Tomas Tatar

[Kwame_Kilpatrick 0]

okay srry

[Hockeytown0001 7,652]

will tatar be as good as gaborik or will he be an average star like franzen or hudler

Ever since 2008, Mule has been anything but average. Other teams would kill for a healthy Franzen.

[Drake_Marcus 890]

cmon how can you guys be satisfied with another mediocre player, btw is this a find of our new scout, because i heard hakan andersson is no longer our head european scout, whos in charge

Where did you hear that about Andersson? Are you sure you aren't thinking of the redwingscentral article talking about how Joakim Andersson got bumped down the charts on his SEL team?

[NGKEIB 32]

As far as I know, HÃ¥kan Andersson is still director of European scouting.

[Drake_Marcus 890]

Oh, and Happy Birthday Tatar. Today he turns 19.

[dat's sick 1,002]

look we have not drafted or acquired a world class player since zetterberg okay for god sake

actually kronwall is world class so nvm but still

jimmy howard may become world class

omg what world do you live in where players like Zetterberg can be easily drafted every other year without having a top 5 or even a top 20 pick? It's so incredibly rare that you manage to find a player like that so late in the draft. Same goes for Datsyuk. Hell, you can have a top 10 pick 10 years in a row and still not find a Datsyuk or Zetterberg.

Look at the biggest current superstars, Malkin, Crosby, Ovechkin. Does the word Number 1 pick mean anything to you? Gaborik was drafted 3rd overall.

And Franzen has been one of the best goalscorers in the league during the last 2 years, especially in the playoffs where it matters the most. Yes, he's not Ovechkin, but you don't get an Ovechkin caliber player if you don't finish last, win the draft lottery, and you're lucky enough that there's actually that good of a prospect that year.

Tatar will most likely not become an Art Ross, Hart Trophy, 100+ points player. The biggest reasons being that he doesn't have great size or speed. But I would say he definitely has potential to become a fair bit better than Hudler.

You should be happy atleast that we have a prospect that looks so interesting, not complain that we don't have a bunch of Gaboriks hanging around in Grand Rapids.

Edited December 1, 2009 by dat's sick

[revnic 0]

How come this guy seems to be more hyped then Ferraro? I mean if he's going to turn out being the better play why was he drafted 60th something? Just wondering.

[Carman 387]

How come this guy seems to be more hyped then Ferraro? I mean if he's going to turn out being the better play why was he drafted 60th something? Just wondering.

Well Tatar is playing in the AHL, while Ferraro is in the CHL recovering from a knee injury.

And the draft position had more to do with the question mark about what Tatar really is. Outside of his phenomenal WJC he was just above average.

[Drake_Marcus 890]

omg what world do you live in where players like Zetterberg can be easily drafted every other year without having a top 5 or even a top 20 pick? It's so incredibly rare that you manage to find a player like that so late in the draft. Same goes for Datsyuk. Hell, you can have a top 10 pick 10 years in a row and still not find a Datsyuk or Zetterberg.

Look at the biggest current superstars, Malkin, Crosby, Ovechkin. Does the word Number 1 pick mean anything to you? Gaborik was drafted 3rd overall.

And Franzen has been one of the best goalscorers in the league during the last 2 years, especially in the playoffs where it matters the most. Yes, he's not Ovechkin, but you don't get an Ovechkin caliber player if you don't finish last, win the draft lottery, and you're lucky enough that there's actually that good of a prospect that year.

Tatar will most likely not become an Art Ross, Hart Trophy, 100+ points player. The biggest reasons being that he doesn't have great size or speed. But I would say he definitely has potential to become a fair bit better than Hudler.

You should be happy atleast that we have a prospect that looks so interesting, not complain that we don't have a bunch of Gaboriks hanging around in Grand Rapids.

Tatar's the same size as Datsyuk and Zetterberg (in terms of height at least... strength will come in time). And he's a great skater. I'd say his skating is comparable to someone like Filppula.

[sputman 1,268]

is it just me...

[Opie 308]

Ever run backwards through a corn field, NAKED!

[Drake_Marcus 890]

How come this guy seems to be more hyped then Ferraro? I mean if he's going to turn out being the better play why was he drafted 60th something? Just wondering.

I'll answer this with a timeline:

--> Ferraro and Tatar are drafted this summer.

--> Both have good prospect camps.

--> Tatar dominates at the annual prospect tourniment where he's the Wings' top scorer and ends up among the tournaments' top 5 scorers.

--> Tatar doesn't dominate during the NHL preseason but doesn't look bad either-- a good sign for an 18 year old.

--> Having committed to his WHL club, Ferraro returns to Canada to play

--> Tatar ends up really impressing the Wings in the prospects camp, tournament and main camp. Holland decides to give him a shot in the AHL. Tatar is officially the youngest player in the AHL and the youngest Wings prospect to start the season there in recent memory.

--> Ferraro suffers a knee injury and is out for the beginning of the WHL season.

--> Tatar gets a point in his first AHL game but over the course of his first 5 games in the AHL he's 'treading water'-- doesn't look out of place on the 3rd line but isn't playing like a 1st line player either. His game, however, is suited to the AHL and he shows tons of promise. He definitely shows 'flashes' out on the ice.

--> Tatar becomes adjusted to the AHL game and starts playing his game out there.

--> Ferraro returns from his knee injury but still needs to get back on track. He struggles a to put up points at the beginning.

--> Tatar explodes in the AHL. Suddenly he's one of the team's top forwards (arguably the best forward out there, but definitely among the top 2).

--> Tatar ends up stringing together a 4 game scoring streak (still ongoing) over which he has 7pts. He's currently tied for first among the Wings' prospects in AHL scoring and is 1st among them in points per game with 5g 7a 12pts in only 15 AHL games.

--> Ferraro puts points up but is well behind his scoring pace from last year. He still hasn't found his game after the knee injury. However, no one is counting him out! He's still a highly regarded prospect.

This situation is not a knock on Ferraro-- it's a huge compliment to Tatar. Don't forget that the Wings scouts had Tatar marked down as a first rounder. When he fell out of the first they knew they had to grab him. The only reason why Tatar even fell that low is because his body of work as an impact player was small-- before the last WJC he wasn't on many radars. After the WJC he was on all of the scouts' radars. He managed to continue his strong play after the WJC when he went home to his team and had a great end to the season and playoffs.

Tatar's just exploded. Think about it-- for the first time in a long, long time the Wings drafted a kid and he's excelling as a pro hockey player in the same year. This kid turned 19 today! He's the youngest player in the entire AHL and he's leading all Wings prospects in scoring right now. That's amazing.

[dat's sick 1,002]

Tatar's the same size as Datsyuk and Zetterberg (in terms of height at least... strength will come in time). And he's a great skater. I'd say his skating is comparable to someone like Filppula.

Hm, he definitely looks smaller than them. And from what I've seen he doesn't seem to be as fast as Fil.

[Hockeytown0001 7,652]

is it just me...

Just you. Don't really look alike IMO. As opposed to this -

[stevie12 5]

After watching WJC last year I knew this kid was a steal for the wings in the draft. He has remarkable offensive ability and I couldn't imagine what he would be like with a skilled player like Pavel or Henrik. It would be insane to watch out there. Hopefully he plays well next year at camp, which will make a few players expendable and Holland could have some room to play with.

I just feel like we have too many of the same types of players with the Drapers, Maltby's, Abdelkader's.. sure they each have their own style and bring different things but their overall game is too similar.

[Drake_Marcus 890]

Hm, he definitely looks smaller than them. And from what I've seen he doesn't seem to be as fast as Fil.

As far as his size goes I think a big part of it is that he doesn't quite have the bulk of an NHL player. He's still got a slight build. Strength and size will come with time, though.

If he's slower than Fil it's not by much. Even when he was drafted the Wings managment said he was comparable to Hudler but with strong skating ability.

At this stage he's already ahead of the skating curve. At his age you just know he'll be able to improve his skating each year, though, so it's not hard to imagine him being one of the Wings' fastest wingers when he finally reaches the NHL.

All I know is that he's got strong enough skating that it won't be a knock on him when he gets to the NHL. He's definitely above average.

[NGKEIB 32]

I haven't seen him play, mainly because I can't be bothered to stay up late to watch Griffins games now that I have left university and am in the real world of having to wake up early because of a job... How is he defensively? I know that he is a +9, but does he play on the PK (or the PP, for that matter, though I assume he does the latter)?

[VM1138 1,921]

I have yet to see this kid play but I can't remember any prospect being as highly touted as him since Zetterberg. Could he be The Future for the Wings? Let's hope.

[Drake_Marcus 890]

I haven't seen him play, mainly because I can't be bothered to stay up late to watch Griffins games now that I have left university and am in the real world of having to wake up early because of a job... How is he defensively? I know that he is a +9, but does he play on the PK (or the PP, for that matter, though I assume he does the latter)?

He's not a staple on the PK because of how many defensively strong forwards the Griffins have, but he's definitely capable of playing on it.

His defensive play is excellent for a kid of his age and experience level. He's 3rd on the team in +/-, so he can't be that bad

[Jim Morrison 0]

What I like about Tatar is that he doesn't float around out there on pure talent. He's got that grinder-mindset and seems to work extremly hard. He's one of those players that would play 4 years in the AHL if he had to and wouldn't give up.

[Konnan511 1,736]

He's only taken 3 minors in 15 games....Only 26 SOG in 15 games. Sounds like a young Datsyuk /sarcasm

Kid has a great skill set, doesn't take many penalties and is a sniper (5 goals on 26 sog). Once he starts shooting more this kid is going to be something very special is he isn't already!!!

[Konnan511 1,736]

Vote for Tatar and other Griffins for the All-Star game!

Link for article

[Jake Ryan 1]

Vote for Tatar and other Griffins for the All-Star game!

Link for article

Well, let's hope that Kenny doesn't have a nastalgia fest this summer and resign all of our has-beens.

Franzen-Zetterberg-Cleary

Helm-Datsyuk-Tatar

Kariya-Filppula-Jokinen

Abdelkader-Draper-Ritolla

[titanium2 867]

At first I was like

Then I was like

He looks so old in the first pic and then so young in the second. Strange.

[Echolalia 2,961]

Well, let's hope that Kenny doesn't have a nastalgia fest this summer and resign all of our has-beens.

Franzen-Zetterberg-Cleary

Helm-Datsyuk-Tatar

Kariya-Filppula-Jokinen

Abdelkader-Draper-Ritolla

I think I'd rather have Tatar hang out in the AHL for another year.