daniel1 32 Report post Posted September 18, 2008 I just finished watching the Detroit vs Atlanta game at the Traverse City prospects tournament and I must say that the Wings should have won this one too as they outplayed Atlanta and were on the wrong end of a couple lucky bounces and a (no surprise) bad call by the ref as well. Larsson played quite well other than two gaffs. He let in a weak bouncer shot from just over the red line that took a rather crazy sideways/high hop and found the net as it bounced in front of him. In the shootout he let one squeak by him that he stopped, but didn't get all of it and it trickled over the line. Abdelkader actually won the game for us (if the refs had a clue or net cam/video replay). Abby made a strong drive to the net with the puck on his backhand and cut across the front and put the puck in. On the continuation of the play however as the Atlanta defenseman pushed Abby into the net it came off the post and the ref blew the whistle. The ref actually had to get the puck OUT of the net as it had cleary crossed the line, but of course with no net cam/replay to tell if it crossed before the net came off the ref signaled no goal and the game went into overtime. We get screwed by the refs even in the pre-pre season Individually the boys that stood out were Emmerton, Abdelkader, Ritola and Mursak. Abby played a very physical game but he made the odd mistake and could use some work on his lateral movement and acceleration. He does show a "big game" mentality though and saved his best for the third period when it was tied. Ritola showed some good finesse skills and his shootout move was pure Datsyukian, right down to putting the biscuit in the basket too. Emmerton impressed me with his quick release and accurate shot (he scored on a beauty half-slapper off a rush), he likes to carry the puck quite a bit and looked quite comfortable doing it too. Mursak looked very smooth, good passes and puck skills but I don't think he threw a check the whole game so it would be nice to see him get on the body a bit more. I wasn't very impressed with Kindl though; he turned it over quite a bit and didn't seem very comfortable out there. Based on his play that game I don't think he'll be challenging for a spot with the big club for at least a year or so which isn't a bad thing as we're pretty well set for this year and maybe even next year as well which will give him time to develop before he's counted on for big minutes in the show. On the whole I think there's a lot of reason for optimism from what I saw in the game. Take away that gawd-awful bouncer from center on Larsson and count Abby's power move goal and we win the game. I thought we carried the play for the most part too and outshot/outchanced Atlanta. The bronze medal game will be televised on the NHL network this week too and the baby Wings will be in it so if you're jonesing for hockey it's not bad for a start. The camera work and picture quality is of course below HNIC regular season games but it's better than some local feeds (*Nashville*) that I've seen. The highlight of the game for me might have been the extended interview of Ken Holland that occured in-game. His insights were really neat to listen to and while he didn't give away any secrets or say anything new it was still quite interesting. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Slave 31 Report post Posted September 18, 2008 cool, sounds like a good game, turns out i have center ice which is showing nothing right now but no nhl network so i missed it. Quick question..did Leino play? or because he was not drafted is he ineligible to play in this tourny? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
T.Low 1,011 Report post Posted September 18, 2008 (edited) Excellent read, thank you for the post. Edited September 18, 2008 by T.Low Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Aussie_Wing 354 Report post Posted September 18, 2008 Excellent recap, thanks. I'm worried about Kindl, he really doesn't seem to be progressing as well as we would've liked. He was the runner up for the OHL defenceman of the year in 2006/07, but he endured a nightmare first season in the AHL and so far the reports on his play in this tournament haven't been overly encouraging. Ritola, I really liking what I'm hearing about him. The Wings took a gamble by even bringing him over because he hadn't shown a greal deal in Sweden but he had a good first season for the Griffins and looks as though he's playing well here. Emmerton and Mursak are developing nicely, even after I had doubts about the former. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CenterIce 83 Report post Posted September 18, 2008 cool, sounds like a good game, turns out i have center ice which is showing nothing right now but no nhl network so i missed it. Quick question..did Leino play? or because he was not drafted is he ineligible to play in this tourny? He has been practicing with the big club. He isn't in the prospect tourney. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
