Observations on Callahan's Skill

[Drake_Marcus 890]

All of these quotes are from George Malik over at the Snapshots blog.

From Day 1 of the camp:

Jesper Samuelsson and Julien Cayer stood out in the skating drills very simply because they're much stronger, and while the free agent trio of Lashoff, Raedeke, and Ehrhardt all looked very speedy, Mitchell Callahan exhibited quite a bit of jump as well.

Again, Mitchell Callahan displayed a surprising amount of foot speed and good hands. At 170-something pounds, the 5'11" sparkplug needs to get bigger and stronger, but his reputation for dropping the gloves at a moment's notice takes away from the fact that he's plain old skilled.

Day 2:

Weidenbach took over at 9:20 a.m., and made the point that even professionals who had played the game for 30 years have yet to master the players' version of a "T-push"--pushing forward with one leg while pushing "off" with your back skate at a 90-degree angle--to maximize power and explosiveness in their strides.

The almost elemental drill started with players pushing off with their left foot, then their right foot, finally alternating both feet. Mitchell Callahan stood out as someone who has the most "pop" during that particular drill.

I've really liked everything I've seen from Mitchell Callahan. He's still small and light, so the 17-year-old loses puck and skating battles sometimes, but he has surprising speed and very good hands with the gloves on as well as off. He has a Maltby-esque ability to quietly make skilled plays.

Day 3:

Callahan is not having a strong day.

Hey it can't all be good. To be fair that day was an off day for quite a few prospects... it was the "hump" day of the camp so some players were flat that day.

Well, those are all the quotes concerning Callahan. Malik will have a summary of his observations of all the prospects at the camp up on his blog sometime today or tomorrow. I'll post it here as soon as it goes up.

Edit: Another post by Malik about Callahan:

Off the ice, Red Wings prospect Mitchell Callahan looked more like one of the youth hockey campers who skated at Joe Louis Arena after the Red Wings' on-ice "strength and conditioning" prospect camp sessions this past week. He's still very skinny--if he's 175 lbs, that's with his gear on--and his messy beach-blond (not bleach-blond) hair framed an ever-present smile, minus two-and-a-half front teeth.

On the ice, however, his grit and work ethic shone against much bigger, stronger, and more physically mature prospects, backing up his comments to the Detroit Free Press's George Sipple:

July 15, Detroit Free Press: Mitchell Callahan has a fighting chance to make the Red Wings' roster one day. A sixth-round pick in the recent NHL draft, Callahan was excited to get a chance to come to Detroit for the development camp last week.

"Especially if you're in a camp like this, you need to stand out," said Callahan, a 5-foot-11, 175-pound forward. "The best way to stand out is making some big hits and big plays."

Callahan stood out last season in the Western Hockey League, especially for his willingness to drop the gloves. He had 13 goals and 14 assists in 70 games for the Kelowna Rockets. He also had 23 fights. According to hockeyfights.com, Callahan's 20 regular-season fights tied for second-most in the WHL, while his three fights in the postseason tied for most.

Callahan didn't drop the gloves this past week, but he knows when to pick his spots:

"Sometimes we're down one and you go after one of their tougher guys or try to get under their skin and you get them to take the extra penalty," he said. "Or maybe we're up a couple and somebody already made a dirty hit earlier in the game and you let them know he's not going to be able to do that."

Callahan also worked his butt off while taking Andy Weidenbach's power skating instruction, in large part because his "get up and go" is still noticeably absent:

"My first three steps aren't great," he said. "I'm not really a slow guy, but if I can improve on the first three steps, I'll be an overall better hockey player."

Edited July 15, 2009 by Drake_Marcus

[newfy 695]

Love to hear that he can skate. Even if he can't score if he has the speed for the nhl game he can play since he won't be in a scorers role anyways. He'll just be running defenceman, if this guy pans out in teh future detroit will have the opposition d looking over their shoulder with speedy guys like helm, abs, callahan and ferraro all coming in on the forecheck full speed not scared to lay the body

[Drake_Marcus 890]

Love to hear that he can skate. Even if he can't score if he has the speed for the nhl game he can play since he won't be in a scorers role anyways. He'll just be running defenceman, if this guy pans out in teh future detroit will have the opposition d looking over their shoulder with speedy guys like helm, abs, callahan and ferraro all coming in on the forecheck full speed not scared to lay the body

Speaking of Ferraro, apparently at camp he was a rediculously good skater. He was one of the three guys that lead all the skating drills. And he also had some of the best hands in the whole group, which is especially good for a first year.

[Peleshob 0]

I dunno why but when I scrolled down to "Callahan is not having a strong day" I lol'd. Good to hear the prospects are looking good, though.

[thedatsyukian 7]

I dunno why but when I scrolled down to "Callahan is not having a strong day" I lol'd. Good to hear the prospects are looking good, though.

As did I . I have more interest in the development of Callahan than I do the skill players we took this draft.

[Nev 1,085]

Speaking of Ferraro, apparently at camp he was a rediculously good skater. He was one of the three guys that lead all the skating drills. And he also had some of the best hands in the whole group, which is especially good for a first year.

I was also really impressed with all the quotes from him, and he had by far the most media attention because of his parents. He seemed to have a really, really mature attitude to it all. I know its way too early to tell, but he sure sounds like he'll be a full-time Wing in a few years.

[GoalieManPat 1,007]

He has a Maltby-esque ability to quietly make skilled plays.

Hopefully thats pre lockout Maltby.

[titanium2 867]

Hopefully thats pre lockout Maltby.

Of course. A comparison to today's Maltby is an insult to a pee wee.

[egroen 384]

I always get nostalgic reading about the prospect camp, because Malik can not help but comment on how Jiri Fischer literally blows away every prospect in skating and skills.

[Echolalia 2,961]

I always get nostalgic reading about the prospect camp, because Malik can not help but comment on how Jiri Fischer literally blows away every prospect in skating and skills.

Can you imagine how our lineup would've looked precap with Lidstrom, Chelios, Fischer, and Konstantinov?

[Mors 201]

I wish we had someone with these attributes closer to being in the actual Wings' lineup. He sounds like the type of player this team hasn't had in years.

[Zion 93]

That's just cruel.

[Drake_Marcus 890]

I just edited the main post to include a new article about Callahan on Malik's blog.

[dat's sick 1,002]

Can you imagine how our lineup would've looked precap with Lidstrom, Chelios, Fischer, and Konstantinov?

Just thinking about it makes me sad. That would indeed have been something else.

It's good to hear this Callahan guy has potential to be a Wing one day, but I'm more interested in hearing about guys like Ferraro and Tatar who are hopefully not that many years off from making the team.

[newfy 695]

I wish we had someone with these attributes closer to being in the actual Wings' lineup. He sounds like the type of player this team hasn't had in years.

He kind of sounds like Drake to me. Not scared to scrap or hit, decent wheels, and gets under people's skin

[Drake_Marcus 890]

He kind of sounds like Drake to me. Not scared to scrap or hit, decent wheels, and gets under people's skin

Good comparison. Hopefully Callahan has a long, eventful career like Drake did.

Another thing I'd like to point out is that Callahan was one of the youngest players selected in the draft. He's only 17 now, so he has tons of time to develop and physically mature. At this stage I think it's very promising that he's already looking at his own skating with a critical eye and trying to incorporate power skating techniques he learned in camp (he said he's not happy with his first step speed). That kind of self analysis and drive to improve technique is awesome to see in a 17 year old player. I can't help but be excited about Callahan as a prospect.

He's supposed to see more minutes and to get time on the top 6 back on his WHL team. Hopefully his hands continue to improve and he puts up some respectable numbers while improving his defensive and checking game. You never know with hardworking players like him- he'll continue to develop as long as he has the drive and keeps working his ass off every night. If we're lucky he could end up being a third line NHLer capable of 15g 30pt seasons all while playing the PK and checking everything in sight.

[PROBIE4PREZ 58]

Callahan Fight

destroys some guy in the corner then throws down with a 6 ft 4 dude

[Drake_Marcus 890]

Callahan Fight

destroys some guy in the corner then throws down with a 6 ft 4 dude

Not only is he a capable fighter (although he'll need to add some height and mass to be a strong fighter in the NHL), he's also a prolific one: 20 regular season fights as a rookie (tied for 2nd most in WHL history), 3 fights in playoffs as a rookie (tied for most in WHL history).

[Snazzy 0]

Anyone know when he'll start playing in Grand Rapids. I am excited to see these young guys in action. Will Ferreo be in GR soon?

[Drake_Marcus 890]

Anyone know when he'll start playing in Grand Rapids. I am excited to see these young guys in action. Will Ferreo be in GR soon?

We likely won't see either in the AHL any time soon. A prospect can only play 250 games in the AHL before your team has to bring you up to the NHL (otherwise they're exposed to waivers). If the Wings let Ferrero or Callahan go to the AHL this year they'd basically be committed to bringing them to the NHL in 3 years time.

The Wings will more than likely leave them in the WHL (or let them move to another minor league) for another 2 or 3 years. The Wings want to maximize the potential development time for their prospects. Look at their last two first rounders-- Smith isn't going pro until the end of this coming season, so he will have 3 years of post-draft college hockey under his belt by the time he goes to GR. McCollum is going pro this year, after only a year of post-draft OHL hockey, but he dominated the OHL last year, posting the best collective numbers in the league. Smith's track was slowed by a major back injury last year and a broken wrist this season. He's still progressing, but those injuries slowed him down enough to warrant another year of NCAA hockey (at least that's his plan according to interviews at the camp last week).

Furthermore, both Callahan and Ferraro are too weak right now. They both have to focus on hitting the gym hard this summer to gain much needed muscle. Often that's the difference between a "ready to play" prospect and a project player (although Ferraro isn't considered a project player, he's not ready to go this year either).

If I had to guess I'd say Ferraro impresses this season with the new playmaking linemate his team found for him (whoever that is, they talked about it after the draft in articles about him). Then I'd guess he'd be signed by GR for their end of the season push and playoffs (assuming his team misses them) as a way to get a better look at where he is physically and mentally. They typically do this when prospects in the WHL/OHL/QMJHL who play for a team who misses the playoffs or exits them early. There's some aspect to the rules that allows them to bring those players up and get a look at them without officially turning them pro (or so I remember). If he impresses during that call-up the Griffs will invite him to their 10-11 training camp and he'll probably go pro then.

I'd say Callahan has a few seasons in the WHL before he goes pro, but anything could happen.