Mursak Expectations

[Aussie_Wing 354]

Nice words there from Kopi! Hard to believe that there's only been 2 ever, quite amazing really.

You'd imagine Kopitar and Mursak would be on the same line for the World Champs.

[newfy 695]

Wings like depth. They didn't like it when they got to the Conference Finals in 07, only to get 3 top defensemen injured. When either Cleary or Datsyuk get back, Mursak will go back to GR, to get more ice time. If they need him in the playoffs fine, but they won't trade Hudler, just to get Mursak time in the playoffs.

I never said they would trade Hudler to get Mursak time in the playoffs but if Hudler is playing like he is now I guarantee he's not in the lineup come playoffs and Mursak is. Kinda like Helm getting in before he was on the team full time

[Bring Back The Bruise Bros 1,029]

I never said they would trade Hudler to get Mursak time in the playoffs but if Hudler is playing like he is now I guarantee he's not in the lineup come playoffs and Mursak is. Kinda like Helm getting in before he was on the team full time

If he doesn't find a way to seriously light a fire under his ass, I have to think he will be dealt. There are guys that play their asses off on a nightly basis that deserve the spot.

[Z Winged Dangler 2,082]

i'd just like to see him replace hudler. hudler is s***.

Edited December 29, 2010 by Z Winged Dangler

[McAwesome 754]

Nice words there from Kopi! Hard to believe that there's only been 2 ever, quite amazing really.

You'd imagine Kopitar and Mursak would be on the same line for the World Champs.

Looks like Slovenia was promoted to the top division for the 2011 tourney, so you may get your wish

[Konnan511 1,736]

Looks like Slovenia was promoted to the top division for the 2011 tourney, so you may get your wish

Naw, we'll be too deep in the playoffs.

[McAwesome 754]

Naw, we'll be too deep in the playoffs.

Good point. Even if everyone is healthy by the time playoffs roll around, he may still find a way to crack the lineup, ala Helm in '08.

[Rivalred 630]

No expectations

[titanium2 867]

He played solid. He's getting better. Hope he continues to do so.

[Aussie_Wing 354]

Played 2 more minutes than against Colorado, and to me he looked very impressive, was looking comfortable out there. His constant forechecking really stood out, numerous times it appeared the Dallas player would be able to clear the puck and yet Mursak prevented it from happening. He was flying out there to loose pucks, laid some heavy hits, and had two quality scoring chances. He’ll easily be able to replace Miller next season.

Keep it up Jan!

[Echolalia 2,961]

Thank God Hudler picked it up because Mursak is gunning for his job with the way he's playing.

[Guest Stolberg]

dat forecheck

[Casey 145]

My God Mursak has got some wheels. He may be faster than Helm. Last night he just blew right past a Colorado player to get to the puck.

I'd love to see a Draper-Mursak-Helm line for a game. When Draper's the slow guy in the list, that's one hell of a fast line.

[Drake_Marcus 890]

My God Mursak has got some wheels. He may be faster than Helm. Last night he just blew right past a Colorado player to get to the puck.

I like his intensity. Played well for his first NHL game and though he didn't get a point I can easily see him getting 3-4 points or so in his stint up here, which is nothing to sneeze at from a call-up. He seems perfect for a speedy energy line, and could produce with the chances they could force.

Based on their brief time together in GR I'd say Helm is a touch faster than Mursak. No biggy, though. Helm would trade that edge in speed for Mursak's vastly superior hands.

But don't kid yourself guys-- Mursak doesn't have the pure offensive talent of Hudler. He makes up for the difference in talent with speed, aggression and a willingness to take the puck to the net hard. He's not going to Franzen his way through 2 defenders but he's far from being Jason Williams.

Hudler had superior AHL numbers to Mursak so there's no reason to think Mursak will walk onto the Wings team and destroy Hudler. The only way Hudler's able to play in the NHL with his size and skating ability is relying on an elite shot and excellent vision. If you put a guy like Hudler in a low confidence situation what else is he going to do? He doesn't check or kill penalties. His entire confidence is tied to point production. When he's confident he's an very good offensive player (57pts in his last NHL season). He's got a long, long way to go before he can rescue his season this year. He basically needs to play at a point per game from here on out if he's going to satisfy expectations. Then again, if I could tell him anything it'd be that the last 37 games are irrelevant now. He needs to worry about the road a head-- he'll have plenty of time to think about the games he's already played when the playoffs are over.

Back to Mursak... I really hope people here don't expect him to tear the NHL up right now. He needs to get used to the NHL game first. Once he's comfortable he'll get lots of chances to shine simply because he's fast as all hell. s***-- Helm gets break-aways every game. Imagine if Helm had Mursak's hands to finish half those break-aways.

[Zonly1 46]

That line of his was amazing. Constant forecchecking. Gotta keep Mursak up but I fear he'll be sent back to GR.

[casey holmstrom 14]

I agree, he has pretty good potential. give him a couple more games and im pretty confident he will put at least one in the back of the net.

that one shift in particular, the really nice backcheck his speed really came out. keep it up, we need that kinda stuff.

[titanium2 867]

First NHL goal:

And forecaster.ca has finally written a scouting report on him. Their writing generally sucks and his report is no exception but it's nice they finally updated his page over there:

ASSETS: Has plenty of skill and is a good dangler with the puck. Can play either wing position rather effectively.

FLAWS: Plays a soft, perimeter game, so he must produce points to remain in the big league. Needs to add more strength.

CAREER POTENTIAL: Potential scoring winger.

[Aussie_Wing 354]

"Plays a soft, perimeter game".

LOL.

Very nice first goal!

[Guest Stolberg]

my stream crapped out right before he scored

[titanium2 867]

Let's say that Eaves won't be a Red Wing next year. I know it hurts to think that but let's just say hypothetically the Wings simply don't have the roster spots; especially with a bunch of kids from GR who are out of waiver options but have cheaper contracts than what a guy like Eaves can command from the open market.

You lose a guy who is an excellent penalty killer. Abdelkader is supposed to be on the PK but this year they don't have the spot for him when everybody is healthy. Right now, he's getting some experience on the PK and the coaches seemingly have a lot of faith in him. Theoretically, he would be a good bet to take Eaves' minutes.

You also lose a guy who has good defensive aptitude and is a threat 5 on 5 with his speed and shot. Could Mursak fill in this part of Eaves' game?

You take a look at Mursak's experience and unfortunately that doesn't seem like an ideal solution. We've seen a lot of players who in their first full NHL season really struggle to adjust to 82 games, being on the road so much, etc. Eaves knows how to manage and pace himself while Mursak is inexperienced in that area. I personally wouldn't want to place those expectations on him and so I really hope they find a way to keep Eaves.

[Konnan511 1,736]

Let's say that Eaves won't be a Red Wing next year. I know it hurts to think that but let's just say hypothetically the Wings simply don't have the roster spots; especially with a bunch of kids from GR who are out of waiver options but have cheaper contracts than what a guy like Eaves can command from the open market.

You lose a guy who is an excellent penalty killer. Abdelkader is supposed to be on the PK but this year they don't have the spot for him when everybody is healthy. Right now, he's getting some experience on the PK and the coaches seemingly have a lot of faith in him. Theoretically, he would be a good bet to take Eaves' minutes.

You also lose a guy who has good defensive aptitude and is a threat 5 on 5 with his speed and shot. Could Mursak fill in this part of Eaves' game?

You take a look at Mursak's experience and unfortunately that doesn't seem like an ideal solution. We've seen a lot of players who in their first full NHL season really struggle to adjust to 82 games, being on the road so much, etc. Eaves knows how to manage and pace himself while Mursak is inexperienced in that area. I personally wouldn't want to place those expectations on him and so I really hope they find a way to keep Eaves.

If Holland can keep Eaves for under 1.25mil, he will. I don't think Mursak will have any problems adjusting to an 82 game schedule, since he won't be playing a lot of minutes up here. In total, I think he'll play more minutes down in Grand Rapids than he would his first year and a half up here due to a diminished role. i don't think Mursak could fill Eaves game...yet. Give him a couple seasons and I think he could.