"Detroit the hottest option for Zuccarello Aasen"

[titanium2 867]

Who was the latest guy to step right into the roster?.. Zetterberg? back in 02-03?

Franzen?

[Grozzy 0]

Coming from a guy who saw the Norway-Switzerland game in Canada Hockey Place, this guy appears to be the real deal. The whole game I likened him to a much smaller Ovi but with obviously a less scoring touch. Speed, would throw hits, extremely agile and tricky with the puck and was able to find his teammate Vikingstad a few times where a lot wouldn't be able to.

That being said, while I would like to give him a shot, I agree with others who say put him in GR for a year, and he should be able to tear it up. Then see what happens.

[Doc Holliday 1,888]

Franzen?

That sounds about right.

[Aussie_Wing 354]

Yeah let's not get carried away... I didn't think this would be a 8-page thread where everyone would be like OMG GET ER DONE KENNY

Read this, quick takes on Hudler, Zuccarello etc from mlive.com:

http://blog.mlive.com/snapshots/2010/03/quick_takes_on_hudler_and_zucc.html

"If Zuccarello Aasen wants to join a great team that grooms undersized 22-year-olds into NHL players, I'm sure the Wings would welcome him, but if his agent expects Detroit to pony up a promised roster spot (never mind the top-six forward's spot Brunnstrom demanded) or an entry-level salary north of $600,000 or so, especially if Jiri Hudler comes back and complicates the Wings' depth chart. This season's performances by Tomas Tatar, the aforementioned Ritola, Jan Mursak, Abdelkader, as well as the promise players like Willee Coetzee, Landon Ferraro, Cory Emmerton, Francis Pare, Gustav Nyquist, and the wild card that is "Hat Trick and 10 points in 15 games back at home with Farjestad" Dick Axelsson possess equal one thing--the Wings don't have to bend over backwards, never mind attempt a Brunnstrom-signing pretzel, to add more talent to an organization whose forward corps is deep and very strong at the developmental level."

Ummm that sentence never ends, it's stupid.

[Drake_Marcus 890]

Ummm that sentence never ends, it's stupid.

Agreed. Especially since the content of the sentence is as retarded as the structure.

[king_malice 17]

Come on look at the money we are giving Cleary who has been a GHOST this season and you won't give this kid a chance because he's small and what not i bet this kid could put up more points then some guys in the Wings line up with the wrong handed stick.

[NotTooAbby 71]

for the simple fact of saying the name "Zuccarello Aasen" over and over, its almost worth it. If he's as good as they say, then sweet. Welcome Aboard; just be prepared for him to put in his time in the AHL or at least not to expect a Top-6 spot or >$750,000 contract. If he can realize he's apart of a bigger picture with potential to be a star, I'm game.

[Guest mindfly]

He met with Detroit's european scout Håkan Andersson on tuesday:

http://www.aftonbladet.se/sportbladet/hockeybladet/sverige/elitserien/modo/article6844818.ab

Although it says Glen Sather wants him to go to New york on monday to get to know the club better... hmmmmmmmm

"– Money doesn't mean anything. I wanna go to a club that can have patience with me and believes in me. Best for me if I get a proposal where they show they believe in me."

Edited March 26, 2010 by mindfly

[dat's sick 1,002]

8 teams supposed to be after him. I would have to think Detroit is in a good position but maybe a team like the Rangers, desperate for goalscoring, could offer him a guaranteed spot on the team while Detroit may tell him he'll need to pay his dues in the AHL.

[Guest DatsyukianDeke13]

He met with Detroit's european scout Håkan Andersson on tuesday:

http://www.aftonbladet.se/sportbladet/hockeybladet/sverige/elitserien/modo/article6844818.ab

Although it says Glen Sather wants him to go to New york on monday to get to know the club better... hmmmmmmmm

"– Money doesn't mean anything. I wanna go to a club that can have patience with me and believes in me. Best for me if I get a proposal where they show they believe in me."

He seems like he has a good head on his head. Sign please.

[Guest mindfly]

Detroit would have patience with him, but patience in grand rapids, if he tears it up there 1-2 seasons he will get an opportunity...so the question is, would he accept this or take a guaranteed roster spot on a much worse team with "less class and less status"

Edited March 26, 2010 by mindfly

[mmamolo 287]

The fact he said money isn't an issue is a good sign and everyone knows Detroit's track record with being patient with players - especially when compared to some of the other teams mentioned there. This kid definitely sounds like he wants to take the right path to the NHL and if he understands that a small short term financial gain (going to the AHL) can equate to a much larger long term financial gain and succesful NHL career then this kid should want to end up with a team that understands how to develop their players - especially european players.

I, for the life of me, can not understand how he could possibly end up a team like the Rangers.

[Andy Pred 48 337]

"– Money doesn't mean anything. I wanna go to a club that can have patience with me and believes in me. Best for me if I get a proposal where they show they believe in me."

if that quote isn't the biggest 'come get me Detroit please' I don't know what is.

[VM1138 1,921]

"– Money doesn't mean anything. I wanna go to a club that can have patience with me and believes in me. Best for me if I get a proposal where they show they believe in me."

if that quote isn't the biggest 'come get me Detroit please' I don't know what is.

I agree. He may get to start immediately in a place like New York, but he'll also be thrown under the bus if his transition isn't perfect there and he would know that. If I were him, in all honesty, I'd take the year in Grand Rapids to go to a team that is patient with its players and lets them develop without threatening to trade them or expecting them to be the savior immediately. In the Rangers he'd be as good as gone if he struggled.

[TheOctopusKid 19]

I'm actually a bit surprised that this thread is still going.

I understand that there is quite a bit of pushback regarding his size and the precedence of "soft Euro", but I fail to see how that is even remotely an issue with Detroit Red Wings fans. This team has an incredibly long history of drafting or acquiring players who have been considered "soft Euros", and not only has it turned out to be savvy and prophetic to the point were we are the envy of almost every other front office - this philosophical approach to player development has directly led us to multiple Stanley Cups.

There are Three points that critics have failed to realize: Available Opportunities to Acquire Talent, the Red Wings Style of Play, and the Detroit Philosophy of Player Development.

1) Available Opportunities to Acquire Talent

The Red Wings have made the playoffs 18 consecutive seasons in a row and often (as in the 90's) have traded fringe prospects and future draft picks to make trade line acquisitions to provide any missing role that they believe will be necessary come playoff time. The quickest and easiest way to rebuild a franchise is to burn mid level talent for prospects and draft picks. The Red Wings haven't done this for nearly TWO decades. So they do not have the development process of an Atlanta or mid 2000's St Louis: massive collection of quality draft picks and a slew of prospects in return for their aging stars. This type of acquisition combined with two to three poor seasons and a high draft picks result in a strong core of under 25 players to build around (see Washington Capitals, Pittsburgh Penguins, St. Louis Blues, Colorado Avalanche, and the LA Kings). All of these franchises have peaked, fallen and come back due to a series of top 10 picks from poor seasons, and trading away key players for more prospects and picks.

The Red Wings last Top 10 draft pick - #10 Martin Lapointe in 1991.

The Wings would love to land someone with size and skill, unfortunately those players are incredibly rare. Total physical packages who combine size with sound skating, and NHL level skill are long gone before the Wings have an opportunity to draft them: Ryan Getlaf, Bobby Ryan, Andrew Ladd, Chris Stewart - all highly touted prospects with size - all gone well before Detroit had an opportunity to take them.

North American scouting (America and Canada) are very well entrenched and far more difficult to secure a "steal" as most teams have incredible scouting networks and all 30 teams covet size, strength, and skill. That forces the Red Wings to turn to more creative solutions to fulfil their needs. The Red Wings typically turn to European markets were there is far less coverage than the North American markets, and there is the added benefit of organizational bias against European weakness, translation to the physical North American game, cultural barriers, etc. There is far more opportunity for them to secure a player who has high end potential in Europe than they do "sneaking" one by here in the States.

2) The Red Wing Style of Play

The Red Wings play puck possession hockey. This requires a certain level of acumen, skill, and style. It is an incredibly difficult system to learn and successfully execute. Hence, there is only 1 true puck possession team out there. Certain elements may be adopted by teams on certain lines, but the Wings are the only team that adhere to it from the top to the bottom of their lineup. The Capitals utilize a fast transition past through the neutral zone and an overload for one timers, the Blackhawks allow for puck carry and speed into a high cycle. Those are the two most highly skilled teams in the league and neither have the patience or timing to try puck possession. Watching Federov play in that system two seasons ago was almost comical as he would pull back for a regroup and have no support as the rest of the Capitals were long gone into the offensive zone. I'm not saying that they are incapable, it just does not suit their particular talent or system and have choosen other routes of play. The other teams in the league implement so form of dump and chase, or crash the net. The Penguins and the Canucks are the closet in style to the Wings and again, neither take it to the level that Detroit does.

So why is this important? Two reasons:

1) The Puck Possession style of play is a European style - they lack the physicality of North American players, they have larger rinks that allow them more space to play and they are trained from a young age to be patient and spacially aware.

2) It takes a particular skill set to play in the puck possession system. This is relevant as it goes back to the available draft picks for the Red Wings. Are there North American Player capable of playing in this system? Absolutely. Are their big physical players who can do this? Of course. Are they available at the end of the first round? Hell No. The chance of a legitimate 6'1", 220LBS, smooth skating, pass savvy, Power Forward at the 25th spot of the draft are absolutely next to zero. Actaully, any player with just that type of size after the first round often has a serious flaw that cause size crazy GM's (Brian Burke I'm looking towards you) to balk at them. Normally it's skating or incredibly poor hands, and even then those players are drafted in the 2nd or 3rd rounds. There are outcries that we don't have a Brendan Shanahan-type player - Shanahan was 2nd overall when he was drafted.

So the Wings choose to draft players that reasonably demonstrate qualities that they determine to be essential, have some level of developmental upside, and most likely have some type of obvious flaw to their game that scared other teams away and Detroit believes it can address.

3)Detroit Philosophy of Player Development

So the Wings have a poor opportunity to secure top flight talent and need to work with whatever they can get they can acquire. This is often either players who lack ideal size (Datsyuk, Zetterberg, Hudler, Filppula), late blooming talent (Franzen), or technical inexperience (Jonathan Ericsson). Regardless of position, size, or speed - the Red Wings select players based upon Hockey Intelligence. Every player they select demonstrates this attribute as Detroit has determined those to be the essential characteristic for this system and can often trump other shortcomings.

The Wings believe that with time, careful tutelage, and overexposure that the prospect has an opportunity to succeed. Physically small is fine as long as they can protect the puck and are not afraid of physical contact - developing the essential core strength to endure boards and traffic is a frequent weakness that is listed amongst the Wings prospects. The time they spend in the AHL allow them to physically grow and develop this - 22 to 25 is a large jump in terms of physical strength when under a tight training regiment. Learning the nuance of defensive style, two way hockey. Even when a forward is brought to the NHL level, regardless of talent - they start as a defensive forward. Datsyuk, Zetterberg, Franzen, and Filppula all began their careers as 4th line players.

The Wings do not have the luxury of taking the "best" ISS prospects every year but if they can take a player with enough natural instincts with a mindful approach to the game, they believe given a long enough time horizon they can shape him into a servicable and defensively responsible player. And if they are lucky - that prospect will develop into a real offensive threat. They don't do this because they only want projects - they do it because it is a necessity with the resources they have available to them and the mental demands of their style of play.

So Mats Zuccarello Aasen is available and a steal. This is exactly the type of prospect the Wings covet and he has already developed naturally in the SEL. Normally the Wings would take a player like him, give him 2-4 years at the Major Junior level and the AHL and hopefully he has the work ethic to learn how to compete against larger and more physical players. However his incredibly small stature was such a large issue that no one took a chance on him and he has played in the SEL and developed on his own and has had incredible success.

He has "Fantastic technical skills and great passing ability. Can finish with ablomb. A magician who can do spectacular things with the puck. Great vision and can man the power play point. Defensively responsible and doesn't mind heavy traffic." This kid has accomplished what every AHL prospect is attempting to do at this very moment, learn how to play defensive hockey, handle the physical rigors of traffic and learn to embrace it, and try to distinguish some type of offensive game. He has done all of those things - in spades. And now he has asked to go to an organization who will patiently work with him to reach his potential.

Seriously? Because he's small - there is opposition to signing him to an ELC and working with what is obviously a genuinely earnest, hardworking, and talented player? At the cost of zero draft pick or prospects? He is what the Red Wings have done with all their prospects but was able to do it without the Red Wings system. There is absolutely no reason why he should not be signed and added to the list of up and coming prospects in the Detroit stable.

[mmamolo 287]

Award for Best Thought Out Post goes to the Octopus Kid

"– Money doesn't mean anything. I wanna go to a club that can have patience with me and believes in me. Best for me if I get a proposal where they show they believe in me."

Also, I'd like to point out that for MZA to point out that he is looking for a club who will have patience with him should imply his willingness to have patience in that clubs system as well. This kid has a head on his shoulders and seems to be looking for the best fit and the best run franchise out there. From everything I've heard from this kid I'd be shocked if he decides to go anywhere but Detroit because the Wings will provide him with the absolute best chance at success in the NHL.

[BamaWing 37]

"– Money doesn't mean anything. I wanna go to a club that can have patience with me and believes in me. Best for me if I get a proposal where they show they believe in me."

if that quote isn't the biggest 'come get me Detroit please' I don't know what is.

I thought the exact same thing when I read it. I hope to see him in a winged wheel sweater one day

[selkie 10]

Skimming through here, he's like Jiri Hudler-sized but with better speed and defensive upside? Sounds like someone to take a chance on if the price is right.

[servo 15]

--Edited for space--There is absolutely no reason why he should not be signed and added to the list of up and coming prospects in the Detroit stable.

I haven't read such an inciteful well thought out post since NorrisNick was posting around here. I hope you are right, I'd love to see how what he is capable in the NHL with the winged logo on his sweater.

[titanium2 867]

I can't see him being happy with having to play at least one year probably two in the minors. If he does it though then all the power to him.

[dat's sick 1,002]

Terrific post TheOctopusKid.

Hopefully he signs here, but a visit to New York City can be pretty persuasive I'm sure.

[Guest Lidstromboli]

http://thestar.blogs.com/thespin/2010/04/cant-win-em-all.html

just a rumor, nothing official yet

Edited April 16, 2010 by Lidstromboli

[Konnan511 1,736]

http://thestar.blogs.com/thespin/2010/04/cant-win-em-all.html

just a rumor, nothing official yet

Lame.

[SUPERSTUD 0]

Rangers-bound, now we can end this speculation thread at 10 pages.

Edited April 17, 2010 by SUPERSTUD

[Trapt1307 81]

More than likely he won't even be that great. Remember the Fabian Brunnstrom hype?