SBNation.com User Blog: KyleKujawa

Prospects: Emptying the Notebook

KyleKujawa — Fri, 23 Apr 2010 19:05:45 -0000

It's been a few weeks since this feature has been around. Most of that is my fault, but to be honest -- there isn't a lot to report. A lot of guys are making playoff runs, but just passing on that information could get a little dry. However, there's been a fair bit that's happened scattered over a couple weeks, so I'm going to use this post to keep on top of it all. Since most prospects are done, I'll try to do one final statistical update in two or three weeks, and think about how to keep this feature fresh going into the summer. Suggestions are encouraged.

Grand Rapids failed to make the playoffs by 12 points. The last month of the season wasn't as bad as the two months before it. Jakub Kindl, Cory Emmerton, Jan Mursak, and Mattias Ritola were particularly good down the stretch.
Thomas McCollum went from December 13 to March 26 without recording a win, but won three of his final five starts and stole some time away from Daniel Larsson. More on Larsson later.
Justin Abdelkader was called up and, obviously, earned playing time. However, Kindl, Mursak, Ritola, Larsson, McCollum, and Logan Pyett were recalled to serve as Black Aces. It's particularly interesting to see that Emmerton and Sergei Kolosov are not among that group.
Mursak was called up late after representing Slovenia at the Division 1 World Championships. Hockey tournament names are always organized poorly, so Division-1 refers to the "second tier" of teams that are fighting to get into the main group. Mursak had five goals and seven points in five games, leading his team. He was called the best player on his team, and is likely the second best Slovenian player period behind Anze Kopitar. Mursak helped Slovenia earn a promotion, so they will be in the top group next season.
Perhaps one reason that Tomas Tatar was not called up as a Black Ace was because he will represent Slovakia at the World Championships, which starts in five days.
Willie Coetzee, Landon Ferraro, and Brian Lashoff were invited to Grand Rapids on tryouts after their seasons concluded. Coetzee and Lashoff are slated for Grand Rapids next season, and I've never seen a player look so comfortable in a tryout as Lashoff is when he plays in the AHL.
When I left you last, Brendan Smith and Gustav Nyquist were among the ten nominees for the Hobey Baker, the award for the top player in college hockey. Nyquist ended up making the final three but lost out to Smith's teammate, Nashville prospect Blake Geoffrion.
Smith saw some action in Detroit -- playing for Wisconsin in the Frozen Four, which was at Ford Field. He had five assists in a particularly impressive performance against RIT, but was on the losing end of a 5-0 beatdown by Boston College in the National Championship.
Smith is expected to sign with Detroit in a few days to kick off his professional career, foregoing his senior season. Despite leading the nation in scoring, Nyquist, only a sophomore this year, looks like he'll stay for another year.
Dick Axelsson made some comments indicating to a Swedish newspaper that he would prefer playing in the Swedish Eliteserien over the AHL. A lot of people have just assumed this is reflective of his attitude, but I would like to point out two things. First, of course he'd make these comments to a Swedish paper. Second, just because he says it doesn't mean there isn't a chance that he comes to his senses and realizes that the AHL is the only path to the NHL in Detroit. However, there's no doubt that going back to Sweden for a second straight year will end his time as a prospect.
Speaking of which, the guy who pulled this stunt last year and did it because he felt he was too good for the AHL and not because he was getting the shaft in ice time, like Axelsson did, is Johan Ryno. He played in the second tier of Sweden, but played for a team with a large following in AIK. The team got promoted to the SEL and promptly decided that Ryno isn't coming back next year. This opens up a slight chance that Ryno might ask to play in the AHL since his favorite team doesn't want him any more. However, that would require a new contract from Detroit in the summer. They do like him though, so all I'm saying is if they get a guarantee, I wouldn't rule him out.
Speaking of AIK, an article today indicated that they've been in touch with Daniel Larsson's agent about acquiring his services for next year. He is an RFA and is definitely due for a taste of the NHL. There were no comments from Larsson, so it's just a rumor at this point. Reasons he would go: strong play from Thomas McCollum. Reasons he wouldn't go: still in line to start next season.
Jesper Samuelsson effectively ended his career as a Red Wings prospect by signing with Vita Hasten of Division 1, which is the third best league in Sweden. The Wings drafted him from there but the jump from this league to even the second best is huge. It isn't a serious league for a legitimate prospect. Samuelsson split this season with 4th line SEL duty as well as scoring line time with one of the worst teams in SWE-2.
Those last four are depressing, so here's two good things about Sweden. As a reminder (mentioned it in the last update) Joakim Andersson signed with Detroit and will play in Grand Rapids next season. I think he can step in immediately as the second or third line center.
Last summer's 7th round pick Adam Almqvist is a fun story. Scored nearly two points per game in the Swedish junior ranks, then got called up to HV-71 of the SEL due to injuries. He was slated to head to SWE-2, but stuck with HV-71 all season. He scored 11 points in the playoffs as HV-71 won the SEL championship. HV-71 fans called him the team's best defenseman. As an 18-year-old, he played on the top pairing with former NHLer Janne Niinimaa.
Detroit's two KHLers have an interesting connection. Gennady Stolyarov played just one game this season because of injury, for HC MVD. Jiri Hudler played for Dynamo Moscow, the oldest club in Russia. That club had some financial troubles, released Hudler, and folded a few hours later. They're now combining with HC MVD to form UHC Dynamo; however, Hudler is returning to Detroit and Stolyarov might not be under contract.
In the junior ranks, Stephen Johnston is still active as Windsor is currently up 2-0 in the OHL Finals. Windsor erased a 3-0 series deficit in the Conference Finals against Kitchener and have been the OHL favorites all season. Johnston missed some time with injury, and only plays a 4th line role when healthy.
Brent Raedeke and the Brandon Wheat Kings were eliminated in the WHL Conference Finals, but will be back in action later this month as they host the Memorial Cup, which pits a host team against the champions of the OHL, WHL, and QMJHL.
Landon Ferraro had a particularly disappointing playoff for Red Deer. They were swept in the first round and Ferraro was a healthy scratch for the final game. Ferraro seems as though he'll be traded this summer, as most fans are calling for it. I asked a WHL writer at Hockey's Future hat his deal is, and he believes the fans are merely unhappy with the team as a whole and Ferraro's work ethic is not a problem.
Detroit signed WHL scrapper Mitchell Callahan to a contract this week. They drafted him last summer and the signing comes as a surprise because they had until next summer to do so. Doing it early doesn't hurt (a year won't go against his contract when he sticks in the WHL next year), but it does indicate that Detroit really likes him. Get familiar with his work (oh yeah, and he scored 20 goals this year, too).
The top team in the USHL during the regular season, Nick Jensen and the Green Bay Gamblers are down 2-0 in the USHL Finals. Jensen was very productive in the second half of the season and he's taken that into the playoffs with six points in eight games.
The statistical report is after the jump, containing the last month of the season since I haven't done it in a while. While doing it I realized it's a lot better this way -- looking at trends over a month is better than just a week. Also included in certain leagues is the player's playoff stats, so pay attention to the headings in each league.

American Hockey League

#	Name	Team	GP	G	A	PTS	+/-	PIM	Last Month	Notes
3	Logan Pyett	Grand Rapids	80	9	21	30	+7	41	2A, +3, 12PIM in 12GP	Black Ace
4	Travis Ehrhardt	Grand Rapids	42	0	5	5	-9	38	+1, 4PIM in 4GP
5	Jakub Kindl	Grand Rapids	73	3	30	33	-4	59	8A, +6 in 12GP	Black Ace
7	Jordan Owens	Grand Rapids	17	1	4	5	-1	22
7	Sebastien Piche	Grand Rapids	9	0	0	0	-1	4
8	Cory Emmerton	Grand Rapids	76	12	25	37	+0	22	2G, 6A, +1, 6PIM in 12GP
9	Evan McGrath	Grand Rapids	57	8	11	19	-18	25
9	Willie Coetzee	Grand Rapids	2	0	0	0	+0	0	2GP
12	Dick Axelsson	Grand Rapids	17	2	3	5	+1	6
13	Jan Mursak	Grand Rapids	79	24	18	42	+12	46	4G, 3A, +1, 4PIM in 12GP	Black Ace
17	Francis Pare	Grand Rapids	77	16	23	39	+19	20	3G, 4A, +2, 4PIM in 11GP
18	Mattias Ritola	Grand Rapids	73	19	23	42	-3	50	3G, 5A, +3, 4PIM in 12GP	Black Ace
19	Justin Abdelkader	Grand Rapids	33	11	13	24	+6	86		Recalled to Detroit
19	Evan McGrath	Syracuse	15	4	2	6	-5	2
22	Landon Ferraro	Grand Rapids	2	0	0	0	+0	0	2GP
25	Jamie Tardif	Grand Rapids	77	16	17	33	-9	90	3G, 4A, +2, 16PIM in 12GP
27	Tomas Tatar	Grand Rapids	58	16	16	32	+8	12	3G, 2A, 2PIM in 10GP	Playing for Slovakia (WC)
28	Sergei Kolosov	Grand Rapids	66	2	6	8	-7	29	1G, 2A, 12PIM in 12GP
32	Brian Lashoff	Grand Rapids	6	0	2	2	+5	2	2A, +5, 2PIM in 6GP
	Goaltending		GP	W	L	OTL	GAA	SV%
31	Daniel Larsson	Grand Rapids	53	23	24	2	2.85	.903	3-3-1, GAA up, sv% down	Black Ace
35	Thomas McCollum	Grand Rapids	32	10	16	2	3.48	.881	3-2, GAA down, sv% up	Black Ace
36	Jordan Pearce	Grand Rapids	5	1	2	0	3.82	.875

ECHL

#	Name	Team	GP	G	A	PTS	+/-	PIM	Last Month	Playoffs
20	Travis Ehrhardt	Toledo	3	1	1	2	+4	0		Playing in Grand Rapids
25	Sebastien Piche	Toledo	46	5	23	28	+6	67	3A, +5, 12PIM in 6GP	2A in 4GP
30	Thomas McCollum	Toledo	4	2	1	0	4.48	.864		Playing in Grand Rapids
35	Jordan Pearce	Toledo	37	15	16	2	3.63	.891	3-3, GAA down, sv% up	1-2-1, 3.88, .881

NCAA

#	Name	Team	GP	G	A	PTS	PIM	Last Month	Notes
7	Brendan Smith	Wisconsin	42	15	37	52	76	8A, 18PIM in 6GP	Lost in NCAA Finals to Boston College
7	Max Nicastro	Boston U.	37	3	12	15	26	1GP	Lost in HE tourny to Maine
16	Nick Oslund	St. Cloud St.	43	4	5	9	24	2PIM in 4GP	Lost in NCAA tourny to Wisconsin
81	Julien Cayer	Clarkson	22	2	3	5	16		Did not make playoffs
89	Bryan Rufenach	Clarkson	34	5	15	20	53		Did not make playoffs
89	Gustav Nyquist	Maine	39	19	42	61	20	1G, 1A, 4PIM in 2GP	Lost in HE tourny to Boston College

Swedish Eliteserien

#	Name	Team	GP	G	A	PTS	+/-	PIM	Playoffs	Notes
31	Dick Axelsson	Farjestad	15	6	4	10	+2	24	1G, 2A, 6PIM in 7GP
16	Anton Axelsson	Timra	51	5	6	11	-19	6	5GP
18	Joakim Andersson	Frolunda	55	6	12	18	+6	42	1G, 2A, 4PIM in 10GP
24	Jesper Samuelsson	Timra	23	0	1	1	+0	8	DNP	Playing in SWE-2
28	Adam Almqvist	HV71	28	2	6	8	+11	10	1G, 10A, 8PIM in 16GP	Won SEL championship

Swedish Allsvenskan

#	Name	Team	GP	G	A	PTS	+/-	PIM	Playoffs	Notes
3	Jesper Samuelsson	Sundsvall	35	3	13	16	-12	36	2G, 29PIM in 9GP
16	Johan Ryno	AIK	47	9	11	20	+7	34	1G, 4A, 4PIM in 10GP	Promoted to SEL
--	Adam Almqvist	Troja/Ljungby	0	0	0	0	0	0		Playing with HV71 (SEL)

Swedish J20 League

#	Name	Team	GP	G	A	PTS	+/-	PIM	Last Week	Notes
4	Adam Almqvist	HV71	15	5	29	34	+14	14		Playing with HV71 (SEL)

Kontinental Hockey League

#	Name	Team	GP	G	A	PTS	+/-	PIM	Last Week	Notes
21	Gennady Stolyarov	HC MVD	1	0	0	0		0
26	Jiri Hudler	Moscow Dynamo	51	19	32	51		16		Returning to Detroit

Ontario Hockey League

#	Name	Team	GP	G	A	PTS	+/-	PIM	Playoffs	Notes
10	Stephen Johnston	Windsor	18	4	5	9	-3	19	1G, 1A, +2 in 12GP	OHL Finals vs. Barrie (2-0)
11	Stephen Johnston	Belleville	18	6	4	10	-3	16		Traded to Windsor
18	Brian Lashoff	Kingston	58	6	21	27	-10	71	+2, 12PIM in 7GP	Lost in Round 1 to Brampton

Western Hockey League

#	Name	Team	GP	G	A	PTS	+/-	PIM	Playoffs	Notes
9	Brent Raedeke	Edmonton	39	17	14	31	+4	60		Traded to Brandon
9	Brent Raedeke	Brandon	33	7	18	25	+12	35	5G, 7A, +4, 16PIM in 15GP	Lost in Round 3 to Calgary
13	Landon Ferraro	Red Deer	53	16	30	46	-18	55	-2, 2PIM in 3GP	Lost in Round 1 to Saskatoon
19	Willie Coetzee	Red Deer	72	29	52	81	+10	32	1G, -3 in 4GP	Lost in Round 1 to Saskatoon
24	Mitchell Callahan	Kelowna	72	20	27	47	-3	165	2G, 4A, -1, 10PIM in 12GP	Lost in Round 2 to Tri-City

Quebec Major Junior Hockey League

#	Name	Team	GP	G	A	PTS	+/-	PIM	Last Week	Notes
11	Andrej Nestrasil	Victoriaville	50	16	35	51	+4	40	2G, 4A, -2, 10PIM in 16GP	Lost in Round 3 to Saint John
14	Gleason Fournier	Rimouski	58	13	37	50	+4	76	2G, 10A, 10PIM in 12GP	Lost in Round 2 to Drummondville

United States Hockey League

#	Name	Team	GP	G	A	PTS	+/-	PIM	Last Week	Playoffs
6	Nick Jensen	Green Bay	53	6	21	27	+36	35	2A, +6 in 6GP	2G, 4A, 2PIM in 8GP

Prospects: Griffins done this year, juiced next year

KyleKujawa — Sun, 11 Apr 2010 23:02:13 -0000

Note: On a whim I've decided to drop Friday from the name of this feature. Mostly because I haven't been doing them on Fridays lately. In fact, I'm pretty sure today is Sunday. But I've got nothing to confirm that report.

Second note: I've fallen behind on this feature and so this is the first one of these in three weeks. I'm glad you were all so worried about it. Jokes, of course. There's no statistical report for this week. Since so few prospects are still in action, I'll just update a finalized version either this week or next. While there probably won't be enough news to stretch this out into the summer, I still intend to do regular updates. Probably when you least expect them.

Let's get to it. While I haven't been writing, I have been working my tail off scouting. Just for you guys, how lucky. I went to Friday's Griffins game, their last home game of the year, against the Lake Erie Monsters. I've got some thoughts on quite a few players, so let's get started.

The lines for the fantastic night:

Mursak - Abdelkader - Ritola
May - Emmerton - Williams
Owens - Ferraro - Pare
Vigilante - Armstrong - Tardif

Kindl - Lashoff
Janik - Tollefsen
Pyett - Kolosov

McCollum

Individual thoughts after the jump.

Jan Mursak - The top line of Mursak, Abdelkader, and Ritola were by far the best group on either team, all night long. Mursak perhaps made the greatest strides of any Griffin from this point last year, going from a fourth line energy player to the top scoring prospect on the team. He scored a nice goal where he picked up a rebound and put a backhand shot in the top corner. He's probably the fastest on the team, in addition to being perhaps the most creative. His limited role last season has really helped to develop his two-way game. Mursak will be interesting to get a good look at next training camp, but another year of the AHL for some scoring consistency will be good.

Justin Abdelkader - Played the type of game that makes one think "why is Jason Williams in Detroit's lineup?" There's pretty much no reason Abdelkader shouldn't re-assume the role he had centering Detroit's 4th line briefly in last year's Stanley Cup Finals. He showed more of the hands and overall offense than he had the last time I caught the Griffins. For a 22-year-old, his fearlessness on the ice is really impressive. He's able to mix it up and didn't cross the line to the box on this particular night. Appeared to be much better in the faceoff circle, giving Detroit a natural center for the 4th line.

Mattias Ritola - The last of the dominant line, Ritola is a player that I admit has never impressed me that much in Grand Rapids. I was much more impressed by his play in the pre-season, and then his call-up to Detroit. However, tonight he was the most impressive on his line. Opened the scoring with a somewhat flukey goal that came from patience and creativity. Picked up a puck from a bad angle and feathered a shot through the goaltender (former NHLer John Grahame)'s five hole, and added another on a nice move when he found himself uncovered, alone in front of the net. He'll need to turn some heads to get on next year's big club, but he's certainly worth a look.

Brad May - It's funny to see him at a level where he's able to control the puck and gets shifts on the powerplay. He wasn't particularly good -- his puck control is predictably poor, but the sense of the ice you get from 20 years of NHL hockey is very clear. I don't want to see him get any time in the playoffs, but he would have been a valuable asset for the Griffins if they made the playoffs.

Cory Emmerton - Sadly, he blended in again. The thing I read about him that's always stuck with me is he "blends in" at the AHL level. He's smart and skilled enough where this shouldn't be the case -- I barely noticed him, but to be fair, the 1st line played a ton, and the 2nd and 3rd played pretty equally behind it.

Jordan Owens - You may remember him as Detroit's big trade deadline splash, acquired from New York for Kris Newbury. Owens came as advertised -- a lot of energy, not afraid to mix it up, and decent with the puck. He didn't get a lot of special teams time, but he's under contract for next season and should be a big part of the Griffins third line -- with the upside of a potential NHL callup.

Landon Ferraro - You may remember him as one of the subjects of prospect interviews a few months back. He came to Grand Rapids on a tryout after his WHL season ended -- one that saw him a healthy scratch for his team's final WHL playoff game -- but he wasn't expected to get ice time. I expect I was the only one in the building who was visibly surprised and excited when he stepped on the ice for warmups. Didn't play much, but he looked quick and had two decent scoring chances. He threw one of the biggest hits of the game and was decent along the boards, even though he still desperately needs to add weight.

Jakub Kindl - Stood out best on the powerplay. Kindl and Jeremy Williams joined the top forward unit on the team's top powerplay. It was absolutely magical to watch them move the puck. This was Kindl's strong suit in junior hockey, but he was not particularly dominant there his first two seasons of AHL hockey. He's gotten there now though, looking like he could easily take Jason Williams' spot in Detroit next season. He still prefers to use his stick when on the defensive end, but having seen no gaffes or blown coverages on this night, I will say he was the team's best defender.

Brian Lashoff - It blows my mind how good he is at the AHL level, having just joined the club last week after ending his OHL career with Kingston getting knocked out of the playoffs. He didn't have a particularly good year, but his skating ability, puck-moving ability, and size really help to make his AHL transition smooth. Played with Kindl and they looked great together, communicating well, not forcing anything. Lashoff should have no problem stepping into a top four role in Grand Rapids next season.

Ole-Kristian Tollefsen - I liked his game at the Olympics, but I didn't think he looked great on this night. Awkward, hunched over skating, looks dangerous (in a bad way) when carrying the puck, and just doesn't look like he's paying attention in the defensive zone. I was ready to rip into him until I saw him make a beautiful sliding shot block with four minutes left... in a 6-1 game. It will be interesting for Detroit to look at him for next season as a 6/7 who will really give it his all, but with seven defensemen already slated for Detroit, it might be worth letting him go and taking the extra draft pick.

Thomas McCollum - McCollum didn't register a single win in 15 appearances that stretched from December 13 to March 26, but you wouldn't know it from how he played against Lake Erie. He was confident, challenging shots when he could and controlling rebounds nearly perfectly. He is still a bit of a scrambler when he's not sure where the puck is and ended up completely out of his net on two occasions. He had no chance on the lone goal he let up, so all in all it was a great performance from him.

These were the main impressions. However, since the game, Grand Rapids has received two bits of good news that will really boost the team for next season.

Joakim Andersson is expected to sign a three-year deal on Monday after three full professional seasons in Sweden. Andersson was considered a late first round pick his draft year, but slipped to Detroit in the 3rd round. The 21-year-old is known for great two-way play. Hobey Baker nominee Brendan Smith helped Wisconsin to the NCAA Championship game, where they lost 5-0 to Boston College. Smith's tournament was highlighted by five assists in the 8-1 Frozen Four win over RIT. Smith is a junior and looks like a lock for an NHL contract before next season. He could play in Grand Rapids as well, but his strong tournament has some thinking he will really force Detroit to give him a long look.

Howard beats Pittsburgh, Crosby

KyleKujawa — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 01:43:22 -0000

It didn't end up being a third consecutive buzzer beater, but a lot of Red Wings fans will accept the team's 3-1 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins tonight.

Perhaps the first good scoring chance of the game should have been a good indication of how the game would end. Thirty seconds into the game, Pittsburgh captain Sidney Crosby broke in one on one against Nicklas Lidstrom. Crosby fired a high shot through Lidstrom that Jimmy Howard snared, flashing his glove in the process.

Off a strong game Saturday night, Valtteri Filppula opened the scoring for Detroit. Filppula took a pass from Todd Bertuzzi and streaked in along the boards before dragging the puck to the inside and beating Marc-Andre Fleury with a shot along the blocker side.

Detroit extended their lead to 2-0 courtesy of Henrik Zetterberg. In a move eerily reminiscent of his game-winning goal on Saturday night, Zetterberg found himself with the puck along the boards, dropping his shoulder and cutting to the middle of the ice and firing a backhand shot on Fleury. Unlike Roberto Luongo, Fleury made the save before Zetterberg popped home the rebound.

Pittsburgh cut the lead in half late in the second period. Brian Rafalski turned the puck over in Detroit's zone and a goal mouth scramble saw Pascal Dupuis tap the puck past the sprawled Howard. That was the only puck to get passed the rookie goaltender on the night, as he turned aside 26 shots for Detroit's seventh win in nine games.

Zetterberg sealed the win early in the third period as he broke in alone against two Pittsburgh defenders and fired a long shot that beat Fleury low. It was Zetterberg's third three-point game of the season, and the end of the scoring for the night.

However, it was the activity after the final horn blew that is going to have people talking tomorrow.

With just seconds left in the game, the Penguins "captain" delivered three or four cross checks to Henrik Zetterberg, apparently tired of being kept off the scoresheet, as is the standard when the two teams meet. Zetterberg retaliated with a few shoves of his own. The shoving escalated into a small net front scrum that saw Bertuzzi step in, but ultimately ended with Howard pulling Crosby away. The two exchanged a few shots, ending with Crosby getting a face full of the same trapper that stoned him thirty seconds into the game.

This type of behavior has been nothing new for Crosby, who seems particularly attracted to Zetterberg after the game is officially decided. This video catches the beginning of the attack, along with a solid replay of Zetterberg doing absolutely nothing to incite the event:

Stay Classy, Sidney Crosby (via RedWingFan1340)

Detroit opens up a four point lead on Calgary for 8th place in the West, each with 72 games played. They trail Colorado by one point and Los Angeles by two, as the two teams go head-to-head in a game that started literally a few minutes ago.

Player of the Game: Even though he didn't have too many tremendously difficult saves -- and even though Zetterberg was the Wings best player through the first and last whistle -- it was Jimmy Howard's defense of Z after the final whistle that is going to be a lasting memory for Red Wings fans. Howard has never been afraid to mix it up at other levels, but this type of behavior (kept within reason) is only going to continue winning over fans.

Wings use creative time management to best Canucks

KyleKujawa — Sun, 21 Mar 2010 04:55:53 -0000

The Red Wings earned themselves three points this weekend, doing the majority of the damage in under one second.

Twenty-four hours ago, things weren't too pleasant. Detroit managed to scrape a point out of a game that they didn't quite totally deserve, forcing a game against Edmonton to overtime and an eventual shootout. Tonight, they earned two points, beating the Vancouver Canucks with the exact same numbers on the clock courtesy of a well-placed backhander from Henrik Zetterberg.

Oddly enough, tonight's game started much like last night's. Vancouver went up early on two seeing-eye shots. The first came off the stick of defenseman Christian Ehrhoff, which could have hit any number of things before ultimately deflecting off the stick of Kyle Wellwood and through the equipment of Jimmy Howard. Later in the period, Shane O'Brien took a pass from Mason Raymond and put a puck through traffic that went over the shoulder of the screened Howard.

Unlike last night, Detroit's effort level was there in the first period. They were unable to solve Roberto Luongo on any of their 17 first period shots. In total, they fired 54 pucks his way.

Time management was the name of the game in the second period as well. Todd Bertuzzi broke his legendary goal slump with an absolute gift of a goal. Canuck defenseman Kevin Bieksa was unable to locate a puck in his skates for seemingly three full minutes, and Bertuzzi had the presence to crash the net and poke home the loose change. Pavel Datsyuk lost the ensuing faceoff, but shook loose, scooped up the lose puck and beat Luongo with a wrist shot just five seconds after Detroit's first goal. The Bertuzzi/Datsyuk combination set a new franchise record for Detroit for two consecutive goals, breaking the old and slow record of seven seconds.

The Wings were not done in the middle frame. After Alex Edler misplayed a clearing attempt and tripped over the blueline, Valtteri Filppula broke in on a clear breakaway from center ice and beat Luongo with a backhander for his first goal as a 26-year-old.

Despite 20 third period shots from Detroit, Vancouver managed the only tally of the frame when Daniel Sedin knocked down a puck with his glove on the side of the net and tipped it home with his stick to tie the game at three. The goal was briefly reviewed, but as it happened to Vancouver and not Detroit, it rightfully was counted.

In an overtime largely controlled by Detroit, Ken Daniels wondered aloud with roughly 20 seconds left if we would see any "late game heroics." His thought was soon answered. Filppula aimlessly carried the puck about the Detroit zone before sending a pass to Zetterberg, who cut to the middle of the ice and beat Luongo on the glove side to give Detroit the much needed two points -- more importantly, keeping them away from a shootout.

Detroit now sits two points ahead of Calgary in 8th place, each with 71 games played. Glancing at the standings, Detroit trails Colorado by three points, and Nashville and Los Angeles by four. Detroit takes on Pittsburgh on Monday, while Calgary has a critical game against Minnesota tomorrow afternoon.

Notes: In addition to missing Patrick Eaves, who left last night after second period collision, Dan Cleary missed the game with a lower body injury. As a result, both Brett Lebda and Derek Meech played forward. Lebda, however, didn't see a single second of ice time, while Meech played 5:36.

Player of the Game: Even though I made up my mind in the second period that it had to be Datsyuk, with his consistent ridiculous antics with the puck, Henrik Zetterberg firing nine shots on goal and keeping Detroit out of that terrible shootout has earned him the honor.

Friday Prospects -- In the sweepstakes again

KyleKujawa — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 15:44:31 -0000

Two years ago, The Hockey News compared a young Swedish prospect by the name of Fabian Brunnstrom to Ottawa Senators' star Daniel Alfredsson.

What they meant to say was this: it's really impressive that this then 23-year-old star was producing such impressive numbers after jumping straight to the SEL from Swedish Division 1 (which is the 3rd highest division in Sweden). What a lot of people read was this: there is a superstar free agent Swedish prospect who is going to be the next Alfredsson.

The next few months became nothing but chaos. Nearly every team in the league admitted to actively pursuing Brunnstrom. Naturally, because Detroit tends to like those Swedish types (really?), Hockeytown became the #1 destination for Brunnstrom on the rumor charts. His courtship took several months, leading a lot of impatient fans to believe that Brunnstrom was a bit of a prima donna who just like the limelight, when in actuality, these same people would not have heard of him were it not for the one article The Hockey News chose to run.

And that's not a slight to THN -- I read every word of their publication every week, and I have for years. But it was one seemingly harmless comment from them that set off one of the most publicized free agent chases in recent NHL history, and for what?

Forty points. Two years and forty points for Brunnstrom. Obviously, Fabian went with Dallas over Detroit, citing a chance to play in the NHL right away (always take the dollars over proper development, folks). He had a decent rookie season, producing 17 goals, but has managed just two this year and was reportedly actively being shopped midseason. He's been a fairly regular omission from the Stars' lineup.

Less than a week later, Detroit signed The Tonight Show with Ville Leino. Despite the fact that Leino had several successful seasons in Finland under his belt and was the reigning MVP of the league, instead of just one decent year in Sweden, nobody made a big deal about the chase for Leino. Rightfully so, possibly, because Leino hasn't accomplished all that much more than Brunnstrom in the NHL -- although he has appeared a little more frequently on the highlight reels.

This year, we begin the chase anew. The new hot prospect is Norway's own Mats Zuccarello Aasen. It was actually said before this season that Detroit might be interested in the diminutive Norwegian scoring sensation. MZA hasn't been on the seen very long, with this being his first full season in the SEL after 39 games last year, preceded by a career developing in Norway (most top prospects make the jump to a more competitive Sweden sooner than that). But after a relatively impressive run in the Olympics with Norway, not to mention

Detroit is still said to be hot on his trail, but there's a catch: MZA is looking for a one-way contract, reports mLive courtesy of Swedish and Norwegian news outlets. With a fairly crowded forward picture already for next year, not to mention the failures of Brunnstrom and Leino still fresh in their minds, it's tough to imagine Detroit caving and offering a one-way deal to a player who has never played in North America.

MZA's skill is undeniable. Despite his hilariously disadvantaged size at 5'7, 161, he's got great puck skills and a nose for the net, fearless in front of bigger defenders (read: everybody) and high traffic areas. He's got good speed and he sees the game very well. But that size means he's no lock for the NHL -- he's going to need to work for it. And that's something that makes Detroit fans all too hesitant about, having just seen Leino shipped away from being a talented player that never quite fit right in the system.

I'll be more than happy to take him, but I'd prefer seeing him a bit in Grand Rapids before we burn a roster spot on him. Who knows, his agent could just be playing the hype game -- what better team to rumor a young prospect to than Detroit. It makes every other team automatically think, "man, if Detroit wants this guy he might be something special."

Statistical report comes after the jump, alongside a quick look at the chances for two Wings' prospects to capture college hockey's most prestigious individual honor.

The Hobey Baker

Detroit has never had a prospect win the Hobey Baker, and since I've been following prospects, they haven't had anything close to a nominee. This year, of the short list of ten players -- two are future Red Wings. Hopefully this comes as no surprise to anyone who has read this feature all season long. And the two (of ten) nominees are...

Brendan Smith, defense, University of Wisconsin
What he is: Smith is a tremendously gifted offensive defenseman and one of the best skaters in all of college hockey. His success comes with the puck, as he loves to quarterback the play and produce offense. Defense has always been the flaw in his game, but Wisconsin has a great reputation for producing NHL defenseman and Smith's game has undergone some serious changes for the better.
Why he'll win: Smith has led the nation in scoring by a defenseman since one of the first weeks of the season, and he led Wisconsin (one of the top teams in the nation) in scoring for most of the season. He finished tied for 19th in the nation in scoring, and has been the only defenseman in the nation's top 50 for most of the season. Smith was considered "the" favorite to win the award early on in the season.
Why he won't win: Even though his game didn't slip off, a lot of Wisconsin fans are rallying behind the team's other nominee, Nashville prospect Blake Geoffrion. At the very least, Geoffrion's presence as one of two dominant players for Wisconsin will split some of Smith's votes. In good and bad news, Badger coach Mike Eaves (Patrick Eaves' father) runs a very tight ship. Even having a potential Hobey Baker winner like Smith on the ice, Eaves still rotated pairings so Smith didn't play nearly as much as he could have at other schools. That may have hurt his chances to have an even bigger offensive season, but you could also make the argument that he wouldn't have developed into the same player.

Gustav Nyquist, forward, University of Maine
What he is: Nyquist could very well be the most underrated prospect in the Detroit system. Despite the fact that he has produced earth-shattering numbers all season long, Nyquist is actually known for a great two-way game. He doesn't have great size, but he's Zetterberg-esque (don't get carried away -- remember THN's mistake) in the way he carries and protects the puck in addition to looking out in his own zone.
Why he'll win: Well for starters, it's slightly impressive that Nyquist led the nation in scoring with 59 points, six better than second place. You could also make the case that of the nominees, Nyquist is the most important to his team's success. Maine was pitiful last year, but Nyqust helped them to a three-way tie for 3rd place in the conference. Nyquist has been among the top scorers in the nation all season, but the heat he put on down the stretch has him looking like a good bet for the Hobey.
Why he won't win: Because he's a sophomore, sadly. You would think this is something that would be more impressive, but it's extremely rare that sophomores win and people have been bringing it up as if it's a negative for him. What also could hurt him is that he didn't win his conference's award for player of the year -- that went to free agent Bobby Butler, who is also up for the Hobey.

Both players have very real chances of getting it done. The list is whittled down to three on April 1st, with the winner being selected on the 9th.

American Hockey League

#	Name	Team	GP	G	A	P	+/-	PIM	Last week	Notes
3	Logan Pyett	Grand Rapids	68	9	19	28	+4	29	1A, +1, 2PIM in 3GP
4	Travis Ehrhardt	Grand Rapids	38	0	5	5	-10	34	DNP	healthy scratch
5	Jakub Kindl	Grand Rapids	61	3	22	24	-10	59	1A, -1, 4PIM in 3GP
7	Sebastien Piche	Grand Rapids	9	0	0	0	-1	4		Playing in Toledo (ECHL)
8	Cory Emmerton	Grand Rapids	64	10	19	29	-1	16	1G in 3GP
9	Evan McGrath	Grand Rapids	56	8	11	19	-18	25		Loaned to Syracuse (AHL)
12	Dick Axelsson	Grand Rapids	17	2	3	5	+1	6		Playing in Farjestad (SEL)
13	Jan Mursak	Grand Rapids	67	20	15	35	+11	42	1A, 4PIM in 3GP
17	Francis Pare	Grand Rapids	66	13	19	32	+17	16	1A, +1, 2PIM in 3GP
18	Mattias Ritola	Grand Rapids	61	16	18	34	-6	46	1G, +1 in 3GP
25	Jamie Tardif	Grand Rapids	65	13	13	26	-11	74	2A, +1, 4PIM in 3GP
27	Tomas Tatar	Grand Rapids	48	13	14	27	+8	10	DNP
28	Sergei Kolosov	Grand Rapids	54	1	4	5	-7	17	1A, +1 in 3GP
31	Daniel Larsson	Grand Rapids	45	20	21	1	2.83	.905	2-0, GAA down, sv% up
35	Thomas McCollum	Grand Rapids	27	7	14	2	3.58	.878	0-0-1, GAA down, sv% up	Hasn't won since Dec.13
36	Jordan Pearce	Grand Rapids	5	1	2	0	3.82	.875		Playing in Toledo (ECHL)

ECHL

#	Name	Team	GP	G	A	PTS	+/-	PIM	Last Week	Notes
20	Travis Ehrhardt	Toledo	3	1	1	2	+4	0		Playing in Grand Rapids
25	Sebastien Piche	Toledo	40	5	20	25	+1	55	2A, -1, 4PIM in 2GP
30	Thomas McCollum	Toledo	4	2	1	0	4.48	.864		Playing in Grand Rapids
35	Jordan Pearce	Toledo	31	12	13	2	3.69	.888	0-0-1, GAA down, sv% up

NCAA

#	Name	Team	GP	G	A	PTS	PIM	Last Week	Notes
7	Brendan Smith	Wisconsin	36	15	29	44	58	4A in 2GP	In WCHA tourny vs. St Cloud St.
7	Max Nicastro	Boston U.	36	3	12	15	26	2GP	in HE tourny vs. Maine
16	Nick Oslund	St. Cloud St.	39	4	5	9	22	3GP	In WCHA tourny vs. Wisconsin
81	Julien Cayer	Clarkson	22	2	3	5	16		Season over
89	Bryan Rufenach	Clarkson	34	5	15	20	53		Season over
89	Gustav Nyquist	Maine	37	18	41	59	16	3A in 3GP	in HE tourny vs. Boston U.

Swedish Eliteserien -- Regular season completed

#	Name	Team	GP	G	A	PTS	+/-	PIM	Last Week	Notes
31	Dick Axelsson	Farjestad	15	6	4	10	+2	24	2PIM in 1GP	playoffs vs. Skelleftea (0-1)
16	Anton Axelsson	Timra	50	5	6	11	-19	6	1GP	playoffs vs. HV71 (0-1)
18	Joakim Andersson	Frolunda	55	6	12	18	+6	42	2PIM in 1GP	playoffs vs. Linkopings (1-0)
24	Jesper Samuelsson	Timra	23	0	1	1	+0	8		Playing in SWE-2
28	Adam Almqvist	HV71	27	2	6	8	+11	10	1GP	playoffs vs. Timra (1-0)

Swedish Allsvenskan -- Regular season completed

#	Name	Team	GP	G	A	PTS	+/-	PIM	Last Week	Notes
3	Jesper Samuelsson	Sundsvall	35	3	13	16	-12	36	1GP
16	Johan Ryno	AIK	47	9	11	20	+7	34	4PIM in 2GP
--	Adam Almqvist	Troja/Ljungby	0	0	0	0	0	0		Playing with HV71 (SEL)

Swedish J20 League

#	Name	Team	GP	G	A	PTS	+/-	PIM	Last Week	Notes
4	Adam Almqvist	HV71	15	5	29	34	+14	14		Playing with HV71 (SEL)

Kontinental Hockey League

#	Name	Team	GP	G	A	PTS	+/-	PIM	Last Week	Notes
21	Gennady Stolyarov	HC MVD	1	0	0	0		0		Finally made season debut
26	Jiri Hudler	Moscow Dynamo	51	19	32	51		16		Eliminated from playoffs

Ontario Hockey League

#	Name	Team	GP	G	A	PTS	+/-	PIM	Last Week	Notes
10	Stephen Johnston	Windsor	18	4	5	9	-3	19	1A, -1, 2PIM in 2GP	Playoffs vs. Erie (1-0)
11	Stephen Johnston	Belleville	18	6	4	10	-3	16		Traded to Windsor
18	Brian Lashoff	Kingston	58	6	21	27	-10	71	-1 in 3GP	Playoffs vs. Brampton (0-0)

Western Hockey League

#	Name	Team	GP	G	A	PTS	+/-	PIM	Last Week	Notes
9	Brent Raedeke	Edmonton	39	17	14	31	+4	60		Traded to Brandon
9	Brent Raedeke	Brandon	33	7	18	25	+12	35	1G, +2, 4PIM in 2GP	Playoffs vs. Swift Current (1-0)
13	Landon Ferraro	Red Deer	53	16	30	46	-18	55	-5, 4PIM in 2GP	Playoffs vs. Saskatoon (0-0)
19	Willie Coetzee	Red Deer	72	29	52	81	+10	32	1A in 2GP	Playoffs vs. Saskatoon (0-0)
24	Mitchell Callahan	Kelowna	72	20	27	47	-3	165	1G, -3 in 2GP	Playoffs vs. Everett (0-0)

Quebec Major Junior Hockey League

#	Name	Team	GP	G	A	PTS	+/-	PIM	Last Week	Notes
11	Andrej Nestrasil	Victoriaville	50	16	35	51	+4	40	1G, 1A, +2, 2PIM in 2GP	Playoffs vs. Shawinigan (0-0)
14	Gleason Fournier	Rimouski	58	13	37	50	+4	76	1A in 2GP	Playoffs vs. Chicoutimi (0-0)

United States Hockey League

#	Name	Team	GP	G	A	PTS	+/-	PIM	Last Week	Notes
6	Nick Jensen	Green Bay	47	6	19	25	+30	35	1A, +3, 2PIM in 2GP	Regular season doesn't end until 1st week of April

Friday Prospects -- Two new Griffins

KyleKujawa — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 17:54:57 -0000

The Red Wings have always been a team that's not afraid to make a splash at the trade deadline. I mean, don't you remember the year they added Bill Ranford, Wendel Clark, Ulf Samuelsson, and Chris Chelios at the same deadline? That was pretty weird, wasn't it?

This year, Detroit's moves likely won't be remembered fondly the way the 1999 trade deadline was. But the two players they did pick up are technically young enough to be considered prospects. Both of them are in a good position this season on a Grand Rapids team that's essentially just auditioning young players for next season. As two players with a couple of AHL seasons under each of their belts, it's not at all a stretch to think that either could turn some heads in the Detroit front office.

The first trade that Detroit made was trading Kris Newbury to the New York Rangers for forward Jordan Owens. Owens does have a very good chance to make a splash for Detroit -- considering he's already under contract for next season. Owens is a product of the OHL, having played three seasons for the Mississauga IceDogs. His best season came in his last, his overaged season, where he put up 74 points in 60 games, including 32 goals.

His first professional season consisted of a split between Hartford (AHL) and Charlotte (ECHL), with 14 points in 41 games and 13 in 20, respectively. He put up 37 in 67 last year, his first full season in the AHL, and was a +17 on the season -- good for 4th on the team. He played in 50 games for Hartford this season before being acquired by Detroit.

Owens got a long look in the pre-season for a regular roster spot in New York. He's praised for his honest two-way style of play, and the fearlessness he plays the game with despite average size (6'0, 189). He plays a physical game and isn't afraid to drop the gloves. While still a long shot, there's a chance Owens gets a long look from Detroit next season as a possible injury callup.

Later in the day, Detroit got together with the Calgary Flames to swap Andy Delmore for Riley Armstrong. Armstrong is not under contract for next season, but at 25, he's still young enough to have some potential. The brother of Atlanta's Colby Armstrong, Riley got his start through two years in the WHL, his best season coming with 44 points in 69 games in 03-04. He spent the next five seasons in the San Jose system, even getting two games in with the big club last year.

He signed with Calgary in the offseason, but was limited to just 38 games due to some injuries. He had produced 11 goals and 19 points in that time, close to his career best pace the he set last year when he had 42 points with Worcester. Like Owens, Armstrong is known for being equally fearless, playing the agitator/energy role. He's a good skater who will never be accused of taking a shift off. He's got a good shot, but doesn't have the vision or creativity to ever be a big point producer. However, he's proven to be a late bloomer, and he'll have every chance of earning a new contract with a strong finish in Grand Rapids.

Statistical report after the jump.

American Hockey League

#	Name	Team	GP	G	A	P	+/-	PIM	Last week	Notes
3	Logan Pyett	Grand Rapids	65	9	18	27	+3	27	1G in 2GP
4	Travis Ehrhardt	Grand Rapids	38	0	5	5	-10	34	2PIM in 1GP
5	Jakub Kindl	Grand Rapids	58	3	21	24	-9	55	2PIM in 2GP
7	Sebastien Piche	Grand Rapids	9	0	0	0	-1	4		Playing in Toledo (ECHL)
8	Cory Emmerton	Grand Rapids	61	9	19	28	-1	16	1GP
9	Evan McGrath	Grand Rapids	56	8	11	19	-18	25	1GP	Loaned to Syracuse (AHL)
12	Dick Axelsson	Grand Rapids	17	2	3	5	+1	6		Playing in Farjestad (SEL)
13	Jan Mursak	Grand Rapids	64	20	14	34	+11	38	2A, +1 in 2GP
17	Francis Pare	Grand Rapids	63	13	18	31	+16	14	2PIM in 2GP
18	Mattias Ritola	Grand Rapids	58	15	18	33	-7	46	2A, -1 in 2GP
25	Jamie Tardif	Grand Rapids	62	13	11	24	-12	70	5PIM in 1GP
27	Tomas Tatar	Grand Rapids	48	13	14	27	+8	10	1GP
28	Sergei Kolosov	Grand Rapids	51	1	3	4	-8	17	2GP
31	Daniel Larsson	Grand Rapids	43	18	21	1	2.87	.903	1-1, GAA down, sv% up
35	Thomas McCollum	Grand Rapids	26	7	14	1	3.61	.874	DNP	Hasn't won since Dec.13
36	Jordan Pearce	Grand Rapids	5	1	2	0	3.82	.875		Playing in Toledo (ECHL)

ECHL

#	Name	Team	GP	G	A	PTS	+/-	PIM	Last Week	Notes
20	Travis Ehrhardt	Toledo	3	1	1	2	+4	0		Playing in Grand Rapids
25	Sebastien Piche	Toledo	38	5	18	23	+2	51	2A, -2, 7PIM in 4GP
30	Thomas McCollum	Toledo	4	2	1	0	4.48	.864		Playing in Grand Rapids
35	Jordan Pearce	Toledo	30	12	13	1	3.72	.887	1-0, GAA up, sv% down

NCAA

#	Name	Team	GP	G	A	PTS	PIM	Last Week	Notes
7	Brendan Smith	Wisconsin	32	15	25	40	56	2PIM in 2GP	Only D in NCAA top 50 scoring
7	Max Nicastro	Boston U.	34	3	12	15	26	2GP
16	Nick Oslund	St. Cloud St.	34	4	5	9	22	2GP	One point since 1/9
81	Julien Cayer	Clarkson	22	2	3	5	16	DNP	Injured
89	Bryan Rufenach	Clarkson	34	5	15	20	53	2A, 6PIM in 3GP	5th in team scoring
89	Gustav Nyquist	Maine	32	17	37	54	14	1G, 1A in 2GP	Leads nation in scoring by 4 points

Swedish Eliteserien

#	Name	Team	GP	G	A	PTS	+/-	PIM	Last Week	Notes
31	Dick Axelsson	Farjestad	14	6	4	10	+2	22	1G, 2PIM in 3GP
16	Anton Axelsson	Timra	50	5	6	11	-19	6	3GP
18	Joakim Andersson	Frolunda	54	6	12	18	+6	40	1G, -2 in 3GP
24	Jesper Samuelsson	Timra	23	0	1	1	+0	8		Playing in SWE-2
28	Adam Almqvist	HV71	27	2	6	8	+11	10	3GP	Back after missing ~1 month w/ knee injury

Swedish Allsvenskan -- Regular season completed

#	Name	Team	GP	G	A	PTS	+/-	PIM	Last Week	Notes
3	Jesper Samuelsson	Sundsvall	35	3	13	16	-12	36	1GP
16	Johan Ryno	AIK	47	9	11	20	+7	34	4PIM in 2GP
--	Adam Almqvist	Troja/Ljungby	0	0	0	0	0	0		Playing with HV71 (SEL)

Swedish J20 League

#	Name	Team	GP	G	A	PTS	+/-	PIM	Last Week	Notes
4	Adam Almqvist	HV71	15	5	29	34	+14	14		Playing with HV71 (SEL)

Kontinental Hockey League

#	Name	Team	GP	G	A	PTS	+/-	PIM	Last Week	Notes
21	Gennady Stolyarov	HC MVD	1	0	0	0		0		Finally made season debut
26	Jiri Hudler	Moscow Dynamo	51	19	32	51		16		In playoffs

Ontario Hockey League

#	Name	Team	GP	G	A	PTS	+/-	PIM	Last Week	Notes
10	Stephen Johnston	Windsor	16	4	4	8	-2	17	-1 in 2GP
11	Stephen Johnston	Belleville	18	6	4	10	-3	16		Traded to Windsor
18	Brian Lashoff	Kingston	55	6	21	27	-9	71	1A, -3, 4PIM in 3GP

Western Hockey League

#	Name	Team	GP	G	A	PTS	+/-	PIM	Last Week	Notes
9	Brent Raedeke	Edmonton	39	17	14	31	+4	60		Traded to Brandon
9	Brent Raedeke	Brandon	31	6	18	24	+10	31	1G, 3A, +1 in 3GP
13	Landon Ferraro	Red Deer	51	16	30	46	-13	51	1G, 2A, -5, 2PIM in 4GP
19	Willie Coetzee	Red Deer	70	29	51	80	+10	32	1G, 1A, -1, 2PIM in 4GP
24	Mitchell Callahan	Kelowna	70	19	27	46	+2	165	+3, 9PIM in 3GP

Quebec Major Junior Hockey League

#	Name	Team	GP	G	A	PTS	+/-	PIM	Last Week	Notes
11	Andrej Nestrasil	Victoriaville	48	15	34	48	+2	38	4A, +4, 4PIM in 2GP	Best week in over two months
14	Gleason Fournier	Rimouski	56	13	36	49	+4	76	1G, +1, 4PIM in 2GP

United States Hockey League

#	Name	Team	GP	G	A	PTS	+/-	PIM	Last Week	Notes
6	Nick Jensen	Green Bay	45	6	18	24	+27	33	1G, 2A, +3 in 3GP	14 of 24 points since I interviewed him

Kolosov adds Olympics to impressive resume

KyleKujawa — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 21:20:29 -0000

On a long-term scale, the shelf life of a prospect is pretty short. There aren't many prospects from 2004 that are still actually considered "prospects." Many have either already moved on to professional hockey or are back in Europe, looking in on the NHL picture.

Some prospects, though, are just late bloomers. The Red Wings are hoping that defenseman Sergei Kolosov is just one of those prospects. Kolosov took an unusual track to where he is today. Detroit drafted him in the 5th round out the top men's hockey league in Belarus -- not a common league for producing NHL draft picks. Many of Belarus' top players choose to play in either Russia, or to come to America and play major junior hockey.

That was the plan for Kolosov. He was drafted by the Prince George Cougars of the Western Hockey League -- a good league for a 6'4 defenseman, as the "western farm boy" stereotype definitely applies in the WHL, where forwards are a little bigger and stronger. However, visa issues held Kolosov out of that league, and he spent one more in Belarus. The following season, Prince George no longer had room for him on the roster (teams are only allowed to hold the rights to two European players), so Kolosov was forced to play in the USHL -- a slight step down from major junior hockey.

He spent the next two seasons with Cedar Rapids, scoring 21 points in 101 games. Detroit had hoped for Kolosov to maybe play for an ECHL team, but he elected to go back to Belarus for one more year. Detroit had to make the decision as to whether or not to sign him after that season, and they actually didn't -- for a few days, he was an unrestricted free agent.

Kolosov's chance came courtesy of the new Grand Rapids Griffins coach, Curt Fraser. Fraser was the former coach of the Atlanta Thrashers, and his path once out of the NHL took him to Belarus where he coached the national team in the World Championships. Fraser recommended to Detroit that they sign Kolosov, so they did, to a two-year deal. After a short adjustment period, Kolosov found a niche as the team's top defensive defenseman who can be counted on to clear the net and kill penalties. Many have compared his game to Andreas Lilja, but a look at Kolosov's PIMs shows that he is a little more able to stay out of the box, while still being physical.

Kolosov had a rare experience for a prospect recently, representing Belarus in the Olympics. This was a good experience to get a look at Kolosov against real NHL competition, even though Belarus was a little outmatched against the more NHL-heavy opponents. Despite being drafted in 2004, Kolosov is still just 23, and there's still a very good chance that he can make an NHL impact some day.

After the jump, we've got Casey Richey's interview with Kolosov where he talks about being an Olympian, his development path, and a little more -- and the statistical report, as usual.

WIM: You just returned from the Olympics, can you talk to us about that experience and what it meant to play against some of the best players in the world?

KOLOSOV: I thought it was big experience. I played against a lot of NHL players. I think that’s good experience for me, especially because I haven’t played in the NHL, so I can see how a lot of the players play in the NHL. I think it’s a big experience for me.

WIM: What do you feel you need to work on to play in the NHL?

KOLOSOV: I need to improve my physical game. A little bit on skating, and probably passes. I think that’s it.

WIM: What were some of the reasons you decided to play in the USHL? How did that help with your development?

KOLOSOV: The USHL did a lot of good in those couple of years. I had a tough time there, especially when I didn’t speak English my first time in the United States. I learned English there, and I learned how to live here. It helped me a lot.

WIM: Did Detroit want you to play in the WHL?

KOLOSOV: Yeah, I was drafted in the WHL by Prince George. I didn’t come. I picked to stay in Belarus for one more year. When I came back to the US, the WHL had already drafted two guys [two imports]. I took a chance on the USHL, so I went there.

WIM: Why did you choose to play in the Belarussian league before Grand Rapids, and how does that compare to the AHL?

KOLOSOV: It’s hard to tell, because there’s a lot of differences in the hockey. The arenas here are smaller, like the ice, and Belarus uses bigger ice, so there’s different hockey. You see how the Olympic teams play. I don’t know, it’s different. It’s hard to tell.

WIM: What role did Curt Fraser play in you earning a contract from Detroit?

KOLOSOV: He was the head coach of the national team in Belarus. It’s pretty crazy that he ended up in Grand Rapids because he coached in the World Championships. He told me to try a couple years here.

Since there was no Friday Prospects last week (I had Olympic fever, in addition to other fever that left me without the will to do any work).

American Hockey League

#	Name	Team	GP	G	A	P	+/-	PIM	Last week	Notes
3	Logan Pyett	Grand Rapids	63	8	18	26	+3	27	1G, 3A, -3, 2PIM in 7GP
4	Travis Ehrhardt	Grand Rapids	37	0	5	5	-10	32	-1 in 3GP
5	Jakub Kindl	Grand Rapids	56	3	21	24	-9	53	4A, 8PIM in 7GP
7	Sebastien Piche	Grand Rapids	9	0	0	0	-1	4		Playing in Toledo (ECHL)
8	Cory Emmerton	Grand Rapids	60	9	19	28	-1	16	1G, 2A, -5 in 7GP
9	Evan McGrath	Grand Rapids	56	8	11	19	-18	25	-4 in 4GP	Healthy scratch a few times
12	Dick Axelsson	Grand Rapids	17	2	3	5	+1	6		Playing in Farjestad (SEL)
13	Jan Mursak	Grand Rapids	62	20	12	32	+10	38	1G, 1A, -1, 10PIM in 7GP
17	Francis Pare	Grand Rapids	61	13	18	31	+16	12	2G, 3A, -2 in 7GP
18	Mattias Ritola	Grand Rapids	56	15	16	31	-6	46	2G, 4A, 2PIM in 7GP	Best two weeks of any Griffin
25	Jamie Tardif	Grand Rapids	61	13	11	24	-12	65	2G, 3A, -3 in 7GP
27	Tomas Tatar	Grand Rapids	47	13	14	27	+8	10	2G, 2A, +2, 4PIM in 7GP
28	Sergei Kolosov	Grand Rapids	49	1	3	4	-8	17	-2 in 4GP	Returned from Olympics
31	Daniel Larsson	Grand Rapids	41	17	20	1	2.95	.902	1-2, GAA up, sv% down
35	Thomas McCollum	Grand Rapids	26	7	14	1	3.61	.874	0-3-1, GAA up, sv% down	Hasn't won since Dec.13
36	Jordan Pearce	Grand Rapids	5	1	2	0	3.82	.875		Playing in Toledo (ECHL)

ECHL

#	Name	Team	GP	G	A	PTS	+/-	PIM	Last Week	Notes
20	Travis Ehrhardt	Toledo	3	1	1	2	+4	0		Playing in Grand Rapids
25	Sebastien Piche	Toledo	34	5	16	21	+4	44	1A, -2, 6PIM in 4GP
30	Thomas McCollum	Toledo	4	2	1	0	4.48	.864		Playing in Grand Rapids
35	Jordan Pearce	Toledo	28	11	13	1	3.68	.889	0-1, GAA up, sv% down

NCAA

#	Name	Team	GP	G	A	PTS	PIM	Last Week	Notes
7	Brendan Smith	Wisconsin	32	15	25	40	56	2G, 2A, 8PIM in 3GP	Only D in NCAA top 50 scoring
7	Max Nicastro	Boston U.	32	3	12	15	26	2A in 3GP	9 pts since the new year.
16	Nick Oslund	St. Cloud St.	34	4	5	9	22	2PIM in 1GP
81	Julien Cayer	Clarkson	22	2	3	5	16	DNP	Injured
89	Bryan Rufenach	Clarkson	31	5	13	18	47	1A in 3GP
89	Gustav Nyquist	Maine	32	17	37	54	14	2G, 5A in 3GP	Leads nation in scoring by 4 points (1.69 Pts/gm)

Swedish Eliteserien

#	Name	Team	GP	G	A	PTS	+/-	PIM	Last Week	Notes
31	Dick Axelsson	Farjestad	11	5	4	9	+2	20	1G, 12 PIM in 2GP
16	Anton Axelsson	Timra	47	5	6	11	-19	6	-3 in 3GP
18	Joakim Andersson	Frolunda	51	5	12	17	+8	40	3GP
24	Jesper Samuelsson	Timra	23	0	1	1	+0	8		Playing in SWE-2
28	Adam Almqvist	HV71	24	2	6	8	+11	10	DTD (knee)

Swedish Allsvenskan

#	Name	Team	GP	G	A	PTS	+/-	PIM	Last Week	Notes
3	Jesper Samuelsson	Sundsvall	35	3	13	16	-12	36	1G, 30PIM in 4GP
16	Johan Ryno	AIK	45	9	11	20	+7	30	3G, 1A, +4 in 4PIM
--	Adam Almqvist	Troja/Ljungby	0	0	0	0	0	0		Playing with HV71 (SEL)

Swedish J20 League

#	Name	Team	GP	G	A	PTS	+/-	PIM	Last Week	Notes
4	Adam Almqvist	HV71	15	5	29	34	+14	14		Playing with HV71 (SEL)

Kontinental Hockey League

#	Name	Team	GP	G	A	PTS	+/-	PIM	Last Week	Notes
21	Gennady Stolyarov	HC MVD	0	0	0	0	0	0		Off IR, but not playing yet
26	Jiri Hudler	Moscow Dynamo	51	19	32	51		16	2G, 1A, 2PIM in 3GP

Ontario Hockey League

#	Name	Team	GP	G	A	PTS	+/-	PIM	Last Week	Notes
10	Stephen Johnston	Windsor	14	4	4	8	-1	17	1G, 1A, 9PIM in 5GP
11	Stephen Johnston	Belleville	18	6	4	10	-3	16		Traded to Windsor
18	Brian Lashoff	Kingston	52	6	20	26	-6	67	3A, +6 in 4GP

Western Hockey League

#	Name	Team	GP	G	A	PTS	+/-	PIM	Last Week	Notes
9	Brent Raedeke	Edmonton	39	17	14	31	+4	60		Traded to Brandon
9	Brent Raedeke	Brandon	28	5	15	20	+9	31	1A, +2, 4PIM in 5GP
13	Landon Ferraro	Red Deer	47	15	28	43	-8	49	1G, 2A, -1, 2PIM in 5GP
19	Willie Coetzee	Red Deer	66	28	50	78	+11	30	3G, 1A, +3 in 5GP	Best +/- on team
24	Mitchell Callahan	Kelowna	67	19	27	46	-1	156	1A, 17PIM

Quebec Major Junior Hockey League

#	Name	Team	GP	G	A	PTS	+/-	PIM	Last Week	Notes
11	Andrej Nestrasil	Victoriaville	46	15	29	44	-2	34	1G, -1, 2PIM in 4GP
14	Gleason Fournier	Rimouski	54	12	36	48	+3	72	1G, 4A, +2, 2PIM in 5GP

United States Hockey League

#	Name	Team	GP	G	A	PTS	+/-	PIM	Last Week	Notes
6	Nick Jensen	Green Bay	42	5	16	21	+24	33	3G, 1A, 2PIM in 4GP	USHL Defenseman of the Week

Friday Prospects -- Griffins fall to Bulldogs

KyleKujawa — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 20:20:54 -0000

This week on Friday Prospects, I had nothing to write about. Honesty, eh? However, I did go to the Griffins game last night, so I decided to push Friday prospects until Saturday (gasp) and do some serious scouting. For a little change of pace, I'm gonna write a bit about my general impressions of the prospects involved in the game.

The game itself was pretty entertaining. Unfortunately, a few really good shots and a lack of concern in the defensive zone helped Hamilton get out to an early lead, and keep it as the game went on. The Griffins, last in the division, did not at all look out of place going against the top team in the division. They really turned it on in the 3rd and started a two goal comeback, but despite several promising flurries, they couldn't get it tied up. Hamilton won 4-3.

Logan Pyett: For as good as a player like Mursak has been, Pyett wins the Most Improved Player award... mainly because I thought Mursak showed promise last year, while Pyett was rocky in every outing I saw him. He's much better in his own zone containing older forwards, which is finally giving him more ice time. More ice time's leading to more opportunities for him, leading to more confidence, leading to more points, leading to a much better all-around player.

Travis Ehrhardt: The first time I'd actually seen him live, as all the other games he was a healthy scratch. He showed a lot of promise, I fully expect he'll become at least a serviceable defenseman at this level, with the possibility of becoming a bottom pairing guy in the NHL some day. He's an excellent skater who's patient with the puck despite being a rookie. He had probably Grand Rapids' two best scoring chances in the first, one that he generated with a combination of patience and likely inexperience and indecision. He needs to get stronger, but I was surprised that he got as much ice time as he did.

Jakub Kindl: Still the same as ever. At times, you marvel at his obviously high skill level and drool over the things he'll be able to do in an NHL lineup. Other times, you wonder who's going to be there to make up for his mistakes. He's 100% better in his own end than he was as a rookie, but he still got beat wide a few times, just not bad enough to where he got caught. He's much more physical in the corners but doesn't always come up with the puck. Looks lethal on the PP.

Cory Emmerton: It's hard for him to stand out because he does a lot well without having an elite skill. I read something elsewhere (if I remembered where, I'd attribute it) about how it's not good when he "blends into the game," meaning he doesn't stand out -- not good for a player who was an early second rounder. He did a little bit of that last night, but he showed flashes of his skill. For all that's made of his playmaking ability, I've found that he's really underrated on the penalty kill.

More after the jump, and this week's statistical report.

Evan McGrath: He's taken a step back this year and I'm not sure what it is. It could just have to do with him getting less ice time than last year, when he was on the Griffins best line with Francis Lemieux and Francis Pare. I didn't really notice a whole lot out of him.

Jan Mursak: Scored an absolutely brilliant goal that started with Ritola leading him with a long pass. Mursak really had to hustle to get there and I didn't think he would -- but he's got that really elite speed. He picked it up and did a perfect job protecting it as he went around a Bulldog defenseman, cutting right in front of the net and outwaiting Curtis Sanford (remember him?) as he tucked a backhander into an open net. It was just one of those fearless, high skilled goals. Mursak had an all-around very good night -- one of the best on the night for the Griffins.

Francis Pare: The most surprising thing of the night was getting back and seeing that Pare led the Griffins with five shots. I didn't notice him much. That's not always a bad thing though, as he isn't a player who's going to wow you with the highlight reel stuff like Mursak. He picked up a goal when a Hamilton defenseman essentially shot it into his own net, but it was a nice read by Pare prior to that chance.

Mattias Ritola: One of his better games this season. He was very physical and at time dominant along the boards. He does play in all situations for the Griffins, I really think he deserves a long look for next season. His pass on Mursak's goal was absolutely brilliant placement and awareness for who is on the ice.. Meaning, he put it to where only Mursak could get it, as no other Griffin really would have the speed to finish that play off, but not many players would have the sense to put a pass out there in the first place.

Justin Abdelkader: Clearly an NHL forward in an AHL contest. It's amazing the differences in his game from the guy who played eight minutes a night and hit everything that moved in the NHL. He's great along the boards, always seems to be buzzing around the net. He had no fewer than two devastating hits (clean) that drew a crowd, always played on the edge without drawing any penalties. He had one dominant shift on the penalty kill where he was out for nearly a minute, finishing the shift by blocking a shot, swiping the puck out, and then heading full speed down the ice so the rest of his team could change without getting beat by a long pass. He needs the AHL time to boost his offensive confidence, but he's played a fair amount of NHL games now which has really made the difference for him in his own zone.

Tomas Tatar: The first time I saw him this season I thought, "how isn't he getting more points?" He then proceeded to go on a ridiculous point streak, but he's cooled down since returning from the World Juniors. After watching him last night, the only question I can again ask is, "how isn't he getting more points?" He is just constantly around the puck, and has that knack for going into a corner and pulling it out of four sets of legs. He had a few really nice moves but wasn't able to generate many scoring chances for himself, although he did have a few good set ups. After interviewing him a few weeks ago, when he said he really liked the physical play, I was really looking out for that. Still needs to get stronger, but he's fearless and finished every hit he could, regardless of how big the other guy was.

Daniel Larsson: He's really disappointed me recently, although his numbers are starting to look a bit better. Two of the goals were great shots in the top shelf, but without any screen or deflection, those are usually the ones you'd like to see a goalie have. Another goal was off a generous rebound, but there were two Griffins defensemen standing by who didn't do anything. Larsson just looked a little bit wild tonight, but the fact that he's still playing a ton more than Thomas McCollum is a good indication of where the goaltending situation is at right now.

Stats?

Stats:

American Hockey League

#	Name	Team	GP	G	A	P	+/-	PIM	Last week	Notes
3	Logan Pyett	Grand Rapids	56	7	15	22	+6	25	2A, +2, 2PIM in 4GP
4	Travis Ehrhardt	Grand Rapids	34	0	5	5	-9	32	1A, 4PIM in 4GP
5	Jakub Kindl	Grand Rapids	49	3	17	20	-9	45	+1, 11PIM in 4GP
7	Sebastien Piche	Grand Rapids	9	0	0	0	-1	4		Playing in Toledo (ECHL)
8	Cory Emmerton	Grand Rapids	53	8	17	25	+4	16	1A, +2, 2PIM in 4GP
9	Evan McGrath	Grand Rapids	52	8	11	19	-14	25	1A, -1, 2PIM in 4GP
12	Dick Axelsson	Grand Rapids	17	2	3	5	+1	6		Playing in Farjestad (SEL)
13	Jan Mursak	Grand Rapids	55	19	11	30	+11	28	1G, 1A, +2, 9PIM in 4GP
17	Francis Pare	Grand Rapids	50	11	15	26	+18	12	1G in 4GP
18	Mattias Ritola	Grand Rapids	49	13	12	25	-6	44	2G, 1A, +3, 4PIM in 4GP
25	Jamie Tardif	Grand Rapids	54	11	8	19	-9	65	1G, +1 in 4GP
27	Tomas Tatar	Grand Rapids	40	11	12	23	+6	6	1G, -2 in 4GP
28	Sergei Kolosov	Grand Rapids	45	1	3	4	-6	17		Representing Belarus in Olympics
31	Daniel Larsson	Grand Rapids	33	16	18	1	2.84	.905	1-3, GAA down, sv% up
35	Thomas McCollum	Grand Rapids	22	7	11	0	3.50	.878	DNP
36	Jordan Pearce	Grand Rapids	5	1	2	0	3.82	.875		Playing in Toledo (ECHL)

ECHL

#	Name	Team	GP	G	A	PTS	+/-	PIM	Last Week	Notes
20	Travis Ehrhardt	Toledo	3	1	1	2	+4	0		Playing in Grand Rapids
25	Sebastien Piche	Toledo	30	5	15	20	+6	38	1G, 3A, +2, 8PIM in 5GP
30	Thomas McCollum	Toledo	4	2	1	0	4.48	.864		Playing in Grand Rapids
35	Jordan Pearce	Toledo	26	11	12	1	3.48	.896	2-1, GAA down, sv% up	2 shutouts in 5 days

NCAA

#	Name	Team	GP	G	A	PTS	PIM	Last Week	Notes
7	Brendan Smith	Wisconsin	29	13	23	36	48	1G, 2A, 12PIM in 3GP
7	Max Nicastro	Boston U.	29	3	10	13	26	1G, 2A, 2PIM in 3GP
16	Nick Oslund	St. Cloud St.	33	4	5	9	20	1A in 3GP
81	Julien Cayer	Clarkson	22	2	3	5	16	DNP	Injured
89	Bryan Rufenach	Clarkson	28	5	12	17	47	1A, 6PIM in 3GP
89	Gustav Nyquist	Maine	29	15	32	47	14	1G, 6A, 2PIM in 3GP

Swedish Eliteserien

#	Name	Team	GP	G	A	PTS	+/-	PIM	Last Week	Notes
31	Dick Axelsson	Farjestad	9	4	4	8	+2	8	DNP
16	Anton Axelsson	Timra	44	5	6	11	-16	6	DNP
18	Joakim Andersson	Frolunda	48	5	12	17	+8	40	DNP
24	Jesper Samuelsson	Timra	23	0	1	1	+0	8		Playing in SWE-2
28	Adam Almqvist	HV71	24	2	6	8	+11	10	DNP, DTD (knee)

Swedish Allsvenskan

#	Name	Team	GP	G	A	PTS	+/-	PIM	Last Week	Notes
3	Jesper Samuelsson	Sundsvall	31	2	13	15	-12	6	1A, 2PIM in 2GP
16	Johan Ryno	AIK	42	6	10	16	+3	30	1A, -2, 2PIM in 3GP	-6 in two weeks
--	Adam Almqvist	Troja/Ljungby	0	0	0	0	0	0		Playing with HV71 (SEL)

Swedish J20 League

#	Name	Team	GP	G	A	PTS	+/-	PIM	Last Week	Notes
4	Adam Almqvist	HV71	15	5	29	34	+14	14		Playing with HV71 (SEL)

Kontinental Hockey League

#	Name	Team	GP	G	A	PTS	+/-	PIM	Last Week	Notes
21	Gennady Stolyarov	HC MVD	0	0	0	0	0	0	Removed from IR	Thanks to Robert for the tip
26	Jiri Hudler	Moscow Dynamo	48	17	31	48		16

Ontario Hockey League

#	Name	Team	GP	G	A	PTS	+/-	PIM	Last Week	Notes
10	Stephen Johnston	Windsor	9	3	3	6	-1	8	1G, -1, 2PIM in 3GP
11	Stephen Johnston	Belleville	18	6	4	10	-3	16		Traded to Windsor
18	Brian Lashoff	Kingston	48	6	17	23	-12	67	4A, -3, 12PIM in 4GP

Western Hockey League

#	Name	Team	GP	G	A	PTS	+/-	PIM	Last Week	Notes
9	Brent Raedeke	Edmonton	39	17	14	31	+4	60		Traded to Brandon
9	Brent Raedeke	Brandon	23	5	14	19	+7	27	1G, 1A, +1, 11PIM in 4GP
13	Landon Ferraro	Red Deer	42	14	26	40	-7	47	2G, 3A, +1, 7PIM in 5GP
19	Willie Coetzee	Red Deer	61	25	49	74	+8	30	2A, +3, 6PIM in 5GP	Best +/- on team
24	Mitchell Callahan	Kelowna	61	19	26	45	-1	139	2G, 2A, +1, 5PIM in 3GP

Quebec Major Junior Hockey League

#	Name	Team	GP	G	A	PTS	+/-	PIM	Last Week	Notes
11	Andrej Nestrasil	Victoriaville	42	14	29	43	-1	32	2A, +1 in 3GP
14	Gleason Fournier	Rimouski	49	11	32	43	+1	70	1G, 3A, -4, 2PIM in 3GP	Best +/- on team

United States Hockey League

#	Name	Team	GP	G	A	PTS	+/-	PIM	Last Week	Notes
6	Nick Jensen	Green Bay	38	2	15	17	+24	31	1G, 1A, +1, 19PIM in 5GP

Friday Prospects -- Ready for the run

KyleKujawa — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 19:18:31 -0000

Hey all. Taking a break from the interview scene this week. The good news is we've hardly tapped the well dry -- in fact, we're trying to cook up some new stuff to make this feature even better. We've got a few potential awesome candidates coming up, so make sure you keep reading. If you missed any, here's Nick Jensen, Willie Coetzee, Landon Ferraro, and Tomas Tatar.

The news goes on, however. Today's been an interesting day, following a few teams shuffling players before the Olympic trade deadline. We're getting down to the stretch run. For leagues outside of the NHL, that time is even closer. Every other league will be in the playoffs when the NHL's regular season concludes. Generally in this feature, we focus on the individual prospect, but everything's relative.

A player flourishing on a bad team is a little more impressive than a player being carried along by a ton of top scorers on a good team... so it's interesting to keep in mind. But sometimes, a team can be bad enough to where they're only scoring points because nobody else can, so just because a players stats are good on a bad team doesn't necessarily mean anything, if you see what I'm saying.

Among the more interesting notes:

Grand Rapids has absolutely fallen apart, currently sitting in the conference cellar, 3rd worst in the league. They were in a playoff position until they got Michael Nylander, and then offense, defense, and goaltending simultaneously fell apart. They've shown life recently, but might be too little too late to make a playoff run. The good news is there's penalty for trying, because it's not like they're fighting for a draft pick.
Toledo (ECHL) is last in their division, but they'd be second in the other division in the conference. They're well over .500, at 25-19-1-3.
Looking at the junior ranks, Detroit has a couple prospects poised for potential Memorial Cup runs. If you don't know what that is, they take the champion out of the Western, Quebec, and Ontario leagues and pit them against a host team (determined years in advance) in a week long tournament.
One prospect guaranteed to be there is Brent Raedeke, as the Brandon team he is now on will host the tournament.
The top team in the OHL is Windsor, represented by Stephen Johnston. Johnston was a deadline acquisition for Windsor, and now that he's healthy, is earning rave reviews for the impact he's made.
Detroit's top candidate from the QMJHL is Andrej Nestrasil, on a 3rd place Victoriaville team that were definite buyers at the deadline.
In the college ranks, both Brendan Smith (Wisconsin) and Gustav Nyquist (Maine) should be locks for Hobey Baker nominations (best collegiate player), but their teams are also sitting nicely as solid best for invites to the NCAA tournament.
However, it's Nick Oslund (St. Cloud State) who's team boasts the best collegiate record among Detroit prospects. St. Cloud is tied for 1st in the WCHA, the same conference Smith plays in.
Attending St. Cloud next year is Nick Jensen, who knows all about winning: His Green Bay Gamblers are 1st in the USHL.
Adam Almqvist has been forced into the SEL mainly due to injuries; his HV-71 club has had each of it's top four blueliners out for considerable lengths of time. It comes as a surprise that they still sit in 1st place.

Statistical report is after the jump. In the spirit of the postseason, the "notes" section contains the team's current position in the league standing

Statistical Report:

American Hockey League

#	Name	Team	GP	G	A	P	+/-	PIM	Last week	Notes
3	Logan Pyett	Grand Rapids	52	7	13	20	+4	23	1A, +1 in 3GP
4	Travis Ehrhardt	Grand Rapids	30	0	4	4	-9	28	+1 in 1GP
5	Jakub Kindl	Grand Rapids	45	3	17	20	-10	34	1A, -2, 2PIM in 3GP
7	Sebastien Piche	Grand Rapids	9	0	0	0	-1	4		Playing in Toledo (ECHL)
8	Cory Emmerton	Grand Rapids	49	8	16	24	+2	14	1G, 1A, +3 in 3GP
9	Evan McGrath	Grand Rapids	48	8	10	18	-13	23	2A in 3GP
12	Dick Axelsson	Grand Rapids	17	2	3	5	+1	6		Playing in Farjestad (SEL)
13	Jan Mursak	Grand Rapids	51	18	10	28	+9	19	1A, -1 in 3GP
17	Francis Pare	Grand Rapids	50	11	15	26	+18	12	2G, +1 in 3GP
18	Mattias Ritola	Grand Rapids	45	11	10	21	-9	40	1G, 1A, -2, 4PIM in 3GP
25	Jamie Tardif	Grand Rapids	50	10	8	18	-10	65	1A, -1, 7PIM in 3GP
27	Tomas Tatar	Grand Rapids	36	10	12	22	+8	6	1A in 3GP
28	Sergei Kolosov	Grand Rapids	45	1	3	4	-6	17	2GP	Representing Belarus in Olympics
31	Daniel Larsson	Grand Rapids	33	15	15	1	2.92	.901	2-0, GAA down, sv% up
35	Thomas McCollum	Grand Rapids	22	7	11	0	3.50	.878	0-1, GAA down, sv% up
36	Jordan Pearce	Grand Rapids	5	1	2	0	3.82	.875		Playing in Toledo (ECHL)

ECHL

#	Name	Team	GP	G	A	PTS	+/-	PIM	Last Week	Notes
20	Travis Ehrhardt	Toledo	3	1	1	2	+4	0		Playing in Grand Rapids
25	Sebastien Piche	Toledo	25	4	12	16	+4	30	2A, 2PIM in 3GP	8th of 12 in conference
30	Thomas McCollum	Toledo	4	2	1	0	4.48	.864		Playing in Grand Rapids
35	Jordan Pearce	Toledo	23	9	11	1	3.82	.885	0-2, GAA up, sv% up	8th of 12 in conference

NCAA

#	Name	Team	GP	G	A	PTS	PIM	Last Week	Notes
7	Brendan Smith	Wisconsin	26	12	21	33	36	2G in 1GP	4 of 10 in WCHA
7	Max Nicastro	Boston U.	26	2	8	10	24	2PIM in 2GP	5 of 10 in HE
16	Nick Oslund	St. Cloud St.	30	4	4	8	20	2GP	T-1 of 10 in WCHA
81	Julien Cayer	Clarkson	22	2	3	5	16	DNP	12 of 12 in ECAC
89	Bryan Rufenach	Clarkson	25	5	11	16	41	DNP	12 of 12 in ECAC
89	Gustav Nyquist	Maine	26	14	26	40	12	4A in 2GP	T-2 of 10 in HE

Swedish Eliteserien

#	Name	Team	GP	G	A	PTS	+/-	PIM	Last Week	Notes
31	Dick Axelsson	Farjestad	9	4	4	8	+2	8	-2, 2PIM in 1GP	5th of 12 in league
16	Anton Axelsson	Timra	44	5	6	11	-16	6	1G, -4, 2PIM in 4GP	10th of 12 in league
18	Joakim Andersson	Frolunda	48	5	12	17	+8	40	1A, 6PIM in 4GP	7th of 12 in league
24	Jesper Samuelsson	Timra	23	0	1	1	+0	8		Playing in SWE-2
28	Adam Almqvist	HV71	24	2	6	8	+11	10	DNP, DTD (knee)	1st of 12 in league

Swedish Allsvenskan

#	Name	Team	GP	G	A	PTS	+/-	PIM	Last Week	Notes
3	Jesper Samuelsson	Sundsvall	29	2	12	14	-12	4	1G, 3A, -3, 2PIM in 5GP	13th of 14 in league
16	Johan Ryno	AIK	39	6	9	15	+5	28	-4 in 2GP	3rd of 14 in league
--	Adam Almqvist	Troja/Ljungby	0	0	0	0	0	0		Playing with HV71 (SEL)

Swedish J20 League

#	Name	Team	GP	G	A	PTS	+/-	PIM	Last Week	Notes
4	Adam Almqvist	HV71	15	5	29	34	+14	14		Playing with HV71 (SEL)

Kontinental Hockey League

#	Name	Team	GP	G	A	PTS	+/-	PIM	Last Week	Notes
21	Gennady Stolyarov	HC MVD	0	0	0	0	0	0		5th of 24 in league
26	Jiri Hudler	Moscow Dynamo	48	17	31	48		16		4th of 24 in league

Ontario Hockey League

#	Name	Team	GP	G	A	PTS	+/-	PIM	Last Week	Notes
10	Stephen Johnston	Windsor	6	2	3	5	+0	6	1A, 4PIM in 2GP	1st of 20 in league
11	Stephen Johnston	Belleville	18	6	4	10	-3	16		Traded to Windsor
18	Brian Lashoff	Kingston	44	6	13	19	-9	55	2PIM in 1GP	4th of 10 in conference

Western Hockey League

#	Name	Team	GP	G	A	PTS	+/-	PIM	Last Week	Notes
9	Brent Raedeke	Edmonton	39	17	14	31	+4	60		Traded to Brandon
9	Brent Raedeke	Brandon	19	4	13	17	+6	16	1A, +4, 6PIM in 3GP	3rd of 12 in conference
13	Landon Ferraro	Red Deer	37	12	23	35	-8	40	2A, -3, 2PIM in 3GP	6th of 12 in conference
19	Willie Coetzee	Red Deer	56	25	47	72	+5	24	1A, -2, 2PIM in 3GP	6th of 12 in conference
24	Mitchell Callahan	Kelowna	58	17	24	41	-2	134	-3, 4PIM in 3GP	6th of 10 in conference

Quebec Major Junior Hockey League

#	Name	Team	GP	G	A	PTS	+/-	PIM	Last Week	Notes
11	Andrej Nestrasil	Victoriaville	39	14	27	40	-2	32	1A, -1, 2PIM in 1GP	3rd of 18 in league
14	Gleason Fournier	Rimouski	46	10	29	39	+5	68	+1, 2PIM in 3GP	10th of 18 in league

United States Hockey League

#	Name	Team	GP	G	A	PTS	+/-	PIM	Last Week	Notes
6	Nick Jensen	Green Bay	33	1	14	15	+23	12	17 PIM in 2GP	1st of 14 in league

Age no concern for Tomas Tatar

KyleKujawa — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 08:43:18 -0000

The World Junior Championship is typically a tournament for 19-year-old players. It's by far the most prestigious and most popular tournament for junior hockey, earning the eye of scouts and fans alike each December. Despite the incredible talent at the tournament every year, it's not considered to be a big tournament for draft eligible players. The best of the best will certainly find their way on the team, but every year is crucial in development -- 19-year-olds are just better prepared for the tournament. Look no further than Colorado's Matt Duchene for a player passed over for this tournament.

For a country like Slovakia, winners of just one medal (a bronze) in the history of the tournament, the tournament can be tremendously challenging. Slovakia has put together competitive clubs over the years, but it's very difficult for a young player to stand out, even if they're given ice time.

Apparently, no one this to told Tomas Tatar. Barely 18 and a virtual unknown before the tournament, Tatar emerged as a star at the 2009 WJCs. Tatar led Slovakia in scoring with seven goals and 11 points in seven games, including several highlight reel goals and a pair of clutch goals in a huge upset over the United States.

After Detroit selected Tatar in the 2nd round the following June, many were wondering if Tatar's WJC performance was a fluke, or if he was the real deal. That was a question that Tatar soon answered. Despite being drafted into the OHL, and having an offer to play professional hockey in Slovakia, Tatar focused in on making the AHL and earning a contract from Detroit. He did.

Visa issues kept him out of the first few games, but Tatar found himself a regular after the first month of the season. Production was slow at first, but Tatar started to catch fire in November, becoming one of the top scorers on the Griffins during that team. All this was despite being the youngest player in the league. Tatar not only proved his WJC was not a fluke, but he proved to be a steal for Detroit at 60th overall.

Winging it in Motown had a chance to speak with Tatar about his adjustments to the AHL, his performances at the WJC, and being invited to Slovakia's Olympic camp.

WIM: How do you feel you feel this season is going?

TATAR: I feel great here. It’s a man’s league here, I think it’s pretty good. It’s a perfect experience for my hockey life. I feel the league is really good, and I like it here.

WIM: How has it been adjusting to the AHL from Slovakia?

TATAR: This league is so much more physical and faster. The big difference here is age. The Slovak league plays with older guys. They are smart, but they don’t skate like everyone does over here. Everyone here wants to play in the NHL, so everyone’s fighting for their place. I think there is a big difference with the speed in the league, and the physical play, like in the corners.

WIM: Being the youngest player in the league, what were your expectations of yourself coming into the AHL? Did you think you’d be able to score as much as you have?

TATAR: I don’t know. I was a little nervous coming here because I had never played in the United States before. Some leagues never play in North America. I was a little bit nervous, but I had to learn the style here because it’s a little bit different. Many times here you just dump the puck and force it. I needed to learn that, and I think now I’m ok. But in Grand Rapids, now, we are not really good in the standings. We must be better, and we need some confidence in the locker room.

WIM: After you were drafted in both the NHL and OHL (drafted by Kitchener, rights traded to Plymouth), did you have any preference about playing professional or junior?

TATAR: Yeah. When I was in camp and someone asked me where I wanted to play, I always said here, in the AHL. Last year I played in the men’s league in Slovakia. I think it would be a step back to go play in the OHL, with the junior club. I think the junior league here is so good, too. But I play with men last year, so I was ready for big battles in the corner -- for typical men’s hockey. I felt like it would be a step back to go play in junior.

WIM: Going back to the draft last year, did you think that Detroit was interested in you?

TATAR: Yeah. I had many meetings with other teams, but Detroit called me a couple times. They were checking me in some games in the Slovak league. They talked with me in Toronto in the draft combine. I thought that Detroit was a team that could draft me.

WIM: Were you a Red Wings fan growing up?

TATAR: Yeah, they were my favorite team. I was so excited.

WIM: Did you get a chance to meet anyone you idolized growing up?

TATAR: Yeah, almost everybody, all the NHL guys. I met with everyone from the managers to the players, all the big stars. It was a good experience for me, too.

WIM: What were your impressions of the organization and the city when you were in your first camp?

TATAR: I knew something about the organization before. They asked me all the normal questions, and what the plans were for me with the Detroit Red Wings. It was just all the normal questions for anybody playing somewhere new.

WIM: How would you describe your style of play?

TATAR: Almost everybody thinks about me like I’m a sniper. I think if I have a chance, I know I can get a goal, but I think I’m a pretty good passer, too. I think maybe I’m a playmaker, too. I like playing physical, and fighting in the corner. I like playing in the offensive zone. I must work hard on my speed. Here, in North America, almost everybody is a good skater. I need to be a little bit better with that, and in the defensive zone. You know, everybody has a different hockey style, and I need to get better in the defensive zone. Here they are so different with defensive styles, not like in Europe.

WIM: How close do you feel you are to playing in the NHL? What might you need to work on?

TATAR: I am still young, so I have time to get to the NHL. I ask guys what is the biggest difference between the NHL and AHL, the guys say it’s almost the same. I must work hard and always be ready for the call up.

WIM: Moving on to the World Juniors, did you expect Slovakia to perform well after last year?

TATAR: This year was a much different team than last year’s. This year was a much different year for the players. Last year, we went in, and it was like nobody knew about Slovakia or something. We were the biggest surprise in the tournament. This year, nobody took it easy on us. Everybody knew we were pretty good. We won against America. It was tough for us. Maybe some players played specially against me. It was so tough. On the roster, we had very offensive guys, but not as many guys for defense. We made a lot of mistakes in the defensive zone, and I think that was the problem.

WIM: Heading into last year’s tournament, as a draft eligible player in a tournament for 20-year-olds, did you expect you’d score as much as you did?

TATAR: It was a different tournament than this one. We were a young line, with Richard [Panik, who is Tampa Bay property] and Marek Viedensky [San Jose]. We know we are not the best players. We said that we must play simple, and if we have the chance, shoot the puck on the net. We had maybe a little luck, because it was like almost every shot was going in. But, I think if you want to play hockey, you will need luck. We might have had luck, but it was such a good tournament. We had a good team in the defensive zone. The goalkeeper [Jaroslav Janus, Tampa Bay] was so great. It was a good experience for me.

WIM: What’s a typical game day like for you? Do you do anything special?

TATAR: No, I don’t have a special ritual. Usually the guys will go somewhere together to eat and talk a little bit about hockey, like what we need to do, what we need to work on together. After, just a nap, and wake up and be ready for hockey.

WIM: Since you’re in the United States for your first year, what do you do in your spare time to relax?

TATAR: You know, I am so excited here. There is so much stuff I can do after practice. Almost every day I do something different. It’s such a different country. Sometimes we go to the mall, sometimes to the cinema, sometimes going to a bar, going to dinner. We were in Chicago, in the downtown. There is so much to do here. The guys show me, almost every day, something new.

WIM: What did it mean to you to get invited to Slovakia’s Olympic camp?

TATAR: Wow, that was a really good experience. I was so happy. I don’t want to go to the Olympics, because I feel I’m not ready for Olympic games. But I was there with guys who played many years in the NHL, and I think they’re so good. It was a big experience for me. I just asked guys what they do in the summer, and, same like here, I was new there, so guys would take me somewhere. I had a great time there.

WIM: What players in particular helped you out?

TATAR: Pavol Demitra, Marian Hossa, Zdeno Chara, almost everybody who’s going to the Olympics. There were big names.

Statistical Report:

American Hockey League

#	Name	Team	GP	G	A	P	+/-	PIM	Last week	Notes
3	Logan Pyett	Grand Rapids	49	7	12	19	+3	23	1G, -1, 2PIM in 3GP
4	Travis Ehrhardt	Grand Rapids	29	0	4	4	-10	28	-1, 2PIM in 3GP
5	Jakub Kindl	Grand Rapids	42	3	16	19	-8	32	-2 in 3GP
7	Sebastien Piche	Grand Rapids	9	0	0	0	-1	4		Playing in Toledo (ECHL)
8	Cory Emmerton	Grand Rapids	46	7	15	22	-1	14	-5 in 3GP
9	Evan McGrath	Grand Rapids	45	8	8	16	-13	23	1A, -1, 5PIM in 3GP
12	Dick Axelsson	Grand Rapids	17	2	3	5	+1	6		Playing in Farjestad (SEL)
13	Jan Mursak	Grand Rapids	48	18	9	27	+10	19	1G, 1A, 2PIM in 3GP	First goal in nearly a month
17	Francis Pare	Grand Rapids	47	9	15	24	+17	12	1G in 3GP
18	Mattias Ritola	Grand Rapids	39	10	9	19	-7	36	-1, 2PIM in 2GP
25	Jamie Tardif	Grand Rapids	44	10	7	17	-9	58	-1, 5PIM in 3GP
27	Tomas Tatar	Grand Rapids	33	10	11	21	+8	6	-1 in 3GP
28	Sergei Kolosov	Grand Rapids	43	1	3	4	-6	17	-2 in 3GP
31	Daniel Larsson	Grand Rapids	31	13	15	1	2.99	.900	0-1, GAA down, sv% up
35	Thomas McCollum	Grand Rapids	21	7	10	0	3.53	.875	0-2, GAA up, sv% same
36	Jordan Pearce	Grand Rapids	5	1	2	0	3.82	.875		Playing in Toledo (ECHL)

ECHL

#	Name	Team	GP	G	A	PTS	+/-	PIM	Last Week	Notes
20	Travis Ehrhardt	Toledo	3	1	1	2	+4	0		Playing in Grand Rapids
25	Sebastien Piche	Toledo	22	4	10	14	+4	28	1G, 2A in 2GP
30	Thomas McCollum	Toledo	4	2	1	0	4.48	.864		Playing in Grand Rapids
35	Jordan Pearce	Toledo	21	9	9	1	3.74	.884	1-0, GAA up, sv% same

NCAA

#	Name	Team	GP	G	A	PTS	PIM	Last Week	Notes
7	Brendan Smith	Wisconsin	25	10	21	31	36	1G, 4PIM in 2GP	UM@Wisc outdoor game, Sat on BTN
7	Max Nicastro	Boston U.	24	2	8	10	22	1G, 1A, 2PIM in 2GP
16	Nick Oslund	St. Cloud St.	28	4	4	8	20	2GP	3 GWGs
81	Julien Cayer	Clarkson	22	2	3	5	16	6PIM in 2GP
89	Bryan Rufenach	Clarkson	25	5	11	16	41	2PIM in 2GP
89	Gustav Nyquist	Maine	22	13	19	32	12	1G, 3A in 2GP	6th in NCAA scoring

Swedish Eliteserien

#	Name	Team	GP	G	A	PTS	+/-	PIM	Last Week	Notes
31	Dick Axelsson	Farjestad	6	2	3	5	+3	6	2G, 1A, +1 in 2GP	You don't go PPG in the SEL with a bad work ethic.
16	Anton Axelsson	Timra	40	4	6	10	-12	4	-4, 2PIM in 2GP	Team worst +/-
18	Joakim Andersson	Frolunda	44	5	11	16	+8	34	-1 in 2GP
24	Jesper Samuelsson	Timra	23	0	1	1	+0	8		Playing in SWE-2
28	Adam Almqvist	HV71	24	2	6	8	+11	10	DNP	DTD (knee)

Swedish Allsvenskan

#	Name	Team	GP	G	A	PTS	+/-	PIM	Last Week	Notes
3	Jesper Samuelsson	Sundsvall	24	1	9	10	-9	2	2A, -1 in 2GP	6A in last 8GP
16	Johan Ryno	AIK	37	6	9	15	+9	28	1G, 1A, +3, 6PIM in 3GP	Heating up
--	Adam Almqvist	Troja/Ljungby	0	0	0	0	0	0		Playing with HV71 (SEL)

Swedish J20 League

#	Name	Team	GP	G	A	PTS	+/-	PIM	Last Week	Notes
4	Adam Almqvist	HV71	15	5	29	34	+14	14		Playing with HV71 (SEL)

Kontinental Hockey League

#	Name	Team	GP	G	A	PTS	+/-	PIM	Last Week	Notes
21	Gennady Stolyarov	HC MVD	0	0	0	0	0	0		Behind schedule on injury
26	Jiri Hudler	Moscow Dynamo	48	17	31	48		16	3G, 8A, 2PIM in 8GP	Two weeks worth of stats

Ontario Hockey League

#	Name	Team	GP	G	A	PTS	+/-	PIM	Last Week	Notes
10	Stephen Johnston	Windsor	4	2	2	4	+0	2	2G, 1A, 2PIM in 3GP
11	Stephen Johnston	Belleville	18	6	4	10	-3	16		Traded to Windsor
18	Brian Lashoff	Kingston	43	6	13	19	-9	53	1G, +2 in 2GP

Western Hockey League

#	Name	Team	GP	G	A	PTS	+/-	PIM	Last Week	Notes
9	Brent Raedeke	Edmonton	39	17	14	31	+4	60		Traded to Brandon
9	Brent Raedeke	Brandon	16	4	12	16	+2	10	2A, +1, 2PIM in 2GP
13	Landon Ferraro	Red Deer	34	12	21	33	-5	38	2G, 2A, +1, 2PIM in 4GP
19	Willie Coetzee	Red Deer	53	25	46	71	+7	22	4G, 2A, -1, 2PIM in 4GP	10pts in 6GP
24	Mitchell Callahan	Kelowna	55	17	24	41	+1	130	1G, 1A, -1, 14 PIM in 4GP	6pts in 7GP

Quebec Major Junior Hockey League

#	Name	Team	GP	G	A	PTS	+/-	PIM	Last Week	Notes
11	Andrej Nestrasil	Victoriaville	38	14	26	40	-1	30	-1 in 1GP	Returned from injury
14	Gleason Fournier	Rimouski	43	10	29	39	+4	66	2G, 4A, 2PIM in 3GP	4G in 6GP

United States Hockey League

#	Name	Team	GP	G	A	PTS	+/-	PIM	Last Week	Notes
6	Nick Jensen	Green Bay	33	1	14	15	+23	12	1G, 2A, +7, 2PIM in 3GP	1st goal of season

Landon Ferraro carving out his own path

KyleKujawa — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 17:43:51 -0000

When it comes to prospects, name recognition plays a big part. Every hockey fan, and even some scouts, have that moment where they sit down to watch a game and they see a familiar name. "I wonder if there's any relation to..." Standard questions. Sometimes, you don't even need to see much beyond the style of play to realize that the players are definitely related.

Some scouts say this is the case with Landon Ferraro, a name that should be familiar to anyone who at all followed hockey from 1984 to 2001. Landon is the son of Ray Ferraro, who played over 1,200 games and scored over 400 goals with five different NHL teams. He was even a big-time scorer in juniors, scoring 108 goals among 192 points in 1983-84. After he hung up the skates, he put on his analyst hat and has been a regular on ESPN and NBC, as well as SportsNet and TSN in Canada and color commentary for Edmonton and Vancouver.

Landon was born in Canada, but grew up playing his youth hockey in the United States, mostly in Atlanta and Los Angeles. He eventually moved back to Canada to play at a higher level. His prolific goal scoring ability got him noticed around the WHL, and he was drafted 2nd overall in 2006 by the Red Deer Rebels.

In his draft year, Landon scored 37 goals, good for 22% of all goals scored by Red Deer that season. For all intents and purposes, he was Detroit's first round pick this past June. Detroit traded the 29th overall pick to 32, picking up an extra third-rounder along the way. With the second pick of the second round, they selected Ferraro -- someone they felt was a definite first round talent.

This week, Winging it in Motown was lucky enough to sit down with him. We talked about bouncing back from an injury with a recent hot streak, having an NHL player as a father, and a conversation with a Red Wings' legend at the draft that may have been a bit of a hint.

WIM: You’ve been in and out of the lineup all season, but have been heating up recently. How have you been feeling, and do you think you’re fully recovered?

FERRARO: That was the main thing at the beginning of the year. I got hurt in our second game. I tried to keep playing, but like you said, I was in and out of the lineup. I came down to Detroit and they looked at it, then I went home and rested and got a lot of treatment. I strengthened it, to make sure when I came back after Christmas I was ready to go. Since I’ve been back, my knee’s felt as good as it has been, ever. I wear a brace which keeps it really sturdy. It doesn’t make me think about my knee at all while I’m playing now. I have a lot of confidence again, and my skating has gone back to the way it always has been. I’ve been really confident. I’m shooting a lot of pucks, and my line has been doing pretty well since I’ve been back.

WIM: What’s been the biggest difference this season compared to last year for Red Deer’s success?

FERRARO: It’s just a bit more experience. We have guys back who were here last year that were rookies. It’s a hard year in your first year in the league. You’re trying to get used to, not only the speed and the overall competitiveness of the league, but also you go from playing 50 games in midget to 72. It adds quite a bit to the toll on your body. This year we’re more experienced, and we brought in some players that have really helped us on the offensive and defensive side of things. Our systems are more automatic. We don’t have to think about them as much. It’s been nice now that we have everyone. We play four lines that we can rely on, and it’s worked out well this year so far.

WIM: How would you describe your style of play, for Red Wings fans who haven’t seen you play?

FERRARO: I try to use my speed. Speed has always been my greatest asset. I think I use my head pretty well on the ice. I get to areas that pucks just seems to pop out to. I get a lot of goals right around the net. When I try to make a play, I hope I can beat a guy with my speed and get the puck back and get it to the net. This past year, going into my draft year, I really focused on my defensive side. Growing up, it was never really a thought in my mind. I always thought I should try to score and get points. I’ve really focused on that, and I’m starting to play the PK this year a lot more. I’ve been taking a lot more faceoffs in our own zone. I’ve really made sure I’ve practiced that a lot. I just try to use my speed and open up lanes as I go.

WIM: What have you been working on improving in your game this season?

FERRARO: This season’s been a bit of a mess, as you know, with my injury. Since I’ve been back, I make sure as soon as I get on the ice, I try to get a puck on my stick and handle it. It’s hard not playing for a while. You start to feel like it’s the beginning of summer again where you haven’t handled the puck in a while. I’ve been working on taking a lot of shots and trying to stickhandle as much as I can. Being in your own zone, though, it’s not something that’s too hard to do, but you have to take pride in it. I’ve talked to Jesse Wallin, the coach here, a lot about it. He’s keeping me honest with it and making sure if it slips one game that I know about it. He makes sure that I focus on it the next game. He explained to me that all your offense comes through your defense. Since I’ve been playing better defense I’ve noticed that I’m down lower when I get the puck, coming with speed instead of a standstill attacking a defenseman. It’s really opened up the ice. I’m getting to play with Willie Coetzee, who signed this year out of camp with Detroit. He’s another really fast player, that has one of the best shots in our league. When we get 2-on-2s and 3-on-2s using our speed, we’re really effective.

WIM: On the note of Jesse Wallin, what does it mean to have him coaching you when he’s been through the Wings’ system before?

FERRARO: He knows exactly what’s expected out of a Wings’ player, or a prospect trying to come up into their system. He’s a coach who’s not guessing at what their expecting. He’s been through the minors, he’s played there, he’s won a Cup with them. He knows exactly what they want out of me. He obviously has close ties with some of the players and the front office. They talk, and we talk to make sure I’m doing everything I can to have a good year here and to, next year, come into the system and try to make a difference.

WIM: What was it like for you to grow up with your father playing in the NHL?

FERRARO: It’s something that I look back now and really appreciate it more than when I was younger. I didn’t really appreciate it until his last year, realizing that, I was only 11, it could be my last time around an NHL team. Just growing up and getting to be in the room after games, and every weekend we’d go to practice with him. If the team won a game we’d get to go in the room after, because all the guys were in a better mood. Getting to see how the players train and work so hard to stay in the league. It’s not ‘once you’re there, you’re there for sure.’ You have to keep working constantly to get better and make sure you’re productive. It’s something I look back on now and try to use to my advantage.

WIM: Does he give you any advice on your game, or now that you’re at a high level does he leave it up to your coaches?

FERRARO: He leaves it up to my coaches, but at the same time it’s too hard for him not to give advice. He played for 18 years and has some pretty good insight. He gets to as many games as he can, and he watches the rest on the WHL webcasts. If he sees something little here and there, he’ll give me some pointers. For the most part, he knows when he should say something to help me out, or leave it to the coaches.

WIM: Moving on to the draft, did you have any strong indications that Detroit might take you?

FERRARO: To be honest, no, not really. I knew I had a good meeting at the combine, but other than that, I didn’t really talk to them too much. The draft was one of the weirdest experiences of my life. I sat there the whole first day watching teams that I knew really liked me. Then the draft went a little bit different. There’s guys taken, and then there’s guys on team’s lists that were one or two spots above me, so I slipped to the second day. After that, I knew I had a good chance of going to Detroit. I knew they liked me. It was kinda hard not to get excited again. I was on the bus to the rink the morning of the draft, and Steve Yzerman was on the bus. He said hi to my dad, and he said hi to me. He looked at me and gave me a smile. He kind of said, "Don’t worry, enjoy it. It’s going to be a good day for you." I didn’t think much of it then because I was still pretty nervous, but after I was kind of laughing about it.

WIM: What were your impressions of the city and the organization after your first camp?

FERRARO: It was everything I thought, and more. They took care of us so well. I couldn’t pick one bad thing, or one thing I was disappointed with when I got there. All the staff and coaches were extremely nice. They were trying to teach us as much as they could in our summer camp. Getting to meet all of the guys, and getting to go through our first pro camp together with some of the guys who had been there for a couple years. You know, I got to talk to them, and it was a really good experience.

WIM: Obviously you haven’t had a normal season, having to come to Detroit to rehab your knee, but how closely do the Wings work with you in Red Deer and monitor your development?

FERRARO: I talked to Jiri Fischer a couple times, and he makes it up here. He’s been up here twice now. I’ve only been here for one of them because I was hurt. They come up and they talk to us everyone once in a while to see how we’re doing and make sure we’re on the right path. Any questions we have, they’ll answer for us. They give us pointers here and there and tell us what they’re expecting out of us. You know exactly what they expect out of you. It’s pretty nice, it makes it easier.

WIM: Did you think at all about playing college hockey, having lived in the United States while your father was still playing?

FERRARO: I grew up always wanting to go to Wisconsin. Like you said, I grew up in the States and was there for most of my childhood. I didn’t even know what the WHL was. I was living in Los Angeles and Atlanta, and that’s pretty far away from up here. They don’t really talk about the Western Hockey League at all, or any of the CHL. I grew up wanting to play for Wisconsin. I came up here, and that was still my goal. As I got into bantam, I was watching more Vancouver Giant games, and I saw how good the league was. I got to talk to players that I knew in the league and heard how much they liked it. For me, one of the key decisions was that you play 72 games, and it’s the closest to a professional hockey league season. I thought that was the league that would get me most ready to make the NHL. Talking to my dad, he enjoyed his time in the league, and I made up my mind.

WIM: What do you feel you’ll need to improve most on to be a successful professional player?

FERRARO: I need to improve everything. That’s the best thing about this game. There’s not one person anywhere that doesn’t need to improve anything. You need to constantly be working on different stuff. Mainly for me, right now, my body needs to mature. I need to put on some weight and some strength. Right now, I’m 174 pounds, and if I played against anyone in the NHL, I’d probably get pushed around. I just need to gain more strength. With more strength comes more speed. I need to get my shot better, and learn to play the game at a higher tempo.

Statistical Report:

American Hockey League

#	Name	Team	GP	G	A	P	+/-	PIM	Last week	Notes
3	Logan Pyett	Grand Rapids	43	6	12	18	+4	21	1G, -3, 5PIM in 3GP	12 points since 12/4
4	Travis Ehrhardt	Grand Rapids	26	0	4	4	-9	26	-3 in 2GP
5	Jakub Kindl	Grand Rapids	39	3	16	19	-6	32	-3, 2PIM in 3GP
7	Sebastien Piche	Grand Rapids	9	0	0	0	-1	4		Playing in Toledo (ECHL)
8	Cory Emmerton	Grand Rapids	43	7	15	22	+4	14	-3 in 2GP
9	Evan McGrath	Grand Rapids	42	8	7	15	-12	18	1A, -2, 2PIM in 2GP
12	Dick Axelsson	Grand Rapids	17	2	3	5	+1	6		Playing in Farjestad (SEL)
13	Jan Mursak	Grand Rapids	45	17	8	25	+10	17	-2 in 3GP	No points in 7 games
17	Francis Pare	Grand Rapids	44	8	15	23	+17	12	-2, 4PIM in 3GP
18	Mattias Ritola	Grand Rapids	39	10	9	19	-7	36	-1, 2PIM in 2GP
25	Jamie Tardif	Grand Rapids	44	10	7	17	-9	58	-1, 5PIM in 3GP
27	Tomas Tatar	Grand Rapids	30	10	11	21	+9	6	-2 in 2GP
28	Sergei Kolosov	Grand Rapids	40	1	3	4	-4	17	-3 in 3GP
31	Daniel Larsson	Grand Rapids	30	13	14	1	3.03	.899	0-2, GAA, up, sv% down
35	Thomas McCollum	Grand Rapids	19	7	8	0	3.46	.875	0-1, GAA up, sv% down
36	Jordan Pearce	Grand Rapids	5	1	2	0	3.82	.875		Playing in Toledo (ECHL)

ECHL

#	Name	Team	GP	G	A	PTS	+/-	PIM	Last Week	Notes
20	Travis Ehrhardt	Toledo	3	1	1	2	+4	0		Playing in Grand Rapids
25	Sebastien Piche	Toledo	20	3	8	11	+4	28	-3, 5PIM in 3GP
30	Thomas McCollum	Toledo	4	2	1	0	4.48	.864		Playing in Grand Rapids
35	Jordan Pearce	Toledo	18	8	9	1	3.73	.884	0-1, GAA up, sv% down

NCAA

#	Name	Team	GP	G	A	PTS	PIM	Last Week	Notes
7	Brendan Smith	Wisconsin	23	9	21	30	32	4PIM in 2GP	No pts for 2nd week all season
7	Max Nicastro	Boston U.	22	1	7	8	22	2GP	3rd in team D scoring
16	Nick Oslund	St. Cloud St.	26	4	4	8	20	2PIM in 2GP
81	Julien Cayer	Clarkson	20	2	3	5	10	2PIM in 2GP
89	Bryan Rufenach	Clarkson	23	5	11	16	39	2GP
89	Gustav Nyquist	Maine	22	13	19	32	12		Maine did not play

Swedish Eliteserien

#	Name	Team	GP	G	A	PTS	+/-	PIM	Last Week	Notes
12	Dick Axelsson	Farjestad	6	2	3	5	+3	6	1G, 2A, +3, 2PIM in 3GP
16	Anton Axelsson	Timra	40	4	6	10	-12	4	-3 in 3GP	Team worst +/-
18	Joakim Andersson	Frolunda	44	5	11	16	+8	34	1A, +1, 2PIM in 3GP	Heating up past month
24	Jesper Samuelsson	Timra	23	0	1	1	+0	8		Playing in SWE-2
28	Adam Almqvist	HV71	24	2	6	8	+11	10	2PIM in 3GP

Swedish Allsvenskan

#	Name	Team	GP	G	A	PTS	+/-	PIM	Last Week	Notes
3	Jesper Samuelsson	Sundsvall	24	1	9	10	-9	2	2A, +1, 2PIM in 3GP	4A in last 6GP
16	Johan Ryno	AIK	31	5	8	13	+6	22	1G, +1, 2PIM in 3GP
--	Adam Almqvist	Troja/Ljungby	0	0	0	0	0	0		Playing with HV71 (SEL)

Swedish J20 League

#	Name	Team	GP	G	A	PTS	+/-	PIM	Last Week	Notes
4	Adam Almqvist	HV71	15	5	29	34	+14	14		Playing with HV71 (SEL)

Kontinental Hockey League

#	Name	Team	GP	G	A	PTS	+/-	PIM	Last Week	Notes
21	Gennady Stolyarov	HC MVD	0	0	0	0	0	0		Behind schedule on injury
26	Jiri Hudler	Moscow Dynamo	40	14	23	37		14	DNP	2nd in team scoring

Ontario Hockey League

#	Name	Team	GP	G	A	PTS	+/-	PIM	Last Week	Notes
10	Stephen Johnston	Windsor	1	0	1	11	+0	0	1A in 1GP	First game since 11/22
11	Stephen Johnston	Belleville	18	6	4	10	-3	16		Traded to Windsor
18	Brian Lashoff	Kingston	41	5	13	18	-10	53	1GP

Western Hockey League

#	Name	Team	GP	G	A	PTS	+/-	PIM	Last Week	Notes
9	Brent Raedeke	Edmonton	39	17	14	31	+4	60		Traded to Brandon
9	Brent Raedeke	Brandon	14	4	10	14	+1	8	3A, 8PIM in 4GP
13	Landon Ferraro	Red Deer	30	10	19	29	-6	36	2G, 2A, +1 in 2GP	Only went 1 game in Jan with 0 pts
19	Willie Coetzee	Red Deer	49	21	44	65	+8	20	1G, 3A, +1 in 2GP	8th in league scoring
24	Mitchell Callahan	Kelowna	51	16	23	39	+2	116	3G, 1A, +1, 2PIM in 3GP	3rd on team in +/-

Quebec Major Junior Hockey League

#	Name	Team	GP	G	A	PTS	+/-	PIM	Last Week	Notes
11	Andrej Nestrasil	Victoriaville	37	14	26	40	+0	30	DNP
14	Gleason Fournier	Rimouski	40	8	25	33	+4	64	2G, -4 in 3GP

United States Hockey League

#	Name	Team	GP	G	A	PTS	+/-	PIM	Last Week	Notes
6	Nick Jensen	Green Bay	30	0	12	12	+18	10	+2 in 2GP

Willie Coetzee making free agent splash

KyleKujawa — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 06:43:06 -0000

The life of a junior-aged hockey player is unlike that of any other profession. Most likely, if you're at the junior level it means you've succeeded and likely dominated youth ranks all the way up to 15 or 16. You're used to standing out and being one of the best on the ice. Then you take that leap to major junior hockey and all of a sudden you're just one among hundreds of guys who are used to the same thing. And you've only got two years to sort it out and make your bid for a professional career. Otherwise you fall behind the curve and need to work even harder to get noticed as you get older.

For these reasons, it makes sense that some players fall through the cracks -- not every NHL star was rated highly for the draft, or taken at all for that matter. You don't need to tell Red Wings fans that, with their ability to find the Datsyuks, Zetterbergs, Franzens, and Holmstroms in the late rounds.

The story of this season has been the role players. The completely unranked Darren Helm, the undrafted free agent Brett Lebda, the waiver claim Drew Miller, the buyout Patrick Eaves.

Willie Coetzee is hoping to be the next name in that impressive group. Draft eligible this past June, Coetzee had a solid year on a struggling Red Deer Rebels team. His teammate and frequent linemate Landon Ferraro was drafted 32nd overall by Detroit, but Coetzee wasn't picked. That meant, as a late 1990-born player, he would only have two more seasons of WHL hockey to impress an NHL team, or else be forced to start his professional career without an NHL contract -- a path that has produced few NHL players.

But Coetzee made the most of the first opportunity he was presented. Detroit invited him to their training camp, armed with a few extra contracts. Coetzee made his mark. Within a few months, he went from going undrafted to sharing the ice with childhood idols like Nick Lidstrom. Shortly after camp, in the two week window where NHL teams can sign undrafted free agent players (that would otherwise re-enter the draft), Coetzee signed an entry-level contract.

And he hasn't stopped there. Coetzee rocketed to the top of the WHL scoring charts early on and has stuck there ever since. He's currently tied for 8th with 61 points in 47 games -- more points than any other Detroit prospect in the system. Rather than trying to radically change his game to get noticed, Coetzee stuck to what he does best and it paid off. Instead of being behind the curve after not being drafted, Coetzee is now ahead of the curve. He has what every drafted player is striving to earn -- an entry-level contract.

Thanks to Casey, yet again, I was privileged enough to have a chat with Coetzee. We spoke about his season, his style of play, and how he dealt with the draft and then the Wings' camp. That, plus the return of the Friday Prospects statistical report after the jump.

WIM: Since we're heading into the last stretch of the WHL schedule, with Red Deer in 7th place, how do you feel your season is going so far?

COETZEE: I think we're having a good season. We could be having a better one, but we have a good chance to make the playoffs this year and do well. I think our season's going pretty well so far.

WIM: And how do you feel about your play, in particular?

COETZEE: I think it's good -- it's better than last year. I just think I'm more mature in the league now, and I've got more experience. I've got good linemates to play with now, some good players. I think our team doing well is helping a lot, it's helping with my game too.

WIM: You're on pace to more than double your offensive numbers from last season. What do you think is the biggest difference in your game to lead to such an offensive increase?

COETZEE: It's my defensive game that really helped this year. Being more defensively sound helps me with my offensive game, I get the puck more than I used to. I think my strength has increased. The people I'm playing with are helping a lot, as well. I think I'm a more mature player in the league now, and it's been a good year for me.

WIM: For Wings fans who haven't seen you play, could you describe your style?

COETZEE: I'm an offensive player. I'm a skilled player, I'm fast. I have a good shot. I'm getting better defensively now, and I think I have good awareness on the ice.

WIM: What do you feel you might need to work on to get to the next level?

COETZEE: I still think my defensive game has to improve a lot more. Maybe more strength, because in the pros there aren't any little guys anymore, it's all men. I have to make sure I'm at a top notch level to play there one day. I think the defensive game comes on as well. Once I have those things, I think I'll be ready.

WIM: How valuable do you think the coaching is from a former Red Wing and someone who's been through the system in Jesse Wallin to prepare you for that next step?

COETZEE: He really knows what he's talking about because he's been through it. That's why he's working on my defensive game. I think Detroit's main thing with their players is they're all good defensively. You'll get the puck more and your offensive ability will come through. I know Henrik Zetterberg and Pavel Datsyuk are really good in their own end, and I think it really helps them produce more. That's what he's really trying to hammer in my head this season.

WIM: Moving onto the draft, what was it like going through your first time around? Were you in any contact with Detroit or any other team leading up to the draft?

COETZEE: I had no contact with anybody. Going through the rounds, I didn't really expect to get drafted. It didn't really bother me. When Detroit called me after their summer camp, it was pretty exciting for me to get called up to their camp. I just wanted to impress them as much as I could.

WIM: What was your mindset getting that invite from Detroit, knowing that they might be interested in giving you a contract?

COETZEE: My mindset was to impress them as much as possible, maybe sign a contract. I wasn't really expecting to sign one, but I was thinking if I showed them as much as I could on the ice so next year I could get invited back or maybe drafted. Getting the contract was a big bonus for me. I'm really happy that I signed with Detroit because they've been my favorite team since I was a little kid.

WIM: Have you had the chance to meet any of the players in the organization, or anyone you idolized?

COETZEE: Yeah, I got to talk to Steve Yzerman after the tournament was done in Traverse City. It's a big dream of mine to meet everybody. I met Nicklas Lidstrom, I was even playing with him. It was just a really good experience for me.

WIM: How does landing a contract change your approach to the season? Is there more pressure to live up to it, or less pressure for not having to deal with the uncertainty?

COETZEE: I think there's less pressure. After signing a contract, it's a weight off your shoulders. I feel more relaxed playing now, and I just want to make sure I can get up to that next level and impress Detroit. I don't think there's too much pressure for me right now, I'm more relaxed than I was before the draft. I knew I wouldn't have to play as good as I could to impress a team just to get drafted. I'm happy that's done now, and I think the next step is to play in Detroit one day.

WIM: Is it your goal to turn professional next season, or are you thinking about returning to Red Deer for an overage season?

COETZEE: My goal next year is to turn professional, I think that's the best step for me. If that doesn't work out, I'm obviously going to come back to Red Deer. Next year I really want to make Detroit or Grand Rapids. I'm going to work as hard as I can to finish this year, and even harder in the summer to train for their camp.

WIM: What was the biggest factor in your decision to play major junior hockey over college hockey?

COETZEE: My biggest factor was the exposure of WHL hockey. I know the BCHL gets good exposure, too, but I just think the best step for my hockey career was the WHL because it's always been the leading place to go for anyone who wants to get drafted or go on to the next level. I think it was the best decision for me. I don't regret it now. When I was younger and didn't go to school I was regretting it a bit. I'm really happy with my decision, I think the WHL is the best move for me.

Keep in mind, since last week's report was just an interview with Nick Jensen, this is a two-week update. Meaning that "last week" really means "last two weeks."

American Hockey League

#	Name	Team	GP	G	A	P	+/-	PIM	Last week	Notes
3	Logan Pyett	Grand Rapids	43	5	12	17	+7	16	3A, +2, 6PIM in 5GP
4	Travis Ehrhardt	Grand Rapids	24	0	4	4	-6	26	2A, -3, 4PIM in 3GP
5	Jakub Kindl	Grand Rapids	36	3	16	19	-3	30	1G, 2A, +5 in 5GP
7	Sebastien Piche	Grand Rapids	9	0	0	0	-1	4		Playing in Toledo (ECHL)
8	Cory Emmerton	Grand Rapids	41	7	15	22	+7	14	1G, 2A, +4, 4PIM in 4GP
9	Evan McGrath	Grand Rapids	40	8	6	14	-10	16	1G, 1A, +1, 4 PIM in 5GP	Two goals since 11/30
12	Dick Axelsson	Grand Rapids	17	2	3	5	+1	6		Playing in Farjestad (SEL)
13	Jan Mursak	Grand Rapids	42	17	8	25	+12	17	1G, -3, 5PIM in 5GP	Cooling off after hot December
17	Francis Pare	Grand Rapids	41	8	15	23	+19	8	1G, 3A, +6 in 5GP	Taking over as hottest Griffin
18	Mattias Ritola	Grand Rapids	37	10	9	19	-6	34	2G, 2A, 10PIM in 5GP	Offense picking up after demotion
25	Jamie Tardif	Grand Rapids	41	10	7	17	-8	53	2G, +2, 19PIM in 3GP	Injured
27	Tomas Tatar	Grand Rapids	28	10	11	21	+11	6	2G, 2A in 5GP
28	Sergei Kolosov	Grand Rapids	37	1	3	4	-1	17	1A, +3, 9PIM in 4GP	Returned from injury
31	Daniel Larsson	Grand Rapids	28	13	12	1	2.94	.903	1-2, GAA down, sv% up
35	Thomas McCollum	Grand Rapids	18	7	7	0	3.42	.877		Promoted to Grand Rapids
36	Jordan Pearce	Grand Rapids	5	1	2	0	3.82	.875	1-1, GAA up, sv% up	Demoted to Toledo

ECHL

#	Name	Team	GP	G	A	PTS	+/-	PIM	Last Week	Notes
20	Travis Ehrhardt	Toledo	3	1	1	2	+4	0		Playing in Grand Rapids
25	Sebastien Piche	Toledo	17	3	8	11	+7	23	1G, 2A, -1 in 5GP
30	Thomas McCollum	Toledo	4	2	1	0	4.48	.864	2-0, GAA down, sv% down	Playing in Grand Rapids
35	Jordan Pearce	Toledo	18	8	8	1	3.52	.892

NCAA

#	Name	Team	GP	G	A	PTS	PIM	Last Week	Notes
7	Brendan Smith	Wisconsin	21	9	21	30	28	1G, 2A, 2PIM in 2GP	8th in NCAA scoring; 1st of defensemen
7	Max Nicastro	Boston U.	20	1	7	8	22	2PIM in 3GP
16	Nick Oslund	St. Cloud St.	24	4	4	8	18	1G, 2 PIM in 4GP
81	Julien Cayer	Clarkson	18	2	3	5	8	1G, 1A, 2PIM in 3GP	First points since 11/20
89	Bryan Rufenach	Clarkson	21	5	11	16	39	4A in 4GP
89	Gustav Nyquist	Maine	22	13	19	32	12	1G, 1A in 3GP	7th in NCAA scoring

Swedish Eliteserien

#	Name	Team	GP	G	A	PTS	+/-	PIM	Last Week	Notes
12	Dick Axelsson	Farjestad	3	1	1	2	0	4	1G, 1A, 4PIM in3GP
16	Anton Axelsson	Timra	37	4	6	10	-12	4	1G, -3 in 4GP
18	Joakim Andersson	Frolunda	41	5	10	15	+7	32	2G, 1A, -1, 2PIM in 5GP
24	Jesper Samuelsson	Timra	23	0	1	1	+0	8	-1, 2PIM in 2GP	Played in SWE-2 as well
28	Adam Almqvist	HV71	21	2	6	8	+11	8	1A, +1, 4PIM in 4GP	Played 24+ mins one night

Swedish Allsvenskan

#	Name	Team	GP	G	A	PTS	+/-	PIM	Last Week	Notes
3	Jesper Samuelsson	Sundsvall	21	1	7	8	-10	0	2A, -1 in 3GP	Played in SEL as well
16	Johan Ryno	AIK	31	5	8	13	+6	22	4A, +3, 2PIM in 4GP	Starting to produce
--	Adam Almqvist	Troja/Ljungby	0	0	0	0	0	0		Playing with HV71 (SEL0

Swedish J20 League

#	Name	Team	GP	G	A	PTS	+/-	PIM	Last Week	Notes
4	Adam Almqvist	HV71	15	5	29	34	+14	14		Playing with HV71 (SEL)

Kontinental Hockey League

#	Name	Team	GP	G	A	PTS	+/-	PIM	Last Week	Notes
21	Gennady Stolyarov	HC MVD	0	0	0	0	0	0		Injured until later this month
26	Jiri Hudler	Moscow Dynamo	40	14	23	37		14	4A, 2PIM in 4GP	2nd in team scoring

Ontario Hockey League

#	Name	Team	GP	G	A	PTS	+/-	PIM	Last Week	Notes
11	Stephen Johnston	Belleville	18	6	4	10	-3	16		Traded to Windsor
--	Stephen Johnston	Windsor	0	0	0	0	0	0	Acquired by Windsor	Injured (returning soon)
18	Brian Lashoff	Kingston	40	5	13	18	-10	53	1G, 3A, -8, 2PIM in 7GP

Western Hockey League

#	Name	Team	GP	G	A	PTS	+/-	PIM	Last Week	Notes
9	Brent Raedeke	Edmonton	39	17	14	31	+4	60		Traded to Brandon
9	Brent Raedeke	Brandon	10	4	7	11	+1	0	1G, 5A in 6GP
13	Landon Ferraro	Red Deer	28	8	17	25	-7	36	2G, 5A, -5, 4PIM in 7GP	Up to 4th on team
19	Willie Coetzee	Red Deer	47	20	41	61	+7	20	2G, 4A, -1, 4PIM in 6GP	8th in league scoring
24	Mitchell Callahan	Kelowna	48	13	22	35	+1	114	1G, 2A, +3, 12PIM in 5GP

Quebec Major Junior Hockey League

#	Name	Team	GP	G	A	PTS	+/-	PIM	Last Week	Notes
11	Andrej Nestrasil	Victoriaville	37	14	26	40	+0	30	1G, 1A, 6PIM in 3GP	Less TOI due to trades
14	Gleason Fournier	Rimouski	37	6	25	31	+7	64	5A, -4, 8PIM in 5GP	Leads team in PIM

United States Hockey League

#	Name	Team	GP	G	A	PTS	+/-	PIM	Last Week	Notes
6	Nick Jensen	Green Bay	28	0	12	12	+16	10	4A, +3, 2PIM in 4GP

World Junior Championships

#	Name	Team	GP	G	A	PTS	+/-	PIM	Last Week	Notes
10	Tomas Tatar	Slovakia	6	3	2	5	+2	6		8th place finish
11	Andrej Nestrasil	Czech Republic	6	1	6	7	-2	4		7th place finish
18	Brian Lashoff	United States	7	0	2	2	+1	4		Gold Medal

WIM sits down with Nick Jensen

KyleKujawa — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 22:37:23 -0000

As I alluded to earlier, this edition of Friday Prospects is pretty unique. Casey was kind enough to offer me the opportunity to interview Nick Jensen -- Detroit's 5th round pick from 2009. Jensen plays for the Green Bay Gamblers in the USHL, heading to St. Cloud State next season. He's having a great season, having won gold internationally, top ten in the league in +/-, and just being named to the USHL All-Star game.

We talked a bit about his progress this season, his experience being drafted by Detroit, his future in college, and his gold medal-winning performance with Team USA at the World Junior A Challenge. Enjoy.

WIM: Green Bay is first in the division and you were just named to the USHL All-Star Game. What does that mean to you to accomplish something like that?

JENSEN: I definitely take pride in that, it's an opportunity that I'm glad to be a part of. Our team didn't really get recognized last year -- not saying that I should have been on it last year (ED NOTE: Jensen led the USHL in +/- last year, just sayin'), but there was a lot of guys that probably should have been on it and we really didn't get any recognition. We had a new coach, new staff, and a couple players that were not well known. This year I think we've got the most guys, two people on the coaching staff going, so it means a lot to be able to go this year.

WIM: How would you describe your style of play to Wings fans who haven't been able to see you play -- your strengths and weaknesses?

JENSEN: I think my skating is my best asset. I usually make pretty smart plays with the puck. I like being more of an offensive defenseman, you know, I don't just sit back and play tight. I try to play good defense too, along with offense. That's pretty much how I'd explain it.

WIM: What aspect of your game have you been trying to improve on this season, and how do you feel you've done with that?

JENSEN: At the beginning of this season I was trying to improve on moving the puck up as soon as possible, because it's really important at these high level leagues. As soon as I get the puck, I'm pretty much like a quarterback. You've got to pick your head up and move it to the open guy as soon as possible. Everyone in this league and everything happens so fast. The faster you make things happen, the better the play's going to be.

WIM: What do you feel you still need to work on to get to the next level?

JENSEN: I wouldn't say I'm the best at moving the puck, so I just need to work on my passing, keeping my head up, and moving it to the forwards as fast as possible. Shooting's huge because the goalies are so good, especially at higher levels and even this level. I have to work on getting shots through from the blueline, and getting it through the forward who's trying to screen him.

WIM: What did it mean to you to be drafted by the Red Wings and has that changed any aspects of your game or how you approach coming to the rink every day?

JENSEN: Getting drafted, to me, just felt like the start. It meant that this was just the beginning and I had to start working really hard now. Especially from Detroit, being where they are and their reputation of being a great hockey team. My mom's side of the family is all from Michigan, too, so it was nice to get drafted because they were all pretty excited. The Wings have always been the favorite team of all of them.

WIM: Do you get to visit the area a lot then?

JENSEN: Obviously not now, but I used to go there every year, at least when I wasn't busy with hockey. My parents still go out there and I still have relatives out there.

WIM: Did you get any indication leading up to the draft that Detroit might take you?

JENSEN: I had never talked to them until the day of the first round, the day before I got drafted. They called me and asked me a few questions -- nothing too in depth, just basic questions like what my strengths and weaknesses are. That was pretty much my indication that they were interested, but I wasn't sure if they were going to take me or not.

More with Jensen after the jump, including his run in with two big name former Red Wings and his thoughts on USHL hockey.

WIM: You've said before that one of your favorite players was Nicklas Lidstrom, did you get a chance to meet him?

JENSEN: Not yet I haven't, but when I was at their camp I did get a chance to meet Steve Yzerman. He was one of my favorite players too so that was pretty cool.

WIM: And how was your experience at the development camp last summer, meeting the rest of the organization?

JENSEN: It was really cool. There was like 40 guys that they brought in, all top notch players. It was a really neat camp, you got to be in the locker room, you got to tour all of the facilities, yeah, it was pretty cool.

WIM: Was that camp more for learning how to be a professional, or for the Wings to just assess where your development is at?

JENSEN: It's a mixture of both I think. We wake up pretty early and go out onto the ice for about two and a half hours each day. The first half we're working on a bunch of skills like power skating, stickhandling, and shooting. Then they resurface and we'll come out and work with Curt Fraser, the coach of their AHL team. He teaches us breakouts, forechecks, and all of the little things you need to know. There were a lot of guys at the camp that went on to the tryout camp for the Red Wings, so they had to know all that stuff going in. They taught us all that, then we'd go off ice for a lot of off-ice training with plyometrics, weight-lifting, and dieting, just what we should be eating.

WIM: Do the Wings stay in contact with you over the course of the season?

JENSEN: Yeah, they have one of their former players, Jiri Fischer, he works with all the draftees. He actually came around this year and talked to me, he came and watched me play. What he does is come watch you play and evaluate your game and see what you need to work on. He'll actually come to wherever you play at and have an on-ice session with you, to work on whatever you need to work on.

WIM: Why did you decide to go to the USHL over major junior hockey?

JENSEN: College is a lot of the reason, I wanted to be able to get an education still. Obviously I didn't know I was going to get drafted or anything. Still, if I had known that, I still would have come to this league. It's top notch, and unlike some of the major junior leagues you're eligible for college. That's what my plan is and what I want to do.

WIM: Right. And you're still going to St. Cloud State next year?

JENSEN: Yeah, that's correct.

WIM: Why did you decide to join that program?

JENSEN: It kind of came down to process of elimination. It came down to wanting to play in the WCHA (Western Collegiate Hockey Association) so I talked to different schools. I talked to Mankato State (Minnesota State University), Alaska, and then St. Cloud. After I committed I talked to Minnesota-Duluth and the University of Minnesota. I took a visit to Mankato and St. Cloud, because I decided I wanted to stay in Minnesota for college because that's where I'm from. So I visited two and pretty much just chose St. Cloud. They're pretty similar schools, but I like St. Cloud a little better. I've got a lot of friends going there, and they got new renovations for their rink. Then I talked to the coach about their depth and their roster, and it sounded like the team that I would want to be on.

WIM: Lastly, you won gold at the World Junior A Challenge. Talk about that experience and how that's going to help you moving forward.

JENSEN: It was a great experience when I went out there. I didn't have a whole idea of what it was because there's so many different USA tournaments like the Olympics then the IIHF under-20 team. The guys that went out there were mostly USHL and it was a great group of guys, all from different teams. We got along great. It was a great experience playing against different teams, like Canada and Sweden because obviously I've never played against them before. I learned that their style of play is so much different from our team. Winning the gold definitely made me proud, knowing that I represented my country like that, being able to win it for my country. It was fun, it was good experience.

----

And that'll do it. Thanks to Casey for allowing me to ask all of my nerdy prospects questions, and thanks to Nick for being a good sport and not being one of those media-trained hockey players who can't give more than a ten word answer... Crosby.

Friday Prospects -- All Numbers

KyleKujawa — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 20:23:52 -0000

We've done it all. Profiled every Detroit prospect, save for Ryan Oulahen (AHL) and Gennady Stolyarov (KHL) who have been injured for the entire season. But the show must go on. Friday Prospects is still in demand. It's averaged 1.3 comments over the past four weeks -- that's pretty good!

I took some time to day to think about what to do with this feature, since it would be boring if I just started over. I think the best thing to do until the end of the season is condense the report. Three profiles a week is nice, but it's a lot of reading for you and a lot of work for me. I've realized that there are a good number of people who like to follow prospects. But not too many like to hear about everyone. So I'm introducing the statistical report, so that you can follow the prospects you're hyped about most

In the mean time, every week I'll just pick on prospect to profile. It'll read less like a history of the player and more like a scouting report. It'll focus on the prospects doing well, as there are different issues that arise in the second half of the season. Some prospects are playing for contracts. Some are knocking on the NHL's door from the AHL. A couple are in the hunt for the Hobey Baker. Others are in line for long playoff runs. I'll focus on the "stories" that the prospects are laying out for themselves instead of just rehashing the history portions that I've already done.

This week, though, since I spent so long tinkering with the tables, we're going all numbers. Take a look at the format, and let me know what you think.

American Hockey League

#	Name	Team	GP	G	A	P	+/-	PIM	Last week	Notes
3	Logan Pyett	Grand Rapids	38	5	9	14	+5	10	1G, -3 in 3GP	Alternate captain last week
4	Travis Ehrhardt	Grand Rapids	21	0	2	2	-3	22	1A, -4 in 1GP
5	Jakub Kindl	Grand Rapids	31	2	14	16	-8	30	-5 in 3GP
7	Sebastien Piche	Grand Rapids	9	0	0	0	-1	4		Playing in Toledo (ECHL)
8	Cory Emmerton	Grand Rapids	37	6	13	19	+3	10	2A, -1, 4PIM in 3GP
9	Evan McGrath	Grand Rapids	35	7	5	12	-11	12	1GP
12	Dick Axelsson	Grand Rapids	17	2	3	5	+1	6		Playing in Farjestad (SEL)
13	Jan Mursak	Grand Rapids	37	16	8	24	+15	12	3G, +4 in 3GP
17	Francis Pare	Grand Rapids	36	7	12	19	+13	8	2G, 1A in 3GP
18	Mattias Ritola	Grand Rapids	32	8	7	15	-6	24		Demoted from Detroit (NHL)
25	Jamie Tardif	Grand Rapids	38	8	7	15	-10	34	1A, 2PIM in 3GP
27	Tomas Tatar	Grand Rapids	23	8	9	17	+11	6	1GP	Returned from WJC
28	Sergei Kolosov	Grand Rapids	33	1	2	3	-4	8		Injured (concussion)
31	Daniel Larsson	Grand Rapids	25	12	10	1	3.07	.897		Pulled 3 times in past 5 starts
35	Thomas McCollum	Grand Rapids	18	7	7	0	3.42	.877	Playing in Toledo (ECHL)	Pulled in past 2 starts
36	Jordan Pearce	Grand Rapids	2	0	1	0	3.10	.853		Pulled in first start

ECHL

#	Name	Team	GP	G	A	PTS	+/-	PIM	Last Week	Notes
20	Travis Ehrhardt	Toledo	3	1	1	2	+4	0		Playing in Grand Rapids (AHL)
25	Sebastien Piche	Toledo	12	2	6	8	+8	23	+1 in 1GP
30	Thomas McCollum	Toledo	1	0	1	0	5.09	.865
35	Jordan Pearce	Toledo	18	8	8	1	3.52	.892		Playing in Grand Rapids (AHL)

NCAA

#	Name	Teams	GP	G	A	PTS	PIM	Last Week	Notes
7	Brendan Smith	Wisconsin	19	8	19	27	26	1A in 2GP	6th in NCAA scoring; 1st of defensemen
7	Max Nicastro	Boston U.	17	1	7	8	20	2A, 4PIM in 1GP	Outdoor Game at 7:30 on NHL Network.
16	Nick Oslund	St. Cloud St.	20	3	4	7	16	4PIM in 2GP
81	Julien Cayer	Clarkson	15	1	2	3	6	DNP	May have been healthy scratch.
89	Bryan Rufenach	Clarkson	17	5	7	12	39	1G, 8PIM in 2GP	First goal
89	Gustav Nyquist	Maine	19	12	18	30	12	Maine didn't play	2nd in NCAA scoring

Swedish Eliteserien

#	Name	Team	GP	G	A	PTS	+/-	PIM	Last Week	Notes
12	Dick Axelsson	Farjestad	0	0	0	0	0	0		Will debut with Farjestad next week
16	Anton Axelsson	Timra	33	3	6	9	-9	4	-3 in 3GP
18	Joakim Andersson	Frolunda	36	3	9	12	+8	30	-1, 2PIM in 2GP	9th in team scoring
24	Jesper Samuelsson	Timra	21	0	1	1	+1	6	+1 in 3GP	Sadly, his best week of the season
28	Adam Almqvist	HV71	17	2	5	7	+10	4	1A, +1 in 2GP	Playing 18-20 mins/night

Swedish Allsvenskan

#	Name	Team	GP	G	A	PTS	+/-	PIM	Last Week	Notes
3	Jesper Samuelsson	Sundsvall	18	1	5	6	-9	0		Playing with Timra (SEL)
16	Johan Ryno	AIK	27	5	4	9	+3	20	2G, 1A +3, 6PIM in 2GP	Best week of the season
--	Adam Almqvist	Troja/Ljungby	0	0	0	0	0	0		Playing with HV71 (SEL0

Swedish J20 League

#	Name	Team	GP	G	A	PTS	+/-	PIM	Last Week	Notes
4	Adam Almqvist	HV71	15	5	29	34	+14	14		Playing with HV71 (SEL)

Kontinental Hockey League

#	Name	Team	GP	G	A	PTS	+/-	PIM	Last Week	Notes
21	Gennady Stolyarov	HC MVD	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	Injured until later this month
26	Jiri Hudler	Moscow Dynamo	36	14	19	33		12		2nd in team scoring

Ontario Hockey League

#	Name	Team	GP	G	A	PTS	+/-	PIM	Last Week	Notes
11	Stephen Johnston	Belleville	18	6	4	10	-3	16		Traded to Windsor
--	Stephen Johnston	Windsor	0	0	0	0	0	0	Acquired by Windsor	Injured (returning soon)
18	Brian Lashoff	Kingston	33	4	10	14	-2	51		Returned from WJC

Western Hockey League

#	Name	Team	GP	G	A	PTS	+/-	PIM	Last Week	Notes
9	Brent Raedeke	Edmonton	39	17	14	31	+4	60		Traded to Brandon
9	Brent Raedeke	Brandon	4	3	2	5	+1	0	1G, 2A in 2GP
13	Landon Ferraro	Red Deer	21	6	12	18	-2	32	3A, +4, 9PIM in 3GP	Two straight good weeks
19	Willie Coetzee	Red Deer	41	18	37	55	+8	16	1G, 2A in 3GP	8th in league scoring
24	Mitchell Callahan	Kelowna	43	12	20	32	-2	102	2A, -5, 7PIM in 3GP	3rd in team scoring

Quebec Major Junior Hockey League

#	Name	Team	GP	G	A	PTS	+/-	PIM	Last Week	Notes
11	Andrej Nestrasil	Victoriaville	34	13	25	38	+0	24	1G in 1GP	Returned from WJC
14	Gleason Fournier	Rimouski	32	6	20	26	+11	56	2A, +1 in 2GP

United States Hockey League

#	Name	Team	GP	G	A	PTS	+/-	PIM	Last Week	Notes
6	Nick Jensen	Green Bay	24	0	8	8	+13	8	+3, 2PIM in 2GP

World Junior Championships

#	Name	Team	GP	G	A	PTS	+/-	PIM	Last Week	Notes
10	Tomas Tatar	Slovakia	6	3	2	5	+2	6		8th place finish
11	Andrej Nestrasil	Czech Republic	6	1	6	7	-2	4		7th place finish
18	Brian Lashoff	United States	7	0	2	2	+1	4		Gold Medal

Friday Prospects -- Isn't it Saturday?

KyleKujawa — Sat, 02 Jan 2010 18:56:23 -0000

Why, yes -- it is Saturday.

Apologies for the unannounced holiday break. Obviously, as both Christmas and New Year's were on Fridays, these article took a seat on the back-burner. I wasn't planning to do one last week (since most leagues take a holiday break anyway). I thought I might have time yesterday, but college football and the Winter Classic were just far too interesting for my own good. I decided that even though it's not Friday, it would be okay to do this on Saturday. That's right, I'm breaking all the rules. It's my article, I'm the boss. Well, I guess Casey's actually the boss. But that's okay too -- I'll be punished swiftly and justly as usual.

Since we last left off... things have fallen apart. The Griffins have fallen apart beyond all comprehension. The injury bug is spreading down throughout Detroit's system. Four prospects have found new homes. Three are chasing glory at the World Junior Championship.

This week, we'll feature the remaining un-profiled prospects who have suit up this season, two in Sweden, one in Ontario.

Anton Axelsson, LW, 23, 6'0, 187, drafted 6th round, 2004 -- It's certainly taken a while to get this deep in the prospect rankings, but that doesn't mean these players are scrubs. In fact, Axelsson might be one of the most NHL ready prospects Detroit has.

The brother to former Boston Bruins' forward P.J. Axelsson, but with no relation to Detroit's Dick Axelsson, Anton was drafted by Detroit out of the Frolunda junior system. His numbers were not earth-shattering, as he is known more as a defensive specialist, but Axelsson wasn't exactly buried in the obscure ranks of Sweden, and in fact was able to represent Sweden internationally at the U17, U18, U19, and U20 levels. He spent the following season in the Swedish SuperElit (junior) league as well, increasing his offensive output from 17 to 42 points.

Axelsson was making his mark early, debuting and sticking in the SEL at 19. It's a league where generally it's very hard for young players to make an impact at that age, but most legitimate top prospects out of Sweden are able to crack the league at 19 or 20. Axelsson spent 12 games in the SuperElit league, with 17 points, but also spent 39 in the SEL, registering six points. He also represented Sweden at the World Junior Championships, scoring just one goal in six games.

It would have made sense to bring Axelsson over to the AHL after this, but despite his brother's success in the NHL, there have always been rumors that Anton was not interested in coming to North America. He's spent the last four seasons in the SEL, one more with Frolunda before three with Timra, where he's an established third line checking line winger. He plays much like his brother does. They're both excellent skaters with that same relentless tenacity when going after the puck. They can hold their own physically, but neither are big. And they're capable of producing points (Anton's best is 10 goals and 20 points in 07/08), but not earth-shattering numbers.

Because there is no current transfer agreement with the IIHF, Detroit holds Axelsson's rights indefinitely. It looks as if Anton is well on his way to a long and productive career in Sweden, but should Detroit find what they need to convince him to come over, then Detroit will have another near-NHL ready prospect on their hands.

Johan Ryno, LW, 23, 6'5, 210, drafted 5th round, 2005 -- No prospect has been more criticized or just frustrating to deal with than Ryno, since Detroit acquired his rights in the 2005 NHL Entry Draft. The towering Ryno gave something to Detroit that they were never truly able to acquire, because of their typically low draft positions, in a giant winger with good hands and offensive skills.

Detroit drafted Ryno out of Swedish Division 1, which, as you may recall, is the third highest level of Swedish men's hockey. Typically, players of his age wish to play in the junior ranks, so they can be evaluated amongst their peers, but Ryno preferred a more physical blend of hockey. He was productive despite being one of the youngest in the league, with 38 points in 29 games.

Ryno's stock skyrocketed the following season as he took his talents to the second highest level of Swedish hockey in Oskarshamn. Combined with an impressive WJC performance (five points in six games), Ryno was a sought after recruit by many elite SEL teams. He landed in Frolunda and struggled mightily, with no points in 14 games. He was loaned out to AIK of SWE-2, where some of his offense came back, before rejoining the SEL with Timra to close out the season. His 11 points in 25 games there were quite good for a 20-year-old, so it was no surprise when he earned a contract from Detroit that summer.

His professional career started off very well. Despite very poor foot speed, he earned rave reviews from Mike Babcock in the pre-season and started off leading all Detroit prospects in AHL scoring with seven points in 12 games. He then got homesick, and decided to transfer back to the SEL for the rest of the season, where his nine points in 30 games did not meet expectations. Detroit and Ryno agreed the following season to let him stay in SWE-2 for the season, where he was promised top line minutes. He broke his leg in the team's fourth game, missing most of the season. When he returned, his rhythm was not quite on, but he did manage 13 points in 21 games.

Detroit wanted him back in North America this season, but Ryno decided he did not wish to play in the AHL and would go back to Sweden if he did not make the NHL (keeping in mind that a jump from SWE-2 to the NHL is almost unheard of). He actually looked pretty good in the pre-season, but went back to Sweden as expected when Detroit cut him. To make matters worse, he's in SWE-2 and he's having his worst season since being drafted, with six points in 25 games. Detroit is still high on him, but it would take a miracle for Ryno to earn another contract after playing just 12 games in the AHL in three season under contract.

Stephen Johnston, C, 19, 6'1, 190, drafted 6th round, 2008 -- Detroit took a big risk on Johnston when they drafted him 181st overall in 2008, hoping that Johnston could have a development similar to another Detroit draft pick. Detroit drafted current Florida Panther Shawn Matthias in 2006 after just a decent regular season with a strong playoff on top of it. As a fast skater with good size, Matthias had his way with the OHL in his final two seasons en route to becoming one of the top prospects in the world.

Johnston was Matthias' teammate in his final season of junior. After just nine points in the regular season, he had seven points, including five goals, in 21 playoff games on a veteran-laden lineup. Detroit was hoping that Johnston was just a good player hidden on a deep roster, and he would have a breakout OHL season in his second season of major junior. He showed flashes, but put up just 36 points in 58 games, granted on another strong Belleville Bulls club.

This season, however, Johnston was expected to step onto the top line, as Belleville graduated most of the players head of him on the depth chart. His season has been nothing short of disastrous. Two separate injuries have kept him out of more than half of his team's games, and when he has been in the lineup he's only produced 10 points in 18 games. He's currently been out a month, with no news on any sign of return.

Johnston will need an NHL contract this summer for Detroit to continue to hold his rights. As it stands right now, that looks unlikely. However, production isn't everything, and Johnston has always been a player who looks like he is capable of more. He was very good when I saw him in his checking line role, creating all kinds of mayhem with his speed and sense in the offensive zone. If Detroit still believes he has the offensive touch they thought he might when they took a flier on him two years ago, Johnston could find himself in the AHL next season.

Notes: Mattias Ritola was recalled last week, appearing in three games with Detroit. He hasn't produced a point, but he's seen time on the second line and the powerplay, and hasn't looked out of place. He made the trip with Detroit on the upcoming four game Western road trip, so he has a chance to make his case for a lineup spot next season ... The injury bug has found it's way down into Grand Rapids. The Griffins have missed Ritola, Doug Janik, and Kris Newbury due to NHL recalls, and Jakub Kindl, Jan Mursak, and Sergei Kolosov have also all missed time with injuries. With Tomas Tatar in Saskatoon for the WJC, their lineup has been depleted and they've been forced to sign players to tryouts just to field a full lineup. The Griffins dropped seven of their last eight games to close out 2009 ... Because of the struggles, Thomas McCollum has been sent to Toledo of the ECHL, and Jordan Pearce has been recalled to fill in for him ... Dick Axelsson has been told by his Swedish club Farjestad that they do not wish to add him to the roster, leaving the 22-year-old's future in limbo without a team ... Brent Raedeke was traded from the lowly Edmonton Oil Kings to the Brandon Wheat Kings, one of the WHL's top teams. They will host the Memorial Cup, guaranteeing that Detroit will have one prospect in the prestigious tournament ... Jesper Samuelsson was recalled to the SEL after about a month in SWE-2 ... Prospects Gennady Stolyarov and Ryan Oulahen are due back this month after both missing the entire season up to this point.

Who's Hot: It's been a rough two weeks for the Griffins, but Jan Mursak leads the charge with four points in his past six games. Cory Emmerton also finished 2009 strong after a rough month of December, with four points in seven games ... Before being recalled to Grand Rapids, Jordan Pearce started to find his game in Toledo, going 5-3 in the past three weeks, lowering his GAA from over 4 to 3.52, and raising his save percentage from around .850 to a much more respectable .892 ... Gustav Nyquist was the only collegiate prospect to play in the past two weeks, recording five points in two games to give him 30 in 19 on the year. He is currently tied for first in the nation in scoring ... Brent Raedeke had two goals in his first two games with Brandon ... Landon Ferraro returned from an injury and scored two goals and an assist in two games ... Teammate Willie Coetzee had six points in five games ... Agitator Mitchell Callahan had four points in three games last week and is now third in team scoring.

Who's Cold: The Grand Rapids Griffins are, for the most part. It starts in net, where Daniel Larsson went 1-4-1 in the past two weeks, his GAA rising from 2.48 to 2.85, and save percentage falling from .918 to .904. Thomas McCollum, now demoted to the ECHL, was worse, going 0-2, GAA up to 3.42 from 2.87, save percentage from .893 to .877 ... Despite injuries, the Griffins have signed two free agents instead of recalling Sebastien Piche. Piche has 8 points in 12 games since being demoted, but seems to be falling right off the depth chart ... Evan McGrath and Jamie Tardif both wear letters in Grand Rapids, but are worst on the team with a -11 and -10 rating, respectively. Both had just one point in the past two weeks ... Prospect Gleason Fournier had just one assist last week despite going +7.

World Junior Championships: Sine I last updated, Max Nicastro was the final cut off the USA roster. Brian Lashoff made that roster, putting up two points in four games as the US racked up a 3-1 record, the one loss coming in heart-breaking fashion to Canada. Lashoff is the team's top shut down defender, having been faced with the task of shutting down likely #1 overall pick this June in Taylor Hall, keeping him off the scoresheet. The US must win tonight against Finland to move into the final four, where Canada and Sweden await. Tomas Tatar avoided relegation today with Slovakia, as they defeated Austria 3-2. Tatar has three goals and two assists in five games, with a team best +2. Andrej Nestrasil and the Czech Republic also face relegation if they lose to Latvia. Nestrasil has had a strong tournament, playing big minutes while putting up four points in four games.

Friday Prospects -- All Griffins

KyleKujawa — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 22:06:40 -0000

As the Detroit Red Wings injury report grows increasing complex with every game, so does the Grand Rapids Griffins transactions page. The Griffins have faced very similar problems this season -- trying to figure out

This was probably the most newsworthy week that the Griffins had all season. The losses of Jonathan Ericsson and Darren Helm saw Kris Newbury and Doug Janik recalled to the NHL, two players who log big minutes every night in Grand Rapids. Additionally, the Wings' injury woes have seen Justin Abdelkader spend a total of zero minutes in the Griffins' uniform this season, while Brad May and Drew Miller are playing nightly in Detroit, two players who wouldn't be guaranteed to be the Wings' uniform if Detroit was completely healthy.

But that wasn't it for the week. The big news was that the Griffins landed what could possibly be the most talented player now in the AHL in Washington Capitals' forward Michael Nylander. Nylander was essentially run out of Washington for not living up to his big contract, which the Capitals found no luck unloaded onto another team. Nylander debuted with the Griffins earlier this season on a five game conditioning stint, but now appears poised to stick with the team for the remainder of the season. Not too many AHL clubs can say they have a 600 point, 900 game NHL player suiting up for them -- one just three years removed from his most productive NHL season when he put up 83 points with the New York Rangers.

This was just in time, as two players jumped ship to Europe. As expected, Tomas Tatar was released for three weeks to join Slovakia for the World Junior Championships, starting next week. He starred in the event last year, and it was no secret that Detroit had scouts at every single Slovakian game. In a move of the unanticipated variety, Dick Axelsson has complained of being homesick informed the Griffins that he would be returning to Sweden. Supposedly, this will just be for a few weeks, but many expect Axelsson will not return. Axelsson had not been scoring (five points in 17 games). He did not look interested during certain games, being benched for full periods and frequently scratched for Griffins' heavyweight fighter Paul Crosty.

Despite this, after starting the season 1-4, the Griffins have gone on a 16-6-1 tear as they've battled to climb out of the North Division cellar. They currently sit fourth (only the top four teams int he division make the playoffs) but are only six points back of first. The coaching of Curt Fraser has taken them far, as they're the highest scoring team in the conference and also among the bottom five in penalty minutes. The addition of Nylander and the continued emergence of Tatar will be crucial to their second half success.

This week, Friday Prospects features the remaining Griffins not yet profiled.

Sergei Kolosov, D, 23, 6'4, 217, drafted 5th round, 2004 -- Kolosov is a good example of why every prospect covered here is significant. For the longest time, he was overlooked and buried among other, stronger prospects. He never got much exposure, and wasn't expected to be signed. However, with the help of Coach Fraser, Kolosov was signed. Five years after being drafted, Kolosov is looking at an Olympic roster spot and is being billed in Detroit as the next Andreas Lilja.

As a 17 and 18-year-old, Kolosov spent two seasons as a regular with Dynamo Minsk (now a member of the KHL) in the top professional league in Belarus. That's about as impressive as it sounds -- Belarus doesn't produce many NHLers, and their professional league is not as impressive as other leagues in Europe. Despite this, Detroit picked him up in the 5th round.

Detroit wanted Kolosov to play major junior hockey in North America, and Kolosov was drafted by the WHL's Prince George Cougars, but had issues joining the team so he was kept in Belarus. The Cougars dropped his rights, and he was forced to spend the next two seasons in the less-skilled USHL with Cedar Rapids. A fine league, but he would have developed better in the WHL.

Following his overage season in the USHL, Detroit was hoping that Kolosov would sign with a team in the ECHL or UHL, so he could stay in North America. Kolosov instead returned to Belarus, in another move that set his development back. Detroit wasn't going to sign Kolosov, but Curt Fraser had just been hired by the Griffins. Fraser had just coached Kolosov at the World Championships for Belarus, and advised the Wings that Kolosov still had potential.

Kolosov has been nothing but impressive since joining Grand Rapids. After a rocky transition to the AHL, he really adjusted in the second half of the season and stepped up into a top four role on the Griffins in the absence of Jonathan Ericsson. He's carried his strong play into this season. His offensive upside is limited, with just three points on the season, but his game is very comparable to that of Andreas LIlja. He's physical, but not out of control. He's a penalty kill expert and blocks a lot of shots with his size. He's a capable puck handler and makes a good first pass. His contract his up after this season, but he seems to be on his way to getting a new one.

Jamie Tardif, RW, 24, 6'0, 200, signed as a free agent, 2008 -- A former scoring star in junior, Tardif is a good example of persistence and dedication to the game. Tardif has completely reformed his game, paying his dues rising to be one of the Griffins' top scorers.

Tardif played five seasons for the Peterborough Petes, scoring at about a point-per-game each year and hitting the 35 goal plateau twice. He was actually drafted by the Calgary Flames in 2003, but never earned a contract. Grand Rapids got a hold of him in 2006-07, scoring 15 points in 27 games in the AHL, and also 30 in 34 with the Toledo Storm.

In 2007-08, Tardif had a breakout season in Grand Rapids with 17 goals. He turned heads in Detroit all season with strong play in an energy role and the willingness to drop the gloves once in a while. He earned a two-year contract from Detroit, but has since struggled. He scored only eight goals last season, and only 18 points in 55 games on the season, his worst in his professional career.

Now in a decisive contract year, Tardif has stepped up his game. He's wearing the captain's 'C' for Grand Rapids and playing the top line with Jeremy Williams and Mattias Ritola. He also plays on the powerplay as the net front presence, contributing to his quick start with eight goals and 12 points, including an early season hattrick. He doesn't have the speed or consistency to play in the NHL right now, but he could be a big part of the Griffins' future going forward.

Travis Ehrhardt, D, 20, 5'11, 203, signed September 2009 -- One of Detroit's newest prospects is another player hoping to work his way from the bottom up. There aren't too many talking about Ehrhardt as a big name prospect, but Detroit likes the game he plays. That is, enough to give him a contract after two consecutive strong appearances at Detroit's training camp.

Ehrhardt spent the last five seasons in the WHL, the first three with Moose Jaw and the last two with Portland. Over a 256 game career, he recorded 20 goals and 99 assists. An undersized defenseman, Ehrhardt found a way to make his game effective in a stay-at-home defenseman role who plays solid professionally. However, Ehrhardt is also a strong skater who is proficient at rushing the puck up the ice -- definitely qualities seen in many successful Red Wings defensemen.

Detroit brought Ehrhardt to prospect's camp last season, and Ken Holland said that Detroit was very interested in signing him. However, they ended up signing Brian Lashoff and Brent Raedeke instead and Ehrhardt returned to to the WHL. Detroit brought him back to prospect's camp this season and rewarded his strong play with a contract.

Rather than sending him to the WHL for an overage season, Detroit had Ehrhardt turn pro. He's been in and out of the lineup, playing in 13 games and recording only one assist, as well as two points in three games with the Toledo Walleye. Doug Janik's arrival in Detroit has opened up more ice time for Ehrhardt, for the time being.

Notes: Dick Axelsson has been officially suspended by both Grand Rapids and Detroit for breach of contract ... Detroit has said they would like him back, Axelsson has another year on his contract ... Francis Pare, after scoring his first goal of the season last week, was named the AHL Player of the Week this past week ... Brendan Smith continues his collegiate dominance and is now considered the front runner for the Hobey Baker ... Andrej Nestrasil, Max Nicastro, Tomas Tatar, and Brian Lashoff have left their respective teams to join their countries for World Junior camps ... I mentioned last week that Sebastien Piche had 15 PIM in one game, for an elbow that he was eventually suspended for.

Who's Hot: With Tomas Tatar in Slovakia, Jan Mursak is the hottest Griffin right now. He had four points in his last four games, giving him ten in his past ten ... Before he left, Tatar had four points in three games last week ... After going 20-plus games without scoring, Francis Pare now has 13 points in 26 games, while going +7 last week ... Logan Pyett has had his most productive two weeks of his professional career, with two goals and one assist last week ... Jakub Kindl only has one goal this season, but has quietly crawled his way up to third among Griffins prospects in scoring, with 14 points, and more importantly, a +2 ... I don't mention them too much, but both Daniel Larsson and Thomas McCollum have been among the AHL's best goaltending duo this season. Larsson is now 10-5 with a 2.48 GAA a .918 save percentage, and McCollum has slowly clawed his way to a 7-5 record, with a 2.87 GAA and .893 save percentage ... Brendan Smith is still red hot with 14 points over his past nine games ... Adam Almqvist has turned his "few game" tryout in the SEL into an 11 game stint. He had two assists and was a +3 in one game last week, giving him five points on the year and giving his club a tough decision on whether or not to send him back. Jordan Pearce is in the hot column for the first time after going 2-1 last week, lowering his GAA by 0.51 (to 3.91) raising his save percentage up .15 (to .875).

Who's Cold: Cory Emmerton, Evan McGrath, and Jamie Tardif have both slowed down and only recorded one point in one of Grand Rapids' most productive offensive weeks of the season, but it was first line winger Mattias Ritola who was held completely pointless ... Jesper Samuelsson is still in tier-2 Sweden and was a -3 again last week, making him -9 with only six points in 18 games ... Brent Raedeke is still Edmonton's leading scorer in the WHL, and one of only a handful in the "plus" column of the +/- stat on his club.