Jim Nill: Jakub Kindl 'should fit in well with us'

[CMatt89 63]

I remember when they drafted him...he was the second coming of Lidstrom. They were so high on him....kind of sucks to see Jim Nill saying everything he can't bring to the table, hopefully that will give him a bit of a boost.

[Guest mindfly]

Yeah in hind sight it's kind of easy, wings could have had secured the goalie for the future in Tuuka Rask or a young skilled top6 guy T.J Oshie, or mean power foward steve downie, or scoring power forward james neal, or top4 and future star marc eduard vlasic, 30goal scorer latendresse (even went after adbelkader) etc

The 2005 draft could have generated so much more...now we got two 4th line centers from the draft, that's it.

With the 19th overall wings select Tuuka Rask

With the 42nd overall wings select Guillaume Latendresse

That would have been sweet

Edited August 20, 2010 by mindfly

[VM1138 1,921]

Yeah in hind sight it's kind of easy, wings could have had secured the goalie for the future in Tuuka Rask or a young skilled top6 guy T.J Oshie, or mean power foward steve downie, or scoring power forward james neal, or top4 and future star marc eduard vlasic, 30goal scorer latendresse (even went after adbelkader) etc

The 2005 draft could have generated so much more...now we got two 4th line centers from the draft, that's it.

With the 19th overall wings select Tuuka Rask

With the 42nd overall wings select Guillaume Latendresse

That would have been sweet

Every draft is a case of "if we had only signed <insert name here>." It does look like 2005 was a bit of a bust, but that's one year. The Wings seem to have drafted really well the past few years, especially this year. Tatar is fast-tracked to play in the big club, and I imagine a few of the draftees of this year will make impacts.

[haroldsnepsts 4,826]

Well we'll see what he's capable of in a Maple Leafs jersey...I for one wish him all the best.

Potential can be rather meaningless; as of yet Kindl hasn't done anything to warrant any time in the NHL - other than the fact that he's a former 1st round pick, and there's no options to send him back down to GR...My guess is he'll be drinking coffee in the press box for a good portion of the upcoming season.

I don't hate Lebda or anything, but I'm glad he's no longer a part of the Wings defense.

It will be interesting to see how he fares in Toronto. Especially if he picks up more minutes, which I'm guessing he will for what they're paying him.

[SDavis35 140]

he hasn't been on the ice for a goal against since May!

[titanium2 867]

Kindl's RWC article immediately after the 05 draft:

http://www.redwingscentral.com/stories/2005_07/31_DraftBriefs.html

Call it a calculated gamble.

The Detroit Red Wings selected Jakub Kindl with their highest draft pick in 14 years on Saturday, choosing the 6-foot-2, 199-pound defenseman 19th overall at the National Hockey League entry draft in Ottawa.

The Czech Republic native is coming off a tough season with the Kitchener Rangers of the Ontario Hockey League, his first in North America.

Kindl, however, entered the year as a consensus top-five pick.

“He’s a guy who certainly falls into my top 10,” one NHL director of scouting said at the time. “He’s a big two-way defenseman. He can move it, he can play defense. He plays a fairly physical game — not punishing, but he gets involved.”

Added another NHL scout: “He’s a pretty dynamic player. I’d classify him as a highly-skilled two-way guy. Good skating, good skill, gets involved in the attack, moves the puck, good shot. He falls into my top-10.”

Kindl had 14 points, a plus-12 and 92 penalty minutes in 62 games in Kitchener, and saw his draft ranking fall into the mid to late first round. He didn’t take charge or produce the offensive numbers scouts hoped.

The Red Wings are banking on the notion that Kindl simply struggled with the adjustment to North America, and that he will begin to establish himself now that he’s had a year to make the transition.

Kindl plays in the hometown of Detroit scout Joe McDonnell, so the Red Wings have had plenty of time to see the big defenseman play. They believe the talent that made him a potential top-five pick is still present.