Everyone who said Ellis shouldn't be up full time

[stevkrause 1,247]

2 goals (got another one last night mind you) and 2 assists, +5 in 8 games, while only averaging 5:33 a game of playing time... he's solid as hell defensively, can flat out skate, plays a smart game and grinds it down low... that coupled with what Downey has brought... buh-bye Grigs, have fun in Russia

[Rob the Badger 0]

I've watched Ellis play in G.R. and I knew what kind of player he is. He has a solid work ethic and a positive attitude. He is willing to take the abuse to head toward the net and is willing to grind and battle for the puck. I don't expect him to get more than 20-25 pts a season in the NHL, but he does bring a lot of heart to the game. Those who thought that Ellis is 'worthless' haven't seen him play.

[Icer 0]

I've watched Ellis play in G.R. and I knew what kind of player he is. He has a solid work ethic and a positive attitude. He is willing to take the abuse to head toward the net and is willing to grind and battle for the puck. I don't expect him to get more than 20-25 pts a season in the NHL, but he does bring a lot of heart to the game. Those who thought that Ellis is 'worthless' haven't seen him play.

I've also watched Ellis in GR and agree about his attitude. He's the kind of guy coaches love to have on their team. 25 points would be a miracle, though. I'd be happy with 15.

[Aussie_Wing 354]

More posts bagging Grigs. Man, the guy was given a 10% chance of survival and all he does is get bagged.

[johnnyoski 0]

I didn't think he looked great in preseason and didn't notice him much in his limited ice time the first few games.

Seems to have gotten a comfort level now and every time he's on the ice with Downey they are bringing energy or making something happen.

He got over 8 minutes of ice time yesterday. His increase is coming at Hudler's expense (only 5 minutes of ice yesterday).

[Grittzkey 1]

I wasnt on the Ellis bandwagon at first, but i can see him being a 4th winger on our squad, Downey being sent down to gr, because all he does is crash and bang. cant handle the puck if it was glued to his stick.

As much as i like folks who crash and bang, i like people who will work there ass off no matter what and Ellis is just like Cleary. Ellis might not fight like Downey, but that's not what Babs wants he just wnats you to get under the opposite players skin and i think Ellis can easily do it..

[Louisville 112]

He's definitely improved his skating.

[lfd250 1]

More posts bagging Grigs. Man, the guy was given a 10% chance of survival and all he does is get bagged.

Yes he was given 10% to live, However he shouldn't think that everything will be given to him. I know it takes time, but if you're too spoiled to work hard (ie in the minors) then you shouldn't be given a shot. He was sent to the minors in Russia, worked hard and made it back to the Super Ellite team. He must do that here too. Ellis has worked hard in the minors, through camp and now is having his shot.

Edited October 25, 2007 by lfd250

[Detroit # 1 Fan 2,204]

Ellis is awesome and should be a regular. Grigs is a non-factor, he wont play in the games.

[Opie 308]

I think that Grigs deserves all of the respect in the world for coming back from that accident.

However coming back from a car accident has nothing to due with his ability to make this team.

The accident may have impacted his skating, balance, shot, hell he may still be skating in pain. Unfortunately that is his obstacle to over come, and really has nothing to do with the team. Being in shape for camp is his responsibility, if the injuries he sustained are too much for him to be in the kind of shape he needs to be in than that is very unfortunate, again.

The team can not sacrifice a year, or freely give him a spot. He still needs to earn it, if he physically can not perform at this level, that is again, unfortunate.

The people who bash him because he is out of shape need to be a little more understanding of what he is going through, how ever, they are right. He needs to be in a certain physical condition to play at this level. He is clearly not there yet.

Those of you who say lay off him he only had a 10% chance to live, need to be a little harsher on the guy. He is not in NHL shape, I am not saying you need to start trashing him, but hold him to the same standards as anyone else trying to make the club. Just because he was hurt severely in a car crash doesn't mean he gets a free ride.

What he is doing, forcing the wings hand, is what I have the biggest issue with though. It is like the first pick in the NFL draft holding out for a contract this year. If you haven't earned anything it shouldn't be given to you.

I am willing to have patience with Grigs and let him develop an NHL game, if he is willing to have patience with the organization. However he wants to be on the big club now, I would love for him to be a top 6 guy, if he had proven it.

[irishtemper14+25 11]

how do u know what holland will do...what if grigs comes out gets 5 goals and a +10 with even less time than ellis, and what has downey done exactly...i mean i love that he has gotten into fights but im not going to give up another scorers spot for a fighter

[redwingfan19 293]

Ellis has been great, what can I say. the guy works his ass off night in and night out. I find it funny how everyone talks about how his skating has improved because it has improved drastically compared to last year. But I found it interesting how on the TSN broadcast Healy had nothing but good things to say about Ellis but he kept commenting on how Ellis has good hands but his skating is terrible. He isn't the most agile skater I've seen but the guy can flat out fly. Maybe Healy saw something Being so close to the action that I don't see on TV, but the only reason Ellis is on this team is because he worked so hard on his skating this past off season. Keep up the good work Matt

[Earthhuman 8]

To be fair, I don't think Ellis deserved to be a Wing last season. This season, he definitely has added some new aspects to his game, and he really worked hard on his skating.

My point is, those people that said Ellis shouldn't be full time were right. Most of them have changed their minds, and that's right, too.

[WingsZR2 1]

What he is doing, forcing the wings hand, is what I have the biggest issue with though. It is like the first pick in the NFL draft holding out for a contract this year. If you haven't earned anything it shouldn't be given to you.

I am willing to have patience with Grigs and let him develop an NHL game, if he is willing to have patience with the organization. However he wants to be on the big club now, I would love for him to be a top 6 guy, if he had proven it.

I couldn't have said it better myself.

[lfd250 1]

how do u know what holland will do...what if grigs comes out gets 5 goals and a +10 with even less time than ellis, and what has downey done exactly...i mean i love that he has gotten into fights but im not going to give up another scorers spot for a fighter

GREAT! He EARNED it then didn't he? Probably after working hard in practice, impressing the coach and players and got his shot. We get it, you like him, we all have our favs, but nobody on the team did it without working hard. Ellis didn't cry and say I won't play in GR. Meeks isn't crying (that we know of) People don't seem to being take larger cheap shots on our stars because of Downy and Drake. We've all heard how good Grigs could be, now it's up to him to show us. As the current captain said "As with any rookie, you have to prove yourself to the team, coaches and management," Lidstrom said. "He has to work hard, that's what the other young players have been doing. He has to show he belongs here."

http://www.detroitnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/a...1128/SPORTS0103

[Guest LivingtheDream]

...

Those of you who say lay off him he only had a 10% chance to live, need to be a little harsher on the guy. He is not in NHL shape, I am not saying you need to start trashing him, but hold him to the same standards as anyone else trying to make the club. Just because he was hurt severely in a car crash doesn't mean he gets a free ride.

What he is doing, forcing the wings hand, is what I have the biggest issue with though. It is like the first pick in the NFL draft holding out for a contract this year. If you haven't earned anything it shouldn't be given to you.

I am willing to have patience with Grigs and let him develop an NHL game, if he is willing to have patience with the organization. However he wants to be on the big club now, I would love for him to be a top 6 guy, if he had proven it.

I know it is hard to keep track of a guy across thw world, but you have to think it would have been worthwhile for the Wings management to have closer tabs on Grigs and how he was doing the last year in Russia. Being a little more proactive could have helped us either get in shape BEFORE he shopwed up or realize he wouldn't get it together and let us concentrate on other potential wingers. So, I can blame Grigs for not being prepared, but I have to also blame the Wings for not having better info on him.

[Yemack 1]

I think last night's game against nucks showed Ellis and Downey's upper limit of hockey sense.

Yes they work extremely hard and bring many positive things for Wings but it looks like Both are playing in their own playoff series to make the team. I don't know how much more they can offer us other than what both of them showed so far. And Downey's lack of skill and sense were a cause to some dangerous situations for us. In a playoff, against a very tough opponents, his mistake might become very costly thing for us .

Anyway I would say if anyone deserves a spot on our roster. It's certainly Ellis.

As for Downey I wonder if we can send him to Europe during offseason for stickhandle training like McCarty.

Ellis-Kopecky-Downey

We might have another grindline coming if Downey gets some skill and sense injected to him.

Edited October 25, 2007 by Yemack

[TheBadOne 0]

First off, this is precisely the reason why I liked seeing Matt Ellis make Detroit's roster. His goals aren't pretty, but he puts the puck to the net and can make something happen. He's always been a great competitor, one that supposedly wouldn't have that show on the stats sheet but is somehow carrying 4 points and a +5 rating after 8 games. Its unlikely, but he's on pace for a 20-20-40 season. He was a hard worker in GR, a hard worker in Detroit, and will probably assume Draper's role once he retires. Kopecky is doing better on a line with Ellis. I think him and Ellis have remarkable chemistry together and I'd hate to see them broken up.

As for Grigorenko, I hope Pavel, on behalf of the team, can start to talk some sense into him because I doubt his agent is. I can understand if he's having money problems, but it would be nice if he'd be willing to take the I-96 shuttle a few times this year so he can get top 6 minutes in the minors while working on his game with the Wings whenever injuries occur (which there will be) and collect portions of his salary from both deals. I don't want to lose the guy, but I can't put on rose-colored glasses at this point and say he's our best option. I hope he gets on the stationary bike for a bit, that would only help him out.

I like Downey's enforcement style. He doesn't go around looking for a fight or have a bad attitude when on the ice. He simply identifies who's screwing things up for the Wings and addresses the situation. His bravery gave his team the momentum to score two unanswered goals against SJ and win. That's not something I think the Wings should (or would, looking at the team's new outlook on toughness) readily give up on.

[Kutcher 0]

I was one of the Ellis bashers earlier on, and will say yeah the guy works hard but that doesnt change the fact that he has no skill. His goals were lucky, he is fast and defensive but hardly any more offensive talent than Downey (or any other prospect we have).

I think he is like Malts and the only way he will keep up his grinder like style is if he is playing with a tough guy.

I will say I don't think he brings more to the team than Downey, not even close, and when Drake comes back I hope him or Kopecky or Hudler (who is pretty useless, since Ellis learned to skate) get shipped to GR and not Downey.

[Guest wingswillwincup]

this is the reason why im pissed we resigned maltby , especially at a 3 yr extention , i love the guy but we got younger cheaper guys coming up who will need roster spots ...... were gonna resign cleary now and franzen .... what roster spots will there be left ?? We'll have to trade a sammy or hudler ...... sammy i dont care hudler im not ready to give up on.

[TheBadOne 0]

I was one of the Ellis bashers earlier on, and will say yeah the guy works hard but that doesnt change the fact that he has no skill. His goals were lucky, he is fast and defensive but hardly any more offensive talent than Downey (or any other prospect we have).

I think he is like Malts and the only way he will keep up his grinder like style is if he is playing with a tough guy.

I will say I don't think he brings more to the team than Downey, not even close, and when Drake comes back I hope him or Kopecky or Hudler (who is pretty useless, since Ellis learned to skate) get shipped to GR and not Downey.

If memory serves correct, he played last night on a line with Kopecky and Samuelsson when he scored that goal. Neither one of them strike me as grinders.

No skill? Yeah, guys with 4 pts and a +5 rating get there by being luck, right?

[Opie 308]

As for Grigorenko, I hope Pavel, on behalf of the team, can start to talk some sense into him because I doubt his agent is. I can understand if he's having money problems, but it would be nice if he'd be willing to take the I-96 shuttle a few times this year so he can get top 6 minutes in the minors while working on his game with the Wings whenever injuries occur (which there will be) and collect portions of his salary from both deals. I don't want to lose the guy, but I can't put on rose-colored glasses at this point and say he's our best option. I hope he gets on the stationary bike for a bit, that would only help him out.

This part of your post made me think if his agent is advising him on these matters there is definitely going to be a conflict of interest.

If he stays in GR his agent will only see a couple of $K, where as if he goes back to the Russian Elite league his agent will see 10s of if not 100s of $K.

That is not going to be some one giving him good advice!!!

[TheBadOne 0]

This part of your post made me think if his agent is advising him on these matters there is definitely going to be a conflict of interest.

If he stays in GR his agent will only see a couple of $K, where as if he goes back to the Russian Elite league his agent will see 10s of if not 100s of $K.

That is not going to be some one giving him good advice!!!

My sentiments exactly, sir.

[Guest Canadian Wings]

2 goals (got another one last night mind you) and 2 assists, +5 in 8 games, while only averaging 5:33 a game of playing time... he's solid as hell defensively, can flat out skate, plays a smart game and grinds it down low... that coupled with what Downey has brought... buh-bye Grigs, have fun in Russia

i agree with everything u said, but lets not get ahead of ourselves, hes an AHL caliber player...

correct me if im wrong, but ellis "can flat our skate"...are u sure ur watching the same guy i am?

[Guest jaytan]

Why isn't he getting more ice time???