Consistency is key for Ericsson

[Guest Howard He Do It?!]

Keeping him away from Lebda would be a good start.

ST. PAUL, Minn. -- Detroit Red Wings defenseman Jonathan Ericsson has lacked consistency and has been prone to mistakes, nothing unusual for a player in his first full NHL season.

But expectations were raised after his strong playoff performance last spring. Ericsson, too, envisioned a smoother transition to full-time duty with the Red Wings.

"We've been inconsistent the whole year. I think I have been inconsistent, too. That's something I've been working on the last few years,'' Ericsson said. "I can't say I'm happy with my season. This second half is going to be like starting over for me.''

He wants to improve his plus-minus rating, cut down on giveaways and play more physical.

He is particularly frustrated by his minus-9 rating.

"I haven't had this many bad bounces in a half of a season, and then, the minus started going up and stayed there,'' Ericsson said. "You always want to help out your team, and if you see that you're a minus, it means that you're not helping out the team the way you should.''

Ericsson's strengths are his skills. He is mobile for a big man, moves the puck well and has a tremendous shot. But he would like to use his 6-foot-4, 220-pound frame in a more punishing fashion and deliver more hits.

"I know that's a part I should be better at. I would be a lot better player if I would be more physical,'' Ericsson said. "But it's hard to just go out there and be physical. You have to take away some other things in your game. It's going to take some time.''

MLive

[dat's sick 1,002]

Ericsson being paired up with Lebda really is a recipe for disaster. They both like going up offensively and are prone to being a bit too agressive and getting out of position defensively.

It's too bad we only have one Stuart and one Lidstrom because Ericsson, Lebda and Rafalski all need someone like that to watch their back.

[Guest Lidstromboli]

not standing around watching the puck trickle into the net is the key for ericsson

[Guest Howard He Do It?!]

not standing around watching the puck trickle into the net is the key for ericsson

I'd say Lebda is more victim to this than Ericsson.

[CenterIce 83]

Ericsson being paired up with Lebda really is a recipe for disaster. They both like going up offensively and are prone to being a bit too agressive and getting out of position defensively.

It's too bad we only have one Stuart and one Lidstrom because Ericsson, Lebda and Rafalski all need someone like that to watch their back.

I think Rafalski has looked a lot better defensivley, lately. He is engaging guys more than letting them skate around him.

[titanium2 867]

I'm not sure what it is exactly but the Ericsson-Lebda pairing is just terrible. I hope Babs finds a way around using it before the playoffs.

[Travis 576]

I couldn't believe it when I saw them on the ice together. It was borderline frightening.

I think inconsistent is definitely the best way to describe Ericsson's play. I know he was originally a forward, can we verify that Brett Lebda was at one point, as well? I've decided that's the only way to explain his poor defensive presence.

I'm sure I'm late onto this train, but it's still worth noting.

[stevkrause 1,247]

Meech has outplayed Lebda HANDS down and has been serviceable with Stuart, but is still too much of an Off D-man to be with E...

Once Kronwall is back, I'd really like to see these pairings -

I'd really like to see

1. Lidstrom-Ericsson

1a. Kronwall-Rafalski

1b. Stuart-Meech

spilt time up, get Lidstom some rest and focus him on PP time

PP pairings:

Lidstrom-Rafalski

Kronwall-Stuart

PK Pairings:

Kronwall-Stuart

Ericsson-Meech

[redwingfan19 293]

well im glad eric realizes he needs to step up the physical game, thats really my only knock on him is that he is not physical enough. Can't really put to much blame on him when he's playing with lebda, thats the coaching staffs fault for putting them together

[Guest Lidstromboli]

Meech has outplayed Lebda HANDS down and has been serviceable with Stuart, but is still too much of an Off D-man to be with E...

Once Kronwall is back, I'd really like to see these pairings -

I'd really like to see

1. Lidstrom-Ericsson

1a. Kronwall-Rafalski

1b. Stuart-Meech

spilt time up, get Lidstom some rest and focus him on PP time

PP pairings:

Lidstrom-Rafalski

Kronwall-Stuart

PK Pairings:

Kronwall-Stuart

Ericsson-Meech

[stevkrause 1,247]

trust me, it's not ideal, I'd rather it be Ericsson-Lilja, then Ericsson-Janik and would REALLY prefer it to be Lilja-Lidstrom, but that wouldn't give Lidstrom any rest... he's starting to break down and we need to preserve him a little....

Also, as long as Miller stays up and we have such solid PK forwards... Meech hasn't looked terribly out of place on the PK while Kronwall and then Ericsson were out... our PK was quite strong as a matter of fact... I think Meech is serviceable when he simplifies his game - chase the puck, dump the puck.

Edited January 22, 2010 by stevkrause

[VM1138 1,921]

You can't play Stuart and Rafalski so low, we need them to go up against the big guys. A lot of Big E's mistakes come beacuse Lebda was out of position or were flukes. He's played well for a rookie overall.

Our D is just a little out of balance, which could be corrected by bringing Janik up. Which is why I think we'll see Janik up next year and Lebda and/or Meech will be gone.

Lidstrom (Hopefully)-Rafalski

Kronwall-Stuart

Ericsson-Janik/Kindl

And if Lidstrom retires:

Kronwall-Stuart/Defensive D-man

Defensive D-Man/Stuart-Rafalski

Ericsson-Janik/Kindl

[tonyfranks16 0]

Ericsson will come along, this his first full season after all.

He just needs to play, not to think about past or future mistakes. Take some tips from the vets and practice them, then it will eventually be apart of what he does.

Lebda is our weakest link, and I would much rather see Kindl or Janik get some time here before playoffs, to make sure they are battle tested properly come playoffs (i never doubt that the Wings will make playoffs), because I think Lebda needs to go. I think it would be awesome if they traded Lebda for a pylon and two tickets to the Jersey boys.

[Guest Crymson]

Consistency is key for anyone, homes.

[stevkrause 1,247]

You can't play Stuart and Rafalski so low, we need them to go up against the big guys. A lot of Big E's mistakes come beacuse Lebda was out of position or were flukes. He's played well for a rookie overall.

Our D is just a little out of balance, which could be corrected by bringing Janik up. Which is why I think we'll see Janik up next year and Lebda and/or Meech will be gone.

Lidstrom (Hopefully)-Rafalski

Kronwall-Stuart

Ericsson-Janik/Kindl

And if Lidstrom retires:

Kronwall-Stuart/Defensive D-man

Defensive D-Man/Stuart-Rafalski

Ericsson-Janik/Kindl

I wasn't really referring to it being low, I think the minutes should be balanced more, sometimes switching up pairings depending on matchups, but generally going with those 3 and balancing them, where each pair gets about 20 mins...

[Drake_Marcus 890]

Keeping him away from Lebda would be a good start.

MLive

Big Rig needs to score again. He needs to get his offensive confidence back. Right now he likely feels like he's not as good as he though he was. That's not what an NHL player should be thinking. Confidence is everything for professional athletes. Look at Leino-- he's a completely different player when he's confident in his abilities (see last season and this year's preseason vs this season). Bertuzzi is the same way too. Once he got a few goals his confidence shot sky high and he's been our most dangerous scorer ever since that two goal game. Of course, the fact that Bertuzzi is our most dangerous scorer tells you exactly why the Wings are among the lowest scoring teams in the league.

[Guest Howard He Do It?!]

Big Rig needs to score again. He needs to get his offensive confidence back. Right now he likely feels like he's not as good as he though he was. That's not what an NHL player should be thinking. Confidence is everything for professional athletes. Look at Leino-- he's a completely different player when he's confident in his abilities (see last season and this year's preseason vs this season). Bertuzzi is the same way too. Once he got a few goals his confidence shot sky high and he's been our most dangerous scorer ever since that two goal game. Of course, the fact that Bertuzzi is our most dangerous scorer tells you exactly why the Wings are among the lowest scoring teams in the league.

Not only does Big Rig need to score, he needs to get physical again. I loved when he got into that fight with Perry during the playoffs. It would be nice to see that determination and physicality back in his game.

Edited January 22, 2010 by Howard He Do It?!

[Drake_Marcus 890]

Not only does Big Rig need to score, he needs to get physical again. I loved when he got into that fight with Perry during the playoffs. It would be nice to see that determination and physicality back in his game.

That dimension of his game hasn't really left. He still doesn't let the other team get in our goalie's face. The physicality in terms of hitting hasn't been as prominent but I'm sure he'll ease into that as he goes along. His style of play is more like Lidstrom's than Kronwall's. His size still features in a Lidstrom type of game because it gives Ericsson ridiculous reach with his stick. I'd love for him to be a big hitter, but it's a bit late in the game to retrain him.

[Guest Howard He Do It?!]

That dimension of his game hasn't really left. He still doesn't let the other team get in our goalie's face. The physicality in terms of hitting hasn't been as prominent but I'm sure he'll ease into that as he goes along. His style of play is more like Lidstrom's than Kronwall's. His size still features in a Lidstrom type of game because it gives Ericsson ridiculous reach with his stick. I'd love for him to be a big hitter, but it's a bit late in the game to retrain him.

I don't think there is a player on our team that will let the other team in our goalie's face. While Ericsson is not a Kronwall nor a Lidstrom, he should be a mix of Kronwall and Lidstrom. Lay the body every so often but concentrate on playing the puck and the angles.

[Drake_Marcus 890]

I don't think there is a player on our team that will let the other team in our goalie's face. While Ericsson is not a Kronwall nor a Lidstrom, he should be a mix of Kronwall and Lidstrom. Lay the body every so often but concentrate on playing the puck and the angles.

I definitely think Ericsson has the long term potential to be as good as Kronwall. He's got the hardest, fastest slapper this team's seen in a long time and he came out of the AHL with excellent defensive and offensive credentials. Give him a few hundred games to get comfortable with the NHL game defensively (which is how long it takes pretty much all d-men to get up to speed defensively) and he'll flourish. He'll also need PP time and a reliable partner-- just like Kronwall did.

Right now the Wings are just letting the games played pile up for E and hoping he's able to live up to their expectations. Based on how Big Rig's excelled at every level, I expect his next few seasons will be much better.

[Guest Howard He Do It?!]

I definitely think Ericsson has the long term potential to be as good as Kronwall. He's got the hardest, fastest slapper this team's seen in a long time and he came out of the AHL with excellent defensive and offensive credentials. Give him a few hundred games to get comfortable with the NHL game defensively (which is how long it takes pretty much all d-men to get up to speed defensively) and he'll flourish. He'll also need PP time and a reliable partner-- just like Kronwall did.

Right now the Wings are just letting the games played pile up for E and hoping he's able to live up to their expectations. Based on how Big Rig's excelled at every level, I expect his next few seasons will be much better.

I am by no means ready to give up on Ericsson. The upside he will provide for the Wings is phenomenal. The playoffs last season were like a preview of what he will provide when he catches his stride. Oh man, that slapper from the point on the PP would be deadly.

[Drake_Marcus 890]

I am by no means ready to give up on Ericsson. The upside he will provide for the Wings is phenomenal. The playoffs last season were like a preview of what he will provide when he catches his stride. Oh man, that slapper from the point on the PP would be deadly.

Agreed 100%.

[AARedWingFan 13]

I am by no means ready to give up on Ericsson. The upside he will provide for the Wings is phenomenal. The playoffs last season were like a preview of what he will provide when he catches his stride. Oh man, that slapper from the point on the PP would be deadly.

I have consistently been asking why Ericsson is not on our 2nd PP with Kronwall out with that shot of his.