Jonathan Ericsson not afraid to fight

[Mike 0]

You know Detroit doesn't see a lot of fights when a whole article is dedicated to one fight.

Despite Jonathan Ericsson's imposing size, opponents might underestimate his fighting ability because he is Swedish.

That would be a mistake, Detroit Red Wings general manager Ken Holland said.

"I've seen him fight in the AHL. When he gets mad, he can throw them,'' Holland said. "He's not a heavyweight, but against most players he's going to be able to hold his own. If he's challenged, he'll answer the bell.''

That is what he did during the second period of Monday's 4-1 victory at Buffalo. When a scrum broke out after the Sabres took exception to a clean hit by Valtteri Filppula, Ericsson dropped the gloves against Drew Stafford, punched him and quickly took him down.

"I don't look for (fights), but if they come up like this, it's hard to avoid them,'' said Ericsson, who is listed as 6-foot-4, 206 pounds. "I'm one of the bigger guys, so I have to do it if it comes up.''

He was careful to avoid re-aggravating his injured left hand, which sustained ligament and tendon damage a couple of months ago.

"I wasn't really prepared to fight because I still have my hand injury a little bit, but I held on with my left hand so I could try to throw a few rights,'' Ericsson said. "It was probably better for me that it was a short (fight).''

Red Wings captain Nicklas Lidstrom said if opponents do not respect Ericsson's fighting ability because he is European, they need to do their homework.

"They should have looked him up a little more, if that was the case,'' Lidstrom said. "But he's a strong man, and it's great to see he battles like that for our team.''

It was the Red Wings' 11th fighting major, which ranks last in the NHL by a wide margin. Carolina has the next-lowest total with 25.

"In this day and age, you've got to (fight) two or three times before word spreads that you can handle yourself,'' Holland said. "He's not going to back off. That's a good dimension for us.''

Ericsson showed his willingness to scrap in Grand Rapids, where he said he got into seven or eight fights last season. A series of injuries has prevented him from fighting this season, until Monday.

"Big E's got the bad hand, otherwise you'd see more than that,'' coach Mike Babcock said. "He can look after himself. He's a really good player and gets better each and every outing. It's important for us. Anytime you got a 6-foot-5, puck-moving D and he can be physical, he's going to play for our team for a long, long time.''

Holland said he was impressed by the way Ericsson rebounded with two solid outings after posting a minus-4 rating in a 5-4 loss to St. Louis on Thursday.

"He's been a great addition for us,'' Holland said.

MLive

[titanium2 867]

[titanium2 867]

Yes, Big E can fight, but only if needed. Like many of their players that have high-end skill with the puck, you just don't want those hands fighting.

I think the main hope is that those users who still choose to live in the Probert and Kocur days will have more peace of mind if/when Justin Abdelkader becomes a full time Red Wing. This is a guy straight from Michigan who grew up idolizing Steve Yzerman and a guy who on rumor said that if he got a chance to play a game in last year's Stanley Cup Finals that he would've instigated Crosby to a fight just to beat the crap out of him. He's going to have quite the image if or when his time comes.

[kylee 727]

good. ericsson is huge and it made me real happy to see him actually fight someone, and now seeing that Abdelkader isnt afraid to fight either makes me excited, the Wings need this.. they have the fewest fighting majors in the NHL, although im not saying the team should turn into the Ducks or the Flames and play dirty, but having a few hard nosed players is what im all about.

[j.hoop 64]

ericsson f***ing rules, and you can tell the guys have long accepted him as one of them. probably doesnt hurt having all those swedes either

[Guest Four]

Some time with a fight trainer and off-season hand rest and he'll be HUGE

[Guest micah]

Let's not get carried away here. I like Ericsson and God knows this team needs a little toughness, but he is not the answer. He might be part of a nice tough package one day, but he is not a scrapper that anyone is ever going to fear. This is the kid who turtled against Boris Valabek, isn't it?

[Guest E_S_A_D]

Let's not get carried away here. I like Ericsson and God knows this team needs a little toughness, but he is not the answer. He might be part of a nice tough package one day, but he is not a scrapper that anyone is ever going to fear. This is the kid who turtled against Boris Valabek, isn't it?

I second this. Ericsson will look great against most non-fighters. Put him against even a middleweight such as Ian Laperriere and he's in serious trouble. It's not that he's European or anything silly like that, he's just inexperienced and frankly... has no meat on his bones.

[uk_redwing 495]

Would anyone be shocked if I told you the guy throwing bombs and kicking ass in this video is THOMAS KOPECKY?!

(ignore the announcer with his hard-on)

[The Secret 304]

After seeing the fights I think he should leave the fighting to someone else until he learns how to do it better. If not he will end up like Lilja. Good to see that he will but better wait to use it until he can. I agree with who ever said he needs to hot the gym and bulk up that frame of his, he is young and there is plenty of time for that!

[GMRwings1983 8,794]

After seeing the fights I think he should leave the fighting to someone else until he learns how to do it better. If not he will end up like Lilja. Good to see that he will but better wait to use it until he can. I agree with who ever said he needs to hot the gym and bulk up that frame of his, he is young and there is plenty of time for that!

I can only hope that he has the kind of run that Lilja had with his several years of rampage. His fight against Stafford wasn't that impressive. Lilja would have murdered Stafford after seeing the way he handled Souray and Boll earlier this season. As far as I know, Stafford isn't any kind of fighter.

BTW, 11 fighting majors is pathetic. We're twice as soft as Carolina, which is a rather sad reflection on the team. No wonder fans like me are always talking about fighting, since we hardly ever see it anymore. In all likelihood, that was the last Wings fight of the season.

[Chase 0]

Would anyone be shocked if I told you the guy throwing bombs and kicking ass in this video is THOMAS KOPECKY?!

(ignore the announcer with his hard-on)

LOL this announcer is just out of control. GET SOME SCOTT MAY!!! Haha wow...

[Dimaline312000 51]

Glad to see Jonny's not intimidated by any compotetion and can handle himself well physically. Great job Ericsson!!

[cnot19 191]

Im a big fan of Ericsson, hopefully we can break the 20 fight barrier next year.

Where did that Tomas Kopecky go?

[whitneydatsyukrox 0]

(ignore the announcer with his hard-on)

Oh my goodness that is hilarious!!! So true!

And yeah, Ericsson does it all.

[ben_usmc 253]

Downey or perhaps we call in Kocur/Probie and have them teach both Abby and Big E how to properly fight

Also May got plenty, fists to his face that is

Edited April 8, 2009 by ben_usmc

[e_prime 1,936]

Yeah, really! I'd really like to know what that announcer is watching... 'cuz it certainly isn't the same fight I'm seeing.

[RedSea 31]

I had told people about Ericsson's willingness to fight and bam he goes out and does it when necessary. I absolutely love to see that in a Wings game, especially this year. So many times I have been frustrated by Franzen's and Sammy's unwillingness to fight. Not saying they have to fight to please me, but why even get into this glove punching scrums if you're not going to drop them once in a while (Sammy's last "fight" was absolutely disappointing and embarassing)? Franzen especially disappoints me because of his size. If he just fought some scrubs at first he could eventually handle his own against the middle-weight pests that the Wings face so often.

But back on track, I'm glad Ericsson will be around for a while. I'll never expect him to take out Laraque, but hell, he might surprise some big fighter someday when he has a healthy hand and more experience. I don't need a fight every game, but there have been many instances this year when the Wings needed a fight to either get some momentum going or to send a message. At least with Ericsson in the lineup next year the Wings will have that presence for the whole year. Maybe with the roster attrition that is bound to happen after this year, some forwards like Downey and Abdelkader will see more time and the Wings won't be so far in last place for fighting majors.

Did anyone see that guy throw some glove punches at Lidstrom before Ericsson got in that fight? I was really hoping somebody would go after that ******, because you do NOT punch Lidstrom. Ericsson was thrown in the box and Downey is in GR, so my hope was slim and of course nothing more came of it. But I guarantee you there would've been one more worth while fight had the Wings had somebody willing to fight in the lineup.

And what did happen to Kopecky? They always show that one clip of him wailing on somebody (I think from last year), but yet he hasn't even come close this year to stepping up for his teammates. I remember one game he was flat out challenged and he just skated away while the time definitely called for a fight. Bah, I miss Drake.

[xBrave_Heartx 0]

Yes, Big E can fight, but only if needed. Like many of their players that have high-end skill with the puck, you just don't want those hands fighting.

I think the main hope is that those users who still choose to live in the Probert and Kocur days will have more peace of mind if/when Justin Abdelkader becomes a full time Red Wing. This is a guy straight from Michigan who grew up idolizing Steve Yzerman and a guy who on rumor said that if he got a chance to play a game in last year's Stanley Cup Finals that he would've instigated Crosby to a fight just to beat the crap out of him. He's going to have quite the image if or when his time comes.

When he came back to Muskegon, he told alot of his Shores buddies about it.. Word spread rather quickly too. I got wiff of it rather quick being a Muskegon dude.

But at the same time i dont think he would of done it. It was probaly just Bro talk and he said something out of his ass and it was taken out of context.

With Big Rig and Dekader in the line-up next year hopefully.. Im sure we'll surpass this years horrible 12 fighting majors. with them alone.. Hopefully Lilja recovers and maybe Cleary/Kopecky develop a backbone.* doubtful * and maybe we can say Downs and Mac more often too

i can hope right?

[uk_redwing 495]

With Big Rig and Dekader in the line-up next year hopefully.. Im sure we'll surpass this years horrible 12 fighting majors.

You think thats horrible, just wait till you realise we've only had 11 FM's

[Wombat 26]

Here's what I don't get... we have people that bemoan the fact that this Wings team does not fight, but when a guy like Ericsson does actually fight, we have the same people saying that he should not fight simply because he's not a legit middle or heavy weight. It leaves me with the impression that all that is wanted is fighting for fighting's sake, and not as a legit part of the NHL game.

I think Ericsson's fight was the perfect example of a just fight in the NHL. Was it an epic fight? Hell no! It was not a great fight by any stretch, but it was a legitimate fight for real reasons. Buffalo took offense at a hit, and started a scrum. A couple guys got out of hand in the scrum, and Ericsson stepped up to fight one of the perpetrators. That is the type of fight I want to see in the NHL... I don't want to see two heavies say "good luck" to each other in the faceoff circle and then start their pointless sideshow fight.

The number of fighting majors per team does not show team toughness. Would Detroit be tougher if they had 82 fights, but all were from one guy that fights every game while the rest of the team remains soft? I don't think so, and I don't think it would aid in the "protection" or "enforcing" that is wanted. I would think that fans that see this team is too soft would LOVE that Ericsson stepped up and would hope that it encouraged others to stand up.

Instead of having one guy that fights every game, I'd rather have 10 different guys that fight every 20 games or so. The first "team" would have 82 fights, but the second would be a tougher overall team, and one that could more adequately enforce, despite having only 40 fights. No legit heavies, but every single line would boast a guy or two that would step up when the situation dictated it must happen. That, in my mind, is enforcing.

[GMRwings1983 8,794]

Here's what I don't get... we have people that bemoan the fact that this Wings team does not fight, but when a guy like Ericsson does actually fight, we have the same people saying that he should not fight simply because he's not a legit middle or heavy weight. It leaves me with the impression that all that is wanted is fighting for fighting's sake, and not as a legit part of the NHL game.

I think Ericsson's fight was the perfect example of a just fight in the NHL. Was it an epic fight? Hell no! It was not a great fight by any stretch, but it was a legitimate fight for real reasons. Buffalo took offense at a hit, and started a scrum. A couple guys got out of hand in the scrum, and Ericsson stepped up to fight one of the perpetrators. That is the type of fight I want to see in the NHL... I don't want to see two heavies say "good luck" to each other in the faceoff circle and then start their pointless sideshow fight.

The number of fighting majors per team does not show team toughness. Would Detroit be tougher if they had 82 fights, but all were from one guy that fights every game while the rest of the team remains soft? I don't think so, and I don't think it would aid in the "protection" or "enforcing" that is wanted. I would think that fans that see this team is too soft would LOVE that Ericsson stepped up and would hope that it encouraged others to stand up.

Instead of having one guy that fights every game, I'd rather have 10 different guys that fight every 20 games or so. The first "team" would have 82 fights, but the second would be a tougher overall team, and one that could more adequately enforce, despite having only 40 fights. No legit heavies, but every single line would boast a guy or two that would step up when the situation dictated it must happen. That, in my mind, is enforcing.

We're a long way away from having 10 guys that do it. Although we do have 10 guys that are pretty good at turtling.

[YoungGuns1340 1]

Why do people always get excited about the way a guy fights in the AHL? How many fights a guy has in any other league outside of the NHL carries over to the big leagues about 5% of the time. I anticipate seeing guys like Abdelkader and Ericsson in about 3 fights a year on average. These guys will not drop the gloves at any chance - they'll pick their spots sparingly.

[uk_redwing 495]

I disagree with Ericsson and Abdelkader especially. Theyre quite fiesty guys Ericsson espeically has a mean streak, and Abdelkader has been very open about his love of fighting.

Only reason Ericsson has been quite this year is his healing wrist. I expect at least 5 or 6 fight from each other next year. Kopecky is different cos even in the AHL he only had like 3 fights and is generally a soft player.

[skacore 2]

I see Ericsson and Abdelkader at about 3 fights a year as well. Players typically fight a bit more when they are younger and trying to sell themselves or find their identity. But then again there are always exceptions...