Grand Rapids vs San Jose WC Finals

[biggunsbob]

Lead Series with Chicago 1-0.

 

[biggunsbob]

Goals

Frk in the first .
Ford in the first . (Changed from Frk)

Zero in the second.

Nosek in the third.
Street with empty.


http://www.mlive.com/griffins/index...pids_griffin_1.html#incart_river_mobile_index

 

[Polish-Hammer]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hu1Wh0trnjE

 

[biggunsbob]

Routed in game 2 .
7-3

http://www.mlive.com/griffins/index...pids_griffin_2.html#incart_river_mobile_index

 

[biggunsbob]

Game 3 is tonight l

 

[biggunsbob]

Win game three 4-2.

http://www.mlive.com/griffins/index...o_wolves_at_gr.html#incart_river_mobile_index

 

[biggunsbob]

Win game four 6-3. Callaghan with a hat trick.


http://www.mlive.com/griffins/index...wolves_at_gr_1.html#incart_river_mobile_index

 

[biggunsbob]

There is 5 day freaking waiting between games four and five .
WTF!!!!

http://www.mlive.com/griffins/index..._accept_rest_o.html#incart_river_mobile_index

 

[Polish-Hammer]

Griffins move onto the next round.

You'd think Detroit would give some of those guys a chance.... oh waits its Kenny H in charge. Just gonna sign more over the hill vets.

 

[Mitchrapp]

They certainly stretch it out don't they? Can't they play everyother day, or back to back once in a while?

 

[Polish-Hammer]

I think it is based on arena availability. However, your wish is granted.

Games #1/2, #4/5, #6/7 are scheduled back to back.

 

[Mitchrapp]

I think it is based on arena availability. However, your wish is granted.

Games #1/2, #4/5, #6/7 are scheduled back to back.

And between game 2 and 3 is 9 days.. :hehe:

Thanks..

 

[Polish-Hammer]

It is a very long bus ride.

You must compensate for possibility of driver error, ie. getting lost.

 

[biggunsbob]

Guess they can stop over in the Dakotas!!

 

[sggatecl]

Griffins move onto the next round.

You'd think Detroit would give some of those guys a chance.... oh waits its Kenny H in charge. Just gonna sign more over the hill vets.

Really mind blowing how they can continually be successful in the minors and can't translate to the NHL.

 

[Polish-Hammer]

Really mind blowing how they can continually be successful in the minors and can't translate to the NHL.

For one the NHL and AHL are two different levels of play. Usually success in AHL means you got great depth in the minors mixed with some career AHLs. 3rd/4th line depth in minors won't make it up

A top line player in the AHL might barely make it to the 4th line in the NHL. It depends on the needs of the team, type of player, the skills of the player and the ability to adapt.

The other part is opportunity to actually make the roster. Take the example of the 2016 offseason. Datsyuk and Richards retire. Solution is sign Ott, Nielsen, and Vanek. When you bring in 3 veterans to replace 2 roster spots where is the room for the young blood from the AHL?

On the defensive end Quincey left and a single spot was available. Sproul and Oullette both got looks to take that spot. Also Kronwall was coming off an injury and missed the first couple weeks. Oullette stuck with the team while Sproul bounced in and out depending on injuries as the 7th D. He did get a chance in late February but in early March he suffered a season ending injury.

 

[sggatecl]

For one the NHL and AHL are two different levels of play. Usually success in AHL means you got great depth in the minors mixed with some career AHLs. 3rd/4th line depth in minors won't make it up

A top line player in the AHL might barely make it to the 4th line in the NHL. It depends on the needs of the team, type of player, the skills of the player and the ability to adapt.

The other part is opportunity to actually make the roster. Take the example of the 2016 offseason. Datsyuk and Richards retire. Solution is sign Ott, Nielsen, and Vanek. When you bring in 3 veterans to replace 2 roster spots where is the room for the young blood from the AHL?

On the defensive end Quincey left and a single spot was available. Sproul and Oullette both got looks to take that spot. Also Kronwall was coming off an injury and missed the first couple weeks. Oullette stuck with the team while Sproul bounced in and out depending on injuries as the 7th D. He did get a chance in late February but in early March he suffered a season ending injury.

Fair enough. I won't pretend to know a lot about AHL hockey. If it really has no bearing on the Red Wings I have even less interest than I did before.

 

[Polish-Hammer]

The AHL is vital in helping develop young players.

Typically only a couple spots are open for young players to steal on the main roster and Detroit has gone out of its way to make the process more difficult by preferring veterans over young players.

For example, Mantha was ready for the NHL at the start of this season and he only made it on the team because of injuries and played too well to be sent down. Ott or Mantha? The choice for me is simple.

On the current Griffins squad;
Svechnikov, Bertuzzi, Nosek, and to a lesser extend Frk have a good chance to make he NHL.

I think Russo is currently the top defensive prospects in the AHL until Cholowski joins the team. IMO, defenceman are much more difficult to predict than forwards.


My points were;

1. Team performance is not as important as progression of players.

2. 'Veteran' players help inflate an AHL team's performance, but they won't have an impact at the NHL level.

For example, Street, Lorito, and Tangredi are 3 of the top forwards on the Griffins. Being over the age of 25 means their changes of making it (or back to in case of Tangredi) the NHL are very limited.

 

[sggatecl]

Typically only a couple spots are open for young players to steal on the main roster and Detroit has gone out of its way to make the process more difficult by preferring veterans over young players.

To your knowledge, are other teams guilty of this as well or are the Red Wings uniquely incompetent in this regard? Seems very short sighted of them.

 

[Polish-Hammer]

There aren't many, but one example I can think of are late 90s Rangers until the end of Glenn Sather's reign. In defence of presalary cap era Rangers/Wings, money talks and player development wasn't as vital.


Reminds me of the way the Leafs dismantled their organization depth in the early 2000s. They traded away a lot of 30-40 point guys and tried to acquire veterans past their prime to carry the workload.

I think Holland was just stuck in the pre-cap mentality with a tunnel vision for playoff glory. If you already have a stacked team it is not an issue because it is a logical gamble for glory. Flipwise, once the team falls out of contention it become a loser's gamble. Sacrificing long term success for the hopes of making the playoffs.


For me, the moment the Red Wings stopped being a top contender was when Rafalski retired in 2011. The final nail in the coffin was Lidstrom's retirement. Ian White was signed as Rafalski's replacement and he did good, but he couldn't cut it without Lidstrom as his partner. Quincey was brought in at the deadline and was expected to be an offensive D-man like in Colorado getting 30+ points a year. He was given little powerplay time and became more defensive minded during his 2nd stint with Detroit. I didn't mind Quincey on the team, but his contract was ridiculous. Colaiacovo was signed to replace Lidstrom's roster spot. But to be fair here, there weren't many top D prospects in the Wings pool.

Which is LUDACRIS considering Lidstrom's retirement was inevitable! Rafalski's early retirement was a shocker. A top pair D-man is hard to find, but Holland's lack of planning and reliance on free agency put the team in a deep hole. Plus his terrible contracts.


One difference I see between Detroit and most teams is that teams often plan to have a youngster make the roster. Detroit does it because he is no longer waiver eligible or someone is brought in for an injury and plays so good they can't send him back down.