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wingsRdabest

Valtteri Filppula impresses.

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Well, I guess the mindset of a hockey fan has to change with the new CBA. I think the league will wind up more like the NFL, with teams rising up and down in the standings from year to year. Those who gamble for immediate success will almost certainly be met with a major dropoff in team performance in the future.

As for Filppula, my concern for him is the fact that we may have another good point-getting centre with solid two-way abilities (like Zetterberg) coming out of Europe, and by forcing him into the lineup, we are sorta' stunting his development. Personally, I feel Valtteri can probably start this season in the NHL, and play quite well and contribute to the team. But I think he could be even better if he got some time in the AHL to build up confidence and an understading to the game on this side of the Atlantic. With his solid camp, though, I realize it would be hard to cut him, considering the kind of heart and competitiveness he seems to have.

Certainly, more emphasis on the draft is likely to come in the next couple of years, as it's an easy way for teams to grab cheap talent. Let's hope the days of the Wings throwing away their top picks are over.

I would like to see Filppula play maybe 10-20 games with the big club as a form of motivation, but yeah your arguments are pretty solid.

Also this has nothing to do with your post but....

Filppula > Hudler.... something I've long suspected from watching the World Juniors back in the day. Hudler was always more talented, but it was Filppula who steped up in the big games.

I'm a huge fan of Filppula. I like Hudler as well, but I just can't see him becoming more important to the Wings than Filppula.

Hudler has all the skill in the world, but he is just so small. If he was really quick, similar to Martin St. Louis, then he would probably be OK, but Hudler's other problem is that he isn't really that quick. He's that small that he will cop a heap of physical punishment, and he's not fast enough to get away from it.

Filppula is a bit bigger, and he has a lot more speed. He also is a solid two-way player, whereas Hudler is almost a purely offense-only guy. In a couple of years, Filppula is going to be a key part of our nucleus for the future.

I was just curious if anyone knows what number Filppula will be wearing with the Griffins/Wings this season?

Indeed, Hudler's lack of both speed and acceleration (for a NHL player of his stature) is a huge drawback. If a small NHL player makes it, it is because of his speed and acceleration, second to none.

Edited by Satrebil

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So, no one has any idea what number he wears?

There was a picture of him on the Wings site, but you could only see a little bit of his arm. I need to know so I can get my Wings jersey personalized...

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So, no one has any idea what number he wears?

There was a picture of him on the Wings site, but you could only see a little bit of his arm.  I need to know so I can get my Wings jersey personalized...

I'd hold off on that if I were you. When Datsyuk first came over he had a number in the 50's (all the rookies and tryouts are just given numbers) before he established himself with the team and picked out a number.

I'm not sure if Valtteri has locked himself into a number with the Wings just yet.

peace

EDIT - you would have looked as silly as Pavel does wearing this jersey.

user posted image

Edited by norrisnick

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So, no one has any idea what number he wears?

There was a picture of him on the Wings site, but you could only see a little bit of his arm. I need to know so I can get my Wings jersey personalized...

He wore 52 in preseason...but he's obviously not on the final roster.

So ultimately, Filppula does not wear any number with the Red Wings.

On the subject of tryout numbers:

Mathieu Dandenault wore 65 in preseason his first year with Detroit, before switching to 11 for the regular season after he made the roster.

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Thanks for the info guys.

I noticed that some of the tryouts were wearing numbers in the 70's and stuff like that, but I thought that seeing as how Filppula was Wings property (unlike the other tryouts who were free agents), then he may have been given a permenant number when he came over to America.

I will have to wait until next season when he breaks into the team on a full-time basis.

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