line over Feds. If Yashin can't crack the top 6 (and he certainly can't) he should make the team. I also have a hard time seeing Frolov on a shutdown line. I think your bottom 6 is a lot farther from the final list than the top 6 (which will probably stay exactly like that aside from some possible shuffling based on chemistry). Isn't Radulov banned from IIHF competition because of his broken contract in Nashville? Defense will be the undoing of that squad. Markov had the most turn-overs in the NHL last year.... having him as the #1 d-man is like having Green as the #1 d-man on the Canadian squad- defensive suicide.

This year Filppula was better. Last year Hudler was better by far. In fact, that year Filppula was the worst forward on the ice against Nashville and for the majority of the series against Colorado. Filppula only really started to come on in the final round, and even then Hudler was better. But like I said- Filppula was better this year.

Good point!

I found a patch store that sells NHL jersey patches from the past and present. Ok, a couple aren't for jerseys... http://www.patchcollection.com/image.php?type=P&id=16427 Sweet, but what would I attach it to? http://www.patchcollection.com/image.php?type=P&id=16401 Nice! Old logo. http://www.patchcollection.com/image.php?type=P&id=16413 Haha, childhood logos are funny. http://www.patchcollection.com/image.php?type=P&id=16407 The Blackhawks celebrate the introduction of the internet to the city of Chicago (circa the 07-08 season). http://www.patchcollection.com/image.php?type=P&id=16362 The Sharks commemorate their cup contender status. Patch issued after the second round each season. http://www.patchcollection.com/image.php?type=P&id=16412 Apparently the Jets goal was for Canadian children to leave their homeland and move to Arizona. Fortunately this goal was only achieved by elderly Canadian couples. http://www.patchcollection.com/image.php?type=P&id=16415 The cup patch from a time when the Sharks' colours were socially acceptable. Now it's your turn to mock little patches of fabric...

Yes. And he's doing quite well down in Grand Rapids. This year is his make or break year.

I don't mind the deadline option for the top six player, or at least waiting until after the new year to trade for him. BUT I'd rather the Wings pick said player up in free agency if it's at all possible. The simple reason for that is that we don't have to give assets up to sign a free agent. The added benefit of having a full year to mesh with the team isn't bad either. At the very least the Wings will have to find a PK specialist that can provide some grit on the 4th line. In fact, it might be worth getting a gritty PK specialist for the 11th spot and signing Oulahan to play in the 12th spot. That we'd get two more strong defensive forwards on the roster and one of the two can always sit in the 13th forward spot when the Wings acquire the top 6 forward at the deadline. The PK needs to be shored up in October and stay that way all year long. Last year should teach everyone conclusively that "flip the switch" defensive hockey doesn't work as well as "always on" defensive hockey.

We likely won't see either in the AHL any time soon. A prospect can only play 250 games in the AHL before your team has to bring you up to the NHL (otherwise they're exposed to waivers). If the Wings let Ferrero or Callahan go to the AHL this year they'd basically be committed to bringing them to the NHL in 3 years time. The Wings will more than likely leave them in the WHL (or let them move to another minor league) for another 2 or 3 years. The Wings want to maximize the potential development time for their prospects. Look at their last two first rounders-- Smith isn't going pro until the end of this coming season, so he will have 3 years of post-draft college hockey under his belt by the time he goes to GR. McCollum is going pro this year, after only a year of post-draft OHL hockey, but he dominated the OHL last year, posting the best collective numbers in the league. Smith's track was slowed by a major back injury last year and a broken wrist this season. He's still progressing, but those injuries slowed him down enough to warrant another year of NCAA hockey (at least that's his plan according to interviews at the camp last week). Furthermore, both Callahan and Ferraro are too weak right now. They both have to focus on hitting the gym hard this summer to gain much needed muscle. Often that's the difference between a "ready to play" prospect and a project player (although Ferraro isn't considered a project player, he's not ready to go this year either). If I had to guess I'd say Ferraro impresses this season with the new playmaking linemate his team found for him (whoever that is, they talked about it after the draft in articles about him). Then I'd guess he'd be signed by GR for their end of the season push and playoffs (assuming his team misses them) as a way to get a better look at where he is physically and mentally. They typically do this when prospects in the WHL/OHL/QMJHL who play for a team who misses the playoffs or exits them early. There's some aspect to the rules that allows them to bring those players up and get a look at them without officially turning them pro (or so I remember). If he impresses during that call-up the Griffs will invite him to their 10-11 training camp and he'll probably go pro then. I'd say Callahan has a few seasons in the WHL before he goes pro, but anything could happen.

All of these quotes are from George Malik over at the Snapshots blog. From Day 1 of the camp: Day 2: Day 3: Hey it can't all be good. To be fair that day was an off day for quite a few prospects... it was the "hump" day of the camp so some players were flat that day. Well, those are all the quotes concerning Callahan. Malik will have a summary of his observations of all the prospects at the camp up on his blog sometime today or tomorrow. I'll post it here as soon as it goes up. Edit: Another post by Malik about Callahan:

I'm not sure what order those events went in but I'm 99% sure Ericsson didn't fight Perry because of the Hudler hit (assuming the Hudler hit happened first). Perry was being a little ***** after the whistle, cross-checking people in the back and generally being a little s***. Perry assumed Ericsson wasn't going to stand up for himself, so he started acting like a little ***** to Big Rig and Ericsson put him down like a lame horse.

Well in that regard I envy you.

But where do I sew it if I buy it separately? This is why I need a kid- to attach my logos to. My Dad can justify sending me to school wearing Toronto Maple Leafs clothes and a Leafs starter jacket, my kid will be wearing Wings gear damn it!

Not only is he a capable fighter (although he'll need to add some height and mass to be a strong fighter in the NHL), he's also a prolific one: 20 regular season fights as a rookie (tied for 2nd most in WHL history), 3 fights in playoffs as a rookie (tied for most in WHL history).

No. But thanks for reminding me we lost. Is this wound still fresh for anyone else?

Good comparison. Hopefully Callahan has a long, eventful career like Drake did. Another thing I'd like to point out is that Callahan was one of the youngest players selected in the draft. He's only 17 now, so he has tons of time to develop and physically mature. At this stage I think it's very promising that he's already looking at his own skating with a critical eye and trying to incorporate power skating techniques he learned in camp (he said he's not happy with his first step speed). That kind of self analysis and drive to improve technique is awesome to see in a 17 year old player. I can't help but be excited about Callahan as a prospect. He's supposed to see more minutes and to get time on the top 6 back on his WHL team. Hopefully his hands continue to improve and he puts up some respectable numbers while improving his defensive and checking game. You never know with hardworking players like him- he'll continue to develop as long as he has the drive and keeps working his ass off every night. If we're lucky he could end up being a third line NHLer capable of 15g 30pt seasons all while playing the PK and checking everything in sight.

To be fair to Hudler, he outplayed Filppula in the playoffs last year. So they're even.

You'd be shocked what the rest of the free world pays in taxes. Then again, we're not piling up billions in debt every month.

Uhhh no. Hudler stated to the Czech press that he left for a combination of 5 reasons: --> The Wings didn't have the cap room to make him an offer close enough to market value --> He did not want to play for another NHL team. He only wanted to be a Wing. --> The Russians offered him 10 million dollars US (tax free) on a 2 year deal. --> He's young and feels he has another 13 years left and that his NHL career is just on hold, not over. --> Russian girls are beautiful and unconcerned with height (don't tell his supermodel Czech girlfriend). All this is corroborated by the following facts: --> He filed for arbitration and told his agent he will complete the arbitration process to allow the Wings to keep his rights --> He's moving to a country that, amazingly, has tax laws even friendlier to the rich. --> Oh, and this:

Sakic's 'hit' on Franzen is so adorable!

Yeah... this forum is single-handedly responsible for delaying my thesis proposal...

I just edited the main post to include a new article about Callahan on Malik's blog.

And he could bring his hot spice girl wife with him... mmmmm.