Today's presser (notes in #7)

Jul 30, 2005
17,660
4,588
I mean, what is location, really
To my understanding Jensen and "defense" aren't on a first name basis; also something about constantly trying to stickhandle through half the team.

(Or so the scouting report at Red Wings Central implies at least)
I haven't seen much of him, myself, but I think it's odd how all-over-the-place opinions are. Some people think he's an offensive guy, but others think he's a defensive guy.

Maybe most of us just haven't seen him? /shrug
 

SportsballChic

Registered User
Jun 18, 2013
750
0
Toronto
I haven't seen much of him, myself, but I think it's odd how all-over-the-place opinions are. Some people think he's an offensive guy, but others think he's a defensive guy.

Maybe most of us just haven't seen him? /shrug

Won't lie, not a lot of film on youtube to watch and being stuck in Toronto it isn't always easy to track prospects.

I tend to trust Red Wings' central; which makes me look foolish at times when someone like you or TZE has actually seen the guy play :)

http://www.redwingscentral.com/prospects/nick-jensen/ - updated recently too afaict.
 
Last edited:

The Zetterberg Era

Ball Hockey Sucks
Nov 8, 2011
40,957
11,577
Ft. Myers, FL
To my understanding Jensen and "defense" aren't on a first name basis; also something about constantly trying to stickhandle through half the team.

(Or so the scouting report at Red Wings Central implies at least)

I get to see him because of where he plays, that of course will change with the formation of the Big Ten Conference, in terms of my knowledge going forward on the WCHA/NCHC. But he is very solid defensively. It was the reason he was a First-Team All American and D-man of the year in the WCHA. Where by the way his offensive numbers declined a little and his D picked up. He draws the tough matchups has for two years running. Guy is a world-class skater, in my opinion the best in the entire prospect pipeline.

I am not sure how his offense will translate, but he has a sharp first pass, although he usually just skates the puck out himself. His positioning needs some refinement, but he is superior to Smith, Sproul, and Lashoff in this regard. He is physical and will step up on people, he closes gaps beautifully with his skating.

He reminds me of an alumni from his school in Bret Hedican. He uses his skating in all aspects of his game, don't know how much offense he will provide, but it allows him to recover and crowd on defense. We will see how he gets out of the gate as a pro, but he is an exciting guy and he does play both ways, I think RWC while I love the site, has always done a pretty poor job of analyzing NCAA kids. They seem to be across the board there and don't show a real great understanding of the players that are coming out of that path.
 

zecke26

Registered User
Jan 16, 2003
10,343
53
To my understanding Jensen and "defense" aren't on a first name basis; also something about constantly trying to stickhandle through half the team.

(Or so the scouting report at Red Wings Central implies at least)

he's not a defense first guy, that's for sure. but the jensen i've seen on the ice was well aware of his own zone too. i think he developed his game to a level where he has no major weakness. of course his game needs improvement and development in every aspect of his game, but that's normal. i just think he's physically and mentally ready for the big show and he seems to be a smart player who will learn and adapt if he gets input. so i expect him to rise fast in the depth charts since he's a bit older and experience than most GR rookies.

“Every game I’ve seen him, he was the hardest competitive guy (on the ice) and he’s got the heart of a lion,†said Red Wings director of player development Jiri Fischer. “He’s in people’s faces, he’s taking people’s space away thanks to his skating, and he makes great outlet passes. He’s had a great year and we’re really happy with his development.â€

(quote is from this season)
 

SportsballChic

Registered User
Jun 18, 2013
750
0
Toronto
IWe will see how he gets out of the gate as a pro, but he is an exciting guy and he does play both ways, I think RWC while I love the site, has always done a pretty poor job of analyzing NCAA kids. They seem to be across the board there and don't show a real great understanding of the players that are coming out of that path.

I think they have that issue with Europe too; I've definitely seen scouting reports look completely different from one year to the next if the prospect isn't in the AHL or one of the bigger junior leagues.

Cheers. Sounds like Fischer likes him too:

"Every game I’ve seen him, he was the hardest competitive guy (on the ice) and he’s got the heart of a lion. He’s in people’s faces, he’s taking people’s space away thanks to his skating, and he makes great outlet passes. He’s had a great year and we’re really happy with his development.”

Edit: doh, sorry, when I hit send the quote above didn't exist yet. My bad
 

RedWingsNow*

Guest
I get to see him because of where he plays, that of course will change with the formation of the Big Ten Conference, in terms of my knowledge going forward on the WCHA/NCHC. But he is very solid defensively. It was the reason he was a First-Team All American and D-man of the year in the WCHA. Where by the way his offensive numbers declined a little and his D picked up. He draws the tough matchups has for two years running. Guy is a world-class skater, in my opinion the best in the entire prospect pipeline.

I am not sure how his offense will translate, but he has a sharp first pass, although he usually just skates the puck out himself. His positioning needs some refinement, but he is superior to Smith, Sproul, and Lashoff in this regard. He is physical and will step up on people, he closes gaps beautifully with his skating.

He reminds me of an alumni from his school in Bret Hedican. He uses his skating in all aspects of his game, don't know how much offense he will provide, but it allows him to recover and crowd on defense. We will see how he gets out of the gate as a pro, but he is an exciting guy and he does play both ways, I think RWC while I love the site, has always done a pretty poor job of analyzing NCAA kids. They seem to be across the board there and don't show a real great understanding of the players that are coming out of that path.

Pretty good assessment of Jensen. However, I think Athanasiou is the best skater in pipeline.
In fact, with Helm out, Athanasiou might be the best skater in the entire organization.

He looks so much like Fedorov out there at times.
 

RedWingsNow*

Guest
Because that would be a waste of time because of the inconsistency, or more correctly because of what the inconsistency implies. If Holland can do - or not do - precisely what mindfly wants him to do - or not to do - and he still complains about exactly that, then it's indicative that his complaints about Holland are more like excuses or rationalizations of why he dislikes the guy than proper reasons for it.

If he'll complain about anything Holland does, regardless of what it is, there's no reason to take any complaint he has seriously.

Well, it's a waste of time to reply in a way that's really designed to sort of criticize him and make him look foolish.

If anything he says is a waste, why bother replying at all?
 

Crymson

Fire Holland
May 23, 2010
3,667
0
If Lashoff played for any other team his name would never be spoken, but with Babs and Holland....smh

Lashoff is a young defenseman with size, physical upside, and decent passing ability. He is a very serviceable #6 or #7.

Stop nitpicking.

If he'll complain about anything Holland does, regardless of what it is, there's no reason to take any complaint he has seriously.

He'll always find reasons to complain, because otherwise he'd have no reason not to hope; and hope is poisonous to him, because it brings the possibility of disappointment. It has always been thus, ever since he showed up on LGW in 2008.
 
Last edited:

SportsballChic

Registered User
Jun 18, 2013
750
0
Toronto
Pretty good assessment of Jensen. However, I think Athanasiou is the best skater in pipeline.
In fact, with Helm out, Athanasiou might be the best skater in the entire organization.

He looks so much like Fedorov out there at times.

Something tells me I'm going to eventually regret asking this but here goes:

Do you think he's a Center or a Winger long term/at the NHL level? How do you feel about the trade/ice time demands? As prospects go the guy intrigues me because as you said; it's not just that he's fast, he's smooth and effortless too. No wasted motion. He set a blistering scoring pace in the playoffs, are you expecting that to hold up next season?

I feel he's a player who has a very high potential of playing himself WAY above where he was picked; I even saw couple of Barrie games and he definitely stood out.
 

Frk It

Mo Seider Less Problems
Jul 27, 2010
36,201
14,683
Something tells me I'm going to eventually regret asking this but here goes:

Do you think he's a Center or a Winger long term/at the NHL level? How do you feel about the trade/ice time demands? As prospects go the guy intrigues me because as you said; it's not just that he's fast, he's smooth and effortless too. No wasted motion. He set a blistering scoring pace in the playoffs, are you expecting that to hold up next season?

I feel he's a player who has a very high potential of playing himself WAY above where he was picked; I even saw couple of Barrie games and he definitely stood out.

I think he is our most underrated prospect by a good margin.
 

The Zetterberg Era

Ball Hockey Sucks
Nov 8, 2011
40,957
11,577
Ft. Myers, FL
Something tells me I'm going to eventually regret asking this but here goes:

Do you think he's a Center or a Winger long term/at the NHL level? How do you feel about the trade/ice time demands? As prospects go the guy intrigues me because as you said; it's not just that he's fast, he's smooth and effortless too. No wasted motion. He set a blistering scoring pace in the playoffs, are you expecting that to hold up next season?

I feel he's a player who has a very high potential of playing himself WAY above where he was picked; I even saw couple of Barrie games and he definitely stood out.

I think he is a winger, if only because a lot of time it is the Greek Lightning show out there. He doesn't really do an exceptional job of understanding where his teammates are at times. That isn't something you want at center, although he certainly has time to grow.

I take Jensen over him in terms of skating just barely, but Athanasiou does have blazing wheels. He has a frame that should pack on weight and is now 6'1" so he grew after the draft. He is pretty young for his draft year so he has more room for physical growth and play maturity than most in my opinion.

If he can start to improve his hockey IQ and use his teammates a lot more I will be really excited. Especially with his speed, giving it up sometimes frees up more than I think he understands.
 

SportsballChic

Registered User
Jun 18, 2013
750
0
Toronto
I think he is a winger, if only because a lot of time it is the Greek Lightning show out there. He doesn't really do an exceptional job of understanding where his teammates are at times. That isn't something you want at center, although he certainly has time to grow.

Okay, so who out of the likely available prospects at Forward for the 18th pick is the best Center?

I ask because while writing an article about Red Wings prospects recently I noticed that he was basically the only listed (sometimes) Center in the system on the junior level atm; I know for a fact we love to collect extra centermen as a franchise so it makes me think we might lean towards that position if all other things are equal.

Someone has to Center the Frk/Tvrdon "Legion of Doom/Can We Buy a Vowel?" line 6 years from now right? :)
 

The Zetterberg Era

Ball Hockey Sucks
Nov 8, 2011
40,957
11,577
Ft. Myers, FL
Okay, so who out of the likely available prospects at Forward for the 18th pick is the best Center?

I ask because while writing an article about Red Wings prospects recently I noticed that he was basically the only listed (sometimes) Center in the system on the junior level atm; I know for a fact we love to collect extra centermen as a franchise so it makes me think we might lean towards that position if all other things are equal.

Someone has to Center the Frk/Tvrdon "Legion of Doom/Can We Buy a Vowel?" line 6 years from now right? :)

If Horvat slides like Button just did on TSN than it is probably him. They kind of need a center to fall though, because what is around down where I am kind of expecting is mostly on the wing.

Hard to say without seeing the draft unfold. Some of the other guys I am not as high on, doesn't mean the Wings will be. Certainly the size queens (can see Babcock pounding on the table) will be high on Frederik Gauthier, though he strikes me as a depth player.

Not a big Lazar guy but he should be there in my opinion if you're tracking centers. I think you should always take BPA in the first round. A lesson I hope is still fresh in the Wings minds after the McCollum debacle.
 

SportsballChic

Registered User
Jun 18, 2013
750
0
Toronto
Not a big Lazar guy but he should be there in my opinion if you're tracking centers. I think you should always take BPA in the first round. A lesson I hope is still fresh in the Wings minds after the McCollum debacle.

I really liked Lazar, kid is dirtier than a gas station toilet seat; but in a good way. I vaguely remember you saying he might not get any better tho.
 

The Zetterberg Era

Ball Hockey Sucks
Nov 8, 2011
40,957
11,577
Ft. Myers, FL
I really liked Lazar, kid is dirtier than a gas station toilet seat; but in a good way. I vaguely remember you saying he might not get any better tho.

They should all get better, not a big Lazar guy myself. He would be higher profile and better than a lot of our recent draft picks though. Not surprising given where he would be picked, but like I said it depends on what is on the board. I also think his future is on the wing in terms of the NHL, unless placed in a shutdown bottom six role. Very low bust factor, he will play in the NHL in my opinion.
 

RedWingsNow*

Guest
Lashoff is a young defenseman with size, physical upside, and decent passing ability. He is a very serviceable #6 or #7.

Stop nitpicking.

Obviously, he is not nitpicking.
Lashoff sucked in the #6 role. And he sucks in the #7 role, because if someone gets hurt, he'll have to play.
 

SportsballChic

Registered User
Jun 18, 2013
750
0
Toronto
They should all get better, not a big Lazar guy myself. He would be higher profile and better than a lot of our recent draft picks though. Not surprising given where he would be picked, but like I said it depends on what is on the board. I also think his future is on the wing in terms of the NHL, unless placed in a shutdown bottom six role. Very low bust factor, he will play in the NHL in my opinion.

Well, he had my favorite highlight video :) I think the big Russian kid was definitely more talented tho. What I really liked about Lazar is he seemed to delight in entering enclosed spaces, both with and without the puck. He just seemed to play so well when it was dirty/shove-y. After that Chi series, that's the kinda guy I want us to invest in.

I'm sure I'll grow to like whoever we end up with but after all the videos; the kid I secretly hope we get is Lazar. :) Thankfully, Kenny is unlikely to call me and ask :)
 

RedWingsNow*

Guest
Something tells me I'm going to eventually regret asking this but here goes:

Do you think he's a Center or a Winger long term/at the NHL level? How do you feel about the trade/ice time demands? As prospects go the guy intrigues me because as you said; it's not just that he's fast, he's smooth and effortless too. No wasted motion. He set a blistering scoring pace in the playoffs, are you expecting that to hold up next season?

I feel he's a player who has a very high potential of playing himself WAY above where he was picked; I even saw couple of Barrie games and he definitely stood out.

I would hope he continues his development.
The question with Athanasiou is his instincts. Does he have natural hockey instincts. As you get to higher levels, it's about instant decisions you make without even realizing it.

I'm not sure. I've seen only a few Barrie games and then highlight reels.

But one of the Wings scouts says AA will play in the NHL. The question is, is he a 4th liner? Or star?

With his speed, I wouldn't mind seeing him convert to center. He might be a bit too soft to be a winger anyway.

I think he'll be a 2nd/3rd line player with continued development -- with an outside chance at being an NHL star
 

Ad

Upcoming events

Ad

Ad

-->