SB Nation - Darren Helm

The Pitfalls of Using Abdelkader as the 2nd Line Center

mpetrella — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 14:00:39 -0000

by Bill Boyce - AP

13 days ago: Detroit Red Wings' Justin Abdelkader (8) looks to pass as St. Louis Blues' Darryl Sydor (44) defends in the first period of an NHL hockey game Saturday, Nov. 28, 2009, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Bill Boyce)

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I adore Justin Abdelkader. I think he works his butt off, and is one of the guys that has shown up night in and night out. Much has been made of his bump up to interim second line center, and - with the multitude of injuries this team has incurred - Uncle Mike had little choice. He made sure to remind us all that he's running short on centers.

I'm a numbers guy. I like to read stats and try to analyze what they could mean, and very often the answer is "nothing." But this Gator move didn't sit well, and not because I don't think he deserves a shot. Like I mentioned above, he's one of the guys that truly works his behind off for his teammates. But the numbers don't quite add up, and here's why...

The Red Wings pride themselves on being an effective puck-possession team, and that all starts in the faceoff circle. Six players have taken 150 or more faceoffs this season: Henrik Zetterberg, Pavel Datsyuk, Darren Helm, Justin Abdelkader, Valtteri Filppula, and Kris Draper.

Prior to the Blues game, Abdelkader had the lowest faceoff percentage of any of these players, somewhere in the neighborhood of 42%. The rest were all above 50.

After one period, it was clear the faceoffs weren't going the Red Wings' way. Normally a very good team on the draw, Detroit found itself on the short end of a 20-6 faceoff differential, including 0-for-6 from #8. Now, one period does not a good center make, but not only was Abdelkader playing more minutes in his new role, he was also taking more draws, and against better artists. He finished the game 2-for-9, a woeful 22%. All in all, all the Red Wings had an off-night at the dot (except Darren Helm, who was 9-for-13), and Abdelkader's percentage has dropped to 41.8.

I know it's not Abdelkader's ideal spot in the lineup, and if all things went as planned, he was to spend the whole year in Grand Rapids. But I think it's clear he belongs in Detroit - he's a heck of a worker, and isn't afraid to head into the corners and along the boards. But to say he's the weakest draw-taker on the current squad would be an understatement.

Why not try Darren Helm in that spot? Perhaps its because Helm is penciled into that third/fourth line role, and that's where he should stay. Abdelkader is essentially a fill-in on this team, a place-holder of sorts. But if Babcock wants to possess the puck for every second that the top two lines are on the ice, he might want to consider someone else taking the draws.

New Jersey Devils Give Up 2 Goal Lead, Pull Out Win over Detroit Red Wings in Shootout

John Fischer — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 05:09:07 -0000

More photos » by Bill Kostroun - AP

Patrik Elias showed up in the shootout and scored the shootout winning goal to give the New Jersey Devils the win. Chris Osgood is frozen at this point in time. (AP Photo/Bill Kostroun)

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Last Saturday, the New Jersey Devils snowballed their way to a huge 6-1 win over the New York Islanders. As the game went on, the Devils played better and went on to dominate on the ice and on the scoreboard. Tonight, the opposite happened as the Devils hosted the Detroit Red Wings. The Devils started off great, slowed down a bit in the second period, and then reverted to how they looked last night in the third period. In the process, the Devils conceded a two goal lead and the game was forced into overtime and followed by a shootout. The Devils won there, the final became 4-3, and so NHL.com has your recap complete with the relevant stats.

The Devils prevailed there, but I can't honestly say I'm pleased with the performance. I know, I know, it's a results-oriented business and the Devils just picked up 4 points in 48 hours. Fine. But the Devils could have and should have done better tonight, especially because they played so well and worked so hard in the first period. Credit the Detroit Red Wings for responding after being beaten on first twenty minutes, they eventually took the game over and made it a game.

Winging it in Motown has their recap up and joehass wonders why Patrick Eaves wasn't used in the shootout for Detroit given that he had a goal and an assist. Read on my extended thoughts on tonight's game.

Let's talk about the goaltenders first. Martin Brodeur and Chris Osgood, I felt, played well. Both goaltenders had to come up huge at various points. Brodeur bailed the Devils out of the third period, whereas Chris Osgood robbed the Devils a few times earlier - most notably Ilkka Pikkarainen's backhand. A bit odd to say given that both gave up 3 goals each. However, only one of the six goals scored in regulation was really a soft - Johnny Oduya's individual effort sliding right through Osgood's legs. The other goals were off rebounds where the goaltender had no chance on (Jamie Langenbrunner, and one deflection by Patrick Eaves. Here's a video of the game's highlights from NHL.com. See for yourself:

Now, you can see where the momentum lied in the shots by period. The Devils' first period was very strong. They bossed the Detroit skaters around, they moved the puck up ice at will, they owned the neutral zone, and outshot the Wings 11-7. They were doing what I said I wanted them to do in the game preview - be aggressive on offense. If you had seen that period, then you became increasingly amazed at how the Devils took their foot off the proverbial pedal. In the second period, Detroit pulled one back (Kris Draper on a rebound), the Devils responded with a goal of their own (Rob Niedermayer on a rebound created by Vladimir Zharkov), and then Detroit capitalized on a power play near the end of the period (Thomas Holmstrom on a tip). Sure, the Devils were leading after the period, 3-2; but the Red Wings clearly made adjustments that the Devils didn't have many answers for and so outshot the Devils 11-9. No longer was Detroit being outworked, no longer was Detroit constantly giving away the puck in the neutral zone.

And then the third period came and it reminded me so much of last night, it was sick in retrospect. It started off well enough. Jay Pandolfo nearly had a goal when his shot from the high slot was stopped by Chris Osgood. The puck bounced up, over Osgood, and was about to slide in only for Brad Stuart to swoop in and clear it off the line. From that point on, Detroit took over in pinning the Devils back, forcing them to clear the puck right back to Detroit, and repeat. Patrick Eaves got the equalizer off a deflection and Martin Brodeur should be thanked for keeping the score tied. After all, the Devils only put 3 shots on Osgood in the third (11-3 Detroit in terms of shots). Where were the Devils of the first period? Where was the aggressive offense? Truthfully, the Devils escaped the third period and were fortunate to earn a point with that kind of "offense."

Overtime saw the Devils actually make an effort to score a goal and came close when a deflected shot by Travis Zajac beat Osgood, but was denied by the post. Alas, this game needed a shootout and the Devils pull out a win. The fans (it was a very good and loud crowd at the Rock) were real happy with the win, nearly everyone standing for every shot and Devils attempt. Exciting stuff, but I can't help but think that most would have liked to have seen the Devils continue to do what they did in the first period and put the game out of doubt. But Detroit responded real well and the Devils wilted. I also can't help but think of the following cliche: good teams know how to win games that they perhaps shouldn't have. The Devils did just that in the last two games. So I guess they are a good team.

A few Devils stuck out tonight, in my opinion. I felt Jay Pandolfo (17:58, 1 A, 2 SOG) and Johnny Oduya (21:01, 1 G, 3 hits) had good games. I was a bit concerned with how they would look after not playing for at least a month, and my concerns were quickly erased. Both hustled pretty well and didn't make too many noticeable mistakes as they played significant minutes. Well, Oduya did jump up on offense, got caught, and didn't really recover well as Darren Helm unloaded a shot that Kris Draper eventually knocked in. But Oduya was just a part of that, the other Devils should have helped out in recovery; so I wouldn't kill him for that one. Rob Niedermayer had a good game, he had 3 shots on net and went right to the net at the right time for the Devils' third goal. He played just over 19 minutes (19:17) and statistically I can only fault him for going 5 for 13 on faceoffs. I also felt Colin White (21:00) and Mike Mottau (24:57) had a solid game on defense. This is especially good news for White as he left Friday's game early due to "lower body soreness." Tonight, he stayed in and feels pretty good afterward according to Gulitti's postgame report.

In terms of Devils who stuck out for not being noticeable (this makes sense, hear me out), I'd have to point the finger to Patrik Elias and Brian Rolston. Last week, they were a dynamite duo. Tonight, they weren't really there. Rolston had 3 shots on net and played 14:57. None of those shots were of particular importance and he managed to get blocked twice and miss the net three times. I didn't think he had an impact. Elias got the win-clinching goal in the shootout, but he did little else in the game. He also played far less than I thought, only 14:05, put 1 shot on net, and was thoroughly beaten at the faceoff dot (3 for 11). The offense has a whole suffered as the game went on, and these two really do need to take more initiative to prevent this from happening in future games.

I do have to credit Detroit's defense in part of stifling New Jersey's offense. Nicklas Lidstrom is an absolute joy to watch on the blueline. He knows where to position himself, when to step up on a player, when to drop back, and he is so slick with the puck. A few times in the game, a Devil forward would have the puck and carry it over the blueline only to just dump it away because he knows he can't beat Lidstrom in a one-on-one battle. It's no wonder he's known as a dominant defenseman. Naturally, he played 30:48 for Detroit because he really is that important. Jonathan Ericsson also came back from injury and put in a good (not perfect, but good) effort in playing 28:24 (!!), often along side Lidstrom. Overall, the Red Wings' D cleaned up a lot of rebounds and Lidstrom alone made things difficult for the Devils' offense after the first period. Not that the Devils' offense was particularly interested in attacking them by the third period.

So what's next? The Devils have four games in the coming week and they really need to be more consistently positive on offense. That means putting shots on net through all three periods. That means not allowing the opposition to dictate the play when up with a lead. That means not giving up a two goal lead in a game. I think it'll get better, hopefully by Monday when they go up to Buffalo. Thanks to Steve and commenters in the GameThread, as well as all of the readers. Feel free to leave your thoughts, questions, complaints, stats I missed, and anything else you feel about tonight's shootout win in the comments.

Panthers double up Red Wings 2-1 (OT) for first win in Detroit since 1996

Whale4ever — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 16:56:30 -0000

More photos » by Jerry S. Mendoza - AP

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Not only was the score doubled, so were the shots: 40 to 20 in favor of the Wings. Panthers goaltender Scott Clemmensen, suited up in his first start since November 7th, kept his club firmly ensconced in this one. Undoubtedly, this is the "Clemmer" fans expected to see when he signed a three-year deal with the organization in July. Stephen Weiss tied the score at the midway point of the third, missing on his initial attempt to jam the puck into a gaping net to the right of Chris Osgood, only to bang it home on a second furious push. Bryan McCabe played the hero in the overtime session, scoring from the right circle on a one-timer. End of game, end of thirteen year(!) drought in the Motor City. Slayin' dragons, one period at a time.

A few numbers:

Florida registered two shots on Osgood in the opening frame, and matched that figure in 40 seconds of OT. Radek Dvorak, Steven Reinprecht, and Dmitry Kulikov failed to register a shot; Detroit's Darren Helm had eight shots while playing a total of 14:25. Sick. All Florida skaters finished with an "even" or better plus-minus. Jordan Leopold led in TOI with 24:23, just a shade over McCabe. Is Nathan Horton becoming - gulp - consistent? His two assists against the Wings gives him 5 points (1 goal) and a plus-3 in his past four games.

Ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain speaking...

Programming note: tonight's Cats @ Blueshirts Open Thread goes LIVE at 6pm. Have a great Saturday everyone.

Red Wings beat Sharks 2-1 in Shootout

joehass — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 04:32:21 -0000

More photos » by Paul Sancya - AP

Henrik Zetterberg scores the game-winner in the shootout against San Jose.

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On Budd Lynch bobblehead night, it was Henrik Zetterberg's who helped put away the San Jose Sharks.

Zetterberg scored the lone Detroit Red Wings goal with 14:22 left in regulation, then scored at the end of the shootout to seal a 2-1 win over San Jose. It broke the Shark's six-game winning streak and extended the Wings winning streak to three games

Zetterberg took advantage of a shot by Darren Helm. Evgeni Nabokov seemed to cover the puck, but did not get a whistle, Zetterberg kept charging towards the net and swatted the puck into the net to even the score at one.

In the second period, Logan Couture netted his first NHL goal off a nice setup from Joe Callahan (who picked up his first NHL point) and Joe Thornton.

In overtime, Darren Helm had two incredible chances in overtime on a two-on-one, but couldn't put either shot past Evgeni Nabokov. The Red Wings put heavy pressure on the Sharks with five shots in the overtime period.

The shootout saw a series of back-hand shots: Pavel Datsuyk opened with one that easily faked our Nabokov. Dan Boyle and Ryane Clowe each tried backhanders that failed to get past Chris Osgood. Then Zetterberg ended the shootout with a simple shot that got past Nabokov for the second time of the night.

Osgood finished the evening with 34 saves; Nabokov ended with 36.

The Red Wings will take on Toronto Saturday night in an Original Six matchup in Toronto.

Catch the high lights below from NHL.com.

Wings lose 6-5 in shootout to Oilers

Christy — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 04:42:37 -0000

More photos » by Jimmy Jeong - AP

about 1 month ago: Detroit Red Wings center Darren Helm (43) celebrates his goal with right wing Patrick Eaves (17) in a game against the Edmonton Oilers during second-period NHL hockey action in Edmonton, Alberta, on Thursday, Oct. 29, 2009. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press,Jimmy Jeong)

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The Edmonton Oilers snapped a three-game losing streak, partially due to the H1N1 infestation of their team, with a 6-5 shootout win in Edmonton on Thursday evening. The Detroit Red Wings found a way to earn a point on the road, storming back from a 4-0 and later 5-2 deficit at the end of the second period with three markers in the third frame to send the game into overtime. Only one player scored in the shootout for either team, Patrick O'Sullivan, which handed the 'W' and the two points to Edmonton.

The Wings got some bad news when Valtteri Filppula fell awkwardly after a hit along the boards at some point in the second. Coach Mike Babcock told FSDetroit after the game that he broke his wrist and will unfortunately be out 6-8 weeks.

We're just going to skip the first-period recap as the Wings allowed three tallies on 12 shots. Heading into the second period, Ales Hemsky scored his second goal of the evening just 58 seconds into the period when he beat netminder Jimmy Howard five-hole on a breakaway.

The Wings would finally get on the board at the 6:15 mark into the middle frame with forward Darren Helm scoring his first regular-season goal ever on a blast from the top of the right faceoff circle. Coach Mike Babcock had him as a healthy scratch for Tuesday's game against Vancouver, hoping that it would spark his play. Helmer told FSDetroit during the second intermission that while Babcock's decision was frustrating, "I thought it was good for me."

Less than three minutes later, the Oilers responded in a mad scramble in front of the net on a power play. Forward Shawn Horcoff ultimately got the puck past Howard for his third point of the night (he posted two assists earlier in the game).

Forward Henrik Zetterberg brought the Wings within three 12:50 into the second stanza after throwing the puck at the cage, which surprisingly went in from the weird angle he was at below the left faceoff circle. Teammates Niklas Kronwall and Pavel Datsyuk registered assists on the play.

Detroit kept the pressure on Edmonton in the second, hitting the post twice in a short span of time. Edmonton took a narrow lead over the Wings in the shot and scoring chances categories (23-22 and 10-9 respectively) as the two squads heading to their respective locker rooms.

The Wings made it a game in the first half of the third period, scoring twice in a span of 1:12. Defenseman Jonathan Ericsson earned his third goal of the season at the 6:32 mark. Kris Draper backhanded a pass to drop the puck back to Ericsson, who was stationed atop the left faceoff circle, for a quick release that beat Khabibulin.

Just a short time later, Datsyuk deked an Oiler to find room to slide a pass to to Todd Bertuzzi, who popped it in from just above the inside hash of the left faceoff circle, to make it a one-goal difference.

Patrick Eaves evened the game up at 5-5 on his first goal of the year. He got a shot off through an Oiler's legs to beat Khabibulin gloveside. Helmer and Ericsson notched the assists. He spoke with FSDetroit after the game:

"We would have liked to get off to a better start...We just came together as a group and everyone did their job, pulled their weight...I'm just trying to make the best out of the time I got."

It was mainly Detroit in the third as they outshot Edmonton 20-6 in the period, but the game went into overtime with a 5-5 tie at the end of regulation. Despite numerous solid chances for both teams, the teams went scoreless in extra time resulting in a shootout.

Howard stays with his man, stuffing the first Oiler of the shootout. Jason Williams went first for the Wings, but Khabibulin got his pad on the shot. Hemsky tries to deke a couple times, but sent the shot wide of the net. Datsyuk goes next and opts for head-on shot instead of trying to deke, but no luck. O'Sullivan hits the back bar on his shot and gives Edmonton the lead in the shootout. Zetterberg cannot find a way to beat the Oilers' goalie, giving the 'W' to Edmonton.

Coach Babcock spoke with FSDetroit following the game:

"It was a heck of a comeback. It was good character and good grit...Obviously we weren't ready to go and it cost us a point...Filppula broke his wrist and will be out 6-8 weeks. It'll give someone an opportunity."

Christy's Red Wing of the Game: Darren Helm

Darren Helm

#43 / Center / Detroit Red Wings

Height: 5-11

Weight: 195

Born: Jan 21, 1987

	GP	G	A	P	+/-	PIM	PPG	SHG	GWG	GTG	SOG	PCT
2009 - Darren Helm	5	0	1	1	-1	0	0	0	0	0	4	0.0

We saw an offensive effort from some unusual suspects today. Eaves, Ericsson, and Helm recorded a goal and an assist. Helmer and Eaves earned their first goal of the regular season this year in the game. Datsyuk posted two helpers.

The Wings finish up their five-game road trip in Calgary on Saturday night at 10 p.m. EDT.

Poll

Which Red Wing did you think played the best in tonight's game?

Darren Helm

47 votes

Patrick Eaves

19 votes

Jonathan Ericsson

11 votes

Pavel Datsyuk or Henrik Zetterberg

21 votes

Other

3 votes

101 votes | Poll has closed

Wings Blow Two-Goal Lead, Lose In Shootout

joehass — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 02:20:26 -0000

More photos » by Jerry S. Mendoza - AP

Justin Abdelkader celebrates his first NHL goal.

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After two strong periods, the Detroit Red Wings looked like they were on fire against the Colorado Avalanche.

But two goals from Cody McLeod gave the Avalanche life, and put the game into a shootout. There, Ville Leino missed on the third shot to give the Avalanche a 4-3 win at Joe Louis Arena.

With Pavel Datsyuk out for the second straight night with an upper-body injury, the Wings got off to a strong start. Justin Abdelkader scored his first regular-season NHL goal early off of Darren Helm. The Wings extended that lead just 1:16 into the second period, when Todd Bertuzzi took advantage of a Matt Hendricks hooking penalty and fought off Adam Foote in front of the net, taking a Henrik Zetterberg pass and put it past Craig Anderson to make it 2-0 entering the third.

But Cody McLeod lit the lamp at 9:06 on a pretty shot through Chris Osgood's five-hole. Three minutes later, Matt Duchene scored the first goal of his NHL career when he put a 40-footer just past Osgood on the far side. The game was tied, and the Red Wings seemed to fall into a rut. Fortunately for them, less than two minutes after that, Valtteri Filppula takes advantage of a scrum in front of the net, finds the puck, and puts it into a wide-open net to give Detroit the lead back.

But McLeod wasn't done. With 2:32 left in regulation, the Red Wings were caught on a line change. Taking advantage, the Avs pushed the puck off the boards, and McLeod put it past Osgood to tie things up at three.

After both teams couldn't take advantage in overtime, Marek Svatos and Milan Hejduk each put backhanders past Chris Osgood. Zetterberg tried to go right but instead went into Anderson's left pad. Finally, Ville Leino's weak backhander was easily blocked by Anderson to give Colorado the win.

The Avalanche continued an interesting streak: they have been outshot in all eight of their games, but have managed to win seven of them. Detroit had a 31-29 shot advantage.

The Red Wings are off until Thursday, when they begin a five-game, west-coast road trip, starting with the Phoenix Coyotes.

Player Of The Game: Todd Bertuzzi. He gets his first goal as a Red Wings on four shots and a hit. He looked sharp thoughout the game, and seems to be finally settling into his role with the Red Wings

An Intro and By The Numbers :: 10/6 Edition

mpetrella — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 15:00:29 -0000

by NIKLAS LARSSON - AP

2 months ago: Detroit Red Wings Henrik Zetterberg (right), and the rest of the Red Wings, during the national anthems before of an NHL hockey game Saturday, Oct, 3 2009 in Stockholm. (AP Photo/Niklas Larsson)

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Oh hi!

In a few seconds, I'll get to what will become the weekly By the Numbers feature, but I wanted to get a few housekeeping things out of the way first...

First, I wanted to take a quick second and thank Christy and Casey for inviting me to join the Winging it in Motown family -- and congratulate Kyle and Drew, both of whom I've enjoyed reading and can't wait to see what they've got in store for WIM.

Anyway, many of you might be familiar with The Production Line (and I thank you for reading), but for those of you that aren't, here are a handful of things that you should know about me -- right from the start.

1. I'm a big fan of lists. Charts, too. But mostly lists.

2. I'm a selective hockey traditionalist. And by that, I mean I hate the trapezoid, but love the no-changes-after-icing thing.

3. Maltby/Draper/Holmstrom trade or retirement desires of fans literally make me punch myself in the face. In nearly 100 years of Detroit hockey, there have only been a handful of life & death Red Wings, and they are three of them. As far as I’m concerned, they could have roster spots three years after they die, if they wanted them. Sit down. Shut up. Enjoy every shift before they hang ‘em up. There are fans of 29 other hockey clubs that would legitimately run over their mothers to have two decades of any of those guys – let alone all three.

4. Every now and then, you’ll come across a completely random or obscure quote or reference. That means its Simpsons-related. It also means you should watch more Simpsons.

5. During the year, I’ll probably be a little hard on Chris Osgood and Todd Bertuzzi. I’m sorry. I can’t help it. I just don’t like them. The same goes for Henrik Zetterberg, Darren Helm, and Valtteri Filppula. Except the opposite. They can do no wrong. Even if they do wrong, it was on purpose to throw off the enemy.

6. In a fit of what can only be described as a perfect storm of boredom and nerdery, I’ve actually read the CBA. As of this writing, I can understand eleven words of it.

7. Badger, my ass. It’s probably Milhouse.

And now, on to the numbers…

---------------------------------------

After nine pre-season games, Justin Abdelkader led the way with EIGHT games player – the most of any Red Wing, followed by Jonathan Ericsson and Derek Meech, with seven each.

Of the 53 skaters that took part in Red Wings training camp, only THREE non-roster players scored a goal in a pre-season game: Jamie Tardif, Jeremy Williams, and Kris Newbury.

As of October 5^th, Andreas Lilja has missed the Red Wings’ last 53 games – including playoffs and pre-season.

Only FOUR Red Wings have a plus rating since the real games began: Nick Lidstrom, Brian Rafalski, Justin Abdelkader and Kirk Maltby. Lots of players are -1, but only Brett Lebda finds himself more in the hole: he’s -3.

Everyone who thought Kirk Maltby would lead the team in scoring at any point during the season, raise your hand. ....Liar.

Justin Abdelkader is the only Red Wing who has taken more than one faceoff with a percentage below 50% (5/13). Ville Leino is 0/1, Franzen is 1/2, Zetterberg is 14/28, Cleary is 4/7, Filppula is 20/35, Draper is 5/8, and Datsyuk leads the way going 23/33 (69.7%).

After two games, Johan Franzen leads the team with TEN hits, followed by Justin Abdelkader (8), Brad Stuart (7), Dan Cleary and Nik Kronwall (5 each). Can’t wait for Darren Helm to match these totals in his first shift…

The Detroit Red Wings are 0-2 for the first time since 1989. That year, they finished in last place in the Norris Division at 28-38-14. It was the last time they did not qualify for the playoffs.

SURPRISE! Nicklas Lidstrom leads the team in minutes (50), followed by Rafalski (49), Kronwall (47), Stuart (45), and Datsyuk (40). Kirk Maltby is the low man with under 18 minutes played.

Line-up change for Thursday

MrNorrisTrophy — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 02:20:01 -0000

More photos » by Jerry S. Mendoza - AP

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Hoping to jumpstart the defense, Mike Babcock has replaced Brett Lebda on the third defensive pairing with Derek Meech. A move welcomed by many, including me, could pay off for the Wings against the Blackhawks. Meech is slightly bigger than Lebda and is more of a defensive defenseman than Lebda. This should prove to be beneficial against the potent Blackhawks offense that has speed and good passing.

Chris Osgood is expected to start in net for Thursday's game and hopefully he'll be able to bounce back from the opening game loss. Darren Helm is listed as questionable for the game but it's unlikely that he will be rushed back to the line-up.

Link to mlive.com article.

Poll

Is pulling Lebda for Meech the right move?

Yes! About time!

160 votes

Nah, give Brett some slack.

34 votes

194 votes | Poll has closed

Friday Prospects -- Class of 2009

KyleKujawa — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 18:22:33 -0000

More photos » by Matt Slocum - AP

2 months ago: Detroit Red Wings defenseman Jonathan Ericsson, of Sweden, knocks Philadelphia Flyers forward Jeff Carter into the boards during the second period of a preseason NHL hockey game, Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2009, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

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Hello there. I'm Kyle, and this is my feature.

If anyone's ever read my blog (I don't blame you, I don't read it either), you'll know that my love in life is Detroit prospects. I've always followed the draft, and when I'm not watching the Wings I'm usually trying to catch some random prospects game. I find the idea of knowing future Red Wings before they get there to be thrilling, and I think many others do as well. The only problem is, with so many prospects spread out all over the world, it's really hard to know where to start.

Hence, every Friday I will deliver this feature. Obviously with bigger things on the agenda today, I don't expect people will be fawning all over this. But I figure since the prospects season is well under way, this would be a fine day to make my debut.

Every week, this should be your stop for only the freshest prospects news. I plan to target three or four players every week to profile and provide some background and info on so that anyone looking to follow prospects can start. I'll spread the love, of course -- with 39 prospects headed into the season, I'll be looking at the most well-known to the most obscure. As this is a new feature and I am an indecisive person, I'd love to hear feedback on anything that you might want to see thrown in to this feature.

Today's group -- the graduating class of 2009.

As we are mere hours away from the drop of the puck, I figure the group to start this feature off is obvious. While they may be the most well-known of all Detroit's prospects, I figure there could be some who haven't had a chance to watch these guys at length, and might not know where they all come from. Let's take a look at the four prospects who will wear the Winged Wheel for the first time this season.

Ville Leino, LW, 26, 6'1, 190 lbs, signed by Detroit summer 2008 -- Leino is still one of the newest Detroit prospects, but it didn't take him very long to become one of the best. Leino rose up through the Finnish junior ranks completely undrafted, despite several impressive seasons in the junior clubs of SaPKo and Ilves. This was highlighted by 72 points in 26 games in his final season of Junior A Division-1 hockey (which is the second highest league in the very confusing and multi-tiered Finnish Junior system). He made his SM-Liiga (top professional league in Finland) debut at the age of 19, and was a regular at 20 -- quickly being acclaimed as one of the most offensively gifted prospects in Finland.

Leino's rise through the SM-Liiga was stunted in 2004-05 because of all the NHLers playing due to the lockout. He was poised for a top six role, but was instead relegated to 4th line duty in a crucial season for his development. He transferred to HPK the following season, posting back-to-back average seasons with 43 and 40 points. At the age of 24, Leino finally had the breakout season many anticipated with 77 points in 55 games en route to capturing league MVP honors.

Meanwhile, Detroit was engaged in quite the courtship with a rising Swedish star, Fabian Brunnstrom. Within a week after losing that months-long battle to Dallas, Detroit signed Leino. Since then, Leino has been nothing but impressive. Leino had been accused of Finland of being tough to coach, and a player who felt he was entitled to ice time even if he wasn't producing. Leino showed none of those traits in North America, taking a demotion to Grand Rapids in stride despite the fact that he was clearly NHL-ready. He enjoyed a successful first taste of the NHL late in the regular season on into the playoffs, and now, armed with a two-year, one-way deal, is poised to make Wings fans quickly forget about Jiri Hudler.

Jonathan Ericsson, D, 25, 6'4, 220 lbs, drafted 9th round, 2002 -- Detroit used the final pick of the 2002 draft on a giant center playing third-tier men's league hockey in Sweden. Fast forward a few years, they have an AHL All-Star defenseman touted as one of the best prospects of his position. But let's back up a bit first.

The story on Ericsson is quite well-known. Super-scout Hakan Andersson was present one game where Ericsson's team, Vita Hasten, was short on defenseman, so the team's coach (Ericsson's father), decided to move Jonathan back to defense for a game. Andersson was so impressed that he asked if Ericsson would consider a permanent switch to defense. Two years later, Ericsson was on the blueline for Sodertalje, in the Swedish Elite League, the highest in Sweden. Despite this, Ericsson was still a relative unknown as he only managed one point over three seasons in the SEL, and was sent down to second-tier Sweden several times in his final two seasons.

That one point was enough for Detroit, and they brought him over to Grand Rapids for the 2006-07 season. Ericsson's stock shot up to the top of the Detroit depth chart. What Detroit found was a superb-skating defenseman with a steady and composed defensive game, who can make plays in the defensive zone with his long reach, and in the offensive zone with his 100+ mile per hour slapshot.

Ericsson officially became a Detroit regular late last season, and he played in 22 post-season games, scoring four goals. The AHL is now a thing of the past for Ericsson, as he will start the season on Detroit paired with Brett Lebda. While still a raw player who needs to use his size better in the defensive zone and minimize his mistakes with the puck, Ericsson has the potential to be a large part of the committee that will need to fill in for Nicklas Lidstrom when his days are done.

Jimmy Howard, G, 25, 6'0, 210 lbs, drafted 2nd round, 2003 -- The Wings commitment to finding and grooming a homegrown goalie began in 2003 when they made Jimmy Howard their first pick of the draft. Howard had just completed his freshman season at the University of Maine, and was poised to become the starting goalie after splitting time in his first year.

And start he did, as Howard won the job for the playoffs by leading the nation by a large margin in both save percentage (.956) and goals against average (1.19). He led Maine on a very deep playoff run all the way to the National Championship game, where they fell 1-0 to Denver. The following season, Howard's numbers were not quite that good, but you can hardly be disappointed with a 1.92 GAA for a goalie suffering from mono in front of a slightly weakened lineup.

The Wings' intention for years was to bring Howard along very slowly and give him as much time as possible in the AHL before bringing him up. Howard spent the next four years in the AHL, save for nine games spread out over three years in Detroit. Howard established himself as starting goalie, but he was never able to shake inconsistency to rise to the elite level AHL status.

Now out of AHL options, Howard starts the season as Chris Osgood's backup goalie. He's got his fair share of doubters, but he's finally been given the chance to be a regular he's earned after working closely with Detroit for six seasons following his draft. He's been told that as long as he wins, he'll play, and he'll most likely look a little more consistent playing behind one of the deepest defenses in the league, opposed to a Griffins blueline who's talent and depth fluctuated from year-to-year.

Darren Helm, C, 22, 5'11, 195, drafted 5th round, 2005 -- When the Wings drafted Helm in 2005, they drafted a player who had the speed and work ethic that they like to see on their checking line. Unranked by every major scouting service, Helm was not exactly what you might call a household name.

As a rookie with the WHL's Medicine Hat Tigers, Helm's 24 points probably had something to do with scouts not lining up to see him. The next season, however, scouting services and teams throughout the league wished they had reconsidered. Helm exploded for 79 points, the most on his team. He took his game even further the following season, leading the Tigers to an appearance at the Memorial Cup as well as playing a checking line role for Team Canada at the World Junior Championships.

Helm turned pro the following season, but struggled to find a regular spot in a very young and inexperienced lineup. However, a late season NHL callup opened eyes yet again to just how good he was, and Detroit kept him for the Stanley Cup run as the team's 4th line center. Despite being this impressive, because he didn't need to clear waivers to play in the AHL, Helm played most of last season in Grand Rapids.

Helm proved in last year's playoffs that he can be more than just one of the fastest players in the league. He quickly became a fan favorite with a few big playoff goals as well as one legendary penalty kill in the Chicago series. With 41 playoff games to his 23 regular season games, Helm will finally get his chance this year to be an every day player for Detroit. His season debut will be delayed a few weeks as his shoulder heals, but Helm has absolutely forced his way onto a team that brings its youth along very slowly. He will get an opportunity to lead the next generation of Detroit's checking line.

Who's Hot: A 2009 pick, Tomas Tatar came to Detroit's training camp and earned a contract, starting the season in Grand Rapids ... 2009 7th round pick Adam Almqvist, the highest scoring defenseman in the Swedish Junior League last season, has 8 points in 2 games.

Who's Not: Johan Ryno impressed Detroit at training camp and then went back to Sweden instead of playing in Grand Rapids, making it unlikely he gets another contract ... 2009 top pick Landon Ferraro only has one goal in his first five games.

Notes: Brian Lashoff (Kingston, OHL), Brent Raedeke (Edmonton, WHL), and Jamie Tardif (Grand Rapids, AHL) are Detroit prospects who have been named captains of their respective clubs ... Justin Abdelkader made Detroit's opening day lineup, but may go to Grand Rapids when Helm is healthy ... Dick Axelsson, Cory Emmerton, Gleason Fournier, and Ryan Oulahen all start the season on the injury list, though none sound like they will miss extended time.

Players with the most on the line

MrNorrisTrophy — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 18:03:32 -0000

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Continuing with the season preview theme, here are three players that have a lot on the line with their performance. Note I don't mean they are all necessarily at risk for being off the team, just a lot to prove.

1. Brett Lebda- With Jonathan Ericsson making the jump from Grand Rapids to Detroit and Jakub Kindl making similar progress, Lebda will need to prove he is worth his salary. The problem for him is that even if he can show some improvement, he might be traded away to free up some roster space for a cheaper replacement in Kindl. Lebda has the potential but doesn't always live up to it, reason for me to believe he will be gone sooner rather than later-assuming those waiting in line for the 6th spot continue to develop.

2. Tomas Holmstrom- Although a fan favorite in Motown-and only in Motown probably-Homer's production has declined and his health has been problematic to say the least. I'm not saying his health issues are unfounded and minute because I know I could take one game of the abuse that he takes, let alone an entire season. But at a certain point, lack of production will cost you a roster spot. Add to the increasing speculation that Holmstrom might be dealt at the deadline, he has a lot to prove about his health and skills. Will the Red Wings be able to find someone that can do what Holmstrom does in front of the net? No, not even close. But they could find another player to fill the $2.25 million void.

3. Darren Helm- "The Kid" will be under pressure to follow up on his exceptional playoff performance. Luckily for him, and Wings fans, his skill is high and I don't see it dropping off all that much. With his contract up at the end of the season, Helm could showcase his talents for potential offseason suitors or give himself leverage for a hefty raise in Detroit. Helm has big expectations on his shoulders but could fit nicely into the scoring plans, despite that pressure. Contract years can make or break a young career but hopefully he'll handle it like he handled that epic lone man penalty kill. He has the least to lose but a lot on the line in terms of contract gains.

Poll

Who has the most on the line with his performance in the upcoming season?

Lebda

364 votes

Holmstrom

263 votes

Helm

71 votes

698 votes | Poll has closed