Top 5 Personnel Things You Believe the Wings Must Do 14-15

[The Zetterberg Era]

The idea is fairly simple and hopefully it doesn't get too negative. What are some of the things you think the Wings need to do either personnel wise or in terms of player deployment to have as successful a season as possible? Where do you see the importance of them in terms of success hopefully with some reasoning.

1.) Brendan Smith must get PP time.

Brendan Smith is our best D-man at zone entries. He gives our PP movement on the back-end and he appears to play his best interchangeable hockey with our highest end players. He takes open ice given and is usually quite decisive from our own blueline out. It's time to see him in this role either on the first or second unit and I think it is imperative that we know this before we talk contract next summer and with the upcoming players from Grand Rapids.

2.) Lashoff and Cleary waiver wire

Dan Cleary has bled for this team and he loves this city. He has spent all off-season working with what Babs will lead you to believe is a miracle worker. However, like everyone else he needs to make this claim quickly. If it is about getting his bonus money after 10 or so games fine. But if the same version of Cleary from last year shows up he must be waived by the start of November and start his post-playing career within the organization if he is not claimed which he should not be if the same version shows up.

Lashoff is a character guy, a guy that puts in the work, the kind of guy you would love to have captain your AHL team. Which is the issue he is an AHL talent and that is where he needs to be whether or not Kindl is moved. If he is claimed by another team good for him, but he doesn't even cost anything against the cap if he clears waivers it needs to be done.

3.) Jurco or Alfie need to be in the Top 9.

Really simple for offensive depth either Alfie is re-signed maybe buying Jurco a start of dominance in the AHL to come up with sky high confidence like Nyquist at some point or if Alfie isn't re-signed he needs to be up and in the lineup from day one to balance the lines.

4.) Riley Sheahan needs to play the PK.

He is a very stout PK player, maybe the best we have in terms of this in the organization in terms of speed, sound positional awareness and board battles. As the likely third line center, he can have the additional minutes of PK and maybe the 2nd PP unit. However, I think him playing on the PK is more important to our team in terms of managing those minutes if it becomes a concern. I would like him and Glendening to form a combination that we send first over the boards when the opposition starts their PP.

5.) Datsyuk and Zetterberg staying together.

I understand the idea of them apart, but as they age I would like to see them play together and a slight reduction in minutes at least during the regular season. This has a lot to do with everyone else in our deeper forward unit pulling their weight. But I do think in the long-run this will help us later in the year, plus they will bank a significant amount of points being a pairing if the other lines can hold up.

If they are ripped apart our first line should be Nyquist - Zetterberg - Franzen.

A list of five or three seems about right I went longer for those that want something shorter that is okay. What is your list?

Click to read more...

 

[PullHard]

I only have a couple

Minimize Cleary's and Quincey's minutes: enough said

Get Franzen and Weiss going: These are two wild card type guys for us at this point. We more or less know what we have everywhere else. Give Franzen Zetterberg and Nyquist as linemates, that line was incredible. And let Weiss get going on a lesser line and then let him wing Datsyuk to get some offensive confidence back when he starts contributing. Once these two Fs are "on" the forward group becomes psycho deep.

 

[Frk It]

First of all, great thread idea.

I'm going to give 3, but truthfully, #1 really addresses everything.

1.) Play the best players.

Not in November. Not in February. Do it in October. The last two seasons we have barely made the playoffs. We can't afford to take October and November lightly, because we'll get the right line-up down *eventually*. Play the best line-up right from day 1, and set the precedent that jobs will be given to those who earn them.

So you gave Quincey a 4.25 million dollar contract... If 1 or 2 of the kid's on an ELC outplay him, play the better player. So you gave Cleary a low-hanging bonus available at 10 games... WHEN the kids outplay him in camp, let them stay on the team.

Even if they CAN be sent down. Play the best players. We have squeaked into the playoffs 2 years in a row, we can't afford to just hand out roster spots. If Jurco, or Mantha, or Sproul, or Backman or whoever are looking like they belong, and are giving you more than players who are supposed to be better, than go with the better player. Keep the kids up, and waive someone at the bottom of the totem pole and make room. Waiving Andersson, or Lashoff, or Cleary, or whoever isn't the end of the world. I understand a lot of these things could be easier if we had constructed the roster better to begin with, but we are where we are, and it's not like we can't move some of these players who are just never going to be more than depth players.

Save us the politics and the BS. So Dan Cleary is a great human being and you like him off the ice. Cool. This is a professional sports franchise. This should be an ultra-competitive environment where the strong survive, and the weak are cast off. Not a summer camp where you spend time with your friends and tell camp-fire stories. We need accountability, and we need to not be afraid to hurt people’s feelings for the sake of making the team what it should be.

2.) Keep the top 6 players in the top 6, and the bottom 6 players in the bottom 6

Pretty self-explanatory. Top 6 is reserved for skill players. Bottom 6 is for energy and checking line players.

Don't get it twisted. If injuries hit, sure put Abdelkader up there until Franzen or whoever dropped comes back. But we have seen these players enough to know who is capable of what for the most part. If you like the elements of what Abdelkader or Helm does, go and get someone who has that same quaility but with high-end skill to go with it. If you like Helm’s speed and two way play, and you think Pavel is missing that, go out and target a guy like that who has more offensive skill for our top 6. Don't start camp playing a guy who up until this point in his career has been a bottom 6 grinder and put him on a scoring line and hope for the best. That's silly.

3.) Brendan Smith on the Power Play

This doesn’t even require explanation at this point. TZE did a nice job touching on the main points. He is very good at gaining the zone, he pretty much does it at will. Like Kronwall, his offensive instincst in the offensive zone are very good. He is an offensive defenseman, put him on the power play, let him help you cultivate offense.

 

[Flowah]

The idea is fairly simple and hopefully it doesn't get too negative. What are some of the things you think the Wings need to do either personnel wise or in terms of player deployment to have as successful a season as possible? Where do you see the importance of them in terms of success hopefully with some reasoning.

1.) Brendan Smith must get PP time.

Brendan Smith is our best D-man at zone entries. He gives our PP movement on the back-end and he appears to play his best interchangeable hockey with our highest end players. He takes open ice given and is usually quite decisive from our own blueline out. It's time to see him in this role either on the first or second unit and I think it is imperative that we know this before we talk contract next summer and with the upcoming players from Grand Rapids.

2.) Lashoff and Cleary waiver wire

Dan Cleary has bled for this team and he loves this city. He has spent all off-season working with what Babs will lead you to believe is a miracle worker. However, like everyone else he needs to make this claim quickly. If it is about getting his bonus money after 10 or so games fine. But if the same version of Cleary from last year shows up he must be waived by the start of November and start his post-playing career within the organization if he is not claimed which he should not be if the same version shows up.

Lashoff is a character guy, a guy that puts in the work, the kind of guy you would love to have captain your AHL team. Which is the issue he is an AHL talent and that is where he needs to be whether or not Kindl is moved. If he is claimed by another team good for him, but he doesn't even cost anything against the cap if he clears waivers it needs to be done.

3.) Jurco or Alfie need to be in the Top 9.

Really simple for offensive depth either Alfie is re-signed maybe buying Jurco a start of dominance in the AHL to come up with sky high confidence like Nyquist at some point or if Alfie isn't re-signed he needs to be up and in the lineup from day one to balance the lines.

4.) Riley Sheahan needs to play the PK.

He is a very stout PK player, maybe the best we have in terms of this in the organization in terms of speed, sound positional awareness and board battles. As the likely third line center, he can have the additional minutes of PK and maybe the 2nd PP unit. However, I think him playing on the PK is more important to our team in terms of managing those minutes if it becomes a concern. I would like him and Glendening to form a combination that we send first over the boards when the opposition starts their PP.

5.) Datsyuk and Zetterberg staying together.

I understand the idea of them apart, but as they age I would like to see them play together and a slight reduction in minutes at least during the regular season. This has a lot to do with everyone else in our deeper forward unit pulling their weight. But I do think in the long-run this will help us later in the year, plus they will bank a significant amount of points being a pairing if the other lines can hold up.

If they are ripped apart our first line should be Nyquist - Zetterberg - Franzen.

A list of five or three seems about right I went longer for those that want something shorter that is okay. What is your list?

I love your list. Some people want to split up D/Z. I do not. They work great together and we did sign a $5M center to be a 2C, a job he's proven he can do even if he struggled from injuries last year.

Only thing I would add is, we have a lot of promising forwards. I have no idea what other teams are asking from the Wings, but I want to see a trade to make a legitimate upgrade on the backend. Hopefully, other teams look at how well Jurco, Sheahan, Tatar, Nyquist did just stepping in and say "Yes, the Wings know what they are doing picking and developing these guys." Which they freaking do. I hope that leads to them not asking for the damn world when it comes to trades. Like that rumor we saw about Jurco/Nyquist/Smith for Bouwmeester or something crazy like that. Dear god, what a terrible idea.

We have squeaked into the playoffs 2 years in a row, we can't afford to just hand out roster spots, and take October and November lightly.

Seriously. One or two points could be us making or missing the playoffs, it pretty much has been for 2 years. Are we really going to chance that by icing a less than optimal roster just because we gave Quincey a lot of money and we think Cleary is a great human being? Please god no.

 

[joe89]

Not hesitating to play kids over Kindl, Lashoff, Cleary, Glendening, Miller, Andersson and make "tough" decisions to let it happen has to be #1. It should be a given but it isn't.

Franzen with Nyquist.

Abdelkader on the 4th line.

Sixth D spot given to the best kid in camp no matter what.

Don't overplay Howard even if healthy. 55 games.

 

[Vladdy84]

Waive Cleary
Gator on the 4th line
Leave Cleary in Traverse City
Smith must get a lot of PP time
Dats and Z stay relatively healthy.

 

[The Zetterberg Era]

First of all, great thread idea.

I'm going to give 3, but truthfully, #1 really addresses everything.

1.) Play the best players.

Not in November. Not in February. Do it in October. The last two seasons we have barely made the playoffs. We can't afford to take October and November lightly, because we'll get the right line-up down *eventually*. Play the best line-up right from day 1, and set the precedent that jobs will be given to those who earn them.

So you gave Quincey a 4.25 million dollar contract... If 1 or 2 of the kid's on an ELC outplay him, play the better player. So you gave Cleary a low-hanging bonus available at 10 games... WHEN the kids outplay him in camp, let them stay on the team.

Even if they CAN be sent down. Play the best players. We have squeaked into the playoffs 2 years in a row, we can't afford to just hand out roster spots. If Jurco, or Mantha, or Sproul, or Backman or whoever are looking like they belong, and are giving you more than players who are supposed to be better, than go with the better player. Keep the kids up, and waive someone at the bottom of the totem pole and make room. Waiving Andersson, or Lashoff, or Cleary, or whoever isn't the end of the world. I understand a lot of these things could be easier if we had constructed the roster better to begin with, but we are where we are, and it's not like we can't move some of these players who are just never going to be more than depth players.

Save us the politics and the BS. So Dan Cleary is a great human being and you like him off the ice. Cool. This is a professional sports franchise. This should be an ultra-competitive environment where the strong survive, and the weak are cast off. Not a summer camp where you spend time with your friends and tell camp-fire stories. We need accountability, and we need to not be afraid to hurt people’s feelings for the sake of making the team what it should be.

I agree with this but I see a certain reality of the make whole on Cleary. I just cannot stomach that guy beyond the bonus if he comes back as the same player.

I honestly like the idea of Andersson as the extra forward. I don't think he can beat a ton of guys out, but he is the kind of guy that will work hard when on the sidelines waiting for injuries and will in all likelihood keep his mouth shut and keep working.

I know the reality is the best player should get the spot. There are guys that will be helped developing further. I don't think Jurco is harmed going down to be clear though I want him on my opening night roster. If Alfie signs though this picture becomes muddier and I don't think it would be the worst thing to have him on Nyquist's pattern last year, coming up red hot with a ton to prove but hopefully in November with tons of season left.

Still the play the best players should be the mantra once you break recreational hockey. It needs to happen more, they keep saying the back-end is open, that is great even the forwards should be open with the quality we have. Enjoy the fruits of your labor, these kids are very good, I grow more confident in them by the day and we should be. They are not being schooled by Curt Fraser anymore, they are getting world class coaching and development in my opinion and it shows. If anything trust what Blashill is telling you, trust that tape and trust your eyes over the last couple years.

 

[Flowah]

Jurco makes the team better. He's at least among the 12 best forwards on the team. And he plays a size/style which makes him not just a top6 guy, but someone who can play anywhere he's put. He wouldn't be hurt by spending some extra time in GR, but I don't think he'd gain much from it and I definitely think the team is worse off without him. Maybe not a ton, but this is a game and season of inches now. Like Frk It said, we've been squeaking in for a couple years. We need every edge we can get to get all the points we can get.

 

[The Zetterberg Era]

Jurco makes the team better. He's at least among the 12 best forwards on the team. And he plays a size/style which makes him not just a top6 guy, but someone who can play anywhere he's put. He wouldn't be hurt by spending some extra time in GR, but I don't think he'd gain much from it and I definitely think the team is worse off without him. Maybe not a ton, but this is a game and season of inches now. Like Frk It said, we've been squeaking in for a couple years. We need every edge we can get to get all the points we can get.

I actually believe we open up the first round in the JLA this year. Understand those that disagree, but I truly believe that.

Like I said Jurco is in my starting lineup, but I do think him crushing the AHL for the opening month isn't going to harm him if it comes to that. But if sent down he better do that. I like the game he brings a lot though, no doubt in my opinion we are a better team with him on it.

 

[Number1RedWingsFan52]

Waive Cleary
Gator on the 4th line
Leave Cleary in Traverse City
Smith must get a lot of PP time
Dats and Z stay relatively healthy.

This all the way, I still can't believe that Holland resigned Cleary. Bummer.

 

[Flowah]

I actually believe we open up the first round in the JLA this year. Understand those that disagree, but I truly believe that.

I'm 50/50 on that. Health has not been the best for us the past few years and despite the rumblings about "feel the best since 2008," those players are only getting older. Weiss has his own injury troubles as well. Plus it's not like our backend upgraded and what if Cleary plays another 50+ games? We may not even get Alfie back, our leading scorer last season.

It could easily go either way depending on health and roster decisions. I wouldn't be surprised with top3 and I wouldn't be surprised with #7/8.

 

[The Zetterberg Era]

I'm 50/50 on that. Health has not been the best for us the past few years and despite the rumblings about "feel the best since 2008," those players are only getting older. Weiss has his own injury troubles as well. Plus it's not like our backend upgraded and what if Cleary plays another 50+ games? We may not even get Alfie back, our leading scorer last season.

It could easily go either way depending on health and roster decisions. I wouldn't be surprised with top3 and I wouldn't be surprised with #7/8.

Like I said I understand that, I believe Howard will bounce back and I think our forward depth will provide cover while the back-end gets worked out. I also expect another step out of DeKeyser and Smith that will allow Quincey to be deployed appropriately.

Also of note I am not real bullish on either Tampa or Montreal. I think we can beat them out for that prize. I don't believe one iota in Bishop, great year, but I don't think he will duplicate it, I don't think Filppula has his first back to back great years and they are going to take some time to gel as well on the back-end but don't have the two way forwards for cover.

 

[ricky0034]

if Datsyuk and Zetterberg are together and Alfredsson is back he needs to be with them
Smith needs to be on the powerplay
whatever kid on D is best needs to play instead of Kindl/Lashoff
enough of this trying to force grinders into the top 6(or even the top 9 for that matter) nonsense,there's enough depth to actually put players where they belong in the lineup,use it
Cleary needs to play every game(figured i'd give reverse psychology a shot)

 

[odin1981]

Waive Cleary
Gator on the 4th line
Leave Cleary in Traverse City
Smith must get a lot of PP time
Dats and Z stay relatively healthy.

Waiving cleary won't help its a 35+ contract. Though I hate both his and KFQ contracts. KFQ is gonna be the worse of the two. Due to length. No one not even a cap minimum team would take that contract off our hands.

In respect to the op:

Play players where they ****ing belong babcock. No more hindrances to our aging superstars we have enough good young forwards so the top 9 shouldn't have eye cramping outliers playing in it.

If a youngster can beat out Kindl in camp waive him. I'd rather not waiving lashoff due to the fact that he is a scratch if team is healthy guy also he can jumped by a prospect in case of injury to a top 6 d. But if either rh rookies shows they are ready in camp (ie beating kindl out) send kindl packing to gr or some other team for a 5-7th round pick.

Don't give cleary his 10 game bonus if his ability isn't worth giving him 10 games over. I feel I don't need to further explain. Keep him as a 13th or 14th forward where he belongs.

 

[Pavels Dog]

#1 : Replace Kindl - this must happen during the season in some way. If he bounces back and plays well enough to get any value, trade him. Because he's not going to be part of our long-term plans. If he is the same player he was last year in training camp, dump him and bring up a kid from Day 1. Kindl's leash should be extremely short this year.

#2 : Don't give players 50 games to get their s*** together. This is mainly related to players like Cleary, Andersson, Lashoff and the aforementioned Kindl. These guys need to play their hearts out or they need to be cut loose. Start clearing room for the kids in GR right out of training camp.

#3 : If injuries lead to lines that work, strive to keep those lines together. Looking at Tatar-Sheahan-Jurco and Franzen-Legwand-Nyquist from last year for example, two lines that were broken up when Datsyuk got healthy. If we find chemistry, keep it.

#4 : Give up on the "forward playing the point on the PP" experiment, or at least stop forcing it. We don't have a Malkin or Ovechkin. Mantha could maybe do it, but I wouldn't want a rookie there ideally. Kronwall, Smith and Dekeyser should play PP. The 4th guy could be Sproul/Backman, or in the worst case I'd consider having Ericsson on the 2nd unit.

#5 : Play Smith on the 1st pairing with Kronwall. Smith needs to be given the opportunity this year to grow into a real player. Either he sinks or he swims, but at least we'll know what he is. Give him PP minutes, give him icetime in important situations. Give him the greenlight. If it fails, well, to me that means we should trade him and replace him with Sproul.

 

[Zetterberg4Captain]

1. Improve the defence from OUTSIDE the organization via trade. Whether its boychuk or green or whomever our defence is 2nd rate and will not hold up in the postseason.

2. Smith must play on the #1pp unit alongside kronwall(if we dont bring in someone better)

3. waive lashoff and promote one rookie dman from the ahl.

4. kindl must be moved out one way or another

5. give cleary his ten games, then he "gets hurt" and spends the rest of year helping out in grand rapids/scouting/whatever.

6. like has been already said, stack the top three lines with offensive players and use the fourth line as an energy/forechecking/agitating line with abdelkader, miller and glendening

 

[Frk It]

5. give cleary his ten games.

Why?

 

[Vladdy84]

Why?

This. Give him no games.

 

[TatarTangle]

These lists are great, but I refuse to get my hopes up in that Holland and Babcock will / would ever make logical decisions.

 

[Unfriendly Ghost]

These lists are great, but I refuse to get my hopes up in that Holland and Babcock will / would ever make logical decisions.

Actually, I've been thinking about that. The reaction seems to be: Babcock/Holland aren't using the best players, and that means they're crazy/illogical/just plain wrong.

I think what Holland means to do is develop his players mentally. So when he puts a lot of hurdles in the way of somebody like Nyquist or Jurco (and he really hasn't put many hurdles in the way of Jurco), people look at that and think that Holland actually believes that Nyquist isn't better than somebody else on the roster. But what he's really doing is trying to make it harder for those guys for development reasons.

If you read some of his interviews from this summer, it sounds like his primary worry with prospects is that they won't be mentally ready. He talks about kids who come up, look good for a few games, fizzle out, go back down to the AHL, and lose their confidence and really struggle. So if you view avoiding that situation as Holland's #1 goal, then I think his decisions make a little bit more sense—they're at least not as outrightly illogical as they might seem otherwise.

We say: Jurco is ready! and Holland says: yeah, but is Jurco ready forever? (I actually think he is, but it isn't a given!) and that's sort of a distinction we don't seem too worried about as fans. Hell, I mean, look at Ryan Sproul, who I think might be the poster boy for this. A lot of us want him up, but he is absolutely not ready in terms of his defensive game. So he could come up and score some goals, but look like **** defensively, and then he's going back down, and then he's losing confidence, and so on.

I'm not saying I agree with Holland's decisions very often, but it's kind of a ridiculous trope that he's being irrational about prospects. I'd actually say that he's being too rational for our taste. We want the exciting stuff now, and we're willing to take a risk. Holland wants to wait, minimize the risk, and have it later.

 

[Frk It]

Actually, I've been thinking about that. The reaction seems to be: Babcock/Holland aren't using the best players, and that means they're crazy/illogical/just plain wrong.

I think what Holland means to do is develop his players mentally. So when he puts a lot of hurdles in the way of somebody like Nyquist or Jurco (and he really hasn't put many hurdles in the way of Jurco), people look at that and think that Holland actually believes that Nyquist isn't better than somebody else on the roster. But what he's really doing is trying to make it harder for those guys for development reasons.

If you read some of his interviews from this summer, it sounds like his primary worry with prospects is that they won't be mentally ready. He talks about kids who come up, look good for a few games, fizzle out, go back down to the AHL, and lose their confidence and really struggle. So if you view avoiding that situation as Holland's #1 goal, then I think his decisions make a little bit more sense—they're at least not as outrightly illogical as they might seem otherwise.

We say: Jurco is ready! and Holland says: yeah, but is Jurco ready forever? (I actually think he is, but it isn't a given!) and that's sort of a distinction we don't seem too worried about as fans. Hell, I mean, look at Ryan Sproul, who I think might be the poster boy for this. A lot of us want him up, but he is absolutely not ready in terms of his defensive game. So he could come up and score some goals, but look like **** defensively, and then he's going back down, and then he's losing confidence, and so on.

I'm not saying I agree with Holland's decisions very often, but it's kind of a ridiculous trope that he's being irrational about prospects. I'd actually say that he's being too rational for our taste. We want the exciting stuff now, and we're willing to take a risk. Holland wants to wait, minimize the risk, and have it later.

It's such a case-by-case thing though. And for the most part, he just is far, FAR too conservative with his approach.

The idea is good, but it is just taken to a ridiculous level. I mean Nyquist having to start the year in Grand Rapids at TWENTY FOUR YEARS old. That is just absurd. Putting Sproul there who is 21 and still has major holes in his game, yeah that is understandable. Again, it varies so much based on who we are talking about.

Our defense sucks so of course we want to see some of the defensive kids get a shot, because what we have isn't all that exciting or reliable anyways.

Jurco could improve some things in Grand Rapids still, but he doesn't have major flaws or concerns like a guy like Sproul. He could absolutely contribute to the big club, and it is probably to the benefit of the Red Wings roster to do so. He is one of the top 9 forwards in the organization, so it would be a bit rough to send him down. And yes the focal point of being in Grand Rapids and playing with Blashill is to iron out aspects of your game, but it's not like you don't do developing in Detroit as well.

It is a good thing that Holland has the players best interest at heart, but he probably is far too protective, since he himself was a career minor leaguer that never got good enough to play in the bigs. Probably gives him a certain perspective, for better or worse.

Kind of like Babcock gravitating towards players who work their butt off with little skill, because that's the kind of player he was.

 

[Unfriendly Ghost]

It is a good thing that Holland has the players best interest at heart, but he probably is far too protective, since he himself was a career minor leaguer that never got good enough to play in the bigs. Probably gives him a certain perspective, for better or worse.

Kind of like Babcock gravitating towards players who work their butt off with little skill, because that's the kind of player he was.

This is a good point. He does make a big deal about how he was a minor leaguer, so that's how he saw these prospects come back into the league and be just crushed. I'm sure that, like everybody else, he's got a healthy amount of confirmation bias going into it.

I actually think Holland is a bit of a size queen. If you aren't a big kid, you need to jump through every single hoop he's got. If you're a Jurco or a Mantha, you can jump ahead a little. It's gotten to the point where Babcock seems to worry a lot less about size than Holland does. Kind of a reversal, really.

Anyway:

1. Smith to the PP. This is one of the things I must be missing somehow, because I don't understand why Babcock won't put Smith out there. Especially on a team with so few offensive defensemen.

2. D and Z need to have their minutes sheltered a little. I wouldn't mind seeing them play the full PP.

3. Roll the lines. Forward depth is a serious strength right now for this team. Match the checking line I suppose, but get those kids out there. Their speed will compliment Datsyuk and Zetterberg's lack thereof and seriously test opposing depth pairings.

4. Move Kindl if possible. It's not crucial to the season, but I don't think he's contributing anymore. I think that one of the Fab Five defense prospects can be ready by mid-season.

5. Stack the checking line. Bab's inclination will be to spread out the defensive guys, but I disagree. Miller-Abby-Glendening. Add Helm if the Datsyuk thing doesn't work out. He loves to match lines with those guys, so we might as well have the best checking line possible.

 

[Flowah]

Hell, I mean, look at Ryan Sproul, who I think might be the poster boy for this. A lot of us want him up, but he is absolutely not ready in terms of his defensive game. So he could come up and score some goals, but look like **** defensively, and then he's going back down, and then he's losing confidence, and so on.

I think "a lot of us" is an overstatement. I feel like most of us recognize he has severe flaws in his game and that players like Ouellet, Marchenko, perhaps even Backman, are more polished and ready than Sproul. People are more excited about Sproul, sure, but I haven't seen anyone say they think he's more ready than the other kids.

I also don't think giving someone a few games up and sending him back down is a confidence killer if you do it right. Explain to them what the call up is. "We're bringing you up so you know where you are and what you need to work on." Isn't that the whole idea behind the "cup of coffee" call up? Give them a taste. Pay them some money. Let them see how far they've come and how much further they need to go.

 

[The Zetterberg Era]

I think Sproul needs to go back for the long-term picture. He is just too inconsistent in his own zone for me. I have to see a couple months of night in and night out sound defensive play in the AHL.

Part of that is really how solid all of Ouellet, Marchenko, Backman and Jensen are defensively. I just see no reason to rush him. Marchenko ran the #1 PP unit with Datsyuk at CSKA during the lockout, we undersell his right handed offensive instincts at times.

I think Sproul could be ready maybe this season depending on strides, but we should make sure with AHL time. He for me is a vastly different case than Jurco, he needs time.

 

[The Zetterberg Era]

I think "a lot of us" is an overstatement. I feel like most of us recognize he has severe flaws in his game and that players like Ouellet, Marchenko, perhaps even Backman, are more polished and ready than Sproul. People are more excited about Sproul, sure, but I haven't seen anyone say they think he's more ready than the other kids.

I also don't think giving someone a few games up and sending him back down is a confidence killer if you do it right. Explain to them what the call up is. "We're bringing you up so you know where you are and what you need to work on." Isn't that the whole idea behind the "cup of coffee" call up? Give them a taste. Pay them some money. Let them see how far they've come and how much further they need to go.

They have been doing the second paragraph quite a bit lately. In fact they did it for Sproul just last year already. They also have called up the guys for practices and things like that. I don't think the cup of coffee call up is done poorly in terms of this organization. Waiving guys outright at the start of the year for somebody isn't a cup of coffee it is a your playing here. You have to say Wings callups have some of the least pressure on them in the entire league and we don't experience the drop off in performance often associated with younger guys league wide, I like to think it is because the Wings are doing someething right.