Wings Prospects
Griffins Central, the website that tracks the Grand Rapids Griffins, recently graded this year’s squad. This is of particular interest to Red Wings fans as a number of top prospects on the Grand Rapids team will play in Detroit within a year or two.
Jonathan Ericsson - A
The biggest surprise of the first half has been the play of Ericsson. He started out the season playing a steady, responsible game in his own end. Over the next few weeks he added a physical element to his game using his 6′5 frame to full advantage. Lately he has turned up his offensive game, taking over the club lead among blueliners with a good shot from the point, and soft hands. He could shoot more as he is averaging just over a shot per game, but that will come with time. Jonathan recovers quickly and makes good decisions, leading to speculation about him auditioning for a job in Detroit next season.
There are also grades for Kyle Quincey and Jimmy Howard. Click the link to read all of the grades. Red Wings Central also has an update on top forward prospect Igor Grigorenko. He suffered a broken femur in a nasty car accident in 2003. Then he had an embolism while recovering in the hospital. His medical issues greatly slowed his development but it looks like he could finally come over to the states this summer.
via Snapshots
Originally selected in the second round (62nd overall) in 2001, Grigorenko quickly became a top scorer in Russia and won MVP honors and a gold medal at the 2003 world junior championship in Nova Scotia. He was subsequently ranked the world’s ninth-best prospect by The Hockey News.
He represented Russia at the 2003 world championship in Finland and looked comfortable on the top line with Datsyuk and Ilya Kovalchuk. The Red Wings planned to sign him then, but the accident happened first, leaving Grigorenko with a broken left femur and two fractures in his left tibia.
Grigorenko has 70 points in his last 115 games in Russia (0.61 per game). For comparison’s sake, Datsyuk had 31 in his last 57 games in the same league before coming to North America in 2001-02 (0.54 per game). Nonetheless, Grigorenko isn’t a lock to play on Detroit’s top three lines.
So it sounds like Detroit will do everything they can to sign him and give him any medical treatment that is necessary in an effort to get him back to where he was before the accident. If that happens and he is able to return to his former self he will likely be a top Red Wings forward. Jim Nill is the head of Detroit’s scouting and minor league system and he seems to like what he sees, so that gives you hope that Grigorenko can contribute in Detroit.
Igor Grigorenko Jonathan Ericsson Red Wings Red Wings Prospects1 Comment(s)
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[…] Snapshots, Gorilla Crouch, and Abel to Yzerman have been all over this, but it’s big enough news to repeat: according to Matt Wuest of Red Wings Central, the long-awaited arrival of Igor Grigorenko on North American soil will finally take place this summer. Apparently, the Wings feel he’s ready for the NHL and are planning on signing him with the intent of giving him a chance at making the team. […]