Jeremy Laura: Final Thoughts on Detroit’s Prospects at the Tournament

Defense is dog poop. Forwards are soft. Goalies struggled but I'll blame the lack of d for most of it, still disappointing.

Defense is dog poop. Forwards are soft. Goalies struggled but I'll blame the lack of d for most of it, still disappointing.
- DRW1991

Defense was really not helping goalies at all. I’ll give Veleno props for trying to carry and get things going. Chase too. Still a very poor showing

To be fair, going into the tournament the Wings had one line on offense with a flyer on the second line. There are no top defensive prospects what so ever on that roster. McIsaac if he could stay healthy for 5 minutes maybe. I did not expect much from them, but glad that top line looked as good as expected.

Any word on the injuries though? Was Raymond just held out because it was a sh!tshow?

Raymond is the only sure thing to make an impact in the NHL.

Probably Cossa as well.

MacIsaac can't stay healthy. Glass. The rest of the defense is AHL at best.

Veleno likely bounces around as a bottom 6 guy but I doubt his NHL career is too long.

Bergrren is probably too small. Maybe he bounces around before going back to a soft Euro league.

Sorry. People seem to overrated all these guys simply because they are in our system. Be more objective. Not much to see here.

Raymond is the only sure thing to make an impact in the NHL.

Probably Cossa as well.

MacIsaac can't stay healthy. Glass. The rest of the defense is AHL at best.

Veleno likely bounces around as a bottom 6 guy but I doubt his NHL career is too long.

Bergrren is probably too small. Maybe he bounces around before going back to a soft Euro league.

Sorry. People seem to overrated all these guys simply because they are in our system. Be more objective. Not much to see here.
- HockeyBuzzed

I will disagree with Veleno. If he plays a strong two way game I can see him being a 3rd line guy who can jump into the second line in a pinch. But that is his ceiling.

Best player for the wings, Raymond. Best player for the blues, Perunovich.

To be fair, going into the tournament the Wings had one line on offense with a flyer on the second line. There are no top defensive prospects what so ever on that roster. McIsaac if he could stay healthy for 5 minutes maybe. I did not expect much from them, but glad that top line looked as good as expected.

Any word on the injuries though? Was Raymond just held out because it was a sh!tshow?
- DRW1991

Yeah, I touched base on that a little. It just got so thin so quick. Not sure on the injuries. Probably won’t know for sure until camp pairings are released Wednesday or Thursday

Raymond is the only sure thing to make an impact in the NHL.

Probably Cossa as well.

MacIsaac can't stay healthy. Glass. The rest of the defense is AHL at best.

Veleno likely bounces around as a bottom 6 guy but I doubt his NHL career is too long.

Bergrren is probably too small. Maybe he bounces around before going back to a soft Euro league.

Sorry. People seem to overrated all these guys simply because they are in our system. Be more objective. Not much to see here.
- HockeyBuzzed

I think, for sure, it looks thin. Raymond really displayed some talent. For Veleno, I think it will depend on usage. I just don’t think he’s an NHL center. As a winger, he looked like he could skate with Vrana for those games last season. A Fabbri injury could give him a look in Detroit. I love Berggren’s game, his abilities, but the injury bug has bitten again. McIsaac definitely seems to be having the struggles Svechnikov had. Cossa, yeah, he’ll probably take this and have a strong year. I don’t disagree that things are thin with what we saw. I do think Chase can be a 4th line guy

I will disagree with Veleno. If he plays a strong two way game I can see him being a 3rd line guy who can jump into the second line in a pinch. But that is his ceiling.
- DRW1991

I think that is well stated. His skating and strength keep getting better. If he can put in the work that Zadina did on the defensive size it would help him a lot.

Just another quick “thanks” to everyone. Whether we agree or disagree, it’s still a dream come true to do this. With a slurry of storms and some other stuff on the horizon i may be a little “quiet” for the next couple days until camp starts. Bless you all, and thanks for coming by to be a part of this. It will be interesting to see how the top 6 settles in. I wouldn’t mind seeing the “Guelph” line and having Larkin with Vrana and Zadina. Really looking forward to Seider and seeing if special teams can get a decent makeover

I see Sami Niku is about to become a FA!
The Jets are gonna cut him loose! 24 yo Decent skater, was a team leader in the AHL, Plays RD though, and he may have trouble making it here, unless he can play the LD as well. He is over 6' but is a fly weight at 175 lbs. I am sure he will play for a $750,000 contract! Actually you could claim him now off waivers for $725,000 before FA and his current contract termination.
Any interest ?

I see Sami Niku is about to become a FA!
The Jets are gonna cut him loose! 24 yo Decent skater, was a team leader in the AHL, Plays RD though, and he may have trouble making it here, unless he can play the LD as well. He is over 6' but is a fly weight at 175 lbs. I am sure he will play for a $750,000 contract! Actually you could claim him now off waivers for $725,000 before FA and his current contract termination.
Any interest ?
- HenryHockey

Even though Niku has been playing at RD at the NHL level, he's a left-handed shot. Not sure how much of that is preference for the off-side vs. necessity (i.e., not having enough righties in the lineup). I quickly checked out some old highlights and it looks like he mostly played the left side in Europe.

I'm definitely not interested in Niku as an RD. His numbers there are bad, 24 is not old but also not young, he's not better than any of Seider, Stecher, or Hronek and he's maybe not even much of an upgrade over Lindstrom.

As a LD ... also probably not interested, but that intrigues me at least a little bit more. Not only because Detroit is weaker on the left side, but also because I'm at least open to the possibility that Niku's poor analytics might be partially a function of playing the off side and/or Winnipeg's system.

Just another quick “thanks” to everyone. Whether we agree or disagree, it’s still a dream come true to do this. With a slurry of storms and some other stuff on the horizon i may be a little “quiet” for the next couple days until camp starts. Bless you all, and thanks for coming by to be a part of this. It will be interesting to see how the top 6 settles in. I wouldn’t mind seeing the “Guelph” line and having Larkin with Vrana and Zadina. Really looking forward to Seider and seeing if special teams can get a decent makeover
- Jeremy Laura

I would rather Bert stick with Larkin. Provides some grit on that line and they have great chemistry. Poor mans Marchand in a way.

Also a tad concerning how thin the pool is after that top line. I know there is excitement, but assuming everyone hits is a bad spot to be in.

"Eddy" has signed with Frolunda in Sweden, It won't affect him getting an ELC....much.

https://www.frolundahocke...1/fran-junior-till-rookie

(brush up on your Swedish)

"Eddy" has signed with Frolunda in Sweden, It won't affect him getting an ELC....much.

https://www.frolundahocke...1/fran-junior-till-rookie

(brush up on your Swedish)
- HenryHockey

Good move for him?

PTO for Bobby Ryan

The Wings simply don't have future stars at forward in their prospect pool. I really don't see anyone on their team or in their system that's a top 15 or 20 scorer in the NHL. The next two draft years are probably the strongest since 2015, but the balls haven't bounced Detroit's way since 1986.

The Wings have a potentially strong D core, and potentially strong in Net in the future, but they just don't have any star power up front, so they are going to have to fill their roster with solid players and develop a really good system with a really good coach.

I do think they are further along than we were a few years ago, but I just don't see any players up front to get overly excited about. It's pretty rare for teams to win cups without a super star or two, so they'll have to build a team like St. Louis did in 2019 like the Bruins, but they aren't going to be Washington, TB, Pittsburgh or Chicago during this generation of their rebuild.

The Wings simply don't have future stars at forward in their prospect pool. I really don't see anyone on their team or in their system that's a top 15 or 20 scorer in the NHL. The next two draft years are probably the strongest since 2015, but the balls haven't bounced Detroit's way since 1986.

The Wings have a potentially strong D core, and potentially strong in Net in the future, but they just don't have any star power up front, so they are going to have to fill their roster with solid players and develop a really good system with a really good coach.

I do think they are further along than we were a few years ago, but I just don't see any players up front to get overly excited about. It's pretty rare for teams to win cups without a super star or two, so they'll have to build a team like St. Louis did in 2019 like the Bruins, but they aren't going to be Washington, TB, Pittsburgh or Chicago during this generation of their rebuild.
- bluelineenforcer

It makes me think of the "unthinkable" , such as this article:
https://lastwordonsports....-larkin-trade-looks-like/

A Larkin trade could greatly help a rebuild if the right pieces come back and of course the right picks are made and developed. There are still a lot of "ifs" here. But fan favorites are traded in EVERY successful rebuild.

PTO for Bobby Ryan
- DRW1991