Guest mindfly Report post Posted September 24, 2009 Tomas Tatar, the Red Wings' second-round pick this June, will be playing in the American Hockey League this fall instead of the Plymouth Whalers of the Ontario Hockey League. Tatar was one of seven sent by Detroit to Grand Rapids today ... Travis Ehrhardt, Sergei Kolosov, Sebastien Piche, Jamie Tardif, Francis Lemieux and John Vigilante were the others. Tatar, 18, could still wind up in juniors if he doesn't play more than nine professional games this season. Here's the press release from the Griffins ... GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — The Detroit Red Wings on Thursday sent seven players to the Grand Rapids Griffins, their American Hockey League affiliate. The Wings assigned defensemen Travis Ehrhardt, Sergei Kolosov and Sebastien Piche, along with forwards Jamie Tardif and Tomas Tatar. Additionally, forwards Francis Lemieux and John Vigilante were released from their tryouts with Detroit and have joined the Griffins on AHL contracts. Kolosov, Tardif and Lemieux all played for the Griffins last season, while Ehrhardt and Vigilante previously signed with Detroit and Grand Rapids, respectively. Piche, 21, earned second-team all-star honors in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League last season, when his 23 goals and 72 points in 62 games for Rimouski led all league defensemen. He signed with the Red Wings as a free agent in March. Tatar, 18, made a strong impression with the Red Wings in training camp after becoming Detroit's second choice (60th overall) in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft. The left wing played his first pro campaign in Slovakia last season, posting 15 points (7-8—15) in 48 games for Zvolen, and he led Slovakia's World Junior Championship team with 11 points (7-4—11) in seven outings, helping his country to a surprising fourth-place finish in the tournament. After completing their training camp at Detroit's Joe Louis Arena on Friday, the Griffins will stage their first Grand Rapids-area practice next Monday, Sept. 28 at 10:30 a.m. at Griff's IceHouse. They'll have five days of preparation for their season opener next Saturday, Oct. 3 at Peoria, the first of five straight road games to begin the season. The Griffins will make their Van Andel Arena debut on Friday, Oct. 23 against the Abbotsford Heat at 7 p.m., the start of an unprecedented three-game weekend to open their home schedule. Single-game tickets for all 40 home games are now on sale at all Star Tickets outlets, including the Zone and Meijer stores, or online through griffinshockey.com, while group, full-season and mini-plan ticket packages are available by calling the Griffins at (616) 774-4585. Good stuff.. not many 18 year olds have played for Grand Rapids Griffins.. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
waitahochiminute 2 Report post Posted September 24, 2009 Good stuff.. not many 18 year olds have played for Grand Rapids Griffins.. He's got the goods... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
e_prime 1,936 Report post Posted September 24, 2009 That's exciting. For a prospect who was looking to play with men, to prove his worth and get a shot in the AHL. That's great. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
waitahochiminute 2 Report post Posted September 24, 2009 I think this will be productive for his development. I could see why they wouldn't want him to play against bigger & more experienced players but that raw talent has got to be tested. Should be a fun story to follow this year! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest mindfly Report post Posted September 24, 2009 (edited) A bit off-topic but oh well... Anyone know why Brendan Smith, the 1st rounder from 2007 never came to training camp..was he even on the prospect camp? Edited September 24, 2009 by mindfly Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
redwings8831 40 Report post Posted September 24, 2009 A bit off-topic but oh well... Anyone know why Brendan Smith, the 1st rounder from 2007 never came to training camp..was he even on the prospect camp? Right now he's a junior at Wisconsin. Maybe he can't come to the camps until he leaves school? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Drake_Marcus 890 Report post Posted September 24, 2009 Good stuff.. not many 18 year olds have played for Grand Rapids Griffins.. Yeah, it's great news. Based on Holland's comments I figured he'd give Tatar a shot to prove himself in the AHL. I'm sure they'll watch really closely, though, since they don't want to use up all 9 of his 'free' pro games. I'm really hoping he can work his way onto the top two Griffs lines in his first few games and earn himself a full-time AHL roster spot. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Broken 16 381 Report post Posted September 24, 2009 I can't wait to get a closer look at this kid. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Drake_Marcus 890 Report post Posted September 24, 2009 A bit off-topic but oh well... Anyone know why Brendan Smith, the 1st rounder from 2007 never came to training camp..was he even on the prospect camp? Yes. Smith was at the Prospect camp and in an interview at the camp he stated that he plans on finishing his year Wisconsin this year and plans to make the Griffins next season. Apparently his two injury-plagued seasons slowed his development down enough that they thought he should stick with college hockey for one more season. Expect him to play a few games for the Griffs at the end of their season and likely in the playoffs if they make them. (assuming his college season is over by then) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Carman 387 Report post Posted September 24, 2009 Awesome can't wait to follow this kid through the leagues. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest lnvincible Report post Posted September 24, 2009 I still rather him go to the OHL or where ever he was suppost to play to get more confidence... i almost feel like there rushing him.. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Carman 387 Report post Posted September 24, 2009 I still rather him go to the OHL or where ever he was suppost to play to get more confidence... i almost feel like there rushing him.. Well, let's hope he gets enough confidence playing and scoring in the second best league in the world Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
swiss_fan 3 Report post Posted September 24, 2009 Well, let's hope he gets enough confidence playing and scoring in the second best league in the world to call the AHL the second best league in the world is laughable... i can see at least 2-3 leagues above the AHL... yai i m thrilled for Tatar, but i wouldn t be surprised if after 9 games he ends up in junior.. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jake Ryan 1 Report post Posted September 24, 2009 to call the AHL the second best league in the world is laughable... i can see at least 2-3 leagues above the AHL... yai i m thrilled for Tatar, but i wouldn t be surprised if after 9 games he ends up in junior.. The Premier League is way better. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cjm502 165 Report post Posted September 24, 2009 to call the AHL the second best league in the world is laughable... i can see at least 2-3 leagues above the AHL... yai i m thrilled for Tatar, but i wouldn t be surprised if after 9 games he ends up in junior.. What the KHL? The SEL would be good competition, not sure who would be better. I feel safe saying the AHL is the 3rd best. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Carman 387 Report post Posted September 24, 2009 to call the AHL the second best league in the world is laughable... i can see at least 2-3 leagues above the AHL... yai i m thrilled for Tatar, but i wouldn t be surprised if after 9 games he ends up in junior.. I can see the SEL right up with AHL maybe a little more but it certainly isn't 'laughable'... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest EZBAKETHAGANGSTA Report post Posted September 24, 2009 I can see the SEL right up with AHL maybe a little more but it certainly isn't 'laughable'... Thomas Kopecky is not almost a PPG player in the 3rd best leauge in the world. /Thread Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
e_prime 1,936 Report post Posted September 24, 2009 I still rather him go to the OHL or where ever he was suppost to play to get more confidence... i almost feel like there rushing him.. God forbid the Wings brass put a little extra pressure on the kid. When was the last time they did that? Besides it seems as if it's what he wants. As mentioned by others, I'm sure they'll keep a close eye on the kid and if they see his not having success they'll fix the situation. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Echolalia 2,961 Report post Posted September 24, 2009 This is extremely exciting. Having a player go straight to Grand Rapids is the Red Wings' equivalent of having a player go straight to the nhl team after being drafted. Even with Leino, Helm, and Ericsson up this year, the future still looks bright. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Drake_Marcus 890 Report post Posted September 24, 2009 I still rather him go to the OHL or where ever he was suppost to play to get more confidence... i almost feel like there rushing him.. Don't worry-- if Holland feels that he's not ready for the AHL he'll definitely move him to the OHL. He has 9 games to figure that out. They won't leave him on the Griffs unless it's clear that he's ready to play in the AHL. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
swiss_fan 3 Report post Posted September 24, 2009 How many different professional competitive leagues exist? In the top of my head i can call the NHL, the AHL, the KHL, the SEL, the SM-Liiga, the swiss league, the tcheque league and the german league. Where does rank the AHL? According to a lot of player's interviews, the level of the SEL and SM liiga is slightly above the AHL, and i don t even talk about the level of the KHL. Keep in mind that a lot of AHL's player, who are tired to wait and/or don't have anymore the chance of being an NHL regular are heading to Europe. I don t care what you mind, particulary because you probably don t know anything about european hockey (so basically you don't know what you re talking about), but the AHL level is only slightly better than the swiss league. You can probably give me a lot of example of players who had better stats in europe before heading to USA, but be sure i can give you ton of examples of AHL stars who were literally bums in europe. So yes stating that the AHL is the second best league in the world, considering the fact that 1/by all evidence the KHL is better, 2/in many cases the best AHL's players are heading to Europe cuz they will earn more than by staying in the AHL 3/the SEL and the SM-liiga are strong cases of leagues potentially better than the AHL .... is laughable Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
uk_redwing 495 Report post Posted September 24, 2009 Lack of Jamie Tardif is displeasing! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jollymania 162 Report post Posted September 24, 2009 Lack of Jamie Tardif is displeasing! He's on the team Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
uk_redwing 495 Report post Posted September 24, 2009 He's on the team Not the right one... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jollymania 162 Report post Posted September 24, 2009 Not the right one... He will get his chance when it comes, but the fact he's getting older worries me as i haven't seen much footage of him. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
