GDT: Traverse City Tournament: Detroit Red Winglets vs Minnesota Slightly Wooded Suburbs

[Claypool]

Minute to minute I feel Cholowski has been the most impactful player for Detroit. Been making a lot of smart plays on the line.

Greenway is clearly Minnesota's best player. He's a beast.

 

[Cyborg Yzerberg]

Zadina and Cholowski have been absolutely stand out players here. McIsaac looks good too. Holmstrom, Rasmussen, and Veleno look okay.

 

[Leronziia]

McIsaac is nice for a pick in the 30s.

 

[lhsgolf19]

2 assists each for Veleno & Cholowski

 

[TheMule93]

im liking mcisaac

 

[TheMule93]

terrible 3rd period from our boys

 

[lhsgolf19]

Wings lose 4-2... Good game though, special teams were the difference... I thought the Big Guns are really good

 

[Christien]

Rasmussen didn’t impress me much honestly. Really liked Zadina and Cholowski

 

[newfy]

Watched the third. Liked Cholowski, Zadina, Veleno, Rasmussen in that order. Apparently Ras was a lot better the first 2 periods though.

Veleno might not think the game amazingly offensively, but if he did he woulda been a top 5 pick. He was really good defensively and could carry the puck really well. Made his way through the neutral zone and carried the puck in with good speed a lot

 

[KJoe88]

I’m in love with Zadina.

Don’t judge.

 

[Cyborg Yzerberg]

Givani Smith looked decent too, I wanted to give him a shout out as well.

 

[Ezekial]

Givani Smith looked decent too, I wanted to give him a shout out as well.

The kid has the heart and the grit, he isn't slow and he mixes it up on the boards readily - some decent offensive instincts. I like his game, but obviously he's going to need to work on some things if he's going to be a solid bottom 6 grinder at the NHL level.

 

[Whoshattenkirkshoes]

Cholowski was incredible. He’s going to be a stud.

 

[Whoshattenkirkshoes]

I’m in love with Zadina.

Don’t judge.

Some talk his defensive game isn’t ready for the NHL.
Detroit has a ton of wingers and if he can’t crack the top 6 the AHL is where he will go.
He’s going to be an exciting prospect tho!

 

[Cyborg Yzerberg]

Some talk his defensive game isn’t ready for the NHL.
Detroit has a ton of wingers and if he can’t crack the top 6 the AHL is where he will go.
He’s going to be an exciting prospect tho!

God, I hate when people say shit like that. We didn’t draft Zadina for his defense, this is an explosive, offensively prolific winger, do not hamper his strengths, to try and make him something he isn’t. It’s like when people tried to get Ovechkin to play more defense, dumb dumb dumb.

 

[turkleton85]

God, I hate when people say **** like that. We didn’t draft Zadina for his defense, this is an explosive, offensively prolific winger, do not hamper his strengths, to try and make him something he isn’t. It’s like when people tried to get Ovechkin to play more defense, dumb dumb dumb.

i agree, and at the same time, the scouting reports read that he is a pretty good and engaged defender. So its not like he isn't interested in playing defense...it'll improve with experience

 

[SCD]

Hopefully Rasmussen will start at wing and play net front tonight. He is not going to generate the offense playing center.

 

[Pavels Dog]

Only watched first 2 periods but Wings dominated and just couldn't get much going on the PP. That happens when it's the first "real" game after summer for a bunch of kids thrown together.

Zadina will be a hard decision I think. Elements of his game are high-end and he could probably do some real damage on an NHL PP. At times he looks a little lost defensively, he loses quite a few physical battles and could probably do with a little more explosiveness in his skating which will come with more strength. Look forward to seeing if he can adapt quickly when the pace and competition gets higher in pre-season.

Rasmussen doesn't dazzle but looks ready for pro hockey.

Givani Smith is a real solid player. Holmstrom, as he should, looked much more advanced and polished than most kids out there.

Cholowski and Saarijarvi both looked really good on D.

 

[Kingpin794]

Quicks notes from yesterday.

McIssac: He knew the right time to play a physical game and when to be more offensive. Didn't see any glaring mistakes.

Zadina: He could use some time in the AHL. Guy has the tools but you could see him getting muscled off the puck or he'd try to make a move that work in junior that wouldn't against seasoned vets.

Veleno: Quietly effective. There's nothing dazzling about his game but then you look on the sheet and he's got a couple points.

Cholowski: pretty cool, calm and collected out there. Won't be long before he's on the Wings. Seems like the type to eat up minutes in the future.

Rasmussen: From a strictly physical standpoint, he IS ready for the NHL. Third line wing no problem. How effective he's gonna be and how much you'll hamper his offensive development by rushing him up to the Wings is another thing entirely.

Smith: Had 4 or 5 really good chances in the second. Hit a couple posts and drew a penalty just by being a pest. He's a perfect bottom six agitator. But that's a dying breed and his worst enemy is his decision making. He's really just got to be smarter out there. Toledo is gonna love him though.

Other than that, nothing much else stood out.

 

[drwings40]

Good to hear Cholo is doing well. Unfortunately still not had the chance to see him that much, so I am looking forward to the main training camp and preseason action.

 

[lomekian]

Caught 2nd & 3rd.

Cholowski looled the most ready to me...just smooth and smart and everything looked better when he was on ice.

McIsaac was largely impressive as well, though not as controlled or composed.

Ras looks like a player who with high-end line-mates could put up a lot of poinrts, but without them won't tear up any trees. Lots of excellent little things to his game, but not at all flashy.

Zadina is a lot more talented, but for me not NHL ready physically unless v sheltered. Struggled a bit strength wise in 1 on 1 battles, but clearly a great threat wit h the puck on his stick.

Veleno will definitely be an NHL- er barring injury, as his skating and combination play is excellent and he was defensively pretty good. Has the potential to be dynamic and could make limemates better without really standing out.

Givani Smith is likely going to be an NHL-er too. Strength, drive and determination a plenty, and goes to productive areas. Will he be defensively good enough to PK or offensively good enough to not be a 4th line guy? Hard to tell on the basis of last night.

No one else really caught the eye. The likes of Holmstrom and Ehn looked polished but unremarkable. Cole Fraser loves laying the body and did so very well, but positionally was caught out a number of times and is not reliable with the puck. The others all seemed interchangeable

 

[The Zetterberg Era]

God, I hate when people say **** like that. We didn’t draft Zadina for his defense, this is an explosive, offensively prolific winger, do not hamper his strengths, to try and make him something he isn’t. It’s like when people tried to get Ovechkin to play more defense, dumb dumb dumb.

Eh, what year would you say Ovie played his best engaged defense... Was it this year? I think it was.

I know they don't play all the time and Zadina actually shows pretty good awareness as far as I am concerned defensively. But you are expected to play in all three zones in the modern NHL. It hurts the excitement of the product as far as I am concerned but alas this is where the coaching and systems have left us. They drafted Zadina to help win games, yes he should do that scoring, but if his line gives up three goals in the first two periods the dude isn't going to see the ice so it isn't something that can be totally dismissed. I mean even Brett Hull eventually started playing defense, you have to since we got into the 90's in this sport.

 

[Pavels Dog]

If Zadina scores like Ovechkin it won't matter if he can't play defense. We probably shouldn't expect Zadina to be comparable to arguably the greatest goalscorer in NHL history though. ~40-50 points is a realistic goal for him as a full-time NHLer this season. That is not at a level where defense becomes irrelevant. Getting stronger on the puck, improving his defensive positioning and stickwork, these things won't make him forget his offensive talents. It's probably the exact same things that will lead him to becoming a truly high-end NHLer. The questions is how quickly he will learn and what level it's best for him to learn right now. 1 prospect game is not enough to make that call.

 

[StNickFan]

Watching the first game I thought everyone looked a little off but that's to be expected given all the new faces. I'm gonna hold off on expectations till later on in the tourney.

Cholowski looked the best that game, very composed and really crisp on passing. I'm excited to watch him next game.

McIsaac looked good, not as composed as cholowski but you can tell he has some nice tools. Gets shoots through really well.

Zadina shot gives him that ability where you feel at any moment he could score. Needs to get stronger.

G.Smith looked wild, he's fast, he was engaged in the play but doesn't seem to be in control of his body doing so.

 

[lilidk]

i agree, and at the same time, the scouting reports read that he is a pretty good and engaged defender. So its not like he isn't interested in playing defense...it'll improve with experience

He also did PK at juniors. Ovechkin always try to fix his game weaknesses. You can't compare one dimensional Ovechkin to complete player Crosby . Just like Ovechkin , Zadina going to get better at his defensive game