Opportunity Knocks

[SpikeDDS]

Well, let's see:

Howard is now out. Mrazek is up.

Z is out, now on LTIR (probably more so that Mrazek could be up than anything else).

Helm is out. Still gonna be a while for him.

DDk is skating but still out another week.

Weiss is now out indefinitely with a groin. I wish I could say I would miss him (although he did get robbed in the 3rd by Thomas last night, and he HAS been playing slightly better than he was for the majority of hue he season so far)

This is starting to get like last season, and it probably makes sense to get some of the kids from GR a chance. I thought it was telling that Babs let Gus and Tats take the SO instead of Datsyuk. I'm not totally sure why Pav was the one they replaced, but at least Babs gave them the nod. It's gotta give 'me a boost. But as yave noted in his other thread, we've got some players to work with. Like Tats and Nyquist last year, it might be time for some trial by fire and let's see what they can do.

It's been a long time coming, and a slow-as-molasses process, but I'm seeing signs that Babs might be coming around on giving kids opportunities, like that maybe last year's "experiment," which we all know was driven more by force and need than by Babs, might have taught him something. Maybe there's wisdom in bring these guys up and giving them an opportunity.

I'm more encouraged right now, not only because we've got some talent to evaluate, but because I believe I am seeing a necessary shift in the thinking of Mike Babcock, and it's good to see, even if I think it's a bit late. Better late than never.

Hey boys in GR!! <KNOCK KNOCK!!>

Who's NOT ready?

[yave1964]

@SpikeDDS

 

Great read. Wow they are dropping like flies. Like I posted elsewhere I feel better about our farm system now than at any time since the early nineties and for a lot of these kids the future will be now.

 

  In the preseason Mrasek was asked if he thought he was good enough to beat Gustafsson out for the backup job, his reply was no, he felt he was good enough to beat Howard out for the starting job. Love a kid with that kind of guts and faith in his abilities. Of course Howard is now 1-9 in his last ten starts so that bar is set pretty low.....

[WingNut722]

@yave1964

@SpikeDDS

 

This may actually be better for the Wings.  I hate to continue to knock on Howard, but he just needs to park it for a while.  Gustavsson is more than adequate to handle the workload and Mrazek is still young and brash enough not to feel any pressure.  He's still riding his Edmonton shut-out so he'll be fired up to play.  

 

Despite Spike's misgivings, I will miss Weiss.  I like him, and as I mentioned in another post, as long as he doesn't give up, we shouldn't give up on him.  The guy is "right there."  He needs some puck luck...a dirty goal....a blooper, to get him on the score sheet and get his confidence back, then it's off to the races.  He's not even going to get that chance now.  The scary thing is that this groin issue could bother him for years if he rushes his return.  As long as the Wings can take tonight's game against the Lightning, you'll hear a huge exhale coming out of that locker room and in the front office.  They have the tools and talent to still compete without the likes of those sitting out.   

[yave1964]

@WingNut722

 

The old addition by subtraction with Howard, huh?? Again, 1-9, the bar is set really low.

 

  I agree with Weiss, I certainly haven't given up on him, he leads the team in defensive zone faceoffs, hard to score from 200 feet away.... A guy like Datsyuk or Zetterberg is capable of going all the way down the ice and creating, Weiss strikes me more of a set play kind of guy who is being misused by Babs. Part of it is necessity with injuries part of it is I don't believe Babs knows the player well enough to get the most out of him yet.

  Personally I would give more offensive zone ice time to Weiss with Nyquist and Tatar on his wings, the two kids have their own style which I think would be a very nice compliment to Weiss.

  We had a chance for Derek Roy, Grabovski and also to retain Filpulla in the offseason and chose to sign Weiss to a long term deal which is looking pretty bad right now. I think we just need to relax, we are a third of the way into the season and a lot of hockey to go. I was thrilled beyond belief at the signing, I thought he was the perfect player for the team.

 

  Here is a thought, are we too European to adapt a North American player into our system? In our top ten scorers, only two (Abdelkader and Bertuzzi) are north Americans, ranking 7th and 8th in scoring.

  We have played

10 swedes

5 additional Europeans

15 North Americans

 

  Of the North Americans, Tootoo and Eaves are banished to the other side of the state, Howard has played poorly, Oullet and Glendening are Griffins, Helm, Bert, Abdelkader, Dekeyser, Miller, Lashoff, Smith, Quincey, emmerton and Cleary have all skated with most of them enjoying what can be described at best as limited success. Dekeyser (pre injury) and Helm doing the best, the rest mostly just bodies in the lineup.

  We have built a European style club that IMHO North Americans have a difficult time adjusting to. I am fine with it, it is a double edge sword, we have a unique club that makes us hard to play against as well because of that.

  My opinion is we need less North Americans and more Europeans, they seem to acclimate better to our club, Alfie comes to mind. Kids like Almquist, Jarnkrok and Pulkkinen will excel with this club for years, IMHO.

[WingNut722]

@yave1964

 

Ya know I never thought about that.  The Florida Panthers roster (at least this season) is very heavy on the North Americans.  Still, now that I think about it, I don't know if it's that difficult to adjust.  The Wings may have more European-born players, but that doesn't necessarily mean they play a European style.  Babcock (Canadian) still calls the shots.  Veterans like Zetterberg, Alfredsson, Datsyuk, and Kronwall have played the bulk of their professional careers on North American ice.  While I agree they're traditional training is European, they are more or less North American players now.  Still, you don't see Weiss missing passes or consistently being in the wrong spot.  He melds with the flow of the team.  He just can't (hasn't been able to) score.  Just needs that puck-luck.  

 

The trick with Weiss is that because of his lack of offense, he's been relegated to third line, which greatly reduces his opportunity.  This is not the way to get the guy out of a funk.  Case-In-Point:  Justin Abdelkader.  Abby had difficulties getting on the scoresheet last season (or was it the season before).  Same scenario as Weiss -- a very capable, young player who just needs to find it.  Babcock put him on the top line with Pavel Datsyuk.  18-20 minutes of ice time per game and the kid went bonkers.  Weiss needs the same prescription.