yave1964 Posted July 7, 2015 Share Posted July 7, 2015 How I see the Grand Rapids Griffins lines/Roster shaking out for 2015-16. First off, the AHL roster is not at all like an NHL roster, it is always in a state of flux, no matter how well or poorly the team is doing they are tied directly to the parent club, so if the Griffins are on a ten game winning streak and the Wings lose three guys to injuries or have a couple of guys simply playing poorly the AHL team can be gutted in a minute to serve the parent club best. At this point in the year most AHL clubs are scrambling to fill out the roster but the Griffs are pretty well set. That said, barring injuries or call ups to Detroit here is the 2015-16 Grand Rapids Griffins: TOP LINE Tyler Bertuzzi.....Dylan Larkin.......Andreas Athanasiou Big things expected of all three, Larkin the plumb of the Wings organization, the eventual replacement for Zetterberg, Athanasiou playing on the wing, think Val Filpulla but slightly better, and Tyler Bertuzzi is a future down low power forward with a nose for the net. All three will be regulars in the NHL within a year for a long, long time. SECOND LINE Anthony Mantha....Andy Miele....Mitch Callahan Mantha will be paired with one of the AHL's top playmakers in Miele and given a shot to get back on track. Miele and Callahan not really prospects but will be long term AHL players, Miele simply too small and Callahan to slow but Mantha will match well with these two players who give everything every shift every night. THIRD LINE Landon Ferraro...Tomas Nosek...Axel Holmstrom Another line where all three are hoping to be in the NHL soon. The hard hitting pesky Ferraro will hit the AHL because of numbers, not enough jobs but will be a frequent call up. Nosek is a late bloomer signed from Europe who didnt embarrass himself at the AHL level last year and could be a bottom six NHL forward with a bit of luck, is a nice playmaker. Holmstrom is the one to watch of these three, his first foray to North America, he is another late round steal on the fast track to a middle six forward job in Detroit within two to three years. Maybe sooner. FOURTH LINE Tristan Grant.....Dominic Turgeon....Jeff Hoggan Fan Favorite Grant returns bringing toughness after a year in exile to Milwaukee, Hoggan has lost a step but is widely respected throughout the league, the one to watch is Turgeon whose Dad and uncle starred in the NHL, he is a checker with some scoring ability who will be playing his first year at the AHL level. Think Ferraro, Glendening type with a bit more scoring. Will be an NHL player. SPARES Chris Bruton, Mark Tvrdon and Colin Campbell, all just bodies. DEFENSE: Xavier Oullet, Alexei Marchenko and Ryan Sproul all will be seeing time in the NHL this year when others go down to injuries, all three bring skill to the position and are future NHL regulars. Brian Lashoff is probably done at the NHL level but fits in nicely at this level. Nick Jensen is a sleeper, he showed signs last year of being close to as good as the big three prospects and will push them this year. Brennen Evans is a non prospect who fills in when needed. Captain Nathan Paetch runs the point on the power play, way past his prime had a bit of an NHL career, is more of an assistant coach than anything. A lot of teams sign the veteran players for their AHL team based off of who is still laying out there come August but the Griffins have a plan. Playmaker Miele is tutoring Larkin and Athanasiou Checker and pest Hoggan is working with Ferraro and Turgeon. Point man Paetsch is working with the young defense. Vets Evans and Grant are not there for their scoring, they are there to tutor the young kids. It is like having five coaches in the locker room. GOALIES McCollum has went from a non prospect to a sort of prospect, kind of the new Joey MacDonald, someone who can plug in at the NHL level in the event of a flat out emergency but really just a good AHL goalie. Coreau is an okay prospect but not much more than that. Overall, IMHO the Griffins have more future NHL talent than any other team in the AHL and it is not even close. Larkin Athanasiou Mantha Ferraro Turgeon Holmstrom Bertuzzi Jensen Oullet Marchenko Sproul 11 near certain future NHLers all pushing the kids who have already been recalled to the Wings. Guys such as Jurco and Pulkinnen better not get comfortable or they will be replaced. Vets as well. Love what the Wings have on the other side of the state. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yave1964 Posted July 7, 2015 Author Share Posted July 7, 2015 A couple of comments that I meant to get in here and forgot so I am adding them now: I find it remarkable that many NHL teams still have no clue what their roster is shaking out to be, even after the draft and the free agent frenzy. Quite a few clubs are still scrambling to figure out two, three four spots on the roster. Nearly every AHL team is in scramble mode and studying who is left without a seat at the NHL level and who to offer a job to. The Griffins, on July 7th, are done, as in completely done, as in the roster is set. Remarkable. I went on record a few years ago when Tatar, Nyquist, Jurco and Sheahan were all coming up that the Wings had something special. These guys are better. Deeper and skilled at nearly every facet of the game, the new wave is going to push some of the others out of the way in a hurry. Nyquist or Tatar may even be in danger of these kids stealing a job from one of them. The Wings graduated a very nice class several years ago, this group will take several years for all of them to mature but it is truly a remarkable bunch down the I96 shuttle and they are really, really special. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J0e Th0rnton Posted July 7, 2015 Share Posted July 7, 2015 A couple of comments that I meant to get in here and forgot so I am adding them now:I find it remarkable that many NHL teams still have no clue what their roster is shaking out to be, even after the draft and the free agent frenzy. Quite a few clubs are still scrambling to figure out two, three four spots on the roster. Nearly every AHL team is in scramble mode and studying who is left without a seat at the NHL level and who to offer a job to. The Griffins, on July 7th, are done, as in completely done, as in the roster is set. Remarkable.I went on record a few years ago when Tatar, Nyquist, Jurco and Sheahan were all coming up that the Wings had something special.These guys are better. Deeper and skilled at nearly every facet of the game, the new wave is going to push some of the others out of the way in a hurry. Nyquist or Tatar may even be in danger of these kids stealing a job from one of them. The Wings graduated a very nice class several years ago, this group will take several years for all of them to mature but it is truly a remarkable bunch down the I96 shuttle and they are really, really special.At one point when talking about Grand rapids, you mentioned things AHL vets do that would never work at NHL level and how it annoyed you. Trying to remember what they were lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yave1964 Posted July 7, 2015 Author Share Posted July 7, 2015 @J0e Th0rnton lol. I watch an absolute ton of AHL games, it is worth the package on AHL.com to me, I love seeing the players before they come to the NHL. It is the same game but subtly different. A lot more fighting in the AHL, hardly a game goes by without a good old fashioned knock em out sock em out fight. And they go at it longer, giving it everything they have. The passing is not as crisp and more dump and chase is prevalent. The checking is tighter due to the defense having to make up for lack of skill. Goalies as a rule are poor puck handlers at the AHL level. Very few use the catching mitt well. A star player realy shines at the AHL level, he stands out because of the B level skill around him. Little guys like Andy Miele with skill get the chance to shine. Every team has 5 vets, the vet rule is in effect to force teams to give young untested players a shot. A few teams like the Chicago Wolves (ST Louis Blues AHL club) generally ignore the rule and sign any damn one they please. A lot of teams the vets are just chosen by who is left. A few like the Wings carefully select the players who properly fit the mix and keep them around for years. A lot of teams the vets change every year and the rosters are in a constant flux. As far as AHL vets, a good one who understands his time has come and gone and they are there to teach as well as play are worth their weight in gold. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpikeDDS Posted July 8, 2015 Share Posted July 8, 2015 @yave1964The key to finding those long-term AHL vets is identifying them early and convincing them to be honest about the fact that their BEST role as a hockey player will be to make other players great. As pros that have devoted their lives to playing the sport, that is a hard pill to swallow, and many just can't get themselves to do it. There has to be a system in place that gives players like these guys satisfaction for what they do. Sure, you've got to give Blashill some credit for development, but I'll bet if you ask him, he will agree that these guys are essential to proper, efficient development of these younger players.Holland and the Red Wings front office have provided the leadership and found coaches and staff that influences men to accept those roles, and it is crucial, particularly for the second-tier players. Superstars are gonna be superstars, but role players have to figure our what their role should be, accept that role, and then perfect/refine it, and having other players encouraging that is very important for those players to do that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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