Gorilla Crouch

I noticed over at the Red Wings Central message board that Detroit has to sign several prospects by Thursday or those prospects will become free agents. Matthew Wuest is short and to the point in his comments in this article.

* The Red Wings could lose the rights to 10 prospects on Friday: Christofer Lofberg, Mattias Ritola, Johan Ryno, Jeff May, Juho Mielonen, Bretton Stamler, Andreas Sundin, Stefan Blom, Tomas Kollar and Mikael Johansson.

Ryno is the most likely to get signed, followed by Ritola, May and Stamler.

Now I’m in no position to opine on which players are most likely to be signed. But that’s never stopped me from having an opinion. Rather than just make some wild guesses, though, I thought I’d provide whatever I can find in the way of commentary on the prospects listed above.

Johan Ryno - Left Wing
Johan Ryno is the most likely prospect to sign and that’s for a couple obvious reasons. First off, both Red Wings Central and Hockey’s Future rank him within the top 7 as far as Red Wings prospects go. Here is what they have to say about him.

Red Wings Central Prospect Page

Strengths
Six-foot-five and still filling out … advanced two-way game … outstanding hockey sense and playmaking ability … good hands and slick puck skills … dangerous to contain because of his long reach … hard worker … tenacious in races for the puck and does a good job poking pucks loose …
Weaknesses
Skating is OK for his size, but needs continued improvement … needs to add strength to his slim 6-foot-5 frame and improve his fitness … has not demonstrated a take-charge physical style to match his outstanding size … could be more of a power forward if he added a hitting, grinding element …
Projection
Ryno had an up-and-down rookie year in the Swedish Elite League in 2006-07, but likely showed enough to earn a contract with the Red Wings. Expect him to come to training camp in the fall, though there’s a strong possibility he’ll return to Sweden in 2007-08 to continue his development. He’s an exciting prospect who could develop in the mold of a Michal Handzus.

Hockey’s Future also reports that he is still pretty raw.

Ryno has tremendous size for a winger and is a solid skater. He does also have respectable, but not spectacular puck skills. He has good attitude and is a hard worker. Ryno isn´t afriad of using his size to his advantage. He has good scoring touch and is dangerous around the net. He possesses above average hockey sense and uses his linemates well.

The good thing is that he has the basic things you’d like a prospect to have: great size, good hockey sense and skills, cognizant of his defensive responsibilities and has a solid work ethic. There is no real reason for Detroit to not sign him and give him some more time to develop. Let’s Go Wings has a board member who goes to a lot of Frolunda games and has provided some commentary and pictures in this thread.

Articles on Ryno
Red Wings Central - Ryno turns season Around
Aftonbladet - Superlofte lamnar Frolunda (um, Swedish)

Christofer Lofberg - Center
Lofberg will not be signed. He has fallen completely off the charts according to Red Wings Central. The center has been dealing with family issues and it sounds like hockey just isn’t his top priority right now. The Red Wings had high hopes for him as he has good size and pretty good wheels. If he re-enters the draft and doesn’t get picked he could sign with Detroit again as a free agent.

Mattias Ritola - Right Wing
Ritola is a guy who might benefit from Lofberg dropping out of contention. He’s a very skilled offensive player, but he doesn’t put in a full effort every game and he’s isn’t the best two-way forward when it comes to defensive play. So says Red Wings Central.

Strengths
Exciting offensive skills … handles the puck well and can really shine when in control … likes to carry the puck up ice … good shot and playmaking ability … knows the game in the offensive zone and makes good decisions … doesn’t have breakaway speed, but he is fast …
Weaknesses
Plagued with inconsistency … doesn’t compete or give a full effort every shift, every night … doesn’t give much thought to defensive assignments … little bite to his game …

No thought about defensive assignments and little bite to his game isn’t going to get him any ice time in Detroit, so he’s got to get that straightened out. And not giving a full effort would likely mean he has no chance at being signed. Then throw in the fact he hasn’t shown as much offense as you’d like to see from someone who has been called by Hakan Andersson the most-talented Swede born in 1987 outside of Nicklas Backstrom and it seems like the Red Wings would likely cut their losses. But Andersson seems to believe there are extenuating circumstances so Ritola could get signed.

Jeff May - Defenseman
Jeff May ranks with Logan Pyett as the 6th and 5th rated prospects at defense in the Red Wings organization. Detroit actually has very good depth on the blueline as Kyle Quincey, Derek Meech and Jakub Kindl are all close to cracking the Detroit lineup. That could work against May or it could mean that the Red Wings will sign him in order to continue to have solid prospects in the pipeline.

Pyett ranks behind Kindl as the best offensive defensemen in the organization. May is probably closer to a mix between Quincey and Meech in terms of how he will project as a prospect. He would likely be a defensive defenseman. Here is how Red Wings Central assesses his skills.

Strengths
Has the tools to play in any situation at the major junior level … reliable and steady in his own zone …. smart positionally … willing to play a physical game … strong skater with good mobility and lateral movement … makes good decisions … poised with the puck … intelligent passer … hard worker …
Weaknesses
Physical game needs to continue evolving as he matures … point shot needs some work … capable offensively, but his upside in that department is limited …

I think that the decision to sign May will possibly come down to how many of the organization’s defensemen end up making the Red Wings. If Detroit expects Quincey, Kindl, Ericsson and Meech to join the Red Wings roster in the next year or two then it probably makes sense to sign May. If the Red Wings feel confident they can sign one or two free agent defensemen this summer and will likely keep Kindl, Ericsson and Meech in the minors then they might decide to take a pass on May and focus on other prospects.

Mikael Johansson - Center
The talented meatball will not be signed. Generously listed at 5′9″, he’s not in very good shape conditioning wise and will never light the lamp like mighty midget Martin St. Louis. So his run as a prospect will come to an end. Great nickname though.

Andreas Sundin - Center
Like Johansson, Red Wings Central opines he has no chance of being signed.

Bretton Stamler - Defenseman
Stamler’s lone attribute that seems to make him appealing is that he’s a decent fighter. The only fighters that are currently in the system are Brad Norton - who isn’t particularly good at it - and Darryl Bootland, who was humorously abused by Jordin Tootoo earlier this year. The one thing that makes Stamler a longshot is that there are seven defensemen in the system who are ranked ahead of him. He also doesn’t have ideal size like uber-goon Derek Boogaard. I’m not sure Detroit will sign him solely due to his ability to fight.

Stefan Blom - Defenseman
From Red Wings Central: No physical element…fair mobility…decent skater…below average shooter….struggles with his puck skills and stickhandling.

Pass.

Juho Mielonen - Defenseman
Has gone through numerous shoulder surgeries and isn’t expected to be signed.

Tomas Kollar - Left Wing
Sounds similar to Tomas Holmstrom in terms of how he plays but the talent just doesn’t seem to be there. Not expected to sign with the Red Wings.

So with that out of the way who do I think Detroit signs? My guess is they’ll sign Johan Ryno, Mattias Ritola and Jeff May. I’ll post the actual signings when they are announced and compare them to my guesses.

Prospects Red Wings

May 29th, 2007
Categories: Red Wings . Author: Dave

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