Prospect Info: Grand Rapids Griffins 2013/14 Part II

[Heaton]

Old thread: http://hfboards.mandatory.com/showthread.php?t=1463963

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[The Zetterberg Era]

Very poor performance last night, but here are my thoughts on the guys.

Teemu Pulkkinen - Beauty of a goal, had me laughing and even the home crowd with a wowed response. I would guess it hit near 100 and was just flat blasted off a face off play. Overall his skating continues to get better, guy really has an impressive lower body, massive legs and he turns them over pretty well and gets where he wants to go. Plays with his head up all the time, very good passer, his transition to NA has gone well, he has a lot of talent.

Calle Jarnkrok - Really has an NHL mind. He thinks the game and processes it in all three zones impressively. Needs to get stronger and at times more assertive, but he has a lot of talent and it shows up a ton in person. Never on the wrong side of the puck, very active stick and a smart hockey player. Needs to start scoring more though.

Landon Ferraro - very poor game out of him, still skated pretty hard, but one of his least physical games I have seen him play. Just didn't seem to be very into it, fumbled the puck a lot, most of his shots were weak and lazy. Hope the fact basically everyone except he and Callahan got a legitimate look hasn't gotten to him.

Mitch Callahan - was not very physical last night but was not terrible either. Good on the pk and skated hard and tried going to the dirty areas. He too struggled with shot selection attempting a couple hopeless long-rangers. Not a bad game and he seemed more frustrated than most at how bad they played in the second period.

Martin Frk - It is time to get worried, even if he is a rookie and has not played a whole lot at this level. He is out of shape, can basically only last for 25-30 seconds. He is very awkward when he skates and never seems to be on the same page as his linemates. Very little puck control, he was at least somewhat physical. but an extremely alarming performance, he has to work on everything to be honest.

Aubry - big kid, skates well for a guy his size, but seems to be regressing at this point in his career. I wish him well in Europe next year, hopefully he can carve something out over there.

Parkes - pretty fast, has some decent hands and plays the body well. Just for whatever reason he doesn't do all of them often enough. Another guy that you can say wish him the best over in Europe.

Nestrasil - of the eventual European bound guys, I really do think he is the best. Big, skates pretty well and has some nice hands. Also reads his teammates pretty well, has consistency issues from shift to shift. Not a bad player, just not a very good one either.

Forward vets - not very good performances, Emmerton was probably the best, Tootoo was the worst. Honestly I think Grant is better at the role most like to attribute to Tootoo anyway. He certainly isn't play his way back into the NHL with performances like last night. Between Tootoo and Frk for who was the worst forward on the team last night, Ferraro was probably third worst.

Ouellet - Much like Pulkkinen really the only bright spot on the D last night. Composed game and a smart game. Really good puck mover, physical on the boards. I really think he could develop into a Vlasic or Hamhuis type, I hope he does. Has leadership qualities too, he talks on the ice and on the bench. I thought he might actually beat Sproul up for his ghastly change.

Marchenko - Not one of his better games in my opinion. But he is a good passer and he is big guy that doesn't mind the rougher elements of the game. Pretty smart player needs to work on getting his shot through a little more. Has the ability to change speeds on his passes, very good under forechecking pressure. Seemed to get sapped of energy like most of his teammates last night and fade. I don't think he was bad, but I have seen him play much better and was really looking forward to watching him in particular last night and was kind of disappointed.

Almqvist - Had a decent defensive game, has a good stick but man I wish he would use a longer one especially given his size and position playing with a short stick is quite questionable. Had a couple timely blocks and is very good at D to D passing, that area he could honestly teach a clinic on. Really exceptional passer everywhere, has his head up at all times and is getting better in the corners and in front of the net. Seemed to fade as the proceedings went on though as well.

Sproul - Well everyone is going to have bad nights I guess, but this was a pretty horrific game for Sproul. I mean he was terrible, just absolutely brutal in his own zone the entire night. He was soft in the corners and in front of his net, he missed a ton of outlet passes, he flew the zone sometimes before his team was in total control. As discussed in the previous thread Sproul made perhaps the worst change I have ever seen a professional hockey player make. He has all the tools, his skating really is breathtaking and his frame is going to put on a lot more weight still and he looks quite big in person. But he might need the entire waiver period to sort his defense, it is bad, it has looked bad most the year online and I do think this was his worst game so rough to just say it was in person but have seen him twice in person in Milwaukee and he is out of position a lot. He needs to ramp up his physical play as well. Didn't look to shoot last night, didn't really dictate much on offense and he needs to learn to vary the speed on his passes as he basically bullets it all the time. People claiming he should come up are just flat wrong, Sproul would get abused by NHL teams right now. Was deservedly benched by Blashill, playing very sparingly after the third goal and was torn into by his own teammates a great deal for that one. Had he been allowed to play the rest of the game we might have lost 7-1 and he probably would have been a -5 or -6.

Vet D - Both guys were not very good last night, Evans in part because his partner Sproul was wretched. But they didn't seem to grab hold of the game and I didn't like that Ouellet (did like it for him but still) seemed to be the big talker over on the bench. They needed more from those guys, in particular with Grant out, I would have liked to see Evans try and spark the team, they didn't have much in the way of fire because Tootoo thinks he is too good to play at that level and Ferraro was off all night.

McCollum - had a vintage game for him. Was off his angles most of the night, over committed a decent amount and was in trouble even before they stated scoring. For as much as he struggled he really did compete his tail off. He just wasn't sharp last night and he picked a poor night because his teammates weren't going to bail him out last night. Made a couple nice saves and he is a big gifted athlete, but didn't like the return of the more out of control version of McCollum. They didn't really have any softies though I must admit I missed the fourth goal getting a beer when he was actually yanked. But it was kind of clear from the onset he didn't have it.

Coreau - My God is this guy big, they didn't really have a lot of quality chances, but he uses his size pretty well and is athletic with good movement. Would be interesting to evaluate him over 60 minutes, he has a lot to work with. The Paterson and Coreau tandem if that is what it ends up being next year should be pretty talented.

Overall, not a very good game by the boys. Ferraro, Frk, Tootoo and Sproul were real low points and they all need to be much better than how they played last night. They deserved to get beat and they were shredded pretty good in the second period. Would not surprise me if Sproul hits the pressbox for a game after this one, really miserable performance, his teammates and Blashill looked angry and mystified by him.

 

[Frk It]

Calle Jarnkrok - Really has an NHL mind. He thinks the game and processes it in all three zones impressively. Needs to get stronger and at times more assertive, but he has a lot of talent and it shows up a ton in person. Never on the wrong side of the puck, very active stick and a smart hockey player. Needs to start scoring more though.

I've seen Jarnkrok play in person a handful of times, and I really struggle to see some of what you are taking about. He's easily the most underwhelming prospect to see in person, at least based on their reputation/ranking.

My best friend that goes to AHL games with me was a pretty good hockey player, and knows the game well, always says "THAT is supposed to be your #1 prospect"??? And I just say yeah, I guess so.

 

[The Zetterberg Era]

I've seen Jarnkrok play in person a handful of times, and I really struggle to see some of what you are taking about. He's easily the most underwhelming prospect to see in person, at least based on their reputation/ranking.

My best friend that goes to AHL games with me was a pretty good hockey player, and knows the game well, always says "THAT is supposed to be your #1 prospect"??? And I just say yeah, I guess so.

I have been impressed both times I have taken in a game in person. He does all the subtle little things, though I expect him to tumble in our rankings. He does need to get more assertive offensively. We need him to be a Top 6 center and he remains a work in progress there. But I like a lot of his game and think he will grow in certain areas if he does stick it out in NA and doesn't retreat home. I am starting to wonder how hard he works on his game though as not a ton of difference in the month plus and one of the things that is fascinating at the AHL level is the rapid growth these players make. If Jarnkrok is unwilling to put in the work it will be a huge waste of talent and hockey IQ.

 

[Frk It]

I have been impressed both times I have taken in a game in person. He does all the subtle little things, though I expect him to tumble in our rankings. He does need to get more assertive offensively. We need him to be a Top 6 center and he remains a work in progress there. But I like a lot of his game and think he will grow in certain areas if he does stick it out in NA and doesn't retreat home. I am starting to wonder how hard he works on his game though as not a ton of difference in the month plus and one of the things that is fascinating at the AHL level is the rapid growth these players make. If Jarnkrok is unwilling to put in the work it will be a huge waste of talent and hockey IQ.

Doing the little things right is nice, and I can tell he's a smart hockey player. But I still expect more from a guy who's been labeled #1 prospect and future too 6 center for quite some time.

I mean Cleary and Andersson do all the little things right too, but they're still limited hockey players. With Jarnkrok I just don't see a dynamic element to his game that I saw with Tatar and Nyquist.

In sure it didn't help that last I saw him he centered a like with Nyquist and Jurco. They both out shines him so much. Nyquist made him look slow, and Jurco made him look small and weak. I have seen him score a few nice pp goals this year, but his hands and passing don't look nearly as good as Nyquist or Tatar.

I'm thinking maybe he's a guy similar to Granlund on Minnesota, smaller guy who takes awhile to get acclimated to the North American game. I guess well find out.

My sample size could be better though, so I'll make more of an effort to tune into griffins games when I can. Thanks to drumnj that should be easier now I know for example when I've seen pulkkinen live he looks terrible, but some games I've caught online he looks a awesome.

Also is is just me, or in person does he (pulkkinen) look like the shortest guy on the team? Saw him walk by me and I swear he's like 5'9 or so.

From my iPhone: excuse the spelling/graMmar probs lol

 

[The Zetterberg Era]

Doing the little things right is nice, and I can tell he's a smart hockey player. But I still expect more from a guy who's been labeled #1 prospect and future too 6 center for quite some time.

I mean Cleary and Andersson do all the little things right too, but they're still limited hockey players. With Jarnkrok I just don't see a dynamic element to his game that I saw with Tatar and Nyquist.

In sure it didn't help that last I saw him he centered a like with Nyquist and Jurco. They both out shines him so much. Nyquist made him look slow, and Jurco made him look small and weak. I have seen him score a few nice pp goals this year, but his hands and passing don't look nearly as good as Nyquist or Tatar.

I'm thinking maybe he's a guy similar to Granlund on Minnesota, smaller guy who takes awhile to get acclimated to the North American game. I guess well find out.

My sample size could be better though, so I'll make more of an effort to tune into griffins games when I can. Thanks to drumnj that should be easier now I know for example when I've seen pulkkinen live he looks terrible, but some games I've caught online he looks a awesome.

Also is is just me, or in person does he (pulkkinen) look like the shortest guy on the team? Saw him walk by me and I swear he's like 5'9 or so.

From my iPhone: excuse the spelling/graMmar probs lol

Pulkkinen is the shortest guy on the team, he is built like a tank though in his lower-body. He has a real Barry Sanders thing going on there, he might have the biggest legs on the team, probably a part of why he used to get knocked for a strange looking stride.

 

[Vladdy84]

Doing the little things right is nice, and I can tell he's a smart hockey player. But I still expect more from a guy who's been labeled #1 prospect and future too 6 center for quite some time.

I mean Cleary and Andersson do all the little things right too, but they're still limited hockey players. With Jarnkrok I just don't see a dynamic element to his game that I saw with Tatar and Nyquist.

In sure it didn't help that last I saw him he centered a like with Nyquist and Jurco. They both out shines him so much. Nyquist made him look slow, and Jurco made him look small and weak. I have seen him score a few nice pp goals this year, but his hands and passing don't look nearly as good as Nyquist or Tatar.

I'm thinking maybe he's a guy similar to Granlund on Minnesota, smaller guy who takes awhile to get acclimated to the North American game. I guess well find out.

My sample size could be better though, so I'll make more of an effort to tune into griffins games when I can. Thanks to drumnj that should be easier now I know for example when I've seen pulkkinen live he looks terrible, but some games I've caught online he looks a awesome.

Also is is just me, or in person does he (pulkkinen) look like the shortest guy on the team? Saw him walk by me and I swear he's like 5'9 or so.

From my iPhone: excuse the spelling/graMmar probs lol

Can someone please enlighten me on what "little things" Cleary does well on a consistent basis? I know this isn't the proper thread about it. But I gotta know what these little things consist of. I have my thoughts of what these are. And Cleary does very few of them well. Andersson does a lot of the little things well IMO.

 

[Frk It]

Can someone please enlighten me on what "little things" Cleary does well on a consistent basis? I know this isn't the proper thread about it. But I gotta know what these little things consist of. I have my thoughts of what these are. And Cleary does very few of them well. Andersson does a lot of the little things well IMO.

I absolutely hate to say it, but Cleary really has been decent the last 5 games or so.

He knows to get pucks in deep when we need a change, he knows his defensive assignment and how to be responsible, and he had had a few nice breakout passes in our own zone under pressure lately.

I don't want him on the ice when the teams healthy, but I haven't really had that much bad to say about him over the last 4-5 games.

I will call him out when he's coughing the puck up, falling over, and whiffing shots. So I'll give him credit for doing a better job, even if I don't want to.

That's just my opinion, and I don't want him back. His body is way too broke down and 90% of the time he's garbage.

 

[Vladdy84]

I absolutely hate to say it, but Cleary really has been decent the last 5 games or so.

He knows to get pucks in deep when we need a change, he knows his defensive assignment and how to be responsible, and he had had a few nice breakout passes in our own zone under pressure lately.

I don't want him on the ice when the teams healthy, but I haven't really had that much bad to say about him over the last 4-5 games.

I will call him out when he's coughing the puck up, falling over, and whiffing shots. So I'll give him credit for doing a better job, even if I don't want to.

That's just my opinion, and I don't want him back. His body is way too broke down and 90% of the time he's garbage.

He stays on the ice way too long most of the time. He'll dump it when he's dead tired after being out there 45+ seconds. Really disagree on the defensive assignment stuff. He'll just chase a guy all over the defensive zone. He has had some nice breakout passes as of late though. Backchecks realgud (usually after he turns it over...). I'll give him this, knows where to position himself in the offensive zone for scoring chances.

 

[InjuredChoker]

many swedes don't seem to like to play in AHL.

thanks for the scouting report TZE, excellent piece.

 

[RedWingsNow*]

I see Sheahan is headed back to GR. Why would the wings send him back and keep Glendening with his 1 assist and -7 in 15 games?

 

[cjm502]

I see Sheahan is headed back to GR. Why would the wings send him back and keep Glendening with his 1 assist and -7 in 15 games?

Well Glendening plays "the right way", much like Danny boy.

 

[Cyborg Yzerberg]

Well Glendening plays "the right way", much like Danny boy.

Babcock has a Babboner for Glendening for some reason. I thought Sheahan proved he was a better player than Glendening. Hell, long run, I'd much rather have Sheahan than Andersson.

 

[Frk It]

I see Sheahan is headed back to GR. Why would the wings send him back and keep Glendening with his 1 assist and -7 in 15 games?

Don't forget that Sheahan won 55.6% of his draws compared to Glendenings 47.8%

But yeah Babcock loves guys with no talent that try hard..for some reason.

 

[Run the Jewels]

Babcock has a Babboner for Glendening for some reason. I thought Sheahan proved he was a better player than Glendening. Hell, long run, I'd much rather have Sheahan than Andersson.

Only reason to keep Glendening is because he can forecheck. We have one of the softest and slowest teams in the league. I would greatly prefer Sheahan but can understand keeping Glendening up for now. He plays the game Dan Cleary was supposed to play...in theory.

The roster composition is just ****ed until Kenneh brooms the dead weight. We all know he was hell bent on making a trade to start the season but no one wants the guys he signed to contracts (Bert, Sammy, Cleary, Quincey, Kindl). So they add nothing to our roster and cannot be traded. Kenneh won't waive them because he's loyal to them, not the organization. Gotta keep your priorities in order I guess.

 

[The Zetterberg Era]

Don't forget that Sheahan won 55.6% of his draws compared to Glendenings 47.8%

But yeah Babcock loves guys with no talent that try hard..for some reason.

I do think a part of that is because that was the exact player he was.

I actually like Glendening quite a bit, though I think his future is out on the wing and at this point would have preferred Sheahan sticking around.

 

[RedWingsNow*]

I guess being golfing buddies over the past summer with the GR coach made Glendening NHL ready in Babs eyes. but seriously, all in see is another small center that can't break it out. I'm really tired of the hype.

 

[Jussi]

Pulkkinen is the shortest guy on the team, he is built like a tank though in his lower-body. He has a real Barry Sanders thing going on there, he might have the biggest legs on the team, probably a part of why he used to get knocked for a strange looking stride.

Actually Tootoo is shorter than him at 175cm / 5'9". Pulkkinen is 179cm / 5'10" (confirmed at the Combine).

 

[The Zetterberg Era]

Actually Tootoo is shorter than him at 175cm / 5'9". Pulkkinen is 179cm / 5'10" (confirmed at the Combine).

Look pretty similar in person, have to be honest. Pulkkinen is short, but he is stocky and really put together especially like I keep saying with his lower body. He is able to shield the puck and fend guys off. Pretty good in the corners, his size and skating concerns are pretty unfounded is all I can say, I have very little concerns with him moving forward in those two areas.

 

[jaster]

Sheahan just isn't as NHL-ready as Glendening right now. He's not as valuable atm. Glendening is better at knowing where to be, in all three zones. He's a better forechecker. A better backchecker. Better defensively. More physical. And the faceoffs are virtually a wash right now, given the minute sample size, especially Sheahan's. And with Glendening outperforming all the other 4th-liners on the team (Cleary, Miller, Eaves, and Anderson), why look at him to be sent down? I'd rather send Eaves back down, bench Cleary, and keep both Glendening AND Sheahan in the lineup.

 

[RedWingsNow*]

http://www.nhl.com/gamecenter/en/boxscore?id=2013020579
I don't see it.

 

[GoAwayDanCleary]

Sheahan is way better than Glendening. Bigger, faster, better around the boards, better offensively, better at faceoffs, better PKer... not to mention he's just as good defensively (if not better).

 

[jaster]

I get that Sheahan is a 1st-round pick and that we have expectations, hopes and dreams for him that are in the stratosphere and literally can't wait for him to be great, and that Glendening went undrafted so it's borderline offensive that he's even in the organization, let alone playing in games, but..... strip all that pointlessness away and Glendening has simply played better than Sheahan.

 

[Unfriendly Ghost]

I get that Sheahan is a 1st-round pick and that we have expectations, hopes and dreams for him that are in the stratosphere and literally can't wait for him to be great, and that Glendening went undrafted so it's borderline offensive that he's even in the organization, let alone playing in games, but..... strip all that pointlessness away and Glendening has simply played better than Sheahan.

Disagree. Sheahan hasn't gotten many chances, but he's played a few games that have been far better than anything Glendening is capable of.

I think Glendening is better if we're talking about strictly a 4th line energy role, though.

 

[jaster]

Sheahan is way better than Glendening. Bigger, faster, better around the boards, better offensively, better at faceoffs, better PKer... not to mention he's just as good defensively (if not better).

You got a few things right! 3-for-8 is pretty good. In baseball