What Are the DRW Building?

[OldTimeWinger 8]

The concept and purpose of an AHL franchise is to, in part, to separate the contenders from the pretenders and prepare those contenders to play at a high level with their NHL clubs.  Winning Calder Cups is icing on the cake and, hopefully, an indication your farm system is well stocked and coached. During the 2012-13 season, the Grand Rapids Griffins (the Red Wings’ AHL team), under current Detroit Red Wings Head Coach Jeff Blashill, won the Calder Cup. Last night, the Griffins again won the Calder Cup. That’s two Calder’s in the last 5 seasons. Hmmmmmm. This begs the question: How have the Calder-winning Griffins – some highly drafted and touted – transitioned to the NHL.

From the 2012-13 Calder Cup Champions GR Griffins, who are now regulars on the DRW:

	GP	W	L	T	OT	GAA	Sv%	SO
Petr Mrzaek	142	63	50	0	17	2.3725	0.91675	10
	GP	G	A	P	+/-	PIM	PPG	PPP	S
Danny DeKeyser	305	18	68	86	1	149	1	10	330
Gustav Nyquist	297	84	109	193	3	88	29	54	674
Riley Sheahan	282	38	60	98	-32	48	11	23	419
Tomas Tatar	318	94	92	186	14	108	23	48	700
Luke Glendening	293	24	36	60	-9	128	1	2	322
* The 2013-2017 seasons

 

Consider:
• Not one of the 5 skaters is anywhere close to a point per game performer
• Not one of the 5 skaters takes 3 shots a game
• Two of the 5 skaters are MINUS players and another two are damn close
• The goalie is just 13 games over .500 and holds a pedestrian .916 Sv%

If you believe the future of your team is built through the draft and by developing your own players, one could rationalize the Wings – from Ken Holland on down – have done a bang-up job constructing competitive and winning AHL teams.  Applaud sign! But those 2012-13 champions have had a rough if not ineffective NHL careers, which seemingly explains why the once vaunted Detroit Red Wings have sunk to the 25th worst team in the league in 2017.

Fresh off another Calder Cup win, how will these champions transition to the NHL? Do you want to build and compete for a Calder Cup or a Stanley Cup?

[kliq 3,763]

2 hours ago, OldTimeWinger said:

The concept and purpose of an AHL franchise is to, in part, to separate the contenders from the pretenders and prepare those contenders to play at a high level with their NHL clubs.  Winning Calder Cups is icing on the cake and, hopefully, an indication your farm system is well stocked and coached. During the 2012-13 season, the Grand Rapids Griffins (the Red Wings’ AHL team), under current Detroit Red Wings Head Coach Jeff Blashill, won the Calder Cup. Last night, the Griffins again won the Calder Cup. That’s two Calder’s in the last 5 seasons. Hmmmmmm. This begs the question: How have the Calder-winning Griffins – some highly drafted and touted – transitioned to the NHL.

From the 2012-13 Calder Cup Champions GR Griffins, who are now regulars on the DRW:

	GP	W	L	T	OT	GAA	Sv%	SO
Petr Mrzaek	142	63	50	0	17	2.3725	0.91675	10
	GP	G	A	P	+/-	PIM	PPG	PPP	S
Danny DeKeyser	305	18	68	86	1	149	1	10	330
Gustav Nyquist	297	84	109	193	3	88	29	54	674
Riley Sheahan	282	38	60	98	-32	48	11	23	419
Tomas Tatar	318	94	92	186	14	108	23	48	700
Luke Glendening	293	24	36	60	-9	128	1	2	322
* The 2013-2017 seasons

 

Consider:
• Not one of the 5 skaters is anywhere close to a point per game performer
• Not one of the 5 skaters takes 3 shots a game
• Two of the 5 skaters are MINUS players and another two are damn close
• The goalie is just 13 games over .500 and holds a pedestrian .916 Sv%

If you believe the future of your team is built through the draft and by developing your own players, one could rationalize the Wings – from Ken Holland on down – have done a bang-up job constructing competitive and winning AHL teams.  Applaud sign! But those 2012-13 champions have had a rough if not ineffective NHL careers, which seemingly explains why the once vaunted Detroit Red Wings have sunk to the 25th worst team in the league in 2017.

Fresh off another Calder Cup win, how will these champions transition to the NHL? Do you want to build and compete for a Calder Cup or a Stanley Cup?

An AHL team does different things for different players.

For Forwards, it is usually a place where second tier guys/low level picks work on their craft so they can be solid contributes at the NHL level, or at best in rare cases upper tier player in the NHL. The reason for this is because the "studs" (ie. the McDavid's, Matthews, Eichel's. even Larkin's of the world) typically skip the AHL and jump right into the NHL. So the fact that nobody from that team is an "82 point per season guy" makes a lot of sense.

D is a different story, D take longer to develop then forwards and the AHL is used to help with that development. Unfortunately we haven't had any elite level D-men in our farm system for a long time (fingers crossed that the kids now change that). This is an area in our system that I think most can agree we have failed in.

As far as Mrazek goes, well this is a sample size of 1. Goalies like D-men typically take longer to develop as well. Only time will tell with him. I truthfully wouldn't be surprised if Mrazek wins a Vezina one day, or becomes a complete flop. It's very hard to assess a young goalie as a fan when the mental side of things is so important. 

In short, what the Wings appear to be building in the AHL in a great group of complimentary/second tier players. The reason for this, is because we haven't had a high draft pick in decades. I think this entire board can agree that we lack at the moment young elite level talent. But even if we did have elite level young guys, they wouldn't be in the AHL anyways.

[Echolalia 2,961]

Many of the point-per-game players in the NHL spend very little time in the AHL.  The AHL is where most of the solid complimentary guys are developed and prepared for the NHL, although yes, there are some guys who require seasoning in the AHL and then continue on to become stars in the NHL, but for the most part, its the complimentary, second line, third line, fourth line guys that you're getting from the farm teams.  The Red Wings have never lacked in that department.  What they need is star-calibre talent and franchise guys to build a team around.  The type that are drafted and often immediately put into an NHL roster.  

[ChristopherReevesLegs 7,022]

Complaining about good drafting/farm team is kind of silly. Sure on Friday nights you want a steak AND a baked potato, but when you check the freezer and find that your steaks have gone bad, you don't toss the baked potato out too. No, you eat that baked potato until you can find some more steaks at the store. Then you have steak AND potato again, and life is good. Some teams got decent steaks but no starches, and they wish they had our starches.

Btw in this crappy analogy steak = elite players, and potatos = depth players/role players etc.

Think I know what I'm making for dinner tonight 

[LeftWinger 5,131]

None of means anything when they come to the NHL and are regulated to the 4th line or 13th forward. Bertuzzi's 23 playoff goals? That'll get him 3 minutes a game in Detroit. 

[ChristopherReevesLegs 7,022]

3 minutes ago, LeftWinger said:

None of means anything when they come to the NHL and are regulated to the 4th line or 13th forward. Bertuzzi's 23 playoff goals? That'll get him 3 minutes a game in Detroit. 

Pulks and Jurco were also lights out in the AHL and have not done diddly in the NHL with us or on other teams. If Bertuzzi plays well he'll get his time. See: Larkin, Mantha, AA, Mrazek, Jensen, Ouellet, Sheahan, Glendening, etc.

[kickazz 5,459]

The DRW are building an arena on Woodward Ave.

[toby91_ca 620]

32 minutes ago, LeftWinger said:

None of means anything when they come to the NHL and are regulated to the 4th line or 13th forward. Bertuzzi's 23 playoff goals? That'll get him 3 minutes a game in Detroit. 

What 23 playoff goals?

[krsmith17 7,191]

2 minutes ago, toby91_ca said:

What 23 playoff goals?

Bertuzzi has scored 23 goals (39 points) in 42 games playoff games with the Griffins over the past three years.

[DickieDunn 2,571]

And when he got into some NHL games he looked lost, small, and slow.  AHL success gets you a shot at the NHL, nothing more.  What a player does with that shot is up to them.

[BadgerBob 297]

1 minute ago, DickieDunn said:

And when he got into some NHL games he looked lost, small, and slow.  AHL success gets you a shot at the NHL, nothing more.  What a player does with that shot is up to them.

I think Him, Callahan, and Glendening would make an interesting 4th line. They'd really piss some people off!

[Buppy 1,720]

Red Wings fans: There's nothing we can't turn into a negative.

[kickazz 5,459]

17 minutes ago, Buppy said:

Red Wings All sports fans of a declining team: There's nothing we can't turn into a negative.

 

[LeftWinger 5,131]

3 hours ago, krsmith17 said:

Bertuzzi has scored 23 goals (39 points) in 42 games playoff games with the Griffins over the past three years.

Oh! Lol! When I heard he scored his 23rd goal of the post season, I thought they meant this one...oops!

[PavelValerievichDatsyuk 1,935]

There were only 31 players that averaged 3 shots per game this year and only 7 PPG guys. If those are the marks for success for an AHL prospect, then you will be disappointed by almost all. 

I would be very happy if we get 4 players of the caliber of DK, Tats, Goose, and Mraz off of this current Calder winning team. (you can throw in a Glendening too for good measure)

As for the missing elite talent, we'll have to hope on some of our soon to come high picks and the continued development of Larkin, Mantha, AA, Mrazek, Svech, etc.

Anyway, congrats to the Griffins. Having a strong AHL affiliate to develop guys can only be a positive. Build a winning culture and get prospects playing the system at a high level.

Edited June 15, 2017 by PavelValerievichDatsyuk