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Dabura

Brendan Smith

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there are several players that are either very good or at least effective at what they can do.

unfortunately, they're surrounded by a lot of garbage.

Several players, so you mean Datsyuk, Zetterberg, Abby, Franzen, Weiss, Alfie, Nyquist, Andy, Tatar, Miller, Eaves, Tootoo, bertuzzi(shootouts), Kronner, Ericsson, Kindl, Dekeyser and obviously howie.

That sounds like most of our team, where is this "garbage"? what 4 players? (I didn't include helm cause he is injured)

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Its important to remember that Smith is still very much inexperienced. Due to the lockout and the fact that we've been hearing so much from him in previous years, its easy to forget that as of right now, he only has 48 regular season games, and 14 playoff games of NHL experience under his belt. By the way, he has 15 regular season points, and 5 playoff points, which is a pretty respectable pace, IMO. He just needs to keep working on his play on the defensive side of the puck.

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Honestly, he drives me insane, but so did a guy named Jakub Kindl for about three years. Defensemen blossom late - he just really needs to calm down. Most of us around here (myself included) were ready to ship Jake off without a second thought. Now the guy's considered the 2nd best offensive d-man on the team and looks great running that second PP unit.

Seriously, how many defenders truly meet their expectations? Just from around the same period of time Smith was drafted... Hickey, Ellerby, Plante, Petrecki, Teubert, Cuma, Ellis, de Haan, Moore, etc, etc. Tons of defenders have no played up to their expectations, nor does it seem as if they will. Smith is in a good position to be insulated and play regular time on the third pairing. I know we'd all love to see young talent flourish on the team, but I think defenders are a whole different animal. Only time will tell whether or not Smith will meet his expected potential.

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Guest fat guy in a maltby jersey

Several players, so you mean Datsyuk, Zetterberg, Abby, Franzen, Weiss, Alfie, Nyquist, Andy, Tatar, Miller, Eaves, Tootoo, bertuzzi(shootouts), Kronner, Ericsson, Kindl, Dekeyser and obviously howie.

That sounds like most of our team, where is this "garbage"? what 4 players? (I didn't include helm cause he is injured)

LOL

abdelkader? eaves? bertuzzi? tootoo??

cmon bro

seriously

cmon

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Smith's NHL career hasn't even been the length of one full season.

He was getting middle pairing minutes in the playoffs last year, so Babcock must see something in him. Until he gets a full regular season under his belt, it's hard for me to have any idea what his ceiling is in terms of development.

Pretty much agree with this. His sample size is still way, way too small to make any sort of judgement. That said, he has looked very shaky but he's also 24 years old.

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NHL irony at it's finest...

Smith - 1st round draft pick that was 'top dog' pretty much at every level he played now is struggling at the NHL level of play...

DeKeyser - some no name kid who had to bust his balls in order to get to the next level, and most considered him a long shot to become a pro - now plays with poise as though he had been in the NHL for several seasons...

I wouldn't be surprised if DeKeyser went through a similar slump that Smith, Kindl, Ericsson, etc went through. In the 10-15 NHL games he's played in, DeKeyer has looked solid, so perhaps he may bypass that phase.

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Guest ForzaVerde

Can everybody wait until we get to see Smith against a team that isnt top 5? You all realize that Chicago, Boston, Pittsburgh, Toronto, and Anaheim are the best 5 teams in the league, right? Our last 20 games have been BRUTAL. Probably the most difficult strength of schedule for a 20 game stretch EVER. I expect our yound defensemen to struggle against the Crosbys, Malkins, Perrys, Getzlafs, Krssels, Kadris, Kanes, Toews, Bergerons, and Lucic's of the league. Every team struggles against them. Give Smith a chance. He's really good and plays with grit.

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Can everybody wait until we get to see Smith against a team that isnt top 5? You all realize that Chicago, Boston, Pittsburgh, Toronto, and Anaheim are the best 5 teams in the league, right? Our last 20 games have been BRUTAL. Probably the most difficult strength of schedule for a 20 game stretch EVER. I expect our yound defensemen to struggle against the Crosbys, Malkins, Perrys, Getzlafs, Krssels, Kadris, Kanes, Toews, Bergerons, and Lucic's of the league. Every team struggles against them. Give Smith a chance. He's really good and plays with grit.

Pretty sure Smith will have to play well against top 5 teams for the Wings to be successful.

And....wait.....what? Toronto? Top 5 team?

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Guest ForzaVerde

Pretty sure Smith will have to play well against top 5 teams for the Wings to be successful.

And....wait.....what? Toronto? Top 5 team?

To win the stanley cup? Yes.

To improve every year? No.

We're gonna get to play the whole league this year. Not just the Stanley cup finalists and the teams that lost to them in the playoffs.

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