russianswede919293 95 Report post Posted November 14, 2009 Axelsson is the new Ryno http://blog.mlive.com/snapshots/2009/11/re..._trick_d_1.html Article saying he is homesick and cannot adjust and that he may go back to Sweden and that his "game doesn't translate" to this style. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
titanium2 867 Report post Posted November 14, 2009 Hopefully just some growing pains. Nothing wrong with that. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
russianswede919293 95 Report post Posted November 14, 2009 Hopefully just some growing pains. Nothing wrong with that. Thats true. We've just had so many prospects bail out right after starting in the AHL though... Ryno, Grigorenko, and now possibly Axelsson. Its frustrating. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
GROwl 5 Report post Posted November 14, 2009 He's doing fine; he's starting to generate more excitement on the ice. Its only a matter of time before the goals begin coming. Persistence will payoff soon. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
titanium2 867 Report post Posted November 14, 2009 Thats true. We've just had so many prospects bail out right after starting in the AHL though... Ryno, Grigorenko, and now possibly Axelsson. Its frustrating. Definitely. It's frustrating for us to watch and it's frustrating for them to deal with the culture shock here. I'm sure Ritola used to feel the exact same way. He just isn't as outspoken as Dick. Fortunately for Dick he's there to be an advocate for sticking with it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cjm502 165 Report post Posted November 14, 2009 Just adjusting to ice hockey must be different. Axelsson is also a world class roller hockey player in case no one knew that. If roller hockey was a bigger sport I guarantee thats where he would be. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lamothe 5 Report post Posted November 14, 2009 If I remember right, Leino wasn't exactly stoked to be in Grand Rapids last year either and had some trouble adjusting. But, he chose to stay and ultimately ended up in Detroit. This could go either way. Either he turns his situation into Leino's or Ryno's. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Drake_Marcus 890 Report post Posted November 14, 2009 He's doing fine; he's starting to generate more excitement on the ice. Its only a matter of time before the goals begin coming. Persistence will payoff soon. Agreed. From what I've read he seems snake bitten right now. Still, the Wings need to get all over this right now. They lost a promising young guy in Ryno due to this bulls***-- they can't afford to lose an even more promising prospect in Axelsson. Hat Trick Dick is one of the top offensive prospects in the system right now. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
GROwl 5 Report post Posted November 14, 2009 (edited) Sad thing is, winter isn't even upon yet. Wait til Dick gets treated to our lake effect snow here in West Michigan. The 4 hour bus trips regularly turn into 6 hour ones. The sun doesn't come out for a week. Then he'll really start missing home. And the Griffins are on a 9 game winning streak and feeling pretty good. Just wait til they go through some bad times! Maybe Kronwall or Ericsson need to give him a motivational phone call. Edited November 14, 2009 by GROwl Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jesusberg 1,256 Report post Posted November 14, 2009 He had work ethic problems over in Sweden too. I saw this coming. http://www.redwingscentral.com/stories/200...5_RWCReport.php Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
titanium2 867 Report post Posted November 14, 2009 This could go either way. Either he turns his situation into Leino's or Ryno's. At this point I don't really mind if he's kicking and screaming right now. Just as long as he stays in NA. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RusDRW 155 Report post Posted November 14, 2009 Sad thing is, winter isn't even upon yet. Wait til Dick gets treated to our lake effect snow here in West Michigan. The 4 hour bus trips regularly turn into 6 hour ones. The sun doesn't come out for a week. Then he'll really start missing home. Do you realize he is from Sweden? Some 100kms to the north of Stockholm and sun doesn't come out for a whole winter. PS Perhaps I simply did miss some sarcasm here... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
GROwl 5 Report post Posted November 14, 2009 Do you realize he is from Sweden? Some 100kms to the north of Stockholm and sun doesn't come out for a whole winter. PS Perhaps I simply did miss some sarcasm here... Ville Leino comes from a town further north in Finland than Stockholm, Sweden is (I believe). Yet that was one of Leino's complaints last year. Of course, I'm pretty sure Leino also whined about not having enough time to find a wife between all the practices, games and the travel schedule in the AHL. So, maybe he's not the best example here. (Said with tongue-in-cheek). Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Drake_Marcus 890 Report post Posted November 15, 2009 As George Malik said on his page, when you read the original interview from the Swedish reporter the questions are pretty leading. It's not like Axelsson came out and complained to GR the press, he answered some leading questions from a reporter working for a Swedish newspaper. He was probably too honest when he answered those questions, but he did make a point of saying his agent hasn't been involved in looking into work in Sweden when they asked him, so it's not like he's saying he'll ditch tomorrow. Now that the word's out there I imagine the Wings will take him aside and talk to him to nip the problem at the bud. As far as his earlier discipline issues go people should take note of the fact that once he found a new SEL team after his original team demoted him his attitude took a 180. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Aussie_Wing 354 Report post Posted November 15, 2009 If I remember right, Leino wasn't exactly stoked to be in Grand Rapids last year either and had some trouble adjusting. But, he chose to stay and ultimately ended up in Detroit. This could go either way. Either he turns his situation into Leino's or Ryno's. This pretty much sums it up for me. He can either go home and pretty much remove himself from the DRW radar or he can stay, suck it up and like Leino, eventually end up with the Wings. All up to him. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Zata fan 40 6 Report post Posted November 15, 2009 Hopefully this is just a small bump in the road. Can't lose a prospect like this. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest CaliWingsNut Report post Posted November 15, 2009 If I remember right, Leino wasn't exactly stoked to be in Grand Rapids last year either and had some trouble adjusting. But, he chose to stay and ultimately ended up in Detroit. This could go either way. Either he turns his situation into Leino's or Ryno's. You don't. Leino gave an ultimatium that he wouldn't sit on the AHL team for another year. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
titanium2 867 Report post Posted November 15, 2009 You don't. Leino gave an ultimatium that he wouldn't sit on the AHL team for another year. He's talking about the beginning of last year. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
skyphoenix 153 Report post Posted November 15, 2009 You don't. Leino gave an ultimatium that he wouldn't sit on the AHL team for another year. He still stayed in Grand Rapids instead of bailing halfway through the season because he didn't like it in the AHL. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Drake_Marcus 890 Report post Posted November 15, 2009 You don't. Leino gave an ultimatium that he wouldn't sit on the AHL team for another year. And again that came through an interview with a Swedish newspaper. Part of the situation is the leading questions, expectations of the interviewer and the effort to keep doors open back home if this doesn't work out. I think the responses would be different if he were talking to a reporter in North America. On top of that it's worth noting that certain subtleties are always lost in translation, and that's something that never ends up being a positive thing when it comes to discussions of contracts and statuses in sports. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
titanium2 867 Report post Posted November 15, 2009 On top of that it's worth noting that certain subtleties are always lost in translation, and that's something that never ends up being a positive thing when it comes to discussions of contracts and statuses in sports. True. I remember this one foreign player who gave an interview about adjusting to a NA style. The media translated his words as "I'm not used to the 'selfish mentality' around here" when really what he said was, "In order for me to play better, I have to be more selfish." Some of it is also the media trying to sell itself. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Drake_Marcus 890 Report post Posted November 15, 2009 True. I remember this one foreign player who gave an interview about adjusting to a NA style. The media translated his words as "I'm not used to the 'selfish mentality' around here" when really what he said was, "In order for me to play better, I have to be more selfish." Some of it is also the media trying to sell itself. Definitely. "I'd like to return to the elite league" sells more copy than "if I continue to struggle I could see myself returning to play for my old team in Sweden". Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
titanium2 867 Report post Posted November 15, 2009 Definitely. "I'd like to return to the elite league" sells more copy than "if I continue to struggle I could see myself returning to play for my old team in Sweden". Speaking of him struggling, it seems like he had a big flop last night. Griffins lost 1-3 and apparently Dick got benched for the entire third. Yikes. But still, I'm sure the Wings will do everything in their power to set him up for success. He has to do his part though and I'm positive Fischer and Ricola and whoever can help him get through these growing pains. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Drake_Marcus 890 Report post Posted November 15, 2009 Speaking of him struggling, it seems like he had a big flop last night. Griffins lost 1-3 and apparently Dick got benched for the entire third. Yikes. But still, I'm sure the Wings will do everything in their power to set him up for success. He has to do his part though and I'm positive Fischer and Ricola and whoever can help him get through these growing pains. I wonder if his play last night is linked to the newspaper article? Maybe he started to think about leaving and lost some of that drive? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
hak 21 Report post Posted November 15, 2009 I wonder if his play last night is linked to the newspaper article? Maybe he started to think about leaving and lost some of that drive? that's a killer and i hope it's not like that the mental aspect of the game is huge and he needs to have his eye on the prize all the time. talent and practise can only get you so far, if the focus and mentality is not there - it's a big issue let's see how it turns out.. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
