Jakub Kindl

[Guest Grayne Wetzky]

I really like Kindl. I think he's done pretty well, considering the circumstances.

[HankthaTank 1,100]

Definitely not lazy and can be pretty confident that he doesn't suck. It was just one game but he looked quite good last night on the PP and in the defensive zone while throwing some weight around. Could be a regular come next season imo.

Edited March 2, 2011 by HankthaTank

[Guest Heaten]

Kindl played like a 1st round pick against LA Kings. Really looked good out there.

[Echolalia 2,961]

Kindl played like a 1st round pick against LA Kings. Really looked good out there.

He's slowly been getting more comfortable. There were a handful of times when he has looked really self-conscious or nervous when we first brought him up, but they're getting fewer and farther between. He's holding onto the puck a bit longer, making smarter plays, etc. We'll see how he progresses.

[Andy Pred 48 337]

looking good v LA might have something to do with him being paired with Lids for some shifts.

I think he'll only get better and thats all well and goood for the Wings. We need our 1st round

picks to pan out espically on the D.

[Aussie_Wing 354]

Kindl played like a 1st round pick against LA Kings. Really looked good out there.

I thought he looked really, really good against Buffalo too.

Look, he has all the tools, he skates beautifully, he has good offensive instincts, he's a good height, he just needs to become more consistent. He's only 24, give him 2-3 seasons and I'm confident he'll be a second pairing defenceman who will put up near 40 points.

[HankthaTank 1,100]

We need our 1st round picks to pan out espically on the D.

"Don't worry Andy Pred, I will pan out"

I thought he looked really, really good against Buffalo too.

Look, he has all the tools, he skates beautifully, he has good offensive instincts, he's a good height, he just needs to become more consistent. He's only 24, give him 2-3 seasons and I'm confident he'll be a second pairing defenceman who will put up near 40 points.

Yes. I think he will probably wind up better than Big E. Ericsson has taken a turn toward the positive and being paired with Raf has definitely helped his +/- and point totals a tad but I think Kindl could and probably will be better.

[HankthaTank 1,100]

From the freep a ringing endorsement from a pretty qualified guy:

"It's like he's a different person," Babcock said of how well Kindl, a 24-year-old rookie, had played since late December, when he returned from a conditioning stint in the minors. "It might be the greatest transformation I've seen, actually, to tell you the truth."

Edited March 2, 2011 by HankthaTank

[haroldsnepsts 4,826]

He got lost in front of his own net on the Simmonds goal, but otherwise I thought he looked great out there against the Kings. Poised, confident, somewhat physical. All good things.

[Rick Zombos Ghost 82]

He earned a start over E if Rafalski plays today. Unfortunately if earning got you playing time Helm would be on the top 2 lines...and i dont see that happening.

[matt198913 932]

He earned a start over E if Rafalski plays today. Unfortunately if earning got you playing time Helm would be on the top 2 lines...and i dont see that happening.

Not a chance I think Salei and Kindl will rotate if he keeps up his play

[St. Michael (the Red Wing) 422]

I thought Kindl was brutal last night. However the whole game was brutal so maybe nevermind...

[wingslogo19 281]

I thought Kindl was brutal last night. However the whole game was brutal so maybe nevermind...

That's better

[HankthaTank 1,100]

Nothing I saw from him was really that bad. Just an all around bad evening so we will just scrap the tape on this one and move on.....

[Rick Zombos Ghost 82]

I thought Kindl was brutal last night. However the whole game was brutal so maybe nevermind...

I thought E looked far worse. E loves to pass up the boards to noone in particular. Kindl actually played with a bit of an edge which is definitely as aspect he's been lacking. His passing and vision is better than E.

[Konnan511 1,736]

Kindl > Ericsson. Salei slots in there somewhere depending on the night.

[Finnish Wing 110]

He earned a start over E if Rafalski plays today. Unfortunately if earning got you playing time Helm would be on the top 2 lines...and i dont see that happening.

I doesn't matter how hard you try if you just don't have enough skill. Helm won't be in the top6.

[haroldsnepsts 4,826]

Kindl > Ericsson. Salei slots in there somewhere depending on the night.

No, he isn't. Kindl is coming along nicely. But he's been playing about 5 minutes less per game than either Salei or Ericsson. He's just not asked to do as much as those two.

That's not to say he won't be soon, but apparently Babcock feels he's not there yet.

[Konnan511 1,736]

No, he isn't. Kindl is coming along nicely. But he's been playing about 5 minutes less per game than either Salei or Ericsson. He's just not asked to do as much as those two.

That's not to say he won't be soon, but apparently Babcock feels he's not there yet.

Yes, he is. Kindl coming along nicely is already better than Ericsson. Kindl makes less mistakes than Ericsson. Who cares what is asked of them? Lidstrom and Stuart are asked way more of Ericsson and they make a fraction amount of mistakes as he does.

Kindl plays with Salei 80% of the time, think if he actually played with someone of skill, he would be putting up a lot more points and have a drastically better +/- at this point. Meanwhile, Ericsson plays with the Wing's best even-strength defenseman, so of course he'll look better. Kindl > Ericsson, and a pairing of Kindl plus anyone else would show that even more than it does now.

[haroldsnepsts 4,826]

Yes, he is. Kindl coming along nicely is already better than Ericsson. Kindl makes less mistakes than Ericsson. Who cares what is asked of them? Lidstrom and Stuart are asked way more of Ericsson and they make a fraction amount of mistakes as he does.

Kindl plays with Salei 80% of the time, think if he actually played with someone of skill, he would be putting up a lot more points and have a drastically better +/- at this point. Meanwhile, Ericsson plays with the Wing's best even-strength defenseman, so of course he'll look better. Kindl > Ericsson, and a pairing of Kindl plus anyone else would show that even more than it does now.

Actually, he isn't.

I know the grass is always greener here on LGW, but he is seriously not better than Ericsson. Yet. Kindl may be very soon, but he's not right now. You're not comparing apples to apples.

Who cares what is asked of them?? Kindl is out there at least five fewer minutes per game than Ericsson or Salei. You don't think that's a significant difference?

Let's assume what you're saying was true and Kindl is already clearly better than E. Why wouldn't Babcock give him more minutes? Why wouldn't he put him on the ice in OT? Why wouldn't he pair him with a partner where Kindl would show even more than he does now?

I guess he doesn't want to utilize his players well. Or maybe he's bringing him along with minutes and situations that will help him succeed and help his development.

No matter how many times you post that equation, it doesn't make it true.

Edited March 4, 2011 by haroldsnepsts

[Pucks 66]

Salei seems to be trending down instead of up. My hopes for him this season was for him to be safe and play physical. Kindl plays tougher than he does, and he's not exactly a bruiser either.

Edited March 4, 2011 by Pucks

[Konnan511 1,736]

Actually, he isn't.

I know the grass is always greener here on LGW, but he is seriously not better than Ericsson. Yet. Kindl may be very soon, but he's not right now. You're not comparing apples to apples.

Who cares what is asked of them?? Kindl is out there at least five fewer minutes per game than Ericsson or Salei. You don't think that's a significant difference?

Let's assume what you're saying was true and Kindl is already clearly better than E. Why wouldn't Babcock give him more minutes? Why wouldn't he put him on the ice in OT? Why wouldn't he pair him with a partner where Kindl would show even more than he does now?

I guess he doesn't want to utilize his players well. Or maybe he's bringing him along with minutes and situations that will help him succeed and help his development.

No matter how many times you post that equation, it doesn't make it true.

Babcock is a firm believer in keeping the defensive pairings constant. That's why the pairings are the way they are.

Look what happened when Rafalski went down, Big E is failing pretty bad out there. Past 6 games, where Kindl turned the corner, Kindl has 2 points and is a minus 1 while E has been w/o a point since early November and is a minus 2. Without Rafalski's elite puck moving skills, we can clearly see that Big E is not better than Kindl. Kindl has out performed him lately and will out perform him through the playoffs.

Yes, Ericsson is playing more minutes than Kindl, but that more has to do with Babcock liking to keep his D pairings constant and about who Ericsson's D partner is. Ericsson lucked out to be paired with Rafalski when he did because Ericsson was in deed higher on the depth chart and the better player at the time. Now, not so much.

Kindl > Ericsson. No matter how many times you refute that equation, you won't be able to get it to be false.

[VM1138 1,921]

I will say this about Kindl, he looks good jumping up in the play and then GETTING BACK ON DEFENSE quickly. Something Ericsson could learn from.

EDIT: I would hesitate to use stats to say Kindl is better than E, though. I mean, really. You're comparing 2 pts to 1 pt, and -2 to -1? That's not exactly a huge discrepancy in quality stat-wise.

Edited March 4, 2011 by VM1138

[under_par_00 45]

I think Kindl sees the ice better than Big E, and this is why some of you are saying he is a better player. Ericsson has more of the physical tools needed to be a defenceman, and that is why he plays a better game currently. As long as Kindl keeps learning and improving, he should end up a better player than Big E IMO.

[haroldsnepsts 4,826]

Babcock is a firm believer in keeping the defensive pairings constant. That's why the pairings are the way they are.

Look what happened when Rafalski went down, Big E is failing pretty bad out there. Past 6 games, where Kindl turned the corner, Kindl has 2 points and is a minus 1 while E has been w/o a point since early November and is a minus 2. Without Rafalski's elite puck moving skills, we can clearly see that Big E is not better than Kindl. Kindl has out performed him lately and will out perform him through the playoffs.

Yes, Ericsson is playing more minutes than Kindl, but that more has to do with Babcock liking to keep his D pairings constant and about who Ericsson's D partner is. Ericsson lucked out to be paired with Rafalski when he did because Ericsson was in deed higher on the depth chart and the better player at the time. Now, not so much.

Kindl > Ericsson. No matter how many times you refute that equation, you won't be able to get it to be false.

Actually, it already is. The sections you made up or are completely unsupported are highlighted in bold.

The only actual evidence to support your case is a -1 difference in plus minus, which is an incredibly weak stat. What's Lidstrom's +/-? Yet you dismiss the 5 minutes difference in ice time out there between E, Salei, and Kindl. 5 minutes is a huge difference in TOI.

You're seriously arguing that in spite of Kindl clearly outplaying Ericsson, Babcock is continuing to give 5 minutes more icetime to an inferior player and limit Kindl's TOI just because he likes to keep his pairings consistent? That's absurd.

Your argument is weak. You have the opinion that Kindl is better than Ericsson. I have the opinion he isn't. The thing is, the games and evidence support my argument.

And to be clear, I'm not in any way saying Kindl is bad. But he's not playing the same role as Ericsson, and he's not as far along. But he looks very promising and has a ton of potential. Hopefully he keeps it up.

I think Kindl sees the ice better than Big E, and this is why some of you are saying he is a better player. Ericsson has more of the physical tools needed to be a defenceman, and that is why he plays a better game currently. As long as Kindl keeps learning and improving, he should end up a better player than Big E IMO.

Agreed. Maybe it's because E's development seems to have stalled a bit, but I think Kindl does have the potential to be a better D man the Ericsson. He already seems to play more physical than Ericsson and is looking more and more comfortable out there.

Edited March 6, 2011 by haroldsnepsts