All Purpose Grand Rapids Griffins Thread

[krsmith17 7,191]

Mantha, Athanasiou, Bertuzzi and Nosek are not even close to being the same type player. Mantha is anything but expendable. In fact, he had a very reasonable year production wise for a first year pro. The only reason you along with others think he is a bust after one season of pro is because of all the hype. He was overhyped from the get go. Athanasiou is exceeding expectations but I'd be willing to bet both Andreas and Anthony have similar stat lines next season in Grand Rapids.

How is drafting a center the safer bet? And why would we need a center over a defenseman? We can absolutely get a top line center or a top pair defenseman at 18. We have Larkin, Athanasiou, Sheahan, Turgeon, Nosek, Holmstrom, Glendening down the middle. Surely they can fill all 4 center positions for years to come. We drafted what? 6 centers in last years draft? I guarantee we focus on defense this year and our number one pick should be a defenseman.

Anyway, I'm done with this. I have my opinion, you have yours. I'll talk Griffins but enough about the draft here.

Also, I agree nyquististhefuture. Well said.

Edited May 15, 2015 by krsmith17

[nyqvististhefuture 1,002]

Mantha, Athanasiou, Bertuzzi and Nosek are not even close to being the same type player. Mantha is anything but expendable. In fact, he had a very reasonable year production wise for a first year pro. The only reason you along with others think he is a bust after one season of pro is because of all the hype. He was overhyped from the get go. Athanasiou is exceeding expectations but I'd be willing to bet both Andreas and Anthony have similar stat lines next season in Grand Rapids.

How is drafting a center the safer bet? And why would we need a center over a defenseman? We can absolutely get a top line center or a top pair defenseman at 18. We have Larkin, Athanasiou, Sheahan, Nosek, Holmstrom, Glendening down the middle. Surely they can fill all 4 center positions for years to come. We drafted what? 6 centers in last years draft? I guarantee we focus on defense this year and our number one pick should be a defenseman.

Anyway, I'm done with this. I have my opinion, you have yours. I'll talk Griffins but enough about the draft here.

Also, I agree nyquististhefuture. Well said.

Agreed we need more dmen at this years draft ... That being said if theres a forward who's way to good to pass up during the first round I'd have no objections ... I'd also have no objections dropping back as there's a lot of players I like in the top 90 ranked

If we manage to have 7 picks I'd say we should draft at least 4 dmen and 3 forwards with size and speed

[Buppy 1,720]

Mantha, Athanasiou, Bertuzzi and Nosek are not even close to being the same type player. Mantha is anything but expendable. In fact, he had a very reasonable year production wise for a first year pro. The only reason you along with others think he is a bust after one season of pro is because of all the hype. He was overhyped from the get go. Athanasiou is exceeding expectations but I'd be willing to bet both Andreas and Anthony have similar stat lines next season in Grand Rapids.

How is drafting a center the safer bet? And why would we need a center over a defenseman? We can absolutely get a top line center or a top pair defenseman at 18. We have Larkin, Athanasiou, Sheahan, Nosek, Holmstrom, Glendening down the middle. Surely they can fill all 4 center positions for years to come. We drafted what? 6 centers in last years draft? I guarantee we focus on defense this year and our number one pick should be a defenseman.

Anyway, I'm done with this. I have my opinion, you have yours. I'll talk Griffins but enough about the draft here.

Also, I agree nyquististhefuture. Well said.

Saying those guys can fill all 4 center spots is like saying Dekeyser, Marchenko, Ouelett, Jensen, Smith, and Sproul can fill all 6 defense spots. Might turn out to be true, but very far from a sure thing.

Bert makes it 1-0!

[nyqvististhefuture 1,002]

Man Bert already has 4 goals in his first ahl experience .... God damn impressive

[krsmith17 7,191]

Buppy, no it's not at all actually. I listed 7 centers, one of which is already a lock in the lineup, so that leaves 6 to fill 3 spots. All of which are very promising players. It would be more like saying DeKeyser, Smith, Sproul, Ouellet, Jensen, Marchenko, Hicketts and De Haas could fill our top 4 in the future. And although that is possible (not likely) it is the exact point I am trying to make. Our forward depth is unbelievable. Our defense depth is lacking in a big way...

[number9 3,297]

Buppy, no it's not at all actually. I listed 7 centers, one of which is already a lock in the lineup, so that leaves 6 to fill 3 spots. All of which are very promising players. It would be more like saying DeKeyser, Smith, Sproul, Ouellet, Jensen, Marchenko, Hicketts and De Haas could fill our top 4 in the future. And although that is possible (not likely) it is the exact point I am trying to make. Our forward depth is unbelievable. Our defense depth is lacking in a big way...

People forget Backman went ba bye. Outside of Sproul, Ouellet, Marchenko, and Jensen... we don't have much. Heaven forbid even one of those guys busts, and suddenly we have no defensive depth in the prospect pool. Like you said we drafted almost all centers last year, and for a reason. I expect D-men to be a prime focus this year.

[marcaractac 3,963]

Mantha will be fine. He had to work through a lot to come into pro hockey for the first time, both being a kid and having had a broken leg. Despite that he had a solid season. Because of the hype, expectations for him were far to high. He'll come into next season knowing what to expect and be ready to kick some ass.

[MrazekFanBoy 223]

Yeah I agree we need defense but please tell me you understand forwards have a better chance at making the nhl after being drafted than defenseman, I'm sure we will target defense in this years draft, what I'm trying to say is I think at 18 the forwards we could pick at that exact moment will be better options than the defenseman we can pick unless someone drops like I said which is why I want us to pick a forward. Mantha has a higher ceiling only because of his size and shot, what's that saying? Hardwork beats talent when talent refuses to work hard? Something like that anyways I keep hearing and I've seen highlights of him just out there floating around as if he isn't trying every shift compared to the other three that I've mentioned and I haven't heard that about any of them, so yeah I think Mantha is expendable AA Bert and Nosek are all big bodies correct? Just like Mantha which is what I was referring to when I said he was expendable. I haven't given up on him I think he could have a great season next year, if he actually puts more effort into every shift. His point totals will increase regardless because Pulks will be up full time. And I will admit that even I overhyped him but i saw 50 goals and my eyes lit up lol.

I'm taking Corey Perry(Nosek,AA,Bert) over the old floater Ovi(Mantha) as well, if he didn't have that habit then I wouldn't think he was expendable.

[nyqvististhefuture 1,002]

if we traded mantha and he came back next year with 40-50 goals there would be mass suicides in detroit

No way he's getting dealt, at least not until he has a full season .... I do believe ken holland will end up trading back since we don't have any 2nd rounders and I believe there's 3-4 teams with 2-3 2nd rounders so I think we'll find a taker

[MrazekFanBoy 223]

I never asked for him to be traded!!! What the f*** look I'm just saying right now he's more expendable compared to the beginning of the season pre injury, not because of his stats because of how he sometimes plays and because of the way AA Nosek and Bert have played

And that's the reason why I want us to draft a big forward because it will be decent ones available at 18 and if not then it will be a really good defenseman there, we'll see what happens with Mantha but it wouldn't hurt drafting a good big forward in just the first round, it also wouldn't hurt drafting defenseman it probably hurt us if we didn't in the long run, I agree with you smith but do you understand what I'm trying to say haha?

[number9 3,297]

I never asked for him to be traded!!! What the f*** look I'm just saying right now he's more expendable compared to the beginning of the season pre injury, not because of his stats because of how he sometimes plays and because of the way AA Nosek and Bert have played

And that's the reason why I want us to draft a big forward because it will be decent ones available at 18 and if not then it will be a really good defenseman there, we'll see what happens with Mantha but it wouldn't hurt drafting a good big forward in just the first round, it also wouldn't hurt drafting defenseman it probably hurt us if we didn't in the long run, I agree with you smith but do you understand what I'm trying to say haha?

We drafted mostly all forwards last year, more than a few were big

[nyqvististhefuture 1,002]

Dominic turgeon 6'2

Christoffer ehn 6'2

Julius vahatalo 6'5

Anthony mantha 6'5

Zach nastasiuk 6'2

David pope 6'3

Andreas athanasiou 6'2

Marek tvrdon 6'2

Louis marc Aubry 6'4

We got some big boys ....not against adding any forwards if they were to good to pass up ... Just noticed we drafted 4 dmen in the last 3 years ... We need to draft 4 dmen in this years draft alone

[marcaractac 3,963]

Please no OT in this game. I have to wake up 7am to go drinking.

[number9 3,297]

Please no OT in this game. I have to wake up 7am to go drinking.

I envy you...

[marcaractac 3,963]

I envy you...

Early semester engineering student perks!

[jimmyemeryhunter 2,747]

Dominic turgeon 6'2

Christoffer ehn 6'2

Julius vahatalo 6'5

Anthony mantha 6'5

Zach nastasiuk 6'2

David pope 6'3

Andreas athanasiou 6'2

Marek tvrdon 6'2

Louis marc Aubry 6'4

Alexander Kadeykin 6'4

We got some big boys ....not against adding any forwards if they were to good to pass up ... Just noticed we drafted 4 dmen in the last 3 years ... We need to draft 4 dmen in this years draft alone

[number9 3,297]

Early semester engineering student perks!

I lived in a house with a bunch of engineers during undergrad. They bitched about derformable solids and how messy our house was non stop, but they drank like fishes so we got along.

Edited May 15, 2015 by number9

[marcaractac 3,963]

I lived in a house with a bunch of engineers during undergrad. They bitched about derformable solids and how messy our was non stop, but they drank like fishes so we got along.

The booze keeps us sane

[nyqvististhefuture 1,002]

Thanks could of sworn kadeykin was a big player but hockeydb didn't have his info

Off topic but for anyone who cares about nba just noticed cavs are killing the bulls ... f*** I hate lebron

[number9 3,297]

The booze keeps us sane

The booze keeps you math boys tolerable lol

[jimmyemeryhunter 2,747]

Thanks could of sworn kadeykin was a big player but hockeydb didn't have his info

Off topic but for anyone who cares about nba just noticed cavs are killing the bulls ... f*** I hate lebron

NP.

And yes. They are.

And as for lebron, He's quite possibly the best all around player since magic Johnson, and I don't see one being better than him in the near future. So I watch him just because he is an effin great. I used to dislike lebron, until this.

https://youtu.be/_mERaVal4s8

Its always good to see someone that talented become a great leader.

And does anyone have an update on the griffs?

[krsmith17 7,191]

1-1. Under 2 remaining.

[nyqvististhefuture 1,002]

Checked the video ... Sorry I just think he's a punk lol hate his guts

http://theahl.com/mobile/game-summary.php?game_id=1014667&bblh=mSafari

Griffins still 1-1

[Buppy 1,720]

Buppy, no it's not at all actually. I listed 7 centers, one of which is already a lock in the lineup, so that leaves 6 to fill 3 spots. All of which are very promising players. It would be more like saying DeKeyser, Smith, Sproul, Ouellet, Jensen, Marchenko, Hicketts and De Haas could fill our top 4 in the future. And although that is possible (not likely) it is the exact point I am trying to make. Our forward depth is unbelievable. Our defense depth is lacking in a big way...

You gave 6 actually, and even with Sheahan and Glendening as locks for two spots, it is an enormous leap of faith to think any of our prospects can fill the two top 6 C spots. Sheahan is maybe close to be a 2/3 tweener, but doesn't look like he'll go any higher. AA and Nosek both had mediocre first years, slightly better than Helm and Emmerton, slightly worse than Abby. Hardly very promising. Holmstrom wasn't anything special, good playoff run aside, and has yet to play in NA.

Dekeyser is already closer to being a top pair D than any of our centers are to being top 6. Smith is at least 3rd pair. XO and Marchenko both spent time in the NHL, and looked decent. Both look more like good NHL players than AA, Nosek, or Holmstrom have shown. Sproul and Jensen have more questions, but I wouldn't say they're any worse than our centers.

All we really have at center is Larkin being way over-hyped. Just like we had people wanting to buy out Franzen to give Mantha a spot on the Wings before this year. He had a good year, bot not amazing or anything. It's a huge gamble to assume he's the answer to our future center needs.

Not trying to say we have everything we'll ever need on defense. We have needs at both positions, but we have good depth at both as well. Looks like there will be a better selection of defensemen available at 19, but if there's a good center available it would be just as good a pick.

Biggest organizational need is probably goalie, though since the immediate future seems set I wouldn't want to see one in the 1st round. 3rd or 4th for that is fine.

People forget Backman went ba bye. Outside of Sproul, Ouellet, Marchenko, and Jensen... we don't have much. Heaven forbid even one of those guys busts, and suddenly we have no defensive depth in the prospect pool. Like you said we drafted almost all centers last year, and for a reason. I expect D-men to be a prime focus this year.

So did Jarnkrok and Janmark. Take out our top 4 prospects at any position and it would look bad.

[nyqvististhefuture 1,002]

We don't need any goalies to be drafted this year

Got mrazek ... McCollum who I had completely written off has rebounded this year and I can see him as a backup in 2 yrs and jake patterson will start his ahl career most likely next season