Who the kids remind me of

[yave1964]

Okay, so the Wings are not going anywhere this year, but there are kids galore to become emotionally invested in as we watch their progress. It has given me hope, and I am looking forward to the future. With that in mind here is who I see the kids developing into.

 

  DENNIS CHOLOWSKI Very easy one for me, he reminds me for all the world of Steve Chiasson. Yeah I know his defense was average but he could shoot the puck and join the rush like nobodies business. 

 

 JOE HICKETTS the little spark plug is the new Brett Lebda, an undersized 3rd pair guy who can pass a bit and plays bigger than his frame.

 

 FILIP HRONEK The easiest of them all, the new Nik Kronwall. He is going to be a perfect complimentary middle pair guy who scores 35 points a year and loves to hit.

 

 LIBOR SULAK Pretty easy one for me as well, he reminds me of Ruslan Salei. Rusty was a nice steady boring stay at home guy who liked to hit.

 

 MICHAEL RASMUSSEN A center with a massive frame who will likely be moved to the wing, a great power play man mountain in front of the net. The new JVR, 55-60 point guy with 35 goal potential.

 

 TYLER BERTUZZI He reminds me of Martin Lapointe, a perfect third liner whose game will get better in the postseason. 20 goal guy with grit.

 

 CHRISTOFFER EHN The Wings kept him around because of a tight checking game and a bit of scoring touch. Kirk Maltby type, solid 4th liner who can probably move up if needed.

 

DOMINIC TURGEON will get recalled if there is an injury, not much really. A Cory Emmerton type.

 

GIVANI SMITH Darren Mccarty hands down. Should play bottom pair when he arrives, might move to third line winger with 15 goal ability and snarl.

 

FILIP ZADINA Man I struggled with this one, he is a pure goal scorer who plays solid 200 foot game, I went with Alexander Mogilny who was a sniper extraordinaire who always wanted the puck in the offensive zone and played with a cocky edge.

 

  That is it. If I am right the Wings are still gonna suck this year, hopefully tanking and getting Jack Hughes (think Patrick Kane) to mix with the talented young kids and plenty of cap room to make a splash with the free agents at the end of the year. The future is bright , And IMHO while the present is a bit lacking there is definite cause for hope.

[JR Ewing]

@yave1964 I saw quite a bit of Joe Hicketts after moving to Victoria and one thing I decided, after seeing him for a full season, was that betting against him doesn't seem like a great idea. He's not big, but uses his skating well to cover in the defensive zone. Can really pass the puck and moves well with it on the offensive blue line. In other words, I think he could make a career out of being a 3rd pairing power-play defenseman.

 

If a defenseman can cover his bases to at least replacement-level in his own end, and make the sorts of passes he's capable of, he has a shot at a career.

 

[SpikeDDS]

@JR Ewing @yave1964

 

I like Hicketts’ feistiness! I see him getting into lots of people’s heads. His small size only increases their frustration, as if he SHOULDN’T be as troublesome as he is. Pesky!

 

The Wings have lost their snarl over the last decade, and have become more gentile. Kronner was the last real vestige of physicality that was threatening on a nightly basis. We could afford to be that way more back in the day because of our surplus of skill. That surplus has been long gone. We need this kind of grit to re-establish our game. Hicketts, Sulak, Rasmussen with his size, and even Ehn are capable of establishing this kind of game, as are other up-and-comers like Smith. 

 

But this will take time to build success from it. Years, not months. And that’s why the standard for success cannot be making the playoffs right now. These young players must define and own their roles in order to set the stage for Zadina and Veleno and others, when the time comes. Zadina, when he arrives, doesn’t have a Brett Hull to be his linemate like Pav did. Or Lidstrom and Kronner at their prime behind him. For him to flourish, we have to establish a game around him so that he’s not THE threat. If he’s the only threat, he may struggle more. No, we need other players to make opposing teams have to think about beating us as a team, not one guy, as good as he might be.

 

There IS reason for optimism, just not for the present.