Filppula likely to Center Second line
One thing Filppula needs to hone is his finishing touch
Ansar Khan at MLIVE is doing something Tom Kowalski has done in covering the Lions all summer: offer up scouting reports for several player. Khan is obviously sticking to Red Wings coverage. His first scouting report is on Valtteri Filppula.
Last season Detroit wanted to put Henrik Zetterberg and Pavel Datsyuk on separate lines. They’re both top-flight centers but with a lack of true top 6 forwards in the organization the team had better success putting them together on the same line as Tomas Holmstrom. With that likely being the case again this season, it has opened the door for Filppula to center the second line.
Valtteri Filppula is poised to make the jump from third- and fourth-line supporting player to second-line center next season. He has good speed and tremendous skills, but opinions are divided within the organization about whether he can produce enough offense to play on the second line or whether his defensive abilities make him better suited for a checking line.
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Filppula had 10 goals and seven assists in 73 regular season games as a rookie, averaging 11:15 in ice time. The club’s confidence in him rose in the playoffs, when he picked up three goals and two assists in 18 games and averaged about a minute more in ice time…The Wings are hoping Filppula can give them 20-25 goals.
With the top line likely to remain intact - it was dominant during large stretches of the regular season and playoffs - it will be interesting to see who Filppula’s wingers will be. Mikael Samuelsson seems like a likely winger and either Jiri Hudler or Igor Grigorenko will have a good shot at filling the other slot on the wing if Detroit can’t find a top 6 forward via free agency. Dan Cleary might see some time on a scoring line if he can build off of last year’s breakout season.
Igor Grigorenko Jiri Hudler Mikael Samuelsson Red Wings Valtteri FilppulaNo Comments
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