Abdelkader and Ericsson

[yave1964]

The Wings won the cup in 2008 and lost in 7 to the Penguins the following year, several vets were on the way out such as Dallas Drake and Chris Chelios, but never fear, said GM Ken Holland and assistant Jim Nill, two kids named Justin Abdelkader and Jonathan Ericsson were ready to step in.

 

  Ericsson showed flashes early, he is huge but does not like to use his body, frustrating fans with his finesse game for such a large guy. And no offensive ability, and early on making a mistake a night, every night.

 

 Abdelkader was worse. Paired on the fourth line with Drew Miller and Darren Helm, he barely hung on by his fingernails, stupid penalties, missing open nets, passing when he should shoot, he was wretched for several years, I HATED him. I didn't just want him traded I wanted him burned in effigy, sold to the KHL or somewhere where I would never have to see him play again. Just the most unintelligent player to ever lace them up.

 

  Now both are indispensable parts of a rebuilt on the fly Wings team that is battling for the top record in the West.

 

 Ericsson found his game when paired with Nick Kronwall after Lidstrom retired, Kronwall is a puck moving d-man who is known for his hard hitting but in truth is slight of size and only hits like that once or twice a year, he prefers to move the puck and have a solid defensive partner, Ericsson has found his role as one of the most underrated stay at home d-men in the game with a bit of a snarl. Last night on the first shift of the game, with the Wings coming off a four day break Ericsson sat the tone by fighting Nathan MacKinnon and firing the players up. Ericsson has a clearly defined role, a stay at home guy who seldom makes a mistake in his own zone who allows his partner to wander.

 

 Abdelkader.

 

After the lockout a couple of years ago, halfway through the year Abdelkader had 1 goal and the Wings were struggling on the power play with Holmstrom being done and nobody to set up in front of the net and screen goalies. Pavel Datsyuk went to Babcock and asked him to allow Abdelkader to play on his line full time and to play on the top power play. Abby scored 9 goals in the final 24 games and took over for Holmstrom as the human screen.

  Last year with Alfredsson on the team Abby moved down to the third and fourth line and managed to score 10 goals and 28 points with a ton of hits, playing smart hockey as his penalty minutes are down by half over several years ago but he still hits with abandoned. He credits Kronwall with teaching him how to legally hit and not draw a penalty.

 

  This year with Alfredsson retired Abdelkader moved back to the top line with his pal Datsyuk and the top power play, in 44 games, a little over half a year he has 12 goals, 4 on the power play, 28 points and leads the team with 100 hits. He has had a fight or two, his grit and sandpaper are still evident but he is now one of the smartest Wings players, getting opponents to take stupid penalties in frustration.

 

  When both of these guys came into the league I thought no way no how were they going to amount to anything. Both are now critical pieces and are a huge part of the Wings success. That is why Ken Holland is such a great GM, fans such as myself who throw their hands up in frustration as these kids learn how to be NHL players and demand they are replaced, Holland simply sits and allows them to grow and define themselves in their role. He has done it again with Brendan Smith, Quincey (!), Tatar, Nyquist, Jurco and on and on.  

 

 That is what seperates the Wings from other organizations. We simply grow our own and allow them to make their mistakes without fear of being cut or shipped out. In the case of players such as Ericsson, Abdelkader, Smith and Tatar they make their mistakes and keep getting thrown out night after night, and every game they get just infinitesimally better. You don't notice it until two or three years later but then you watch a game and cannot believe how much better they have gotten. Panicking and shipping guys out may work in fantasy but in real hockey, the time and money invested in a players development forces quality teams to allow said investment to grow.

 Is it the only way to build a contender? No, there are as many ways as there are GMs, the Penguins are bold and brash with a huge trade or two every offseason and usually one or two in season as well. The Hawks tweak the roster with a free agent splash or a trade every year. The Rangers and Sather resemble my fantasy hockey team, always in flux. Others yoyo, good for awhile and then bottoming out, getting top picks and rebuilding thru the draft.

 

  So constantly staying near the top by preaching patience with the young players learning their roles, taught by veterans such as Pavel and Z and Kronner is not the only way.

 

  But it is the Red Wing way. And few are better.

[SpikeDDS]

@yave1964

Gotta give Babs some cedit here on Ericsson, because he seems to have a knack for pairing the less-than-productive player with the RIGHT partner to get them comfortable with the role they need to play. Who would EVER have thought that pairing with DeKeyser would have made Quincey the second coming of 2nd-line D-men? You wouldn't have heard ME saying that! I, along with many others, was upset with Holland for re-acquiring and then re-signing Q for so much. Yes, he seemed to improve toward the end of last season, but was that a fluke or the real deal that he had NEVER shown before on ANYTHING remotely resembling a consistent basis? Somehow, Holland knew, and Babs paired him with the right guy, and now he is SOLID!

It's the combination of BOTH that have made this team what it is. I think this collaborative environment along with th talent pool and Mr. Illitch's demonstrative financial commitment to this team makes a VERY strong argument for why staying in Detroit would be Bab's best option.

True, he had help from Datsyuk in recognizing Abdelkader, but part of being a great coach is LISTENING to your players, particularly ones like Pav and Z.

I also think he's been very smart in the way he has used Sheahan, and the dude is really showing significant progress. He's another R good example.

The excellence within the organization--let's not forget what a fantastic job Blashill's doing in GR to get these young guys ready--is not JUST Holland, but he certainly is a critical centerpiece. But I think it is the collaborative stratagem and the commitment by the core in the organization that has made the difference. And like most good long-term investments, they take some time to develop and then you are sitting pretty. I think the near- and even Not-so-near-future of the Red Wing organization is very secure. We couldn't see that 2 seasons ago, but these guys could, if they could just keep the fans from forcing them to make too many Legwand-type deals.

[yave1964]

@SpikeDDS

 

You are right, top to bottom within the organization the Wings are all on the same page. It is simply amazing, many fortune 500 companies should take notes on how to run an organization by the Wings model.

  And the most amazing part is the powers that be within other organizations now, assistant coaches now coaching in Carolina and San Jose and until recently in Ottawa, Tom Renney taking a job as CEO of Hockey Canada. Yzerman and Nill running organizations of their own. Shanahan. On and On, Fetisov and Larionov and their heavy hand in the KHL and russian hockey. The Wings are the gold staandard at every level.