9/21 Exhibition GDT: Red Wings 2 at Penguins 3

[newfy 695]

My thoughts exactly... to echo the sentiment of others, Emmerton certainly doesn't look hungry enough, I'd give the edge to Conner so far and Brunnstrom is looking worthy of a 2-way deal for sure so far... could end up being a piece of our future...

Other notes, Hudler has looked faster than normal, Pyett looks HORRIBLE, Exelby looks like a good AHL'er/depth player and Smith certianly looks NHL ready, but I still think he needs to be in the AHL for the whole season logging major minutes, especially with the lack of a spot for him on our current roster... Howard has looked pretty good as well, minus the soft goal by Malkin, where he got caught cheating...

Also, how great do Kronwall and Stewie look back together?!?!

Yeah Commie looked exactly like he should out there tonight. A solid physical presence but man does he ever look huge out there, its gonna be nice having that to patrol the blue line all season long and clear the crease.

Brunnstrom showed flashes of skill but he seems like one of those no toolbox kind of guys, youre almost out of the league in a preseason game and you pull that one handed s*** with a guy right on your back? come on now

Exxelby looks like he could be a good second call up after Smitty for sure, Janik probably has the edge right now but who knows. Exelby is probably better than Janik.

I dont totally agree with your assessment of Pyett. He looks like he could be a better version of Meech, which is a decent utility guy to have, didnt look great didnt look terrible.

Also thought Tatar looked great and was really fast and shifty. Mursak is going to be a player as well.

Johnson looks to have the edge so far in the 4th line center race, cant wait to see what unfolds.

Thats all the player assessments ill be diong for now, see you folks in the GDT tomorrow

[Austrianwing 71]

I can honestly say I hate the Penguins less when Malkin is actually playing hard and not being a ****** and Sid isn't in the lineup

If I didn't have to listen to the announcers polishing his knob, I might have admitted to myself he played well

[P. Marlowe 748]

veterans can regain exemption based on lack of games played in previous seasons and also ahl salary threshold. i just can never remember the rules for them.

for instance, jamie lundmark a couple years back signed contracts with lower ahl salaries so that he would be exempt from waivers and calgary could call him up without exposing him. allowed him to get more callups and eventually a more steady gig in the nhl again.

Damn... The waiver rule is complicated. I'm still almost sure that MacDonald has to be waived to be sent down and then can be called up without exposing him to re-entry waivers.

[Detroit # 1 Fan 2,204]

If I didn't have to listen to the announcers polishing his knob, I might have admitted to myself he played well

Oh god, Agreed. Stagielwald or whatever his name is, is BRUTAL!

[GMRwings1983 8,793]

After watching this game, it's painfully obvious to me that Detroit doesn't have what it takes to compete with the upper echelon teams in the sport.

And the Pens didn't even have Crosby.

[P. Marlowe 748]

After watching this game, it's painfully obvious to me that Detroit doesn't have what it takes to compete with the upper echelon teams in the sport.

And the Pens didn't even have Crosby.

You can do better than that.

[Guest Heaten]

I was most impressed with Brunnstrom this game. I didn't realize how fast and smooth skater he is. He also has good vision. Commodor is a beast. He seemed pretty solid. Datsyuk looked human. Stuart was weak on the puck. Smith is a turnover machine and has a long ways to go before he cracks the roster. Eaves didn't look like a good fit on the top line. Howard was... awful.

Geno and Morrow were beasts. Very impressive game by Pens.

Sure glad this was an exhibition game because the boys sure didn't play "Red Wings" hockey.

Again, Brunnstrom was probably the top 3 noticeable player for the Wings tonight (behind Datsyuk and Kronwall). This game needed some Zetterberg.

[Danielsm 244]

After watching this game, it's painfully obvious to me that Detroit doesn't have what it takes to compete with the upper echelon teams in the sport.

And the Pens didn't even have Crosby.

And the Wings didn't have Zetterberg. What is your point? This game means and shows nothing but players on an individual level for coaching staff to examine.

[NvrFrgtRussian5 85]

People need to show some respek to Malkin. Yeah, the announcers are all over him slobbing on his knob like corn on the cob; but he looked pretty damn good. It's alright to respect players that deserve some respect. It's hockey.

[P. Marlowe 748]

And the Wings didn't have Zetterberg. What is your point? This game means and shows nothing but players on an individual level for coaching staff to examine.

:carrot: :battle:

[Aussie_Wing 354]

I'll make them short, because I realise I post too much and people won't bother!

- Cleary was awesome, and should be on the top line this season.

- Datsyuk is a marvel.

- Mursak was great, love his speed and energy, and he is strong on the backcheck.

- Brunnstrom's skating surprised me, very smooth, and he's bigger than I thought too. Very impressed.

- Hudler looked good, and ready to go.

- Smith's awfully close to the NHL. Going to be a big point producer in the NHL.

- Emmerton seemed to get more comfortabe as the night wore on, after a slow start.

[Red Wings Addict 787]

And the Wings didn't have Zetterberg. What is your point? This game means and shows nothing but players on an individual level for coaching staff to examine.

Newbieeee.

[Austrianwing 71]

looks like the second goal was Hudler with a deflection. I'm happy to see it, but let the arguments commence...

edit: terrible typing

Edited September 22, 2011 by Austrianwing

[cjm502 165]

Smith might have been the best defenseman on the ice tonight imo, he is damn good. I think he could hang in the NHL no problem right now but why rush it.

[stevkrause 1,247]

Yeah Commie looked exactly like he should out there tonight. A solid physical presence but man does he ever look huge out there, its gonna be nice having that to patrol the blue line all season long and clear the crease.

Brunnstrom showed flashes of skill but he seems like one of those no toolbox kind of guys, youre almost out of the league in a preseason game and you pull that one handed s*** with a guy right on your back? come on now

Exxelby looks like he could be a good second call up after Smitty for sure, Janik probably has the edge right now but who knows. Exelby is probably better than Janik.

I dont totally agree with your assessment of Pyett. He looks like he could be a better version of Meech, which is a decent utility guy to have, didnt look great didnt look terrible.

Also thought Tatar looked great and was really fast and shifty. Mursak is going to be a player as well.

Johnson looks to have the edge so far in the 4th line center race, cant wait to see what unfolds.

Thats all the player assessments ill be diong for now, see you folks in the GDT tomorrow

I agree... Brunnstrom looked less impressive in the 3rd... I made my assessment in the 2nd int, haha, Brunnstrom still shows flashes though and I reallllly want to see us sign him to a 2 way deal and see if he earns a shot next year after a full season in GR... I still stand by my Pyett assessment too, his passes were poorly targeted, his decision making very poor and his positioning no better... he's got a good shot and some good wheels and I think he's used to those attributes bailing him out, but that doesn't fly in the NHL... I've seen him in GR several times live as well, as well as streams and I just don't ever see him as anything more than a career AHL'er...

I also agree with your assesment on the 14th forward - Johnson and Conner have the edge over Emmerton at this point from what I saw tonight...

Edited September 22, 2011 by stevkrause

[Detroit # 1 Fan 2,204]

From one of the biggest Hudler haters out there, he looked alot faster tonight. Thank god for UFC training, now lets see him with the gloves off

[Austrianwing 71]

From one of the biggest Hudler haters out there, he looked alot faster tonight. Thank god for UFC training, now lets see him with the gloves off

I like to root for the little guy, but last season after spending a year in the KHL, he just did not have the wheels to get into position fast enough to make any use of his vision on the ice. He won't ever be big, and he certainly won't ever skate like Pavel Bure. But, the added quickness I saw this game might be enough for him to start getting some points again. I for one never thought it was lack of effort; what I saw was the inability to scoot his ass from A to B quick enough to do a damn thing. That, along with a lack of confidence left him pretty useless. I really hope he rounds back into form, because then he adds an offensive depth to the team that is hard to cover all the time.

I know, eternal damn optimist

[Doc Holliday 1,888]

This is the most positive I've seen the boards after a loss.

Am I in the wrong forum?

[hillbillywingsfan 792]

This is the most positive I've seen the boards after a loss.

Am I in the wrong forum?

Well it was until you came on and posted this=)

[Guest Heaten]

Smith might have been the best defenseman on the ice tonight imo, he is damn good. I think he could hang in the NHL no problem right now but why rush it.

Smith was a turnover machine tonight. He's not NHL ready, he's got a ways to go yet. He wasn't even the best dman last year on the Griffins. Hope he improves significantly so we don't have another Kindl situation on our hands.

[Aussie_Wing 354]

Smith was a turnover machine tonight. He's not NHL ready, he's got a ways to go yet. He wasn't even the best dman last year on the Griffins. Hope he improves significantly so we don't have another Kindl situation on our hands.

Really? I'm surprised to read this, I thought he showed a ton of promise.

Maybe I'm too high on Smith? I thought he looked good in last years pre-season too.

[WorkingOvertime 536]

Smith was a turnover machine tonight. He's not NHL ready, he's got a ways to go yet. He wasn't even the best dman last year on the Griffins. Hope he improves significantly so we don't have another Kindl situation on our hands.

IMO Smith looked almost as good as Stuart and Kronner, and better than the rest of the defensemen. With that said, I think the defense looked relatively weak all around, but the Wings iced a relatively poor lineup (which I liked because we got to see the tryouts, AHLers, etc.).

[Austrianwing 71]

IMO Smith looked almost as good as Stuart and Kronner, and better than the rest of the defensemen. With that said, I think the defense looked relatively weak all around, but the Wings iced a relatively poor lineup (which I liked because we got to see the tryouts, AHLers, etc.).

I won't say the defense looked great, but it seemed to me that Smith has a few things to learn. Commodore had to play the split on the two on one, twice, paired with the young man. Smith was doing some nice stuff, and when he was there he shut down well. He just seemed to be somewhere else on the ice at moments that defense might have been helpful

[sputman 1,268]

I'll make them short, because I realise I post too much and people won't bother!

- Cleary was awesome, and should be on the top line this season.

- Datsyuk is a marvel.

- Mursak was great, love his speed and energy, and he is strong on the backcheck.

- Brunnstrom's skating surprised me, very smooth, and he's bigger than I thought too. Very impressed.

- Hudler looked good, and ready to go.

- Smith's awfully close to the NHL. Going to be a big point producer in the NHL.

- Emmerton seemed to get more comfortabe as the night wore on, after a slow start.

that post is way to positive for these parts, mister.

[Danielsm 244]

Smith was a turnover machine tonight. He's not NHL ready, he's got a ways to go yet. He wasn't even the best dman last year on the Griffins. Hope he improves significantly so we don't have another Kindl situation on our hands.

He wasn't necessarily as bad with turnovers are you make him out to be. He made a few, but not a lot. That's to be expected when you're not playing with a concrete team - hell Pasha turned over the puck at least once, maybe twice and Kronner the same (which actually resulted in a goal for PIT). Besides the turnovers, he was looking really well and actually finished the game as +1. Also, nice to see Pasha as one of the three stars too! He looked so composed out there last night, very good to see.

Edited September 22, 2011 by Danielsm