Next Great Wings player?

[Drake_Marcus 890]

Taylor Hall - Selected 1st Overall by the Detroit Red Wings, June 2010

Dear god I hope that's because they made a very astute trade and they're also drafting 30th overall.

[skyphoenix 153]

McCollum or Almqvist.

Edited October 14, 2009 by skyphoenix

[Guest micah]

How great are we talking about?

As in the level of Yzerman/Lidstrom/Datsyuk great?...Nobody in our system as far as I'm concerned.

This. I don't see any superstars waiting in the wings, so to speak.

[BeeRYCE 2]

This. I don't see any superstars waiting in the wings, so to speak.

We never saw any superstars when Zetterberg and Datsyuk were deep in the ranks now did we?

Let's just hope that's the case. Maybe one of the non-ranked notables on HockeysFuture.com has a shot...

[OsGOD 3]

in about 10-15years (20 years tops) Thomas McCullom will be the wings next great shiney object!

[OsGOD 3]

Taylor Hall - Selected 1st Overall by the Detroit Red Wings, June 2010

Oh god i hope not!

but he does offer me comic relief. every time i see his ugly mug i get to think of that donkey in Pinocchio

1.bp.blogspot.com/.../s400/pinocchio-donkey.jpg

[C-TownWing 0]

Ferraro or Nyquist.

Hell yeah to Nyquist, I was going to say him. I caught a couple Maine games last year and like his game. They use him in pretty much every situation too. Off to a strong start this year with 2G in 2 games.

Tatar obviously looks like a great prospect, might as well be the 38th person to mention him.

I'm kind of shaky on McCollum and Kindl. McCollum mostly because the only time I've seen him extensively was the WJHC last year. But his stats look great, so it's probably just a bad sample. Kindl smells like another Jimmy Howard, but I keep telling myself we've been stacked at D and just haven't had room.

I'm also rooting for Ritola, since I bought a Griffins gamer of his from MeiGray last year. Hopefully he takes the next step this year.

[Nev 1,085]

We never saw any superstars when Zetterberg and Datsyuk were deep in the ranks now did we?

Well before Zetterberg came over to America was being touted as a "smaller Peter Forsberg". Or as Ken Holland described him "this skinny little kid who nobody could get the puck off"

I'm going to say Ferarro. He has talent, and sounds very mature and aware for his age.

[Z Winged Dangler 2,082]

Ferraro or Nyquist.

finally someone said ferraro. a speedy darren helm type grinder with a nose for the net. i also like everyone else here think tatar will be really good. i still have hope for kindl. and i'm hoping larsson or mccollum will step up big. maybe even impress the wings brass so much this year that they waive howard and one of them earns a spot. with all the goaltending hype in the pre-season, i really hope one of those guys can turn into a number 1 goalie for the wings. cause ozzy and howard have been complete dogs*** so far. only 5 games in, but s*** they stink. even i preseason!

[dat's sick 1,002]

cause ozzy and howard have been complete dogs*** so far. only 5 games in, but s*** they stink. even i preseason!

uhhh other than the 1st game in Sweden, Ozzie has been good. Yesterday he was hung out to dry and maybe one or two goals at the most can be put on him. Against the Caps and Hawks he was fantastic.

[dropkickshanahans 463]

Difference was that guys like Dats/Hank weren't spending time honing their skills in GR; they jumped right into the line-up, and many could see that these were star calibre players.

But after we selected them they were still gone for a good 4-5 years playing in a different league before being put on our roster. Either way it's irrelevant-- if a player has talent and a great work ethic, he'll be a good/great player.

Edited October 14, 2009 by dropkickshanahans

[BeeRYCE 2]

Oh god i hope not!

but he does offer me comic relief. every time i see his ugly mug i get to think of that donkey in Pinocchio

1.bp.blogspot.com/.../s400/pinocchio-donkey.jpg

I do not approve of this message! His speed, skill, heart, and hockey sense is highly unmatchable... He's going to be a star right away in the NHL.

[Andy Pred 48 337]

Apart from the guys already mentioned I think these will be very good Wings in the near future. If Smith stays healthy he will be the next big star on the D and I think the

surprise package could be Nestrasil, a power forward in the making.

1/ Brendan Smith

2/ Joakim Andersson

3/ Andrej Nestrasil

4/ Dick Axelsson

[Aussie_Wing 354]

Apart from the guys already mentioned I think these will be very good Wings in the near future. If Smith stays healthy he will be the next big star on the D and I think the

surprise package could be Nestrasil, a power forward in the making.

1/ Brendan Smith

2/ Joakim Andersson

3/ Andrej Nestrasil

4/ Dick Axelsson

1. Smith....nothing to get overly excited about at this point. Poor man's Kindl. Of course he's still young, was a high pick and the Wings like his potential so you never know.

2. Andersson is a very solid prospect, 3rd line centre, possibly a plug hole on the 2nd. Good size, responsible in his own end, not sure whether he has star potential though. Perhaps a more well rounded version of Abdelkader.

3. Nestrasil, I like him too. Great size, offensive potential, just needs to improve his skating and continue to play more physical to take advantage of his size.

4. Axelsson, I've been syaing for a while now that in terms of pure offensive potential, he has no rival in our system. Maybe that's changed given we drafted Tatar and Ferraro but he's still right up there.

[TheWestWing 71]

Hey, at least he's a Swede!

[Drake_Marcus 890]

How great are we talking about?

As in the level of Yzerman/Lidstrom/Datsyuk great?...Nobody in our system as far as I'm concerned.

Yzerman and Lidstrom were playing in Detroit at age 18. At this point we could still have a Datsyuk in one of the more recent draft classes... he wasn't at the top of the prospect depth chart as a teenager!

[Drake_Marcus 890]

1. Smith....nothing to get overly excited about at this point. Poor man's Kindl. Of course he's still young, was a high pick and the Wings like his potential so you never know.

2. Andersson is a very solid prospect, 3rd line centre, possibly a plug hole on the 2nd. Good size, responsible in his own end, not sure whether he has star potential though. Perhaps a more well rounded version of Abdelkader.

3. Nestrasil, I like him too. Great size, offensive potential, just needs to improve his skating and continue to play more physical to take advantage of his size.

4. Axelsson, I've been syaing for a while now that in terms of pure offensive potential, he has no rival in our system. Maybe that's changed given we drafted Tatar and Ferraro but he's still right up there.

Smith's still got time to prove himself yet.

As far as Axelsson goes, Red Wings Central has also been preaching his offensive potential for a while, but he could still end up like Ryno-- sabotaged by his off ice attitude. At this time I see more in him offensively than I do Ferraro, but I think Tatar's got a higher upside in terms of pure offense.

[Drake_Marcus 890]

Difference was that guys like Dats/Hank weren't spending time honing their skills in GR; they jumped right into the line-up, and many could see that these were star calibre players.

Leino's that kind of guy. So far in the 25 or so NHL games he's played he's looked a lot like Zetterberg and Datsyuk did as rookies. The only reason why he was in GR for a time last year was the cap.

[Drake_Marcus 890]

Well before Zetterberg came over to America was being touted as a "smaller Peter Forsberg". Or as Ken Holland described him "this skinny little kid who nobody could get the puck off"

I'm going to say Ferarro. He has talent, and sounds very mature and aware for his age.

That was well after the draft. It's not like he got drafted in the 7th with that tag around his neck.

[Aussie_Wing 354]

Smith's still got time to prove himself yet.

As far as Axelsson goes, Red Wings Central has also been preaching his offensive potential for a while, but he could still end up like Ryno-- sabotaged by his off ice attitude. At this time I see more in him offensively than I do Ferraro, but I think Tatar's got a higher upside in terms of pure offense.

What's Smith shown though other than being injury prone and having off ice issues? You can have a crack at Axelsson's off ice attitude but Smith's far from a saint either.

Axelsson is different to Ryno, firstly he's proved he can play and produce in the SEL and secondly he could have easily stayed in Sweden for another year instead opting to come to North America and play for the Griffins. That is a great sign.

[VM1138 1,921]

Just want to chip in something, even though I don't follow the prospects as closely as many of you.

Tatar has the makings of being a superstar, I think. Without having watched him play a lot, the way the Wings treat him, he's basically been green-lit for the team as soon as he adjusts and a roster spot opens up in the next year or two. He's only 18, I think, so he'd also have a longer career potentially with the Wings than someone like Datsyuk or Zetterberg.

McCollum I've heard nothing but good things about, but goalies are really hard to predict.

Kindl will be on the team, but I'm not sure if he's as good as so many people seem to think. Maybe a solid second-pair defenseman?

But just based on how he's being treated by the team, I'd say Tatar has by far the most potential.

Oh, and Leino will be a star very soon. He's looked very, very good ever since he came here, like someone said: he looks like Datsyuk or Zetterberg when they first came here.

[mjlegend 155]

I'd agree that there are probably no Datsyuks or Zetterbergs or Howes or Lidstroms or Yzermans in the farm right now. HAKAN ANDERSSON IS LAZY AND HE SUCKS!!!!!1

But in reality, the player you're likely going to get out of the farm system is of the Darren Helm variety. Excellent work ethic, great energy line guy with potential for 20 goals. Of any of the players I've watched, Ferraro seems to be the only one with potential to be a soild 30-goal man when he gets his NHL feet under him.

But watch some sixth rounder from the last two drafts prove me wrong.

[Hockeytown_Ryan 122]

THIS KID!!!!!

[eva unit zero 271]

That was well after the draft. It's not like he got drafted in the 7th with that tag around his neck.

Maybe I'm lucky that I got to watch Swedish League games before Z was drafted, but I had him pegged as a top line forward at minimum before he was even drafted. I was shocked that he fell past the second round, and overjoyed when the Wings picked him.

[eva unit zero 271]

I dunno if I'd label Leino as a "great" player, or a potentially "great" player just yet...Then again Lidstrom didn't show form until the late 90's (being on the team since 91/92), and look what he became.

Guess I just don't see any top-flight stars on the horizon when I look at the Red Wings youth...Hope I'm wrong.

Only twice in his career has Lidstrom not been among the top ten for the Norris:

-The 1992-93 season, which saw him have a sophomore slump while being overshadowed by All-Star Steve Chiasson's best season AND the acquisition of Paul Coffey.

-The 1994-95 season, which was voted on unusually and saw each conference submit three finalists, after which a panel of 15 PHWA members voted. Only four of the six defensemen submitted from the two conferences received any votes, with only the official "finalists" receiving first-place votes. Coffey received 12 of 15.

Every other season of his career, Lidstrom has been top ten for the Norris. Since 95-96, he has been top-six every season, top two most years.