193 replies to this topic

[Lidstromboli]

6 pages of people getting their hopes up. jeez.

[cupforwings]

why are people saying he is slow... he looks fast in all these videos and he looked pretty fast in the olympics if I remember right... why not give this guy a shot.. he looks like a really hard worker with great skill. He will end up being better than Ville "I don't want to work hard" Leino

[king_malice]

Why are people saying hes slow i found this scouting report on him


his scouting report:

•High-end skills, including incredible passing ability
•Hard, accurate shot, though not top-level
•Able to play the point on the power play
•Outstanding playmaker
•World-class speed

[anthonyn66]

LOVE the Godfather music theme. He must have some Italiano in him, I'm thinking? Has HIS agent got a deal for the Wings?!

can he finish or what???

[titanium2]

I think I'M IN LUV sounds like Hudler with Helm's legs.

That's Tatar.

This guy is more like... Hudler junior with Helm's legs and some other name here's defensive acumen.

[Drake_Marcus]

yeah, another small soft euro, no thanks. Already go tatar coming up quick and hudler maybe coming back eventually. zuccarella or whatever is moot, wings already learned there lesson with leino. WONT HAPPEN

You don't follow Wings prospects, do you? I can tell you haven't seen Tatar play because "soft euro" as a label only makes sense if you're basing it off his birthplace and height.


Tatar is about as soft as Zetterberg or Datsyuk (in other words he's not soft but because he doesn't fight and comes from Europe people will accuse him of such).

Yeah, but 66 years have passed since Ted broke into the league, a lot has changed since then.

Score one for Micah.

[jollymania]

this would be his nickname:

[Drake_Marcus]

I am split here... he is obviously talented and a magician with the puck, but there are a few things against him:

1) He is 5'7" (I won't say this will preclude him from NHL success, but read the rest)
2) In that video, most of his goals are scored from within 10 feet of the goal. In not one of those videos was a defender actually covering him. In the NHL, he would have been leveled (especially at 5'7") in two thirds of those plays had he been in the NHL.
3) Those videos are from the SEL, notice, not once does a defender skate up on him, he is allowed to skate freely through neutral ice, that won't happen in the NHL.

On the other hand though, the big European ice does make him look awfuly slow, I think he is faster than it looks, and in North America, guys have more energy cause there is less space to cover. So this may not be a big issue.

The big thing is size. Zetterberg has shown that speed doesn't really matter, but at least Hank has four inches (5'11 I believe) on this kid.

I don't think it would be the worst idea to sign this kid, but only for a one year deal at an affordable rate... it is not too often that someone of his stature turns into Martin St. Louis. I don't know if anyone on here has ever heard of Corey Locke, but that kid basically led the OHL in scoring for two years, but has never made it to the NHL because of his size, and inability to adapt his game as he moves up. The smaller a player is the bigger a risk because there is a lot more adaptation involved with each level of play. Size goes with speed and good hands as some of the most important things in hockey that you can't teach, and with only one of the three, he isn't even in the Martin St. Louis category, as he is a bit slow, but he would be more of a Zetterberg, with less size.

While I agree with you on almost all of those points I think you're off about his speed. This kid is not slow. Hell, he isn't even average. At the Olympics he definitely looked like an above average skater.

[Drake_Marcus]

Because I enjoyed watching Red Wings hockey in the late 90s? Why does it bother people on this forum so much when anyone suggests that having a skilled team that is still capable of hitting and fighting is enjoyable? I'll be the first to admit that I'd much rather watch the 97-98 roster than the current lineup. It's not necessarily plausible anymore, but that doesn't mean that I'm going to suddenly forget that this team used to be made up of players who stood up for each other and yet were very successful. And, it's not like Hudler and this random guy will be the only softies on the team.

I'm not trying to start another ridiculous "need moar fighters" debate, I'm just saying, I like watching a skilled yet physical team and this guy is even smaller than Hudler.

Man, I loved watching the Wings in the 90's. I'd kill to have those teams again but the game has changed and the emphasis right now is on skill/speed instead of size and strength. Obviously size and strength are very important, but it's not such a crippling disadvantage to be short these days.

Obviously I'd love to have another Shanny-- who wouldn't?!?! But I'm not going to turn down an undrafted FA signing that could make the team better at zero cost in terms of assets just because the kid can only score.

Is that a common first name where he's from?

Sounds like some some evil wizard name out of a fairy tale.

You weren't supposed to notice that until the 3rd act.

This is true, although hitting statistics are always a little sketchy. Cleary and Eaves are two of the top hitters on the team, but do you think anyone out there on the opposition is worried about the hits they're throwing? I guess what I really mean is that I miss having some assholes on our team who actually force people to keep their heads up. Kronwall is probably the only feared hitter on the squad.

97-98 had some softies, but they also had some guys who would take your head off

Vlady

[McAwesome]

6 pages of people getting their hopes up. jeez.

Isn't that what this board is for?

How many threads were made this off-season saying "the Wings should sign X player", how is this any different?

This is a player who was obviously under-valued, i.e. undrafted, had himself a great season in Eliteserien and caught the eye of several NHL teams with his impressive Olympic tournament, and from the sound of the report that the OP linked, it has been speculated that his camp is favoring Detroit as the best option should he decide to leave Europe. He is a player of obvious skill and should be relatively cheap to acquire, just because the Leino experiment failed doesn't mean we should never take such a chance again.

[CanadaBoy]

Red Wings have eye on Norwegian prospect Mats Zuccarello-Aasen

March 18, 2010, 10:00PM
KELOWNA, British Columbia -- Mats Zuccarello-Aasen, a 5-foot-7, 154-pound Norwegian forward who led the Swedish Elite League in scoring this season with Modo, could be on the Detroit Red Wings' radar.

The undrafted, 22-year-old is free to sign with any NHL club, and his agent, Erik Ryan, is trying to generate as much interest as he can, telling Sweden's Aftonbladet that Detroit is the "hottest choice" for the skilled forward. He listed Chicago, Atlanta and Dallas as other suitors.

"(Detroit) is a team that plays the type of hockey that suits him best," Ryan told Aftonbladet. "For Mats, (it is) stupid to come to a team that is defensive. He should rather come to a team playing offensive hockey, with more give and go. In addition, they must believe in Mats, his style of play, and I think Detroit does."

Red Wings general manager Ken Holland was reluctant to discuss his team's level of interest in Zuccarello-Aasen but acknowledged he was impressive for Norway in the Olympics.

"We haven't really talked to his camp," Holland said.

http://www.mlive.com...n_norwegia.html

Edited by CanadaBoy, 18 March 2010 - 10:34 PM.

[55fan]

I wonder how many games it would take before people started complaining he doesn't hit anyone?

...and who will be the first one to complain that "he's lazy and he zuccs".

...or zuccs aas.

[vOrophin]

...and who will be the first one to complain that "he's lazy and he zuccs".

...or zuccs aas.

Haha, fantastic. I hope he's signed just for the opportunity to use those.

[DatsyukianDeke13]

I really like this guy. Great energy, great skill, isn't afraid to battle. Please sign.

[dicksmack]

He looks like a Hudler type. Worth a try...

[mmamolo]

...and who will be the first one to complain that "he's lazy and he zuccs".

...or zuccs aas.

As hilarious as those are, and s*** they are hilarious, if the Wings sign him I really hope we don't end up hearing lame as posters start recycling yoru jokes. I'm going on record now as saying that I hope we only ever hear those jokes again under two conditions:

1. MZA actually ends up being a bust
2. you're the one making those posts

[55fan]

As hilarious as those are, and s*** they are hilarious, if the Wings sign him I really hope we don't end up hearing lame as posters start recycling yoru jokes. I'm going on record now as saying that I hope we only ever hear those jokes again under two conditions:

1. MZA actually ends up being a bust
2. you're the one making those posts

I'm only the first. I'm sure others would/will come up with them and others like them.

But since I was first...

Royalties, babe. They use; I charge. Anyone who uses them has to bump up my rep by 5 points. That ought to make people think twice. They don't pay- I'll sneak up behind them and zuccar-punch them.

[Frozen-Man]

According to an MLive link to an ESPN insider report (which I can't read because I refuse to pay ESPN anything) "Wings unlikely to outbid Chicago, Dallas for Olympic star." Bare in mind it is ESPN so take it with a grain of salt. If anyone is an ESPN Insider let us know what the actual article says, Thanks.

[mmamolo]

I'm only the first. I'm sure others would/will come up with them and others like them.

But since I was first...

Royalties, babe. They use; I charge. Anyone who uses them has to bump up my rep by 5 points. That ought to make people think twice. They don't pay- I'll sneak up behind them and zuccar-punch them.

Ahhh royalties....well, I'd like to point out that with any type of royalty deal you'll need someone to look out for your best interests. A manager if you will. That's where I come in. For a small fee of ten percent of all rep points you acquire I will gladly negotiate all deals on your behalf. All MZA jokes, references, puns, and intellectual property owned by you will be looked after and protected by me and my conglomorate of associates who specialize in copyright laws in the fields of entertainment and intellectual property.

Signed,

mmamolo of
mmamolo entertainment law and associates