Jonathan Ericsson

[Guest Four]

IF?

IF, Zetterberg scored on the penalty shot, we would have atleast two more games

IF, Howard didn't allow a few easy goals, we would have atleast two more games

IF, the refs were not completely incompetent in game two, we would have atleast two more games

IF, our own players would stop taking penalties (cough, cough Holmstrom), we would have atleast two more games

IF, the Mule scored 17 goals tonight, we would have atleast two more games

You win as a team and lose as a team.

If Mule scored at all, we'd have two more games

1 goal every 5 games in the playoffs doesn't cut it.

[titanium2 867]

Add my two posts together, and you see what kind of pervert I am.

I'm a "clean" kind of guy.

[Red Crazy 201]

The fact is that Babcock needs to realize that Ericsson is not the second coming of Lidstrom. Ericsson is making typical rookie mistakes. We need to remember that he WAS a forward and usually he has trouble knowing when is the right time to pinch up. I am not a fan of his and I do wish that he was not on the Wings because I think that he is just a big shell with no heart. But he is on the team and that is a fact so I blame Babcock for using him in situations that he shouldn't be in.

[BamaWing 37]

I'm a "clean" kind of guy.

non-ericsson ***** for me

The fact is that Babcock needs to realize that Ericsson is not the second coming of Lidstrom. Ericsson is making typical rookie mistakes. We need to remember that he WAS a forward and usually he has trouble knowing when is the right time to pinch up. I am not a fan of his and I do wish that he was not on the Wings because I think that he is just a big shell with no heart. But he is on the team and that is a fact so I blame Babcock for using him in situations that he shouldn't be in.

LOL I don't think anyone needs reminding man, hell he just reminded everybody in OT on national tv.

[KonstantAdvisor 4]

The fact is that Babcock needs to realize that Ericsson is not the second coming of Lidstrom.

Lidstrom was drafted 53rd. I don't think people expected that type of performance from Ericsson after one year of playing with an injured team, either. Scouts are the ones that saw potential, not just Babcock. Lidstrom doesn't always play the body, he's got the vision of a forward on the ice while being very sensitive to supporting the defense.

We need to remember that he WAS a forward and usually he has trouble knowing when is the right time to pinch up. I am not a fan of his and I do wish that he was not on the Wings because I think that he is just a big shell with no heart. But he is on the team and that is a fact so I blame Babcock for using him in situations that he shouldn't be in.

Ericsson isn't afraid to drop the gloves and generally doesn't finish checks because the regular season taught him that his line will get scored on and he will get blamed if he doesn't do it at the right time. Just watching Kronwall is not enough, neither Lidstrom nor Rafalski play that style of D. Babcock seems to play very conservative most of the time. He could actually scratch Williams, replace him with Ericsson on Abdelkader's line (along with Miller), and dress Lilja/Lebda for the third defensive pairing.

Lebda actually did okay tonight. And I saw Ericsson carry into the offensive zone pretty smoothly in Game 3 and the rest of the Wings certainly make enough space for him. If Ericsson has gained the defensive awareness to play smart on offense when he is being covered by two defenders, not just one, it could seriously unhinge the Shark's defensive plan, but he has to be willing to work on the boards, too, and generate chances for Miller and Abdelkader.

Sometimes I think Babcock should put Osgood in for the power plays, just because he handles dump-ins well and gets the team back on the attack so quickly, but Howard needs experience in those situations if he's ever going to get better. Hard to second-guess a coach with so many victories under his belt, though.

[Drake_Marcus 890]

Hopefully this doesn't evolve into "Ericsson sucks", "Trade Ericsson" ect...

But my question is how much improvement is there in his game?

He was the last pick in his draft, he had size, raw skill and improved so much after arriving in Grand Rapids.

The Wings love his upside, they thought he could be a 2nd pairing defenceman.

He's 26, so you'd think what we're seeing now is only the beginning, but how much upside is there truly left? For a giant he doesn't play anywhere near physical enough, he doesn't really throw any hits, offensively he could probably max out at roughly 30 points, and defensively I don't think he's ever going to be all that good. So he's not blessed with being a physical defenceman despite his size and offensively he's probably not well-rounded enough to regularly be used on the PP. Where then does he sit?

Basically, I don't think his potential will ever be reached, partly because I think the hype was a little too much. He's a 5th defenceman at best. Unfortunately for us, Kindl has a lot of the same flaws. Size, skill, but doesn't hit and the offence might not come around like it was once touted too.

I'm not sure you can say he's going to stay at his rookie level for the remainder of his career. Especially since he's a defenseman.

Sure he's 26 but this was his first full season. It's not like he's a 30 year old rookie.

I'm actually excited to watch people s*** their pants about Kindl's defensive play next season. Ericsson was dominant in the AHL and played about 40 excellent games in the NHL before this season started. Now you're essentially ready to write him off.

Kindl's never had a consistent year in the AHL. He's failed to advance his skill set significantly-- since arriving in the AHL his progression has been gradual to say the least. Worst of all, Kindl is frighteningly inconsistent. He'll go 3 months playing his worst hockey then have 2 excellent months. And his consistency hasn't gotten better (at all) since turning pro.

If people can't take the defensive lapses of a prospect who came in highly touted defensively they're going to lose their s*** over a guy like Kindl who's had defense as his weakness from day one.

The worst part is that Ericsson was the last pick of his draft year. If he pans out as a 3rd pairing d-man the Wings will be happy with getting that out of their last pick. Kindl was the highest 1st round pick they've had in the last 15 years.

[Aussie_Wing 354]

I'm not sure you can say he's going to stay at his rookie level for the remainder of his career. Especially since he's a defenseman.

Sure he's 26 but this was his first full season. It's not like he's a 30 year old rookie.

I'm actually excited to watch people s*** their pants about Kindl's defensive play next season. Ericsson was dominant in the AHL and played about 40 excellent games in the NHL before this season started. Now you're essentially ready to write him off.

Kindl's never had a consistent year in the AHL. He's failed to advance his skill set significantly-- since arriving in the AHL his progression has been gradual to say the least. Worst of all, Kindl is frighteningly inconsistent. He'll go 3 months playing his worst hockey then have 2 excellent months. And his consistency hasn't gotten better (at all) since turning pro.

If people can't take the defensive lapses of a prospect who came in highly touted defensively they're going to lose their s*** over a guy like Kindl who's had defense as his weakness from day one.

The worst part is that Ericsson was the last pick of his draft year. If he pans out as a 3rd pairing d-man the Wings will be happy with getting that out of their last pick. Kindl was the highest 1st round pick they've had in the last 15 years.

I'm willing to bet that Kindl will be a better player than Ericsson.

I don't think Kindl will be as good as I thought he would be about 4 years ago, but I'm still confident his talent will go well in the NHL. He'll be better around better players, his brief stint this year showed me just that, he didn't make any mistakes.

[Drake_Marcus 890]

we'd have 2 more games at least if he didn't decide to play forward in OT.

It would've been nice if a forward covered for a pinching d-man like they're supposed to.

Ericsson s*** the bed on his pinch.

Williams did f*** all to get back on the play and help.

Rafalski chose to do nothing instead of blocking the pass or challenging the shooter (nothing being the most retarded option when you're playing a 2-on-1).

Why the hell was Abdelkader-Filppula-Williams out with Rafalski-Ericsson?!? Ericsson is the 5th d-man and as such I'd expect better defensive forwards out when he's on the ice.

When you're last pairing is out against Thornton-Marleau nothing good can happen.

Still, I can't help but be pissed at Howard.

He let 2 soft goals in tonight. TWO. The Wings played very well in front of him aside from letting their urgency die in the 3rd. They killed, what, 50 penalties tonight? The Wings had 2 mins of PP time, so hey, I can't fault the PP for not getting it done. But the PK was excellent tonight.

But whatever, if you're convinced Ericsson's tapped out his potential after one season you're welcome to believe it.

From the good games it looks like Big Rig can still be a 2nd pairing d-man some day. People seem to forget that it takes a few hundred NHL games for most d-men to really understand the defensive game.

[AIK'91 22]

I'm willing to bet that Kindl will be a better player than Ericsson.

I don't think Kindl will be as good as I thought he would be about 4 years ago, but I'm still confident his talent will go well in the NHL. He'll be better around better players, his brief stint this year showed me just that, he didn't make any mistakes.

Agreed. I've always heard how Kindl plays much better around better players.

After all, he nearly made the team out of training camp a few years ago.

[Drake_Marcus 890]

I'm willing to bet that Kindl will be a better player than Ericsson.

I don't think Kindl will be as good as I thought he would be about 4 years ago, but I'm still confident his talent will go well in the NHL. He'll be better around better players, his brief stint this year showed me just that, he didn't make any mistakes.

In Ericsson's last call-up to the NHL he played his way onto the top pairing in the Cup Finals. And now people are ready to trade him for a cup of coffee and a VHS player.

Kindl's never enjoyed consistent success in his entire pro career. Right now all he has going for him is potential.

Can Kindl be better than E? Sure, if he lives up to his potential. But, unlike Ericsson, Kindl's never had a full season in the AHL where he lived up to expectations or even exceeded them. Kindl's never even been the best d-man in GR over a period longer than half a season. Go check out the monthly and season reviews they write up on griffinscentral.com Those guys complain about his wild inconsistency and lack of defensive polish in the AHL. What makes you think he'll come up and blow our minds in the NHL? Is it his 3 came call-up where he played ok? I'll have to defer to his body of work in the AHL and compare him to his peers there.

I really want Kindl to be a success. But I'm not a fool-- I won't label Kindl as being likely to fulfill his potential.

[Nev 1,085]

You can't fix what is (or isn't) between his ears.

This x1000

[Rockitman 11]

stupid is as stupid does... and deciding to try to be the reincarnation of Wayne Gretzky with the puck in overtime tonight proved Jonathan Ericsson is VERY VERY stupid...

Edited May 5, 2010 by Rockitman