Top 20

[Guest Tombsy]

http://hockeysfuture.com/article.php?sid=9...ded&order=0

[betterREDthandead 58]

Ryno's really flying up the charts, now ranked at #6.

The two guys I'm most looking forward to seeing how they do this year are Evan McGrath and Jonathan Ericsson. I'd love to see Ericsson mix it up this year in the AHL. With that kind of size if he can even lace up a pair of skates he's a pretty good imposing obstacle for opposing forwards. Bonus if he can also skate.

[wingsfan40 0]

http://hockeysfuture.com/article.php?sid=9...ded&order=0

Top 20 at a glance

1. Jimmy Howard

2. Valterri Filppula

3. Jiri Hudler

4. Jakub Kindl

5. Igor Grigorenko

6. Johan Ryno

7. Brett Lebda

8. Evan McGrath

9. Kyle Quincey

10. Cory Emmerton

11. Shawn Matthias

12. Justin Abdelkader

13. Darren Helm

14. Miroslav Blatak

15. Mattias Ritola

16. Anton Axelsson

17. Juho Mielonen

18. Dick Axelsson

19. Jonathan Ericsson

20. Sergei Kolosov

Came across this, just wondering if you agree with the list or are there any changes you would make. Kopecky isnt on the list so im guessing they are assuming that he earned a spot on the wings this year, rightfully so.

[BeeRYCE 2]

Yeah, Kopecky is on the roster according to the Red Wings site.

[TNBT 3]

Ryno's really flying up the charts, now ranked at #6.

The two guys I'm most looking forward to seeing how they do this year are Evan McGrath and Jonathan Ericsson. I'd love to see Ericsson mix it up this year in the AHL. With that kind of size if he can even lace up a pair of skates he's a pretty good imposing obstacle for opposing forwards. Bonus if he can also skate.

I'm excited to see what McGrath can do as well. He's a good young prospect, but I'm worried that he wont get the real chance that he needs to develop, as we're already overloaded at center and still have Filppula to come.

The guys that I'm most excited about seeing in the future are the defensemen, mostly Kindl and Quincey. I know neither of them are the physical specimen that Jiri Fischer is/was, but when you combine them with Kronwall, it gives us 3 very good young defensive prospects who can use the body. Add Lebda onto that and you have a solid 4-man rotation for the future.

Also, what are the latest reports on Kolosov? He's a big boy who could be a force, but he's still pretty raw. I know that he made the move over to the US this past season, but I haven't heard anything about how much he has improved or regressed.

[Henkka 0]

Also, what are the latest reports on Kolosov? He's a big boy who could be a force, but he's still pretty raw. I know that he made the move over to the US this past season, but I haven't heard anything about how much he has improved or regressed.

He has sucked at the prospect training camp. He needs time.

[Andy Pred 48 337]

I hear that Logan Pyett has had a good camp so far. He's been paired

with Qunicey on the top D line, maybe we have a low pick diamond in our midst.

[RyanBarnes! 293]

Ryno's really flying up the charts, now ranked at #6.

The two guys I'm most looking forward to seeing how they do this year are Evan McGrath and Jonathan Ericsson. I'd love to see Ericsson mix it up this year in the AHL. With that kind of size if he can even lace up a pair of skates he's a pretty good imposing obstacle for opposing forwards. Bonus if he can also skate.

He skates pretty well. I'm more curious if he can play a truly physical game. If not, that size is wasted.

I'm amazed that Quincey is constantly rated so low. I guess it's because he's not a flashy offensive type of player. I'm positive he will turn out one of the best players on that list.

[TNBT 3]

He skates pretty well. I'm more curious if he can play a truly physical game. If not, that size is wasted.

I'm amazed that Quincey is constantly rated so low. I guess it's because he's not a flashy offensive type of player. I'm positive he will turn out one of the best players on that list.

I have to agree with that. Quincey has been a consistent performer and showed some nice development last season, yet he is continually overlooked by Wings fans when talking about the future. He may not be a superstar talent, but he's going to be a very solid and dependable player for us in the future.

[Mighty Wings 0]

He skates pretty well. I'm more curious if he can play a truly physical game. If not, that size is wasted.

I'm amazed that Quincey is constantly rated so low. I guess it's because he's not a flashy offensive type of player. I'm positive he will turn out one of the best players on that list.

Yes he has good skating for someone his size. He isn't the type of player who initiates the hitting nor does he light people up. But when necessary, he's not afraid of paying the price in order to get a scoring chance. I'm sure systemfel can provide a better descripton of him

I don't think kindl is going to be as good as people think he will. For a guy who's 6'3 he is disappointing physically. He doesn't clear the crease or use it to hit people. He's pretty much a "slightly better defensively" version of Patrice Brisebois (I hope that made sense).

On the other hand, Jeff May (not even listed on the top 20) is someone under the radar everyone should watch out for. He's somewhat similar to quincey, without as much offensive upside. He was very good in the tournament and has good leadership skills. He's easily better than most of the d-men ranked between 11th and 20th.

Edited September 13, 2006 by Mighty Wings

[J-Swift 0]

I don't think kindl is going to be as good as people think he will. For a guy who's 6'3 he is disappointing physically. He doesn't clear the crease or use it to hit people. He's pretty much a "slightly better defensively" version of Patrice Brisebois (I hope that made sense).

Well, I've seen Kindl play in person before, and from what I've seen, I agree that he will not be particularly physical at the NHL level, but Jakub isn't a guy who's gonna get pushed around. He was always mixing it up after the whistle, and was willing to play the body somewhat in the corners at least. I'm not particularly sure how well he clears the crease because he was never really assigned to the front of the net during the PK. He was, however, used in all situations; including the power-play, the penalty-kill, as well as even strength. The times in which I saw him play, it was clear to me that he was Kitchener's best d-man, and that's saying something when you look at who was on their blueline last season.

I've always felt that the comparison of Kindl to a more offensive, less physical Fischer was reasonably accurate. Both guys are excellent physical specimens who, despite their size, are fine skaters. Kindl's stature is something I noticed right of the bat, he really did look much bigger than the other players on the ice. But, like Fisch, Jakub does struggle with the mental aspects of the game at times.

Though I do speak pretty highly about Kindl, he does have a long way to go. He's fine defensively most of the time, but he's prone to lapses. In my mind, he'll be a pretty good second pairing defenceman for us, possibly filling a similar role to that of Schneider.

[Heaton 1]

He skates pretty well. I'm more curious if he can play a truly physical game. If not, that size is wasted.

I'm amazed that Quincey is constantly rated so low. I guess it's because he's not a flashy offensive type of player. I'm positive he will turn out one of the best players on that list.

The size is only wasted if he doesn't use it, there's plenty of big guys who use their size very well and aren't physical.

[Andy Pred 48 337]

The Wings future 2nd D pairing are Qunicey & Kindl.

[RyanBarnes! 293]

Yes he has good skating for someone his size. He isn't the type of player who initiates the hitting nor does he light people up. But when necessary, he's not afraid of paying the price in order to get a scoring chance. I'm sure systemfel can provide a better descripton of him

I don't think kindl is going to be as good as people think he will. For a guy who's 6'3 he is disappointing physically. He doesn't clear the crease or use it to hit people. He's pretty much a "slightly better defensively" version of Patrice Brisebois (I hope that made sense).

On the other hand, Jeff May (not even listed on the top 20) is someone under the radar everyone should watch out for. He's somewhat similar to quincey, without as much offensive upside. He was very good in the tournament and has good leadership skills. He's easily better than most of the d-men ranked between 11th and 20th.

May seems like a very solid defenseman. I hope Bretton Stamler has got what it takes as well.

[Mighty Wings 0]

May seems like a very solid defenseman. I hope Bretton Stamler has got what it takes as well.

I hope the wings sign May. RWC scouting report said this regarding May:

reliable and steady in his own zone .... smart positionally ... willing to play a physical game ... strong skater with good mobility and lateral movement ... makes good decisions ... poised with the puck ... intelligent passer ... hard worker ...

He definitely lived upto those things in TC as he was probably the best/one of the best d-men on the team.

I don't know if Stamler will make it. As of now, he is only a defensive d-man with a physical presence and nothing more. He has issues with mobility, and was clearly exposed in TC. He also has to improve his all-around game.

[eva unit zero 271]

The Wings future 2nd D pairing are Qunicey & Kindl.

Are you assuming a return of Fischer? I thought it was pretty obvious one of those guys was going to be with Kronwall, assuming no outside pickups are ahead of them.