New Wings prospect ranks

[Shaman 713]

http://www.hockeysfuture.com/articles/1096...cts_spring2009/

1. Jakub Kindl, D

2. Brendan Smith, D

3. Daniel Larsson, G

4. Thomas McCollum, G

5. Jan Mursak, LW

6. Justin Abdelkader, LW

7. Jimmy Howard, G

8. Ville Leino, LW

9. Dick Axelsson, LW

10. Jonathan Ericsson, D

11. Darren Helm, C

12. Mattias Ritola, C

13. Cory Emmerton, C

14. Evan McGrath, C

15. Max Nicastro, D

16. Joakim Andersson, C

17. Johan Ryno, RW

18. Gustav Nyquist, C

19. Logan Pyett, D

20. Stephen Johnston, LW

Helm and Ericsson are low for me, to me Helm should be around 9 and Ericsson 2 or 3...Howard and Mursak being too high for my tastes.

[stormboy 47]

howard at number seven? that seems a bit surprising to me. does the ranking represent best overall or best at what they do...if that makes sense? because while helm will never score as many points as some of the other prospects, it seems like he'll be a better grinder than mursak will be a scorer, even though mursak may be a "better" player in the way that iginla is better than ott even though they have very different roles...but it seems to me like helm should be higher up on the list. i guess i haven't seen a lot of the younger prospects play at all, so i have no idea what they'll be like.

[Guest Shoreline]

I don't quite agree with Helm and Leino's position there, but the ranking list is just an opinion anyways.

Edited February 24, 2009 by Shoreline

[egroen 384]

They rank them more heavily for top "potential" as opposed to "how close are they". IE. Kindl and Smith, while further away, have the potential to be better than Ericsson; Larsson and McCollum have higher potential than Howard.

Edited February 24, 2009 by egroen

[Peleshob 0]

The list is based more on overall potential than anything. It takes into account where guys are in their careers too, looks like. A lot of GR guys are higher up, but it looks more than anything that forwards with more offensive potential are higher up. The writer explained his reasoning in a thread on HFboards. It's just how they rank people on that site.

[CMatt89 63]

shouldn't Helm and Leino be at the top...since they've played NHL games, played solid, and shown they have great potential...especially Helm

[Peleshob 0]

shouldn't Helm and Leino be at the top...since they've played NHL games, played solid, and shown they have great potential...especially Helm

In Helm's case his "potential" is as a 3rd/4th line grinder. Leino is already 25 so he's likely reached his potential. The list is more about projection than anything.

[eva unit zero 271]

For those questioning how low Helm and Leino are ranked...don't forget that Leino is 25, and Helm is 22, and both started the season in the minors before getting called up during a rash of injuries later in the season.

Jan Mursak just turned 21, Justin Abdelkader turns 22 tomorrow, and Dick Axelsson turns 22 in April.

[Echolalia 2,961]

I was under the impression that Kindl peaked.

[GROwl 5]

Has this guy ever seen them play? I confess that I've not seen the Juniors or the ones who are currently in Europe (with the exception of Ryno), so I won't dispute where they are in the list. But the Griffins...I've seen them game after game since they first started their careers in GR...their rankings defy logic.

I agree Larsson has more potential than Howard.

But Kindl? Granted, he's been playing professionally in North America a year less than Ericsson (and is a few years younger), but I cannot ever seeing him surpass Ericsson. Certainly not in Detroit where +/- is key (as it should be for defensemen).

Mursak being the highest ranking forward? He just scored his second goal of the year in Sunday's game. When is this great offensive skill going to kick in? Maybe its in his 6 assists that he's contributed this year.

If these two are Detroit's finest prospects in their respective positions, I see a Stanley Cup draught in the future!

[Peleshob 0]

Has this guy ever seen them play? I confess that I've not seen the Juniors or the ones who are currently in Europe (with the exception of Ryno), so I won't dispute where they are in the list. But the Griffins...I've seen them game after game since they first started their careers in GR...their rankings defy logic.

I agree Larsson has more potential than Howard.

But Kindl? Granted, he's been playing professionally in North America a year less than Ericsson (and is a few years younger), but I cannot ever seeing him surpass Ericsson. Certainly not in Detroit where +/- is key (as it should be for defensemen).

Mursak being the highest ranking forward? He just scored his second goal of the year in Sunday's game. When is this great offensive skill going to kick in? Maybe its in his 6 assists that he's contributed this year.

If these two are Detroit's finest prospects in their respective positions, I see a Stanley Cup draught in the future!

Can you really say that Kindl doesn't have a higher ceiling than Ericsson? Kindl projects as a #1-2 defenseman, capable of quarterbacking a powerplay and great outlet passing. On the other hand, Ericsson is a #4 defenseman at best. The guy is a strong defensive defenseman who has a big shot. Have you watched him enough to realize that at the NHL level he gets beat wide a lot? He's not very fast at all. Right now Ericsson is likely the better of the two, but in the long run Kindl will be the better defenseman.

Mursak that high is a bit iffy. I'd say Mursak or Axelsson have the highest offenseive "potential". The entire list is based on potential, not actual play. HF has guidelines for their writers. Guys who project as grinders, guys who are older and guys who have had off-ice issues are ranked lower (Ryno). If you've watched GR so much then you'd also know that part of Mursak's struggle has been adapting to the grind of the AHL, along with being a healthy scratch and receiving lower end minutes.

No one's going to agree completely with rankings, obviously.

[Drake_Marcus 890]

For those questioning how low Helm and Leino are ranked...don't forget that Leino is 25, and Helm is 22, and both started the season in the minors before getting called up during a rash of injuries later in the season.

Jan Mursak just turned 21, Justin Abdelkader turns 22 tomorrow, and Dick Axelsson turns 22 in April.

Those rankings were made based off estimated guesses, formal scouting reports and most importantly, based strongly on draft position and the draft-time scout analysis. HF obviously didn't do their due-diligence here because the rankings smack of poorly informed assumptions. The position of Mursak is an absolute joke to anyone who's seen his rookie season in the AHL. No one is giving up on him but he certainly isn't the least tradeable forward in the Wings' system.

The analysis of Ericsson has always been laughable on HF- last year when everyone was high on him, he was an AHL all star, the second hardest shot in the league, the best d-man on GR and one of the top d-men in the AHL, and Holland was being asked to trade him by other GMs --HF had him slotted low in the depth chart as well. HF will never let Ericsson shake his #291 draft position. Given his performance I can confidently say that were he drafted in the first round they'd have him marked as a 8.0B or better and at the top of the Detroit prospect rankings. That whole site is far, far, far too based on draft position.

[Doggy 130]

I was under the impression that Kindl peaked.

It's pretty absurd to suggest that a 21 year old has peaked. He just had a rough year last year. He has been awesome this season though. Hence, his ranking.

[VM1138 1,921]

I could be seriously mistaken, but seeing how Helm, Abdelkader, Leino, Ericcson and Howard are the only ones who have been called up in the last two years, shouldn't that automatically make them Numbers 1-5? I don't follow the prospects as closely as I should, and I know that a lot of people like Kindl and whatnot, but if they were expected to be the best, wouldn't they have been the ones to get called up?

[Doggy 130]

I gotta say, it's nice to finally see a list with realistic expectations of Ericsson.

VM, the list is more about their an estimation of their peaks rather than how well they're doing right now. Kindl is expected to be much more important to the Red Wings in the future than Helm, Leino, etc. according to HF.

[VM1138 1,921]

Ah, okay, that makes sense.

[SweWings 45]

Nice to see that Larsson is getting some love. Oh and I wouldn't be surprised if Axelsson has even slightly more potential than shown in this evaluation; his season has been kinda messed up.

[dicksmack 33]

It's pretty absurd to suggest that a 21 year old has peaked. He just had a rough year last year. He has been awesome this season though. Hence, his ranking.

Five goals, 25 assists and a -12 in the AHL... Mind you, I've only watched him play ten or so games but he's usually in the minus and his defensive game is not good. His offensive potential is clear but he needs confidence here too. He's not an impressive player to me so far, I can't see why he's at #1. Clearly the Wings are hoping that when he's as old as Franzen and Leino when they started, he might be able to make an impact. He won't even get a sniff of the NHL till then any way.

[Doggy 130]

Five goals, 25 assists and a -12 in the AHL... Mind you, I've only watched him play ten or so games but he's usually in the minus and his defensive game is not good. His offensive potential is clear but he needs confidence here too. He's not an impressive player to me so far, I can't see why he's at #1. Clearly the Wings are hoping that when he's as old as Franzen and Leino when they started, he might be able to make an impact. He won't even get a sniff of the NHL till then any way.

You're difficult to impress. He was an AHL all-star starter this season.

It's taken him longer to adjust and develop his American defensive game. Once this happens, he'll be ready and be a good NHLer. He'll also benefit from playing with better players. My only criticism of him is his physical game. Nothing irks me more than a big guy who doens't use his size.

[Casey 145]

Does Detroit have any Zetterbergs, Datsyuks or Lidsroms in the works? Just curious.

Leino looks a good bit like Zetterberg and Datsyuk mixed together. If he progresses the way I'll bet he will, he's going to be a star.

I've heard very good things about Ericsson, as well- favorable comparisons to a Jiri Fischer, for example. Big, hits, good shooting touch.

[Drake_Marcus 890]

Leino looks a good bit like Zetterberg and Datsyuk mixed together. If he progresses the way I'll bet he will, he's going to be a star.

I've heard very good things about Ericsson, as well- favorable comparisons to a Jiri Fischer, for example. Big, hits, good shooting touch.

Don't expect too much physical play from Big Rig. If you drew a scale and put a picture of Lidstrom on one end and a picture of Konstantinov on the other end Jiri's picture would be stuck close to Vladi's and Ericsson's picture would be stuck closer to Lidstrom's. Ericsson is big but he's still a finesse player. He's fought in the AHL and isn't necessarily a push-over, but he won't put a Sedin twin through the glass either.

The closest thing the Wings have to another Fischer in their system is Kolosov. Believe it or not- it looks like the Griffins did the Wings a huge favour by inviting Kolosov to their training camp. Last year it looked like the Wings might walk away from Kolosov but now they're likely overjoyed at how well his rookie season is going in GR. Sergei started the season pretty roughly in GR but he's improved steadly and is looking like the most improved rookie on their squad. He won't put up tons of points but he will make some great bone crunching hits (like he has in the World Juniors in the past) and he'll make the safe play every time. Red Wings Central compares him to a home-grown Lilja.

[dicksmack 33]

You're difficult to impress. He was an AHL all-star starter this season.

It's taken him longer to adjust and develop his American defensive game. Once this happens, he'll be ready and be a good NHLer. He'll also benefit from playing with better players. My only criticism of him is his physical game. Nothing irks me more than a big guy who doens't use his size.

Maybe he should switch to forward? I kid... But he could still anchor the 2nd pp unit in that case... As I said, I've seen him in only 10 games so far and I have to be honest... he's been brutal defensively at times. I can't think of another highly touted rear guard, prospect that has shocked me with how bad the defensive game is... You're right about him being kinda soft too. Then again look what the Wings have done with Lilja this year! if they can straighten that cat out, they can fix anybody! In which case, he'd be great.

[Miller Brew 0]

Is Dick Axelsson coming back or is his chance done?

[GROwl 5]

Axelsson is signed through 2011. However, unless he plays phenomenally in Sweden, he's done with the Wings. Dick was sent home early last Spring during the Griffins playoffs and he left the team earlier this month to return to Sweden...doubt he'll be given a third chance.

[Konnan511 1,736]

In Helm's case his "potential" is as a 3rd/4th line grinder. Leino is already 25 so he's likely reached his potential. The list is more about projection than anything.

Since when does one reach their potential at 25? Franzen broke into the NHL around the same age as Leino is and he was no where near his potential.