esteef 2,679 Report post Posted March 4, 2009 With all the hubub about Hossa getting hurt, Downey's fight and Kopecky's coming out party, I almost forgot how well I thought Ericsson played. He was physical behind and around our net, he carried the play into the offensive zone a few times setting up some scoring chances, made some great passes to bring the puck out of the defensive zone and even looked pretty comfortable on the PP. He's ready to be here IMO. Thoughts? esteef Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
hillbillywingsfan 792 Report post Posted March 4, 2009 With all the hubub about Hossa getting hurt, Downey's fight and Kopecky's coming out party, I almost forgot how well I thought Ericsson played. He was physical behind and around our net, he carried the play into the offensive zone a few times setting up some scoring chances, made some great passes to bring the puck out of the defensive zone and even looked pretty comfortable on the PP. He's ready to be here IMO. Thoughts? esteef yeah just from what i seen his passes are pretty spot on and crisp. and man o man does he have a hard blue line slapper. geez if he can only have a little more accuracy. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mors 201 Report post Posted March 4, 2009 I thought he looked very comfortable, he's ready to play for the big team. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Carman 387 Report post Posted March 4, 2009 He looked great out there for his first game in a long time. He was really strong in front/corners. Made smart decisions about pinching and really made himself not stand out which is pretty good stuff for a young defenseman. I know I couldn't ask for any more then what he showed last night, I'm pretty excited to see what else this guy can contribute. :thumbup: Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Drake_Marcus 890 Report post Posted March 4, 2009 He looked great out there for his first game in a long time. He was really strong in front/corners. Made smart decisions about pinching and really made himself not stand out which is pretty good stuff for a young defenseman. I know I couldn't ask for any more then what he showed last night, I'm pretty excited to see what else this guy can contribute. :thumbup: All that and a 100 mph slapper The Wings can't complain one tiny bit about how Big Rig played last night Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Casey 145 Report post Posted March 4, 2009 He's ready. I'd trade out Lebda and make room. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
h2obury 6 Report post Posted March 4, 2009 I thought he played really well and I love the physical and size aspect he brings I think it really helps the D Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SuperNovaXll 124 Report post Posted March 4, 2009 I thought he played pretty well. Has a great shot, spot on passes and seemed very strong in our own zone. Only mistake I saw him make was somewhere middle or late in the 3rd period when he went to make a open ice hit, missed and blues got a scoring chance out of it. But outside of that...A for effort! I think he is ready. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
GMRwings1983 8,794 Report post Posted March 4, 2009 He looked great out there. I'd love to see him play some more. However, because of his size, I know that as a fan I'm going to have high expectations about his physicality, thus he's going to have to bring the lumber every game so to speak. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
elevenandcounting 0 Report post Posted March 4, 2009 kid needs to play and this salary cap issue is killing his progress. is he staying up now or homer's comeback means he's going back to griffins? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
egroen 384 Report post Posted March 4, 2009 He better be higher on the defensive depth chart than Meech for the playoffs - possibly higher than Lebda and Chelios. Big body good! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
PROBIE4PREZ 58 Report post Posted March 4, 2009 the dude looked awesome .. No one could move him off the puck in the corners and like everyone else has said Ericsson made smart plays. Looked like he belonged Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Crymson Report post Posted March 4, 2009 I thought he looked wonderful. He made great decisions; he was strong on the puck; he let off some rocket shots; he used his reach well; and so on. As Ken said, he's going to be here for a looooooong time. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
esteef 2,679 Report post Posted March 4, 2009 Nice shorts dude! esteef Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
betterREDthandead 58 Report post Posted March 4, 2009 I can't wait for Ericsson to take a major role with the team. Guy knows how to use his size. Don't see him being an offensive dynamo but chipping in 20-25 or so points a year seems within his reach. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest GordieSid&Ted Report post Posted March 4, 2009 With all the hubub about Hossa getting hurt, Downey's fight and Kopecky's coming out party, I almost forgot how well I thought Ericsson played. He was physical behind and around our net, he carried the play into the offensive zone a few times setting up some scoring chances, made some great passes to bring the puck out of the defensive zone and even looked pretty comfortable on the PP. He's ready to be here IMO. Thoughts? esteef At the end of preseason didn't Babs say he was the best player he's ever sent to the minors? It's no secret the kid should've been in Detroit this year. As for last night, he was fantastic I thought. Although I cringed a little when he was late in a shift and carried the puck all the way to the blues' goal line and was down there mucking in the corner. But hey, if he has the ability to generate offense and still hustle back, he's even better than I thought. Bottom line is he looked right at home. I think we only got a glimpse of what he can do physically. If anything I think his physical presence last night was just ok, probably due to jitters or not being comfortable. But stickhandling, passing, moving the puck, he looked great. Gonna be a real good one. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
xBrave_Heartx 0 Report post Posted March 4, 2009 I want Big Rig and Pain Train for 3rd pairing Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ben_usmc 253 Report post Posted March 4, 2009 (edited) I'm sorry but I didn't see very much from him that everyone else did. But that's not a bad thing for a depth dman if your name isn't mentioned that essentially means it was a good thing. Although I would say he he wasn't afraid of the corners and wasn't knocked off the puck, he made the simple but easy passes. I really couldn't have asked anything more or less of him other then to just keep it simple, I do hope to see more of a breakout though, I trust that maybe I just didn't focus enough on him because everyone else even on 97.1 has some high praise for him; and usually they know dick about hockey. Edited March 4, 2009 by ben_usmc Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ozzie30 170 Report post Posted March 4, 2009 (edited) Last season when the Wings called him up, my biggest compliment was that I didn't notice him out there at all...pretty much meaning that he was average and wasn't f'ing anything up enough to get noticed. Last night, however, I noticed him often. He was very physical behind our net (something the normal roster lacks), made some nice outlet passes, and played very well on the PP or PK, can't remember which he played. Edited March 4, 2009 by Ozzie30 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Carman 387 Report post Posted March 4, 2009 He played on both the PP/PK. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
egroen 384 Report post Posted March 4, 2009 At the end of preseason didn't Babs say he was the best player he's ever sent to the minors? It's no secret the kid should've been in Detroit this year. As for last night, he was fantastic I thought. Although I cringed a little when he was late in a shift and carried the puck all the way to the blues' goal line and was down there mucking in the corner. But hey, if he has the ability to generate offense and still hustle back, he's even better than I thought. Bottom line is he looked right at home. I think we only got a glimpse of what he can do physically. If anything I think his physical presence last night was just ok, probably due to jitters or not being comfortable. But stickhandling, passing, moving the puck, he looked great. Gonna be a real good one. He included Ericsson in with Helm and Leino as "the best playerS" he has ever sent down. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Z Winged Dangler 2,082 Report post Posted March 4, 2009 if he's playing both pp/pk, obviously babs likes the kid and he's gonna find himself a roster spot next season. don't be surprised if meech and lebda are not wings come training camp. keep in mind kindl's game has been good this year as well. he may be called on in a year or 2 as well... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Andy Pred 48 337 Report post Posted March 4, 2009 Big Rig for the 09 Calder!! Why not, put on Lids line next year and he'll win the rookies scoring title hands down. I've stated before possably 2 years ago that Ericsson and Kindl could be our #2 pairing in the future. They compliment each other well, both have size, Ericsson's steady play and the skill set that the kid Kindl will bring with him makes for a very good partnership. Wether the front office will throw them together next year I doubt but I really wouldn't have an issue the year after. The other plus side is they both have good speed for big guys. Like other posters have said, maybe the days for Lebs and Meech are #. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Datsyerberger 279 Report post Posted March 4, 2009 I've been figuring his less-than-expected performance in GR has mostly been due to stagnation. He's 25 and skilled, time to come up to play with the big boys. Look forward to seeing more of him this game so I can make a more balanced decision about what I think of his NHL play. I'm hoping Babs will be bold and place him on the 2nd pair a bit. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
norrisnick 1 Report post Posted March 4, 2009 The only negative I saw with E is that his passes aren't quite crisp enough. They're on target and he's sending the passes where he should, but he needs more zip at the NHL level. I saw 2 or 3 longer breakout passes get easily intercepted by the opposition because it didn't have enough pace on it. Beyond that, it's all good. He'll realize that things have to happen a bit quicker up here be it passes, getting his shot off, angles, etc... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
