Former prospects - Where are they now?

[MBH]

RWC was such a great site.

Yep.
Probably the guy I was most excited for was Lofberg.

From RWC

"Speed and hands are his best assets. For a big guy, he has very good wheels and hands. He can beat guys 1-on-1 really, really well. He will take a hit to get to the net, but he's not a guy who comes up with big hits himself." -- Red Wings director of European scouting Hakan Andersson (2005-08-01) ...
Fast ... great overall skating ability, especially for his size ... has nice moves, a long reach, and can dance around defenders ... a good goal-scorer with soft hands and a good shot ... vision and playmaking ability are both above-average ... willing to take a hit to go to the net ...
Despite producing better numbers than almost anyone in his age group in Sweden, Lofberg was off the radar of most scouting services. The Red Wings hope they've landed a gem. Lofberg is big with great wheels and a natural scoring touch. He has a shot at playing in the Swedish Elite League in 2005-06, and is a potential impact player if everything goes right.

 

[Peter Tosh]

iirc he played top pairing with Lidstrom & was fairly effective in 02-03 as a stay-at-home Dman, but bolted back to Russia. We got value for an 8th round pick. I can't remember if it was a contract dispute or did he want more TOI, I wanna say contract dispute. Does anyone remember?

You must be thinking of Maxim Kuznetsov, right? Dealt to LAK for Schneider

 

[Winger98]

You must be thinking of Maxim Kuznetsov, right? Dealt to LAK for Schneider

Golubovsky got some minutes, too. He was eventually dealt to Florida to bring Larionov back into the fold.

 

[ShelbyZ]

iirc he played top pairing with Lidstrom & was fairly effective in 02-03 as a stay-at-home Dman, but bolted back to Russia. We got value for an 8th round pick. I can't remember if it was a contract dispute or did he want more TOI, I wanna say contract dispute. Does anyone remember?

IIRC, it was over money. He got some lofty tax free offer from a Russian team and the Red Wings weren't going to come close to matching.

 

[ShelbyZ]

Golubovsky got some minutes, too. He was eventually dealt to Florida to bring Larionov back into the fold.

Golubovsky was a weird case. They'd keep him on the team to start the season, but he'd sit as a healthy scratch while Bowman opted to try to convert Dandenault into a dman. I think it was in 98-99 where some injuries piled and Aaron Ward and Golubovsky formed a somewhat competent 3rd pairing until some guys got healthy.

 

[Konnan511]

I thought at one point Tom McCollum was going to be a beast...but then the WJHC-U20 happened and he lost every ounce of confidence.

 

[Mlotek]

Not really prospects but I have a list for another forum about Red Wings in general. Kinda been sitting on it for couple months too lazy to update.

List of Red Wing Alumni which are still playing (incomplete)

Player	Team	League
Mitch Callahan	Augsburger Panthers	DEL
Jakub Kindl	Kölner Haie	DEL
Kris Newbury	Jacksonville Icemen	ECHL
Pavel Datsyuk	Yekaterinburg Avtomobilist	KHL
Adam Almquist	Admiral Vladivostok	KHL
Alexei Marchenko	CSKA Moscow	KHL
Petr Mrazek	Carolina Hurricanes	NHL
Luke Witkowski	Tampa Bay Lightning	NHL
Gustav Nyquist	Columbus Blue Jackets	NHL
Tomas Nosek	Vegas Golden Knights	NHL
Brendan Smith	New York Rangers	NHL
Xavier Ouellet	Montreal Canadiennes	NHL
Tomas Tatar	Montreal Canadiennes	NHL
Patrick Eaves	Anaheim Ducks	NHL
Nick Jensen	Washington Capitals	NHL
Ben Street	New Jersey/Binghamton Devils	NHL/AHL
Martin Frk	LA Kings/Ontario Reign	NHL/AHL
Tomas Jurco	Edmonton Oilers/Bakersfield Condors	NHL/AHL
Jared Coreau	New York Islanders/Bridgeport Sound Tigers	NHL/AHL
Daniel Renouf	Colorado Avalanche/Eagles	NHL/AHL
Scott Wilson	Buffalo Sabres/Rochester Americans	NHL/AHL
Damien Brunner	EHC Biel	NL
Jan Mursak	SC Bern	NL
Cory Emmerton	Luasanne HC	NL
Joakim Andersson	HV71	SHL
Landon Ferraro
Ryan Sproul
Tom McCollum
Eric Tangradi	Barys Nur-Sultan	KHL
Riley Sheahan
Mattias Ritola	Leksands IF	SHL
Kyle Quincey
Andrej Nestrasil
David Booth
Teemu Pulkkinen	Luasanne HC	NL
Libor Sulak	Severstal Cherepovets	KHL
Thomas Vanek
Jake Chelios	Kunlun Red Star	KHL
Matt Lorito	New York Islanders/Bridgeport Sound Tigers	NHL/AHL
Robbie Russo	Arizona Coyotes/Tuscan Roadrunners	AHL

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

Jonas Gustavsson

Linkopings HC

SHL

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

Konnan thank you for updates on Tangradi/Pulkkinen/Ritola

 

[Konnan511]

Landon Ferraro	Iowa Wild	AHL
Ryan Sproul	Hersey Bears	AHL
Tom McCollum	Hartford Wolf Pack	AHL
Eric Tangradi	Barys Nur-Sultan	KHL
Riley Sheahan	Florida Panthers	NHL
Mattias Ritola	Leksands IF	SHL
Kyle Quincey	HIFK	Liiga
Andrej Nestrasil	Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk	KHL
David Booth	Dinamo Minsk	KHL
Teemu Pulkkinen	Lausanne HC - NLA

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

 

[Mlotek]

Landon Ferraro	Iowa Wild	AHL
Ryan Sproul	Hersey Bears	AHL
Tom McCollum	Hartford Wolf Pack	AHL
Eric Tangradi	Barys Nur-Sultan	KHL
Riley Sheahan	Florida Panthers	NHL
Mattias Ritola	Leksands IF	SHL
Kyle Quincey	HIFK	Liiga
Andrej Nestrasil	Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk	KHL
David Booth	Dinamo Minsk	KHL
Teemu Pulkkinen	Lausanne HC - NLA

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

Thanks.

I'll update Tangradi/Ritola/Pullkkinen on the spreadsheet.

Do we know if the others have contracts for 2019-20?

 

[Mlotek]

Marchenko was so good defensively. He didn't have the best touch on his passes though and had heavy feet.
Dude kept the puck out of the net.

Loved watching Marchenko, one of best defensive positioning I recall in a long time.

He's won the Gagarin Cup with CSKA in 2019 and the Olympic Gold in 2018.

 

[Rzombo4 prez]

These lists are a very sad reminder of how little hay we made with our first round/first picks. I appreciate that late first-round picks don't usually yield that much, but we really don't have much to show for our early drafting, especially if Svech gets added to the list.

 

[Rzombo4 prez]

I believe that he is still without PTO. Don’t think he is a Yzerman player, though. Yzerman likes smart players, and watching interviews after the draft makes it clear that he values IQ highly. Seider seems really smart and well spoken. My impression of Sheahan is that he might not be the someone you’d describe as clever. My guess is that Mr Teletubby is more likely an Oiler than a Wing

I do not want him back, but I don't think he is a low IQ player. He is just super conservative and not overly quick.

 

[Mlotek]

I do recall Jurco, Renouf, and Nastasiuk were on Charlotte's Calder cup winning team.

 

[Gniwder]

These lists are a very sad reminder of how little hay we made with our first round/first picks. I appreciate that late first-round picks don't usually yield that much, but we really don't have much to show for our early drafting, especially if Svech gets added to the list.

Late 1st round picks are a bit of a crapshoot, but the team can't miss on ALL of them like the Wings, that's part of the reason why the team sucks right now and the "rebuild on the fly" didn't work.

Look at the Caps: Green, Alzner, Carlson, Varlamov, and Kuznetsov were all late firsts. They had some busts as well with Joe Finley and Anton Gustafsson but at least they hit on more than half their first rounders including a lot of late picks.

 

[ThePuckStopsHere]

Late 1st round picks are a bit of a crapshoot, but the team can't miss on ALL of them like the Wings, that's part of the reason why the team sucks right now and the "rebuild on the fly" didn't work.

Look at the Caps: Green, Alzner, Carlson, Varlamov, and Kuznetsov were all late firsts. They had some busts as well with Joe Finley and Anton Gustafsson but at least they hit on more than half their first rounders including a lot of late picks.

Very true. But picks like Mantha and Larkin sure have worked out. I know they were not exactly ‘late’ first round picks. If Veleno turns out to be a hit, all is forgiven in my opinion.

I too miss RWC. They had me so hyped on Ryno and Axel Holmstrom.

 

[Gniwder]

Very true. But picks like Mantha and Larkin sure have worked out. I know they were not exactly ‘late’ first round picks. If Veleno turns out to be a hit, all is forgiven in my opinion.

I too miss RWC. They had me so hyped on Ryno and Axel Holmstrom.

The picks haven't been as bad in the Tyler Wright era (signed right after 2013 draft) but 2015 appears to be a complete bust and 2017 looks weak as well. All water under the bridge anyways with Stevie's scouting dept overhaul.

 

[SuperScript29]

I remember when Russia won the world juniors back in 2003 and Grigorenko was one of the best players in the tournament (I remember there were comparisons to Mogilny), he was 19 at the time and the sky was the limit. That accident was such a shame, and this was a time where we had Datsyuk and Zetterberg coming up, and we were excited that Grigorenko was the next gem in line.

 

[Lil Sebastian Cossa]

I remember when Russia won the world juniors back in 2003 and Grigorenko was one of the best players in the tournament (I remember there were comparisons to Mogilny), he was 19 at the time and the sky was the limit. That accident was such a shame, and this was a time where we had Datsyuk and Zetterberg coming up, and we were excited that Grigorenko was the next gem in line.

If Grigorenko never gets in the accident... The Wings probably don't sign Hossa. Or if they do, it's with the clear understanding that it's one year and fly. Grigorenko getting hurt caused the Hossa-Franzen debates.

 

[lomekian]

Realising that due to my RWC etc addiction back in the day, I remember every single player mentioned in this thread in far too much detail (bar Willlie Coetzee who I had completely forgotten about).

I still remember being excited about Calle Steen and Jari Tolsa, both who seemed better prospects than Zetterberg and Datsyuk for a while. Was always disappointed we never got the little ball of hate that was Andreas Jamtin over for a look. Guy was a PIM machine!

Losing a Grigorenko who could skate and Jiri Fischer were massive blows for this organisation though. And rather lower down the scale, Axel Holmstrom's knee injuries massively reducing his effectiveness and of course poor Bryan Rufenach getting electrocuted by that train in Switzerland

 

[Ghost of Ethan Hunt]

Realising that due to my RWC etc addiction back in the day, I remember every single player mentioned in this thread in far too much detail (bar Willlie Coetzee who I had completely forgotten about).

I still remember being excited about Calle Steen and Jari Tolsa, both who seemed better prospects than Zetterberg and Datsyuk for a while. Was always disappointed we never got the little ball of hate that was Andreas Jamtin over for a look. Guy was a PIM machine!

Losing a Grigorenko who could skate and Jiri Fischer were massive blows for this organisation though. And rather lower down the scale, Axel Holmstrom's knee injuries massively reducing his effectiveness and of course poor Bryan Rufenach getting electrocuted by that train in Switzerland

Are we the most cursed franchise in terms of career ending/severely altering injuries & freak accidents to prospects & players?

 

[Henkka]

Are we the most cursed franchise in terms of career ending/severely altering injuries & freak accidents to prospects & players?

I don't know but Slava Kozlov also had a car accident as a young player, which did affect on his development. Fedorov crashed his Ferrari. Grigorenko had that accident. Konstantinov had accident. Fetisov lost his younger brother on car accident he was within at 1985 and he almost had to re-live that when he was on that same limousine with Konstantinov.

It's.... just crazy how it goes.

 

[Ghost of Ethan Hunt]

I don't know but Slava Kozlov also had a car accident as a young player, which did affect on his development. Fedorov crashed his Ferrari. Grigorenko had that accident. Konstantinov had accident. Fetisov lost his brother on car accident at 1985 and was on that same limousine with Konstantinov.

It's.... just crazy how it goes.

Yeah, I remember all those. Modano, Krupp, Hatcher, Weiss etc... though some were on ice incidents. Even SY took a puck to the eye in '04 playoffs vs. Calgary iirc. Another year Paul Coffey's shot injured SY, when he was with PHI. Lidstrom's 2 neighbors "downstairs" in '09.

Krupp's (Iditarod injury) & later on Hatcher's injury really may have cost us another cup. Luckily we weren't in the cap ear at the time.

 

[SuperScript29]

If Grigorenko never gets in the accident... The Wings probably don't sign Hossa. Or if they do, it's with the clear understanding that it's one year and fly. Grigorenko getting hurt caused the Hossa-Franzen debates.

What does Hossa have to do with anything? Grigorenko got in that accident in 2004, Hossa was signed in 2009, and Franzen was drafted to be a bottom-6 guy.

If you're saying that we don't sign Hossa because Grigorenko develops into a top-line player, so what?

 

[Gniwder]

I don't know but Slava Kozlov also had a car accident as a young player, which did affect on his development. Fedorov crashed his Ferrari. Grigorenko had that accident. Konstantinov had accident. Fetisov lost his younger brother on car accident he was within at 1985 and he almost had to re-live that when he was on that same limousine with Konstantinov.

It's.... just crazy how it goes.

Seems like Russians suck at driving and have bad luck with limos.

 

[ShelbyZ]

Krupp's (Iditarod injury)

Krupp didn't get hurt in the Iditarod.

He competed in low speed short distance races that include the elderly and disabled vets... And he wasn't injured dogsledding. He apparently re-aggravated a spine injury suffered during a fight with Jamie Pushor during the infamous brawl game in March 1997. When Doctors told him he needed a spinal fusion that would end his career, the Red Wings looked for a way to void his contract since they allegedly chose not to insure it.... They used competing in dogsledding as a way to void it. Krupp getting injured dogsledding was HSJ Koolaid to make the organization look competent in the whole thing.

Anybody still regurgitating the propaganda over Krupp from the Red Wings front office should read this: MITCH ALBOM ON: KRUPP V. WINGS: 'I WANT MY REPUTATION BACK'DOG-EAT-DOG LEGAL BATTLE RAGES ON OVER $12.3 MILLION » Mitch Albom

And IMO, Krupp's injury didn't cost them another Cup. Holland pissing away the teams depth on D so he could sign Krupp probably had more to do with that, but the injury also opened the door to acquire Chelios.