Drake_Marcus

No- it's not far from the truth. It's truth-adjacent if anything else. The only site that's updated their prospects for the Wings since season end has him first overall, Babcock and all of the brass is high on him, Ericsson was apparently a great source of interest from other teams at the deadline AND he's the best performing defenseman of all of the Wings call-ups this year as well as the only professional all-star not named Jimmy. Kindl!?! Did you watch him this year? He was absolutely brutal. He had the worst +/- in the AHL at one point. Kindl has a great deal of talent and is very promising as a future hockey player but he's far from being NHL ready- hell, he's still struggling in the AHL. Ericsson is dominating in the AHL and it's his second season in North America. Kindl's been in NA for as long as Ericsson. The fact remains that with Ericsson the translation from prospect to NHL player is a clear one, with Kindl and the rest of our defensive prospects it's fuzzier. A huge part of being a highly-regarded prospect is actually showing improvement and proving to your club that you can make the NHL jump. Ericsson's done that more so than any of our other prospects. The jump in performance he's made in the last two years is just incredible. Hell- he was +3 on a sub .500 hockey club as a fricking sophomore. Smith is recovering from a bad back injury that may slow his development a tad (although he looked good in camp this month so there's no reason to think that he isn't still on track to be a great d-man in the future). He's not yet reached the AHL let-alone the NHL. Before he can jump up the depth charts and be better than Ericsson he's got to prove that he can make a smooth transition to the next level.

Ohhhkay.... did you watch Ericsson play this season? In his five game call-up he outplayed all our other prospects and put up a goal all while playing top four minutes and playing on the pp and pk. Did you know he was our only prospect to be picked for the AHL first allstar team aside from Howard? That he had the second hardest slapshot at the skills event? Or how about that he outscored all of our forward prospects as a D-man for almost the entire year? How about the fact that the hockey news is high on him, Babs, Stevie, Holland, Nill AND the most respected hockey coach in Wings history seems to fond of his potential. Hell- during the playoffs Babcock made it a point to mention how much he loved Ericsson in a press conference just because: "We have a kid named Ericsson, and I can't believe we don't dress him. I think he's going to be a stud in the league." *Sigh* How about this: I'll put $20 of my own money, Canadian dollars too- so they won't be devaluing over the next few years, on the line that says Ericsson will end up proving the doubters wrong.

Well he managed to be in the top six in Red Wings forward scoring during the regular season AND the post season... So um... yeah. He's a damn good 3rd/4th liner in that case. Also note that he always plays in the top six on power plays.

Not really. Both are extremely replaceable. The key point is to sign Ericsson, Howard and Filppula. Filppula is safe until arbitration, but Ericsson and Howard could still be had via offer sheets- so they're absolutely key right now. Ericsson is widely regarded as the Wings most attractive prospect as far as other teams are concerned.

I think that's the key here. With key prospects like Howard and Ericsson the Wings won't waste their developmental time by having them sit in the press box. If Howard or Ericsson make the team this year they'll play regular minutes- otherwise they're both better off playing for Grand Rapids.

Somehow I think that Larsson's amazing season last year and impressive poise in his first training camp, both of which are the sources of said praise, is completely unrelated to Lundqvist.

Wow... that's disgusting. I'll say it right here, right now- I'm never eating Lays again.

Original Article Nothing we all didn't know, but I thought some might appreciate the read. Edit: italics were too hard to read

I'll put them in relative importance to the Wings: Filppula Ericsson Howard Chelios Quincey Downey McCarty Drake Hartigan

Irony much? That's the exact situation with Ozzy. Did you watch the triple overtime game between the Sharks and the Stars!!?! Nabokov was widely considered a favourite to win the Vez. I watched every Dallas game and believe me- Nabokov was consistently their best player. Nabby was the hottest goalie after the allstar break hands down and he was one of the best if not the best goalie durring the playoffs. I'm not a Sharks fan by any stretch of the imagination, but I do know good goal-tending when I see it.

Ewwwwwww- No. Homer-Filp-Hossa would be a poor distribution of the talent. If you're going to put Dats and Z together they should remain with Homer since. There's no reason to break up the ZDH chemistry simply to replace Holmer's veteran net-front presense with Franzen. D and Z can carry a less talented forward with them so don't waste the spot on Franzen. Although it does appear that Franzen may end up being Holmer's heir-apparent, he's best used on another line since the natural chemistry of ZDH needn't be toyed with unless it's to play with seperating the Z and D. As far as chemistry goes: Z-D-H obviously work well together Zetterberg and Franzen have great chemistry Datsyuk and Filppula have great chemistry but Filp is woefully inconsistent and ill-suited to be Datsyuk's finisher. Filp is a very poor finisher at this stage. Filppula and Franzen seemed to have half-decent chemistry with each other during the playoffs but that was mostly due to the fact that everything that touched Franzen went in. Hudler was actually involved in far more Franzen goals than Filppula. Obviously, however, Hossa will keep Hudler back on the 3rd/4th line. I'd stick with: Zetterberg-Datsyuk-Holmstrom Franzen-Filppula-Hossa or, if Babcock's love for splitting up D and Z persists: Filppula-Datsyuk-Hossa Franzen-Zetterberg-Holmstrom Although I'm not a huge fan of putting Filppula on the first line over Franzen, he's got the better chemistry with Datsyuk while Franzen's stronger with Zetterberg. Hossa's a proven finisher. Datsyuk needs a finishing winger more than Zetterberg does.

I'm heavily weighting this towards these teams' performances over the last season- FA additions are counted, but the strongest factor is in existing chemistry and proven results. Forwards: 1. Detroit- Pavel and Zetterberg are absolutely dominant- to put up 90+ pts in Detroit's Defense 1st system is amazing. Adding Hossa puts us over the top. 2. Ottawa- their top three is fantastic and somehow their top Swede just isn't slowing down either 3. Pens- their losses this year (trade deadline and offseason) drop them behind Ottawa. Note that they only stay this high based on the strength of their top two. 4. Habs- like it or not- they have an explosive offense that is absolutely deadly on the PP and very, very well distributed all the way down to the 4th line. 5. Washington- Alex is obvious, but Semin's due for a big upswing, Backstrom will only get better, Nylander put up 37pts in 40 games. They're only going to get better. 6. Philly- they could be real, real good at putting the puck in the net this season. I reaalllllly like Richards- he's money. Defense: 1. Detroit- durrr 1 Selke winner, 1 Selke nom and 1 Norris this year. Raffi had a career year with Lids (shocker! ). Kronner was argueably the best d-man in the playoffs. 2. Anaheim- Pronger and Neidermayer are a deadly top 2, Schneider is pretty impressive for a 2nd pairing player. They could also blow- I dunno yet. 3. San Hose- they played real strong team D last season and added Boyle. Blake isn't the same anymore, but he's better than half their d-men last season. 4. New York Rags- Rozsival and Staal played really strong in the playoffs. Redden, while overpaid, is still a good d-man. Once again- Staal could be huge next season. 5. Toronto- two words- Jeff Finger. Goal: 1. Sharks- The Vez was stolen from Nabby. 'nough said. 2. Vancouver- Lou had a rough season last year but can still steal games. 3. New Jersey- He can still steal games and has the resume too. 4. Dallas- Laugh all you want but Turco only got better last season and he was stunning against the Ducks and Sharks in the playoffs. 5. New York Rags- Another dominant Swede. I do think he's a tiny bit overrated, though. 6. Flames- Kipper steals games. Believe it. He was rocky at times last year but he's still clutch. 7. Columbus- Leclaire managed to post a shocking number of shut outs with a horrible defense in front of him. Laugh all you want but he's the real deal. 8. Anaheim- Giggy is an excellent goalie- laughably large pads or not. He's a monster in the playoffs. I don't think the new pad restrictions will eliminate all of his talent. 9. Buffalo- Miller managed to keep the dismal remains of bad management half-competitive. 10. Montreal- Price is utterly unproven so I can't put him higher up this list based on his enormous potential alone. 11. New York Islanders- DiPietro is really freaking good when he's healthy. When he's even a bit injured he slips down this list. 12. Detroit- Ozzy is the man and perfect for this team, but he doesn't quite have the resume or the performance in front of a shakey defense that most of the above does. 13. Philly- Biron was amazing in the playoffs. He really doesn't get enough credit for what he does. I'm sure many of you will argue my lists, especially the goalies, but that's my honest opinion.

WOOOOOOOOOOO!!! That just made my day! HOLY CRAP! I can't believe this is happening. The rumours of him wanting to come to Detroit were actually true. Man oh man- he fits our style perfectly- strong defensive game with scoring. I'm salivating.

Dude- the Wings are damn lucky to get him for as cheap as they did. Honestly- in the current market this contract is a steal. I have a feeling today is going to be pretty crazy.

He's been a prospect for a while now. When the transfer agreement fell apart the concensus was that prospects fell into two groups- one group of countries would require a signing by july 1st or the prospect became a free agent. The second group, of which our last interesting but unsigned european prospect, Axelsson, is a part of, is a little trickier. It looks like this second group will be treated like a defected prospect- meaning we'd hold their rights indefinitely, just like the old days. I might be murky on the exact details- but that's the general idea. Anyway, the concensus among the brass was apparently that this Kolasau is worth keeping because he's a rare comonidy in the Wings' system- a big brusing defender who enjoys smashing faces, but he wasn't among the best prospects in terms of earning a contract. The situation with the transfer agreement kind of forced their hand, I guess, and he played decently on a Belrusian team during the worlds a few months ago. Hopefully we see him break some faces in the AHL

Ouch. Now that's inditing!

Well, in light of the fact that the draft is today, I'd like to post my wish list in here Hopefully we get a few of these kids: I'd love to see Detroit trade Lebda, Meech or Quincey for 2nd round picks depending on whether Lilja and Stewart sign. In a similar vein, I'd be happy if Detroit could trade down to get two high second round picks. Here are the players I think Detroit should grab. I've selected players that are all found between 20 and 50 in THN's draft guide, the ISS or Future Considerations' draft guide. Some of the earlier players might go before Detroit can get them but if they're here I've picked them because there's a chance they might slip a few spots between now and draft day. Note that the comments bellow aren't my own scouting but rather represent the information I've gleaned from websites and multiple draft guide scouting reports. Anyway, here are the Detroit draftable players I think would be beneficial for our prospect system: Jordan Eberle [iSS 20] [THN 22] [FC 15] [Average rank 19] Country: Canada Pos: C Ht: 5-10 Wt: 174 Projection: Goal-Scoring Forward Talent: Scored 42 goals this year in WHL, elite stick handling and scoring, quick and lethal wrister, deceptive, defensively responsible, excellent attitude and competitiveness. Drawbacks: Small size will scare off some teams, strength also an issue. Zac Dalpe [iSS 29] [THN 29] [FC 26] [Average rank 28] Country: Canada Pos: C Ht: 6-0 Wt: 170 Projection: Skilled Forward Talent: Impressive vision, high speed, good hockey sense, primarily a finisher, good playmaking and puck-handling, battler, great along the boards, great work ethic. Drawbacks: Severely lacking strength, doesn't use linemates as well as he could, inconsistent defensive game. Bonus: Zac committed to play for Ohio State next year so he offers the benefits of a US College player under the CBA. Mikhail Stefanovich [iSS 43] [THN 20] [FC 32] [Average rank 32] Country: Belarus Pos: C Ht: 6-2 Wt: 202 Projection: Power Forward Talent: high-skill level, excellent shot, soft hands, goal scorer. Drawbacks: some scouts question attitude and work ethic, inconsistent at times, considered a "project" by some. Mitch Wahl [iSS 33] [THN 37] [FC 27] [Average rank 32] Country: USA Pos: C Ht: 5-11 Wt: 175 Projection: Two-way Forward / Playmaking Forward Talent: Strong vision, good hockey sense, fast skater with excellent balance, hard to knock off the puck, excellent passer in traffic, strong playmaking ability, soft hands, good puck carrier/protector, team first attitude, great work-ethic and competes hard. Drawbacks: Small stature, doesn't play a physical game, more of a playmaker than a finisher. Corey Trivino [iSS 36] [THN 36] [FC 33] [Average rank 35] Country: Canada Pos: C Ht: 6-1 Wt: 170 Projection: Skilled Forward / Playmaking Forward Talent: Highly skilled with the puck, great playmaker, good speed, crafty, excellent passer in traffic, soft hands but definitely a pass-first type of player, good defensively and willing to play the boards. Drawbacks: Needs to gain strength, will require some time to develop properly so he's not an NHL ready player on draft day. Bonus: Attending the Boston University in September- so he's got time to develop under the current CBA. Tyler Ennis [iSS 40] [THN 41] [FC 34] [Average rank 38] Country: Canada Pos: C Ht: 5-8 Wt: 153 Projection: Offensive Forward Talent: Hilarious last name will make for entertaining chants in opposing arenas, fast skater with quick foot speed, elusive, excellent puck-handler, capable of performing amazing moves at full speed, great 1-on-1, offensively minded, good with tight space, good cycling in the corners, good back checking, intelligent and has a great hockey sense. One draft guide stated he'd be a top 10 pick if he was 4" taller. Drawbacks: Needs to gain a lot of strength, can get pushed around (but doesn't let that get him off his game), because of his tiny size he's more likely to be injured playing in the physical NHL, has a tendency to be forced to the outside because of his size, penis does indeed rhyme with his last name. Bonus: For the last 3 years he's played in the WHL, a pretty physical league, but still managed to put up 43 goals for 91 pts in 70 games this year. Brandon Burlon [iSS 48] [THN 58] [FC 28] [Average rank 45] Country: Canada Pos: D (shoots left) Ht: 6-0 Wt: 190 Projection: Two-way Defenseman Talent: Strong skater, good vision, great at directing play from the back end, great transition game, great shot with an excellent one-timer, strong defensively with sound position and good stick use, excellent PP quarter back, poised on the ice, good leader. Possible top-two defender. Drawbacks: Needs to learn when not to pinch, needs extra strength, has yet to see much high-level competition. Bonus: Attending the University of Michigan in September.

I'd kill to make it to that game. What an awesome opportunity- thanks Florida! Any idea if the Wings will be playing an exhibition game in the Maritimes this year? There is usually a game in my hometown with a Canadian team (probably Pitts since Sid is from the Halifax area).

We both know that the years those players were picked there were lots of high-quality defensive options too. Whitney was a 5th(?) overall, with Malkin, Staal and Crosby being 1st or 2nd overalls. Fluerry was 1st overall. Aside from being the lowest pick of those 5, Whitney is also the oldest one. I never said there wasn't defensive drafting in Pitts, just that they put the priority on drafting offense. The numbers back me up too. The year Fluerry was drafted 1st, Phanuef- the best young defenseman in the league and an elite d-man, was drafted 9th. They could of taken him. Let's go through their first 3 picks in each draft since 02: 2002: 1st: D-man (5th) 2nd: D-man (35th) 3rd: Forward (69th) 2003: 1st: Goalie (1st) 2nd: Forward (31st) 3rd: Forward (70th) 2004: 1st: Forward (2nd) 2nd: Forward (31st) 2nd: D-man (61st) 3rd: Forward (67th) 3rd: Forward (85th) 4th: Forward (99th - first pick of the 4th) 2005: 1st: Forward (1st) 2nd: D-man (61st - last pick of the 2nd) 3rd: D-man (62nd) 2006: 1st: Forward (2nd - not a deep defensive draft after the 1st pick though, I'll give you that) 2nd: D-man (32nd) 3rd: D-man (65th) 2007: 1st: Forward (20th) 2nd: Forward (51st) 3rd: D-man (78th) 3rd: Forward (80th) Obviously they still draft defensemen- I never claimed they hadn't drafted a defenseman before! But damn- they definitely prefer to spend their valuable picks on forwards from 2003 onwards. Agreed. Let's leave the hate-filled posts behind us.

Sure champ. You stated that there are only so many impact defensemen out there- the Lids, Neids, Prongers, etc. And implied that based on that fact Pittsburgh was better off keeping the forwards they have now then go another route. Don't get all read between the effing lines with me. If your opinion on the situation was vague then perhaps you should work on your writing skills while I brush up my reading comprehension? You can try stating your case so as to not confuse little old me and I'll try and understand your hockey analysis as best as I can. And yeah- defense last. Based on their drafting they've put way more emphasis on forwards and hey- they traded up to get Fluerry 1st overall. So, if forwards and goaltending sat higher on their draft/acquisition priority list then what, pray tell, sat on the bottom if not defense? The fact remains that I won't be impressed with Pittsburgh's meteoric rise until they've managed to stick around at the top and remain a competitive team for the next 5 or more years. Their management made a big statement at this year's deadline- and it certainly wasn't one of long-term stability. Hossa better be retained or they really did sell the farm for some magic beans. Let's see how they handle their UFA and RFA's over the next summer before predicting such a sunny future for this team. Best of luck to them- but they've got a pretty tough managerial situation on their hands.

Ericsson is the kind of defenseman who's too valuable to have sitting in the box during the game. If he were to fight in the Big leagues it would be while on the bottom pairing or in a Pronger-eque "I'll pick my spots and only fight the guys I have a wicked huge advantage over" kinda way. Unlike Q, Ericsson doesn't fight all that much in the AHL, although they both have some fighting penalties under their respective belts.

Your argument might hold water if Pittsberg didn't make a retardedly bloated trade at the deadline for Hossa. Sadly, your supposition that Hossa's release would be foolish because they already have his talent doesn't float when they chose to give up all those prospects/players/and a pick in a deep defensive draft. They chose to get another offensive player at the deadline when there were good defensive trades to be made. Gill is terrible in his own end, and regardless of what the HockeyNews says- he was out there for most of the goals. Pitts wasn't pigeon-holed into a defense last philosophy, it was a choice. They drafted their own players. They structured their own team. They hired their own coaches. They live with the consequences- good or bad. No one forced them into this situation.

QFT

True story- I was a tubby, tubby, tubby 18 year old!

So I've been bitten by the draft bug and forced to read gobs and gobs of information on prospects. For anyone out there that's really interested in this stuff I strongly suggest buying the online edition of Future Considerations. It's 162 pages, an easy access pdf and only $5 Canadian. Future Considerations I'd love to see Detroit trade Lebda, Meech or Quincey for 2nd round picks depending on whether Lilja and Stewart sign. In a similar vein, I'd be happy if Detroit could trade down to get two high second round picks. Here are the players I think Detroit should grab. I've selected players that are all found between 20 and 50 in THN's draft guide, the ISS or Future Considerations' draft guide. Some of the earlier players might go before Detroit can get them but if they're here I've picked them because there's a chance they might slip a few spots between now and draft day. Note that the comments bellow aren't my own scouting but rather represent the information I've gleaned from websites and multiple draft guide scouting reports. Anyway, here are the Detroit draftable players I think would be beneficial for our prospect system: Jordan Eberle [iSS 20] [THN 22] [FC 15] [Average rank 19] Country: Canada Pos: C Ht: 5-10 Wt: 174 Projection: Goal-Scoring Forward Talent: Scored 42 goals this year in WHL, elite stick handling and scoring, quick and lethal wrister, deceptive, defensively responsible, excellent attitude and competitiveness. Drawbacks: Small size will scare off some teams, strength also an issue. Zac Dalpe [iSS 29] [THN 29] [FC 26] [Average rank 28] Country: Canada Pos: C Ht: 6-0 Wt: 170 Projection: Skilled Forward Talent: Impressive vision, high speed, good hockey sense, primarily a finisher, good playmaking and puck-handling, battler, great along the boards, great work ethic. Drawbacks: Severely lacking strength, doesn't use linemates as well as he could, inconsistent defensive game. Bonus: Zac committed to play for Ohio State next year so he offers the benefits of a US College player under the CBA. Mikhail Stefanovich [iSS 43] [THN 20] [FC 32] [Average rank 32] Country: Belarus Pos: C Ht: 6-2 Wt: 202 Projection: Power Forward Talent: high-skill level, excellent shot, soft hands, goal scorer. Drawbacks: some scouts question attitude and work ethic, inconsistent at times, considered a "project" by some. Mitch Wahl [iSS 33] [THN 37] [FC 27] [Average rank 32] Country: USA Pos: C Ht: 5-11 Wt: 175 Projection: Two-way Forward / Playmaking Forward Talent: Strong vision, good hockey sense, fast skater with excellent balance, hard to knock off the puck, excellent passer in traffic, strong playmaking ability, soft hands, good puck carrier/protector, team first attitude, great work-ethic and competes hard. Drawbacks: Small stature, doesn't play a physical game, more of a playmaker than a finisher. Corey Trivino [iSS 36] [THN 36] [FC 33] [Average rank 35] Country: Canada Pos: C Ht: 6-1 Wt: 170 Projection: Skilled Forward / Playmaking Forward Talent: Highly skilled with the puck, great playmaker, good speed, crafty, excellent passer in traffic, soft hands but definitely a pass-first type of player, good defensively and willing to play the boards. Drawbacks: Needs to gain strength, will require some time to develop properly so he's not an NHL ready player on draft day. Bonus: Attending the Boston University in September- so he's got time to develop under the current CBA. Tyler Ennis [iSS 40] [THN 41] [FC 34] [Average rank 38] Country: Canada Pos: C Ht: 5-8 Wt: 153 Projection: Offensive Forward Talent: Hilarious last name will make for entertaining chants in opposing arenas, fast skater with quick foot speed, elusive, excellent puck-handler, capable of performing amazing moves at full speed, great 1-on-1, offensively minded, good with tight space, good cycling in the corners, good back checking, intelligent and has a great hockey sense. One draft guide stated he'd be a top 10 pick if he was 4" taller. Drawbacks: Needs to gain a lot of strength, can get pushed around (but doesn't let that get him off his game), because of his tiny size he's more likely to be injured playing in the physical NHL, has a tendency to be forced to the outside because of his size, penis does indeed rhyme with his last name. Bonus: For the last 3 years he's played in the WHL, a pretty physical league, but still managed to put up 43 goals for 91 pts in 70 games this year. Brandon Burlon [iSS 48] [THN 58] [FC 28] [Average rank 45] Country: Canada Pos: D (shoots left) Ht: 6-0 Wt: 190 Projection: Two-way Defenseman Talent: Strong skater, good vision, great at directing play from the back end, great transition game, great shot with an excellent one-timer, strong defensively with sound position and good stick use, excellent PP quarter back, poised on the ice, good leader. Possible top-two defender. Drawbacks: Needs to learn when not to pinch, needs extra strength, has yet to see much high-level competition. Bonus: Attending the University of Michigan in September. Anyone have any thoughts?