Wings Round 1 Grade

[Yemack 1]

So having dipatched the pesky Preds, Wings are on course for greater success this season. It took a while to switch from regular season to playoff mentality but when we had to execute, I think Wings did a pretty good job.

I'm generally pleased with Wings performance. I'm sure everyone has their own opinion on who played well and who underperformed (or sucked). I would like to hear you views and share mine at the same time.

So here are the grades for the players

Nicklas Lidstrom A+ : probably wasn't fully confident about his game in game 1, but got his confidence back and never looked back. The shot will go down in history as one of the most amazing shot ever.

Kronwall A : wow does Wings future look ever so bright with this guy firing on all cylinders. Elevated his game to elite status. He is not Lidstrom .. well nobody is Lidstrom but I think I wll sleep little sounder at night with a thought that junior will be there when Lidstrom retires.

Datsyuk A- : Always dangerous. He was watched very carefully but will play better against non central division teams.

Osgood A- : Brought his A game when he was called upon.

Zetterberg A-/B+ : I know some people here didn't like his game but I thought he played very well overall. However, he has got to finish the play. I think it is due to inexperience.

Rafalski B+ : He does what he does very well. Other than that... he is ok.

Holmstrom B+ : Gave his all. Another veteran playoff warrior in our roster. He does what coach tells him to do, and do it very well without asking any questions.

Draper B : It looks like he was playing at about 70% during the season and he competely turned it on for playoff. He sure knows what the Stanley Cup playoff is all about. A good Leader

Franzen B : Although he scored a very important goal, I think he can do much better by having a mean streak.

Cleary B- : He was so so in game 1 but the fealess Dan is slowly coming back.

Filppula B- : He also played better as the series went on but his immaturity as a player showed. He will play better.

Drake B- : Another player who reborned in playoff. I wish he was 5 year younger. but then again we got Abdelkader for future.

Stuart B-/C+ : Our team is asking him to play a role where he isn't most effective so I give him some credit. With time, he will get better.

Hudler C : He was pretty ineffective for qutie a while. I used to think the only way he is going to utilize his potential is to become a brett Hull type of player but I think playing with McCarty, Helm will get him going. At least, he did earn some points during the series.

Helm C : He is getting better and better as he plays more game. I thought he was ok during regular season and in game 5. Now he is developing into our Andy McDonald.

Chelios C : He knows how to play but looked like he was having mental lapses from time to time. Still important part of our team.

Lebda C/C- : Once upon a time, he was a promising rookie with a fire burning inside him. His game is improving at slow pace and the fire is gone.

McCarty C- : A good compliment to Helm + Huds line.

Hartigan C- : I thought he did well but Helm took his job and ran with it.

Lilja D+ : I think he did better than what some people might think. I mean.. what did you expect? At least he was good at PK.

Hasek D : Well I mean... everything about his perfomance has been probably said already in this forum twice. So I'll pass. I give him credit for turning best of 7 sereis into best of 3.

Samuelsson F : He can pin players in offensive zone. Other than that, when he is holding the puck, bad things usually happen. Sammy fails

Edited April 22, 2008 by Yemack

[Lidstromrules16 7]

I think DMac and Huds grades deserve to be a little higher. Considering Dmac is playing in his what 8th game? and Huds had 3rd most points on the team.

[barabbas16 499]

Why didn't you post this in ANY other existing thread? You know, since there is Samuelsson bashing in all of them....because that is exactly what this thread will become shortly.

[mtuhockey7 23]

I'd give Ozzie an A+ too, 1 GA in 2 1/2 games is pretty impressive for the postseason

[HockeytownRN 0]

Good summary, that must have taken a while!

I thought D-Mac played his role, and was suprised actually by him. Nice goal when he needed it, which I think gave the team some momentum as well.

Lilja coughs up the puck. He does a great job at blocking shots though, and had a couple of nice hits. I was impressed with him throughout the season at times, but didn't see his game change much in the playoffs.

Helm rocked!!

Drake was a mad man out there, and I loved it.

Kronner is like Nik Kronwall on steroids all of a sudden. He had me standing up screaming a few times with his hits. A few mistakes, dumb pentalties costing at least one goal, but overall he is playing great.

[Yemack 1]

I think DMac and Huds grades deserve to be a little higher. Considering Dmac is playing in his what 8th game? and Huds had 3rd most points on the team.

You are right Huds deserves more credit. I'll fix it now

DMac is down the list because although he is playing well given circumstances, he hasn't really been a much factor IMO.

[Lilja 0]

huds! yes! id say hes been one of the better forwards, also he plays alittle bit of an angrier game. I havent seen him this efficient ever. The rest i can probably agree with.

[revmo10 3]

I disagree about Sammy. I probably would've agreed with you a month ago, but I feel like he picked up his game quite a bit against the preds. He does have good puck control and he can stir things up...even though he can't back it up. But I thought he played pretty well in the first round. The thing is...he's part of the team and not going anywhere at this point. I think people need to back off him a little...IMO

[Rice 42]

Samuelsson was far from an F. The guy needs to bury his chances but you're telling me he was bad? No. He wasn't bad. He was pretty ineffective offensively but he's not expected to be great offensively. He's good off the puck and is one of the few guys on the team that isn't afraid to shoot. He needs to stop stick-handling his way out of trouble, because it doesn't work.

Hudler was better than a C...you've gotta remember everyone expected this guy to disappear in the playoffs and he's done the opposite.

[Yemack 1]

Samuelsson was far from an F. The guy needs to bury his chances but you're telling me he was bad? No. He wasn't bad. He was pretty ineffective offensively but he's not expected to be great offensively. He's good off the puck and is one of the few guys on the team that isn't afraid to shoot. He needs to stop stick-handling his way out of trouble, because it doesn't work.

Hudler was better than a C...you've gotta remember everyone expected this guy to disappear in the playoffs and he's done the opposite.

you maybe right about Sammy but I think he screwed up way too many times to really get a fair grade.

When I think of B grade, I think of players who is showing some sort of impact. There is no argument about Huds' point total but I really can't give him more because he simply wasn't on ice enough.

Edited April 22, 2008 by Yemack

[Guest drwings1]

[cirov19 1]

Wow, if Hudler is at C now I can't imagine what he was at before you fixed it.

I would normally say Hudler is sucking but you should still give him more credit. He is leading scorer on our team and even though he may not be handling the puck or making the hits (?) he is finishing and helping put points on the board which is what we need.

[Yemack 1]

Wow, if Hudler is at C now I can't imagine what he was at before you fixed it.

I would normally say Hudler is sucking but you should still give him more credit. He is leading scorer on our team and even though he may not be handling the puck or making the hits (?) he is finishing and helping put points on the board which is what we need.

Huds was C- before I fixed it.. so not a big change actually.

Maybe I'm biased.. actually I know I'm biased. lol Now maybe he can climb to C+ or B-/C+, but you have to remember his points came from PP and he was rarely utilized in EV except game 6. I just can't give more grade to a player because he did well for a brief period. This is the reason why I gave some players more/less grade than they deserved.

[CrossCheck24 2]

Im too lazy for players, but I would give the team a C+/B- grade overall.

Giving up 2 games, and letting game 5 go to OT is not up to SC Champ standards. I think that playing like games 3-4 and the last few mins of 5 will get the wings in alot of trouble in the next rounds. The other games were played good, not great. IMO the wings would have dominated in 4 games if they were playing well.

[HadThomasVokounOnFortSt 878]

I really think it shouldn't have gone to game 6 in the first round. Now that they got the starting goalie figured out I think it should be a little better.

[eva unit zero 271]

Huds was C- before I fixed it.. so not a big change actually.

Maybe I'm biased.. actually I know I'm biased. lol Now maybe he can climb to C+ or B-/C+, but you have to remember his points came from PP and he was rarely utilized in EV except game 6. I just can't give more grade to a player because he did well for a brief period. This is the reason why I gave some players more/less grade than they deserved.

The Wings' Round One grades should go:

Datsyuk A

Hudler A-

Zetterberg B+

Holmstrom B

Franzen B

Draper B

Cleary B

Samuelsson B-

Drake B-

McCarty B-

Filppula C+

Helm C+

Hartigan C-

Lidstrom A+

Kronwall A-

Rafalski B+

Stuart B-

Chelios B-

Lebda C

Lilja C-

Osgood A+

Hasek B-

[C-TownWing 0]

I'd give Ozzie an A+ too, 1 GA in 2 1/2 games is pretty impressive for the postseason

For real...can't quite figure out A- for him. Even beyond the stats, think about the timing of them--he was inserted when things looked their worst for us and responded brilliantly.

All in all, I'm happy with how the series ended up. Coming in, I wanted no part of the Central in the playoffs, they gave us fits all year and I thought it could be trouble if one of those teams snuck into that 8 slot. Sure enough it happened, and while we struggled at times, we responded like champs and we now get to show why we went 37-9-4 outside of our division.

I'll be lazy and say I pretty much agree with Eva's grades, with the notable exception that I would've downgraded Rafalski to the B-/C+ neighborhood. Brutal in game 1, and while it got somewhat better from there, still way too many TOs for my taste.

Edited April 22, 2008 by C-TownWing

[This Is Bida 0]

If you really think Sammy played good you are clearly blinded. I'm not saying he is pathetic or needs to be traded.

I'm not saying I hate him or he completely sucks at the game of hockey.

BUT, he played horrid. No other way around it.

[YoungGuns1340 1]

If you really think Sammy played good you are clearly blinded. I'm not saying he is pathetic or needs to be traded.

I'm not saying I hate him or he completely sucks at the game of hockey.

BUT, he played horrid. No other way around it.

Its not like he was creating turnovers that lead to goals right and left. He wasnt an easy run for the opposition. He had some bad moments, but he had some good ones too. For the most part he just played the game as a depth player would..

[ruarc' 2]

The Wings' Round One grades should go:

Datsyuk A

Hudler A-

Zetterberg B+

Holmstrom B

Franzen B

Draper B

Cleary B

Samuelsson B-

Drake B-

McCarty B-

Filppula C+

Helm C+

Hartigan C-

Lidstrom A+

Kronwall A-

Rafalski B+

Stuart B-

Chelios B-

Lebda C

Lilja C-

Osgood A+

Hasek B-

I'll agree with that.

[CdnWingsFanEh 2]

The Wings' Round One grades should go:

Datsyuk A

Hudler A-

Zetterberg B+

Holmstrom B

Franzen B

Draper B

Cleary B

Samuelsson B-

Drake B-

McCarty B-

Filppula C+

Helm C+

Hartigan C-

Lidstrom A+

Kronwall A-

Rafalski B+

Stuart B-

Chelios B-

Lebda C

Lilja C-

Osgood A+

Hasek B-

This look spretty accurate. I think the only change I would make is switching Helm and Sammy. I think Babcock gives him too much ice time...my 2 cents

[Guest EZBAKETHAGANGSTA]

So having dipatched the pesky Preds, Wings are on course for greater success this season. It took a while to switch from regular season to playoff mentality but when we had to execute, I think Wings did a pretty good job.

I'm generally pleased with Wings performance. I'm sure everyone has their own opinion on who played well and who underperformed (or sucked). I would like to hear you views and share mine at the same time.

So here are the grades for the players

Nicklas Lidstrom A+ : probably wasn't fully confident about his game in game 1, but got his confidence back and never looked back. The shot will go down in history as one of the most amazing shot ever.

Kronwall A : wow does Wings future look ever so bright with this guy firing on all cylinders. Elevated his game to elite status. He is not Lidstrom .. well nobody is Lidstrom but I think I wll sleep little sounder at night with a thought that junior will be there when Lidstrom retires.

Datsyuk A- : Always dangerous. He was watched very carefully but will play better against non central division teams.

Osgood A- : Brought his A game when he was called upon.

Zetterberg A-/B+ : I know some people here didn't like his game but I thought he played very well overall. However, he has got to finish the play. I think it is due to inexperience.

Rafalski B+ : He does what he does very well. Other than that... he is ok.

Holmstrom B+ : Gave his all. Another veteran playoff warrior in our roster. He does what coach tells him to do, and do it very well without asking any questions.

Draper B : It looks like he was playing at about 70% during the season and he competely turned it on for playoff. He sure knows what the Stanley Cup playoff is all about. A good Leader

Franzen B : Although he scored a very important goal, I think he can do much better by having a mean streak.

Cleary B- : He was so so in game 1 but the fealess Dan is slowly coming back.

Filppula B- : He also played better as the series went on but his immaturity as a player showed. He will play better.

Drake B- : Another player who reborned in playoff. I wish he was 5 year younger. but then again we got Abdelkader for future.

Stuart B-/C+ : Our team is asking him to play a role where he isn't most effective so I give him some credit. With time, he will get better.

Hudler C : He was pretty ineffective for qutie a while. I used to think the only way he is going to utilize his potential is to become a brett Hull type of player but I think playing with McCarty, Helm will get him going. At least, he did earn some points during the series.

Helm C : He is getting better and better as he plays more game. I thought he was ok during regular season and in game 5. Now he is developing into our Andy McDonald.

Chelios C : He knows how to play but looked like he was having mental lapses from time to time. Still important part of our team.

Lebda C/C- : Once upon a time, he was a promising rookie with a fire burning inside him. His game is improving at slow pace and the fire is gone.

McCarty C- : A good compliment to Helm + Huds line.

Hartigan C- : I thought he did well but Helm took his job and ran with it.

Lilja D+ : I think he did better than what some people might think. I mean.. what did you expect? At least he was good at PK.

Hasek D : Well I mean... everything about his perfomance has been probably said already in this forum twice. So I'll pass. I give him credit for turning best of 7 sereis into best of 3.

Samuelsson F : He can pin players in offensive zone. Other than that, when he is holding the puck, bad things usually happen. Sammy fails

Good lord did u even ******* watch the series?

Mccarty Helm and Hudler should both gets MUCH HIGHER as they did far more than what was exected of them.

Filpulla should get a C. One clutch goal. Val was the bobby lang of this years series, invisible excecpt for countless missed chances created by other players and one good goal.

Lidstrom didnt play as well as expected, yes he was still very good, but overall not a very strong showing by his standards.

Zetterberg lack of totals due to inexperiance? for god sakes hes not a year or two into the leauge anymore. Zetterberg needs more of a finsih and more willingness to use the wrister. I think hes playing with a hurt wrist

[OsGOD 3]

Osgood A- : Brought his A game when he was called upon.

How is letting in one goal in over 157mins of hockey an A-

I would hate to have you as a teacher

[CdnWingsFanEh 2]

How is letting in one goal in over 157mins of hockey an A-

I would hate to have you as a teacher

Osgood. A+

Saved some of his best hockey of the season for the playoffs, and saved the wings @sses when it was needed.

[YoungGuns1340 1]

Huds was C- before I fixed it.. so not a big change actually.

Maybe I'm biased.. actually I know I'm biased. lol Now maybe he can climb to C+ or B-/C+, but you have to remember his points came from PP and he was rarely utilized in EV except game 6. I just can't give more grade to a player because he did well for a brief period. This is the reason why I gave some players more/less grade than they deserved.

Yeah. Hudlers points came from the PP. WHERE NO ONE ELSE COULD SCORE.