RED WINGS STOMP
Registered User
- Nov 28, 2022
- 1,059
- 1,395
Prospect Info: Grand Rapids Griffins Discussion
- Thread starter SoupNazi
- Start date
- Status
Holden Caufield
Registered User
Hurt again you say ?
Sounds like he is destined to be a Red Wing for sure…
OgeeOgelthorpe
Riccis per 60 record holder
- Feb 29, 2020
- 18,037
- 19,553
Is he getting more than 16 minutes of ice now? And has he started playing the Farjestad AlJo way again?
jfrank21
Registered User
- Oct 1, 2009
- 1,161
- 1,446
Both of his points were on empty netters. Its not like he was driving offensive chances. Hes becoming a little bit more of a steady presence out there, but Edvinsson is clearly a step ahead of him at this stage. I feel like ALJO still needs a lot more strength since hes not that big out there.
OgeeOgelthorpe
Riccis per 60 record holder
- Feb 29, 2020
- 18,037
- 19,553
Size/strength was always the concern with AlJo. If he could come in at 185-190 without losing speed next camp he’d have a shot at the club.
Barry Amsterdam
Fillin Nets Since 18
- Apr 2, 2013
- 5,565
- 5,051
Filppula
JV
- Oct 18, 2006
- 14,553
- 2,133
Saw the highlights.
Vrana’s first = absolute dirty snipe.
Vrana’s second = fantastic passing by Soderblom and then Ed but not sure if Ed’s was an attempted shot which was fortunate as it deflected off a skate or stick.
Zadina’s = great drive to the net, and a great pass by Luff
Soderblom shootout = beautiful goal
Vrana’s first = absolute dirty snipe.
Vrana’s second = fantastic passing by Soderblom and then Ed but not sure if Ed’s was an attempted shot which was fortunate as it deflected off a skate or stick.
Zadina’s = great drive to the net, and a great pass by Luff
Soderblom shootout = beautiful goal
Preposterone
Registered User
- Dec 6, 2013
- 803
- 955
Henkka
Registered User
Interesting PP unit, having 4 wingers + Kampfer. I wonder is Alex Chiasson taking the faceoff, because I can believe it would Vrana, Zadina or Söderblom.
(screen) Söderblom
Chiasson - Vrana - Zadina
(point) Kampfer
Barry Amsterdam
Fillin Nets Since 18
- Apr 2, 2013
- 5,565
- 5,051
norrisnick
The best...
- Apr 14, 2005
- 30,632
- 15,805
And as much as people like to shit on Zadina, there is next to zero chance he clears.
Czerwone Skrzydla
Registered User
- Mar 17, 2016
- 20
- 23
A bit late but I managed to get out the game on Friday and, with it being a slow hockey weekend (does the all-star game even count?), I thought people might like a recap. Plus it lets me cosplay as a scout and who doesn't love that.
First a little about Texas, on paper they don't look like they should be that good a team, the only players that really seem to have NHL potential are Mavrik Bourque, Matej Blumel, and Thomas Harley, but the rest of the roster is solid AHLers and the team seems well coached with everyone buying in. They're playing good hockey right now, first in the division, have a good forecheck, and active defensemen who contribute a bunch of points. That all makes this a pretty nice win for a GR team that hasn't been great this season.
(I realized after writing out this next bit that the highlights basically cover it all so if you just want a link here are the highlights, but I already wrote it out so it stays!)
GR started out a bit slow. It wasn't too bad, but the opening goal was a defenseman who skated in from the blue line down to the dots unchallenged with a clear lane to goal and beat Ned's glove with a slapshot. Someone must have lost coverage and instead of someone else shifting to challenge the Stars player they all just followed their men and actually opened the shooting lane. That was followed by a pointless hook at center ice from Hirose and then a trip from Hirose about 30 seconds after he stepped out of the box. The plus side is that the GR PK looked good. In particular the forwards did a good job of pressuring the puck both in defensive zone and the neutral zone. I thought Pearson had a couple really good shifts and then Czarnik and Hanas did a great job to get a shorty with good O-zone pressure (and a bad Khudobin turnover). GR had a bit of momentum after that and got a second goal a few minutes later from a rebound off a shot from the top high slot (Elmer did a good job screening the shot and was very quick to the rebound to get the goal). That made it 2-1 after 1. Texas tied it up in the second off a bad D-zone turnover and a nice high blocker shot. The Stars were generating pressure, but Hirose did a good job forcing a Stars turnover and then finished off a nice goal by that forward group. GR started the 3rd up 3-2 with a powerplay. Hirose had a nice quick shot off rebound to open the period and GR didn't look back, chipping in 2 move empty netters to end the game.
So the more fun part, thoughts on players.
Edvinsson: Didn't make a whole lot of flashy plays or passes (though there was one nice move when Texas was being too casual in the neutral zone). What did stand out was that he seemed to be on the ice a ton (I wouldn't be surprised if he was 25+ minutes) and that the team seemed much more stable when he was out there. He was also the player who jumped in with some aggression when Hanas was hurt because of a boarding penalty. This GR team doesn't seem to have a ton of grit and Texas was definitely taking liberties in the 2nd, so seeing someone push back was nice.
Vrana and Zadina: They were pretty much invisible. I think this was Zadina's first game back and they got on the scoresheet a few times the next night, but neither had a great (or really even good) game Friday. Only thing that did standout was that Vrana is still a next level shooter. He had one play where he got a little separation and just ripped a wrist-shot, quick release, lots of pace, and decent placement (I think high glove, but my memory's a bit fuzzy here), just better than 99% of the wrist-shots you'll see at the AHL level.
Soderblom: Did a nice job on the goal but not great otherwise. He's obviously noticeable just for his size and he's clearly got good hands, but seemed to struggle to generate possession. I can remember one play along the boards where the Stars player took a wide path to the puck to avoid him and Elmer did a good job to position himself and win the puck, but otherwise there wasn't much forecheck pressure and there was a lot of poking and hoping to pickup a loose puck. I think I'd like him to engage more physically.
Nedeljkovic: Had a pretty good game. Struggled a bit with puck control, but positioning seemed pretty solid. One thing that stood out was that he seems to give up a ton of space high glove and he seems to trust his glove a bunch. He did get beat glove side once , but also made a couple nice glove saves. The Stars were definitely shooting glove, though I'm not sure if that was the plan or if they just saw the space and went for it.
Johansson: Didn't have a great game. Nothing too bad but only really noticed him a couple times when he was stuck in the D-zone, so not great.
Hirose: Deserves a mention, though we've all seen him a bunch. He seems like a bored 'tweener to me. He's clearly a little too good for the AHL but not quite good enough to be a skill guy at the NHL level. I think this leads to things like taking a couple sloppy penalties (I think he got stapled to the bench for a good bit after that), but then from the 2nd on he had a solid game, and a few really good shifts.
Otherwise not much notable, except that Newpower, who was paired with Edvinsson and also had a solid game, hates having to wear a cage. I'm not sure what happened that he has to wear one, but he was constantly annoyed with it.
First a little about Texas, on paper they don't look like they should be that good a team, the only players that really seem to have NHL potential are Mavrik Bourque, Matej Blumel, and Thomas Harley, but the rest of the roster is solid AHLers and the team seems well coached with everyone buying in. They're playing good hockey right now, first in the division, have a good forecheck, and active defensemen who contribute a bunch of points. That all makes this a pretty nice win for a GR team that hasn't been great this season.
(I realized after writing out this next bit that the highlights basically cover it all so if you just want a link here are the highlights, but I already wrote it out so it stays!)
GR started out a bit slow. It wasn't too bad, but the opening goal was a defenseman who skated in from the blue line down to the dots unchallenged with a clear lane to goal and beat Ned's glove with a slapshot. Someone must have lost coverage and instead of someone else shifting to challenge the Stars player they all just followed their men and actually opened the shooting lane. That was followed by a pointless hook at center ice from Hirose and then a trip from Hirose about 30 seconds after he stepped out of the box. The plus side is that the GR PK looked good. In particular the forwards did a good job of pressuring the puck both in defensive zone and the neutral zone. I thought Pearson had a couple really good shifts and then Czarnik and Hanas did a great job to get a shorty with good O-zone pressure (and a bad Khudobin turnover). GR had a bit of momentum after that and got a second goal a few minutes later from a rebound off a shot from the top high slot (Elmer did a good job screening the shot and was very quick to the rebound to get the goal). That made it 2-1 after 1. Texas tied it up in the second off a bad D-zone turnover and a nice high blocker shot. The Stars were generating pressure, but Hirose did a good job forcing a Stars turnover and then finished off a nice goal by that forward group. GR started the 3rd up 3-2 with a powerplay. Hirose had a nice quick shot off rebound to open the period and GR didn't look back, chipping in 2 move empty netters to end the game.
So the more fun part, thoughts on players.
Edvinsson: Didn't make a whole lot of flashy plays or passes (though there was one nice move when Texas was being too casual in the neutral zone). What did stand out was that he seemed to be on the ice a ton (I wouldn't be surprised if he was 25+ minutes) and that the team seemed much more stable when he was out there. He was also the player who jumped in with some aggression when Hanas was hurt because of a boarding penalty. This GR team doesn't seem to have a ton of grit and Texas was definitely taking liberties in the 2nd, so seeing someone push back was nice.
Vrana and Zadina: They were pretty much invisible. I think this was Zadina's first game back and they got on the scoresheet a few times the next night, but neither had a great (or really even good) game Friday. Only thing that did standout was that Vrana is still a next level shooter. He had one play where he got a little separation and just ripped a wrist-shot, quick release, lots of pace, and decent placement (I think high glove, but my memory's a bit fuzzy here), just better than 99% of the wrist-shots you'll see at the AHL level.
Soderblom: Did a nice job on the goal but not great otherwise. He's obviously noticeable just for his size and he's clearly got good hands, but seemed to struggle to generate possession. I can remember one play along the boards where the Stars player took a wide path to the puck to avoid him and Elmer did a good job to position himself and win the puck, but otherwise there wasn't much forecheck pressure and there was a lot of poking and hoping to pickup a loose puck. I think I'd like him to engage more physically.
Nedeljkovic: Had a pretty good game. Struggled a bit with puck control, but positioning seemed pretty solid. One thing that stood out was that he seems to give up a ton of space high glove and he seems to trust his glove a bunch. He did get beat glove side once , but also made a couple nice glove saves. The Stars were definitely shooting glove, though I'm not sure if that was the plan or if they just saw the space and went for it.
Johansson: Didn't have a great game. Nothing too bad but only really noticed him a couple times when he was stuck in the D-zone, so not great.
Hirose: Deserves a mention, though we've all seen him a bunch. He seems like a bored 'tweener to me. He's clearly a little too good for the AHL but not quite good enough to be a skill guy at the NHL level. I think this leads to things like taking a couple sloppy penalties (I think he got stapled to the bench for a good bit after that), but then from the 2nd on he had a solid game, and a few really good shifts.
Otherwise not much notable, except that Newpower, who was paired with Edvinsson and also had a solid game, hates having to wear a cage. I'm not sure what happened that he has to wear one, but he was constantly annoyed with it.
OgeeOgelthorpe
Riccis per 60 record holder
- Feb 29, 2020
- 18,037
- 19,553
Christien
Registered User
- May 1, 2010
- 5,233
- 3,759
Edvinsson has turned a corner in GR, they're relying on him big time now. He looks great.
Czechboy
Češi do toho!
- Apr 15, 2018
- 26,348
- 23,667
OgeeOgelthorpe
Riccis per 60 record holder
- Feb 29, 2020
- 18,037
- 19,553
norrisnick
The best...
- Apr 14, 2005
- 30,632
- 15,805
The post you are quoting is referring to Zadina.
OgeeOgelthorpe
Riccis per 60 record holder
- Feb 29, 2020
- 18,037
- 19,553
I hate using this site on mobile. Go to click on one thing and all the sudden ads that pop up between posts push things down the screen.
norrisnick
The best...
- Apr 14, 2005
- 30,632
- 15,805
Mobile HFBoards... this site has gotten me the closest to yeeting my phone against the nearest wall. Shit pops in and out and you end up clicking on the same incorrect link 3 times in a row...I hate using this site on mobile. Go to click on one thing and all the sudden ads that pop up between posts push things down the screen.
OgeeOgelthorpe
Riccis per 60 record holder
- Feb 29, 2020
- 18,037
- 19,553
Exactly. So in the future when you criticize me for quoting the wrong post it’s because I’m probably pooping and typing on my phone.
norrisnick
The best...
- Apr 14, 2005
- 30,632
- 15,805
Why would you poop on your phone? That's unsanitary....
jkutswings
hot piss hockey
- Jul 10, 2014
- 11,389
- 9,300
And I certainly wouldn't type on it afterwards.
Czechboy
Češi do toho!
- Apr 15, 2018
- 26,348
- 23,667
That's an unfounded Vrana rumour. I think it was already debunked. However, if it wasn't.. I just can't see it happening for about 7.5 million reasons.lol He'd be insane to leave the NHL and another year of 5.25 to play in the SEL.
Even if he got bought out... another NHL team would give him an NHL contract the next day and he'd make even more money... eg. he'd still get paid by the Wing's and then his new contract on top of that (eg. Cory Perry did this).
I'm obviously dying for him to get back to Detroit and play for them but it's not looking good right now.
- Status
