frankgrimes 1,836 Report post Posted February 21, 2014 By all reports all he is a John Scott who can actually skate. Strong as an ox. tough fighter. hard slapper. fast as can be.... 0 offensive ability besides the hard shot. terrible defensive reads. takes loads of bad penalties. We'll see. I'm not overly excited about this one yet. He doesn't need to provide offense or prevent other teams from scoring goals. The guy will be here to protect Pasha, Z, Nyquist, Tatar and some future young guns. That's his job and if he does it well he will be welcomed by the players and fans with open arms :-) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
nawein 324 Report post Posted February 21, 2014 He doesn't need to provide offense or prevent other teams from scoring goals. The guy will be here to protect Pasha, Z, Nyquist, Tatar and some future young guns. That's his job and if he does it well he will be welcomed by the players and fans with open arms :-) If he can't play hockey at at least an Emmerton level, he won't be here. End of story. Kenny and Babs aren't going to have a fighter in the lineup that brings little else to the team. See: Tootoo, Jordin. 2 ahkmed and number9 reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ahkmed 25 Report post Posted February 21, 2014 http://regressing.deadspin.com/the-enforcer-fallacy-hockeys-fighting-specialists-don-1442618145 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Richdg 267 Report post Posted February 23, 2014 Having a 6-5/255 forward on a checking line that is big, strong, fast, and mean would be a great addition! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
number9 3,297 Report post Posted February 23, 2014 Having a 6-5/255 forward on a checking line that is big, strong, fast, and mean would be a great addition! A checking line also has to be defensively responsible, as well as not put us on the PK after its shift Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Richdg 267 Report post Posted February 24, 2014 Agree. I never thought McKee would make it as a Dman. My hope as always been that he learns LW and turns into our version of Matt Martin. If he can become that type of player, we have a steal. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jimmyemeryhunter 2,747 Report post Posted February 24, 2014 I rescind my knocks on him, I looked him up and he can skate. I hope he progresses into something special cuz god knows we could use the size. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Richdg 267 Report post Posted March 1, 2014 McKee has returned to action and is earning praise from coach Murry. he has even scored a goal on 3 shots working as a F playing in close to the G. We all know he is big, tough, and fast. If he can turn into our bigger and tougher version of Matt Martin 4 or 5 years from now... I will be giddy! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Richdg 267 Report post Posted November 13, 2014 McKee, all 6-5/250 of him is playing F full time for WMU this year. Even changed his number to 22 after wearing 2 all year last year. Has played in all of WMU's games this season. Hasn't scored yet in the regular season. Will be interesting to watch how he develops as a fulltime F this year. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
frankgrimes 1,836 Report post Posted November 13, 2014 No prospect had me that excited can't wait for McKee on the big club, the time of the soft pushed around Wings will be over. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
number9 3,297 Report post Posted November 13, 2014 Too bad he's one of our lowest ranked prospects Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
krsmith17 7,191 Report post Posted November 13, 2014 Yeah, I was always hoping McKee would be able to put it all together and become a half decent hockey player. No one is expecting him to put up huge points, but he needs to show some promise playing university hockey. Just one point (goal) in 30 games at WMU isn't enough, even for a goon like McKee. If he could round out to be a solid shut down guy that can skate, hold on to the puck, kill penalties and eat up a few minutes at the NHL level, he would be a great guy to have on our forth line. Sadly, I don't see it happening... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DSM 114 Report post Posted December 10, 2014 (edited) I'm still excited about this guy. I think his struggles at the college level should be expected. He's going from being a goon dman in USHL to being a forward in college where you can't be a goon. I would say he's still a "raw project", but he has useful tools that you can't exactly teach a player to have. With size, skating and the ability to engage physically, he doesn't need to add much to become a useful role player at the NHL level. Some responsibility with the puck and some awareness with out it is about it. Will he ever be a key player in NHL? Probably not, but I think his size pretty much guarantees that he'll get an entry level contract regardless of how he produces at the college level. Unless he somehow starts lighting up the college ranks, his ceiling is probably a physical 4th line forward who can throw his body around and chip in on the forecheck while also acting as an enforcer when needed, AND/or a physical stay at home third pairing Dman who can also act as an enforcer. He could also end up being a John Scott type for a team that might still want a player like that down the road. Might be off base, but his development will probably be similar to Ericssons. Ericsson was taken with the last pick in the draft as a "raw project" who had been going through a transition from Forward to Defense. However, the main reason he was taken was because he had NHL size. In the four years before he was signed, Ericsson was never able to stick at Swedens highest level, and had managed only a single goal and assist in 88 games when he did get called to the highest level. However, the Red Wings signed him to an entry level deal, where he quickly progressed in GR and became a regular in the playoffs for the Red Wings before his waiver exemption wore off. One of the biggest assets the Red Wings have with McKee is time. The deadline to sign him is June 2016, and he'll still get 3 years of waiver exemption at the pro level. Basically the Red Wings have till the end of 2018 on 2019 to try to hone him into an NHL player. That all being said, I still wouldn't mind if he became a serviceable Derek Boogaard type for the Wings... Take the sites credibility for what it is, but this "writer" thought he was one of the Wings better dmen at their prospect camp this past summer: http://octopusthrower.com/2014/07/08/detroit-red-wings-development-camp-talking-mike-mckee/ Edited December 10, 2014 by DSM 1 krsmith17 reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
HoweFan 74 Report post Posted February 12, 2015 He now has 1 goal and 1 assist now after being shutout for most of the season. Still some hope Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
frankgrimes 1,836 Report post Posted February 12, 2015 He now has 1 goal and 1 assist now after being shutout for most of the season. Still some hope His job isn't to score goals just wait till he will be with the team, opponents will for sure "feel" his impact soon enough, so excited for this prospect. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MasterPavel 115 Report post Posted February 12, 2015 His job isn't to score goals just wait till he will be with the team, opponents will for sure "feel" his impact soon enough, so excited for this prospect. The days of having a guy that can only be tough are over, especially in this franchise. You have to at least be a shut down defender ala glendening. 1 krsmith17 reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
krsmith17 7,191 Report post Posted February 12, 2015 Interesting article... http://www.mlive.com/broncos/index.ssf/2015/02/western_michigan_defenseman_mi.html Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
krsmith17 7,191 Report post Posted February 12, 2015 I liked the pick when we drafted him back in 2012, and I really liked the move from defense to forward. He hasn't really developed the way I was hoping, but it sounds like he is really working on his skillset and trying to develop his all-around game. Going to Western Michigan, under Andy Murray seems to be helping his game, especially since he has to learn to use his hands, not his fists in college hockey. He is trying to develop into a McCarty type of player. Will he ever be as good as McCarty? I doubt it, but he is still only 21 years old. I'd still love for this kid to make our 4th line someday, if he can develop into a shutdown, penalty killer with some grit and nastiness... 1 jimmyemeryhunter reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MasterPavel 115 Report post Posted February 13, 2015 (edited) I liked the pick when we drafted him back in 2012, and I really liked the move from defense to forward. He hasn't really developed the way I was hoping, but it sounds like he is really working on his skillset and trying to develop his all-around game. Going to Western Michigan, under Andy Murray seems to be helping his game, especially since he has to learn to use his hands, not his fists in college hockey. He is trying to develop into a McCarty type of player. Will he ever be as good as McCarty? I doubt it, but he is still only 21 years old. I'd still love for this kid to make our 4th line someday, if he can develop into a shutdown, penalty killer with some grit and nastiness... Agreed, I had visions of a poor man's DMac when he moved to forward. However I doubt we see him in the nhl. He could turn out to be a valuable piece in GR to protect our top prospects through out the years though. Edited February 13, 2015 by MasterPavel Share this post Link to post Share on other sites