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Training Camp - Sept 11

pmrules said:
Can Morgan play the last 9 games of the season with us after spending the majority of the season in the W.  Could he then play for us in the playoffs if we were to be so lucky.

Good question, I'd assume playoff games would count towards his contract, but could be wrong, anyone know for sure?
 
pmrules said:
Can Morgan play the last 9 games of the season with us after spending the majority of the season in the W.  Could he then play for us in the playoffs if we were to be so lucky.

If Rielly is sent back to the WHL he can only rejoin the Leafs once his WHL team's season has completed. In order to get any regular season games in his team would likely either have to not make the playoffs or be eliminated in the first round. Moose Jaw isn't exactly a top team as they missed the playoffs last season but reading some previews it seems they have a decent chance at getting back in, especially if they have Rielly for a full season.

Leafaholic99 said:
Good question, I'd assume playoff games would count towards his contract, but could be wrong, anyone know for sure?

Playoff games do count towards his contract, yes. So even if he only re-joined the team for the playoffs and he played 10 games it would activate the first year of his contract.
 
Zanzibar Buck-Buck McFate said:
I would keep him in junior this year, start him in the AHL next year, and then bring him up after he's had a real taste of the pro grind.  It seems to have worked for the Wings....

The Wings haven't had a top 5 pick since 1990.
 
Full lines from practice today:

Lupul-Bozak-Kessel
JVR-Colborne-Clarkson
Raymond-Bolland-Kulemin
Broll-Kadri-Abbott
Ashton-McClement-Devane

Phaneuf-Percy
Fraser-Brennan
Liles-Gardiner
Rielly-Ranger
Gunnarsson-Marshall
Holzer-MacWilliam

Of course you can't read too much into that but our top-9 forwards are obviously taking shape there, not that there was going to be much of a surprise. It's a good sign that Carlyle wants to see what Colborne can do on that second line but that's obviously temporary.

I'm sure we'll see them flipped throughout the season but I'd prefer to see JVR on the Kessel line. He and Clarkson are our two big forwards in the top-6 and I think it makes a little more sense to spread that out. And Lupul has shown that he can pretty much score with anybody while JVR largely had his offensive success on the top line.

Also, I really wouldn't mind if Orr and McLaren retired or something.
 
With regards to Rielly, I don't see much harm in giving him 9 games with the big club if he shows enough to deserve to stay.  While his ice time may be be limited, I believe there is some good that could be gained from just being around and practicing with the team for a month.  He learns a few things, better understands what he needs to work on, as well as gets a feel for the pace and speed of the NHL.

After that, unless he is absolutely lights out (and even then), the proper thing would be to return him to the WHL to continue developing and let him play for Canada at the World Juniors. 
 
Deebo said:
Zanzibar Buck-Buck McFate said:
I would keep him in junior this year, start him in the AHL next year, and then bring him up after he's had a real taste of the pro grind.  It seems to have worked for the Wings....

The Wings haven't had a top 5 pick since 1990.

Patient development, I meant.
 
Peter D. said:
With regards to Rielly, I don't see much harm in giving him 9 games with the big club if he shows enough to deserve to stay.  While his ice time may be be limited, I believe there is some good that could be gained from just being around and practicing with the team for a month.  He learns a few things, better understands what he needs to work on, as well as gets a feel for the pace and speed of the NHL.

After that, unless he is absolutely lights out (and even then), the proper thing would be to return him to the WHL to continue developing and let him play for Canada at the World Juniors.

Exactly.  He could make like Bobby Orr for 9 games and it would be meaningless because of sample size.  But if he did, the pressure would be immense to keep him.  As I said above, not a good atmosphere for sound strategic decisions.  I say don't even go there ... send him back at the end of camp.
 
CarltonTheBear said:
I'm sure we'll see them flipped throughout the season but I'd prefer to see JVR on the Kessel line. He and Clarkson are our two big forwards in the top-6 and I think it makes a little more sense to spread that out. And Lupul has shown that he can pretty much score with anybody while JVR largely had his offensive success on the top line.
I also like JVR on the Kessel line.  Kessel and Bozak need someone who can go to the net, as neither of them really likes to hang around to pick up their own rebounds.  In general, JVR is great in front of the net.
 
My gut feeling is Colborne is really really going to need to "make" this squad. If he doesnt impress I think he will be gone and the million freed up will be used to sign Raymond or Franson.
 
Highlander said:
My gut feeling is Colborne is really really going to need to "make" this squad. If he doesnt impress I think he will be gone and the million freed up will be used to sign Raymond or Franson.

He only makes $600k though (which was a very smart move by him and his agent). Somebody has to be on the roster as the 13th forward and you can't get much cheaper than that.
 
Nik the Trik said:
Zanzibar Buck-Buck McFate said:
Patient development, I meant.

Even then, how many outstanding players have they drafted and developed in the last 10 years?

Are you asking me to do research to support my opinions?  Because I don't, as a matter of principle.
 
Nik the Trik said:
Zanzibar Buck-Buck McFate said:
Patient development, I meant.

Even then, how many outstanding players have they drafted and developed in the last 10 years?

Since they drafted Zetterberg in 1999, they have drafted 15 players who have played more than 100 NHL games, they are listed below in descending order of games played. Franzen, Howard and Kronwall come the closest to being "outstanding", I guess.

Niklas Kronwall
Johan Franzen
Valtteri Filppula
Tomas Kopecky
Jiri Hudler
Tomas Fleischmann
Kyle Quincey
Jonathan Ericsson
Justin Abdelkader
Shawn Matthias
Darren Helm
Jim Howard
Jakub Kindl
Derek Meech
Cory Emmerton
 
Deebo said:
Franzen, Howard and Kronwall come the closest to being "outstanding", I guess.

And to find those three you have to dig back 9, 10 and 13 years in the draft, respectively(and even then Franzen was drafted when he was 24). So it's a good draft record in light of where they drafted but they might not be the organization I'd necessary look to in terms of developing a top prospect.
 
Nik the Trik said:
Deebo said:
Franzen, Howard and Kronwall come the closest to being "outstanding", I guess.

And to find those three you have to dig back 9, 10 and 13 years in the draft, respectively(and even then Franzen was drafted when he was 24). So it's a good draft record in light of where they drafted but they might not be the organization I'd necessary look to in terms of developing a top prospect.

Agreed, I don't think that you apply the same method for developing Helm and Abdelkader types to blue chippers like Rielly.
 
Deebo said:
Agreed, I don't think that you apply the same method for developing Helm and Abdelkader types to blue chippers like Rielly.

Maybe not the same method, but you can certainly apply a similar philosophy. What the Wings seem to be striving for is to "over develop" their prospects. They like to leave guys in junior and in the AHL until they're more than just ready for NHL duty, but ready for full-time significant roles. I mean, if you look at their top 15 players in terms of total ice time last season, only 3 weren't drafted/signed out of junior and developed by Detroit. The year before, only 5 of the top 20 came from outside the organization. Whatever they're doing, it clearly works to produce full time NHLers, and, while their practices may not apply to everyone (and, I imagine they don't have a hard and fast set of rules for every prospect either), their philosophy is certainly worth emulating. There's nothing wrong with keeping Rielly out of the NHL until he's more than just ready, and there's certainly nothing wrong with not putting him in the NHL lineup if they already know he's not going to stick - and, I still believe, in that case, it's better for him if they don't. He's not going to learn much from practicing with the team that he's not learning from going through those very same drills and practices in training camp right now.
 
bustaheims said:
Maybe not the same method, but you can certainly apply a similar philosophy. What the Wings seem to be striving for is to "over develop" their prospects. They like to leave guys in junior and in the AHL until they're more than just ready for NHL duty, but ready for full-time significant roles.

And there's a real purpose to that when you're dealing with guys whose ceilings, realistically, are bottom-end guys on the second line and fourth defensemen. Especially if the club has no pressing need for young talent. I really question, though, if Detroit would be all that rigorous with the application of that philosophy if they had a young player who was capable of contributing right away.
 

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