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Sopel staying as 8th defenseman?

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I'm not sure if any of you heard this interview, but last night on XM204, Ken Daniels said he believes the wings will keep 8 defenseman on their roster and that Sopel and Meech will be the two extra.

Not only that, but he said that Jonathon Ericcson will be a top 4 dman in the league in the next couple of seasons.

He feels that the Wings blueline will be one of the best for years to come as Kindl, Ericsson and Quincy are can't miss NHL defenseman.

He also mentioned that he believes Grigs wants to stay in North America regardless of which team he's on after November 1st. But he did say that he thinks Grigs will be on the opening night roster.

Just thinking of what K.D. said about our future D, I'm very excited about it to.

In about 5 years our defense will look like this:

Rafalski, Kronwall, Quincy, Kindl, Ericsson and possibly Brad Smith. And there's also a good chance Lidstrom is still around too. That's a pretty solid D corp.

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In about 5 years our defense will look like this:

Rafalski, Kronwall, Quincy, Kindl, Ericsson and possibly Brad Smith. And there's also a good chance Lidstrom is still around too. That's a pretty solid D corp.

I wouldn't say there is a "good chance" that Lidstrom will still be around then. I think it is definately more likely that he will be retired by then. For that matter, there is a chance that Rafalski will be retired as well (he and Niedermayer are the same age).

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I wouldn't say there is a "good chance" that Lidstrom will still be around then. I think it is definately more likely that he will be retired by then. For that matter, there is a chance that Rafalski will be retired as well (he and Niedermayer are the same age).

True, but rest assured, we will still have Chelios :D

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I wouldn't say there is a "good chance" that Lidstrom will still be around then. I think it is definately more likely that he will be retired by then. For that matter, there is a chance that Rafalski will be retired as well (he and Niedermayer are the same age).

I think Rafalski signed a 6 year deal. He should be around until 2013-14 season.

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He feels that the Wings blueline will be one of the best for years to come as Kindl, Ericsson and Quincy are can't miss NHL defenseman.

I like the sound of that..... but..

He also mentioned that he believes Grigs wants to stay in North America regardless of which team he's on after November 1st. But he did say that he thinks Grigs will be on the opening night roster.
I don't know about this part. Now I haven't watched him skate but I've read he was anything but impressive enough to merit a roster spot. Or has he slowly been improving?

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I like the sound of that..... but..

I don't know about this part. Now I haven't watched him skate but I've read he was anything but impressive enough to merit a roster spot. Or has he slowly been improving?

Who should get it ahead of him? Downey? Ellis? Hartigan? None of those guys have performed any better. Grigorenko can have a disappointing camp and still be the best forward trying out.

Edited by eva unit zero

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I like the sound of that..... but..

I don't know about this part. Now I haven't watched him skate but I've read he was anything but impressive enough to merit a roster spot. Or has he slowly been improving?

Good question. I don't know. But he seems to think that his talent level is too good to keep off the squad.

I should mention that he did say there's a chance he'll go to GR for a couple of weeks to get his conditioning back. But that's the only thing holding him back.

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Who should get it ahead of him? Downey? Ellis? Hartigan? None of those guys have performed any better. Grigorenko can have a disappointing camp and still be the best forward trying out.

The reason I disagree with that is becuase Grigorenko's supposed to be a top-6 kinda guy and if he's not going to be working on scoring in the NHL, he can at least do that in the AHL. Ellis may not be putting up huge numbers, but he'd be a solid 4th liner on a team full of scoring potential (Cleary, Filp, and Drapes could look good on some other team's second line.) Grigs is still a semi-elite prospect, whereas Ellis's development at a minor level isn't as crucial, so I say let Ellis stay as the 13th forward and let Grigs get adjusted to the NA game at a minor league level. If Downey isn't signed and Hartigan is sent to the minors (which is most likely because he's most likely to clear waivers), then Grigs can get the call up before November. I anticipate we'll start seeing injuries by then, anyway.

Regarding the defensemen, I don't see what Sopel's done thus far to justify making the Wings roster. Let them carry 7 d-men with Meech being the 7th guy.

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i think it's more likely that our 23rd roster play will be a forward...

i can only see 7 d-men on the roster tbh

The Wings have 12 forwards and 6 defensemen set on the roster. The candidates for the remaning 3 slots are, in age order:

Downey, 33

Sopel, 30

Hartigan, 30

Ellis, 26

Grigorenko, 24

Meech, 23

Downey, Hartigan, and Sopel will have to show considerably more than Ellis, Grigorenko, and Meech due to the age difference, and the fact that the second group of three has their best years ahead of them, while the older group is on the back side of the hill. We know they will have at least one forward and one defenseman. We'll assume that they will go with the guys on the list who are both the highest potential and the youngest; Grigorenko and Meech. Meaning we now have the spare forward and spare defenseman, and the remaning slot can be used for the best available player from the list. Hartigan and Downey are career journeymen, and Ellis has yet to crack an NHL roster. Sopel OTOH is a guy many on here felt could replace Markov in the top 4...so I think that choice is obviously a good possibility. However, Red Wings Central has a 23-man roster posted under the organization chart that includes Grigorenko, Ellis, and Meech, but this may be a result of eliminating guys who are on tryouts. Ellis is also removed from the prospects list on RWC, another sign which would seem to indicate they expect him to be on the final roster.

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I'm all for keeping Grigs stateside to develop his skills in the North American hockey environment. My beef is the part stating he'd be on the opening night roster. I take that as dressed for the opening night game. It doesn't sound to me like he earned a spot there just yet. I hope he does earn it though.

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I'm all for keeping Grigs stateside to develop his skills in the North American hockey environment. My beef is the part stating he'd be on the opening night roster. I take that as dressed for the opening night game. It doesn't sound to me like he earned a spot there just yet. I hope he does earn it though.

No, it means he's expected to be on the 23-man roster.

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Who should get it ahead of him? Downey? Ellis? Hartigan? None of those guys have performed any better. Grigorenko can have a disappointing camp and still be the best forward trying out.

Bingo. Babs can't inject some skill into these other guys, but he can vastly improve Grigorenko's conditioning.

Think of it like you're buying a used car. You want a second car to make the transit to work easier by letting your wife take a seperate car so you go to a used car lot. In front of you you've got 3 cars from '01-'03 that are nothing special but are in good shape for their age. On the other hand you've got a '02 Lexus that needs new brakes, timing, wheels and a tune-up, but is otherwise fine. Now obviously the Lexus doesn't feel so impressive on the road in the condition it's in. But you know a great mechanic- a dude who already works for you, can do the job extremely well and has the parts you need.

What do you buy if they're all the same price? The car that's going to be awesome after your buddy fixes it or one of the instantly mediocre cars?

I guess the better quesiton is just how risk adverse are you....

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I really hope we keep Sopel. He's the only one of those guys I really want on our roster. He will be a great match on our PP and hopefully get it back to where it was a couple seasons ago.

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Ugh Sopel is horrible, don't want this guy anywhere near our team. Basically a Lang on defence. Terrible giveaways one that stands out is the puck he gave away in tampa while playing the point on the powerplay which resulted in a tampa breakaway and I think berkhole made the stop but still. Jason williams on the powerplay ring a bell? thats what you get with sopel. DOes have a monster shot though when it hits the net.

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The Wings have 12 forwards and 6 defensemen set on the roster. The candidates for the remaning 3 slots are, in age order:

Downey, 33

Sopel, 30

Hartigan, 30

Ellis, 26

Grigorenko, 24

Meech, 23

Downey, Hartigan, and Sopel will have to show considerably more than Ellis, Grigorenko, and Meech due to the age difference, and the fact that the second group of three has their best years ahead of them, while the older group is on the back side of the hill. We know they will have at least one forward and one defenseman. We'll assume that they will go with the guys on the list who are both the highest potential and the youngest; Grigorenko and Meech. Meaning we now have the spare forward and spare defenseman, and the remaning slot can be used for the best available player from the list. Hartigan and Downey are career journeymen, and Ellis has yet to crack an NHL roster. Sopel OTOH is a guy many on here felt could replace Markov in the top 4...so I think that choice is obviously a good possibility. However, Red Wings Central has a 23-man roster posted under the organization chart that includes Grigorenko, Ellis, and Meech, but this may be a result of eliminating guys who are on tryouts. Ellis is also removed from the prospects list on RWC, another sign which would seem to indicate they expect him to be on the final roster.

He needs to get used the NA style of hockey, that means he needs to play. Grand Rapids will allow him a chance to develop with all the playing time he can get. Keeping him as a 13th forward does nothing to develop his skills. Having a 13th forward with some grit that can play 5-7 minutes a game and bring some energy is needed. Grigorenko is not a bottom 6 player, he's not a grinder. If Babcock keeps him on the roster at the expense of the others you mentioned, he defeats his own message which is to work hard, know your role and play physical. Grigorenko, so far, is none of that

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He needs to get used the NA style of hockey, that means he needs to play. Grand Rapids will allow him a chance to develop with all the playing time he can get. Keeping him as a 13th forward does nothing to develop his skills. Having a 13th forward with some grit that can play 5-7 minutes a game and bring some energy is needed. Grigorenko is not a bottom 6 player, he's not a grinder. If Babcock keeps him on the roster at the expense of the others you mentioned, he defeats his own message which is to work hard, know your role and play physical. Grigorenko, so far, is none of that

Grigorenko was always known as a physical player in Russia. Even if he is out of shape, that is far easier to change than the skill level of Aaron Downey. Grigorenko is a better player than Downey even though Grigs is out of shape... Don't you think Babs will want to see what can come of getting Grigs IN shape?

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I don't see why everyone is in love with Grigs. I mean he isn't as good as advetised. Send him to GR or Russia and let him get better. He's here for scoring, if he can't do that then why take a 4th liner spot away from a guy like downey for someone who can't do a 4th liners job.

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I don't see why everyone is in love with Grigs. I mean he isn't as good as advetised. Send him to GR or Russia and let him get better. He's here for scoring, if he can't do that then why take a 4th liner spot away from a guy like downey for someone who can't do a 4th liners job.

The answer is simple. Downey as the 13th forward has no chance of making the top 12 and does not make the team better. If Grigs is the 13th forward, he has the opportunity to get in shape and become a top-12 forward ahead of one of the current regulars. Grigs also has the skill set to be able to contribute on a scoring line should someone get injured. Therefore, Grigs is the forward competing for the final spot that has the best chance of making the Wings a better team.

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The answer is simple. Downey as the 13th forward has no chance of making the top 12 and does not make the team better. If Grigs is the 13th forward, he has the opportunity to get in shape and become a top-12 forward ahead of one of the current regulars. Grigs also has the skill set to be able to contribute on a scoring line should someone get injured. Therefore, Grigs is the forward competing for the final spot that has the best chance of making the Wings a better team.

The thing is he isn't good enough yet. He needs a vast amount of conditionig to be a top6 scorer like he is supposed to be. Therefore sign him a 2way send him to GR and call him up if need be. Then Downey gets the 13th spot and we have a good crash and bang line.

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