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Posts Tagged Niklas Kronwall

Skating With The Wings

Oct 30

Posted by Eddie in Media | No Comments

As cold as it is in Sweden during majority of the year, not everyone plays hockey. They are quite impressive in other sports as the Swedish soccer teams are highly ranked in the world. The men’s team is ranked 14th in the latest FIFA rankings while the women are fifth. On the ice, the men’s team is ranked third in the latest IIHF rankings while the women are fourth.

They aren’t as impressive on the basketball court, but one of the best players to come from Sweden just happens to play for a sports town known for star players from Sweden. Standing at 6’10″ and 232 lbs., Detroit Pistons forward Jonas Jerebko has made a name for himself in the Motor City. He’s the second Swedish-born player in the NBA after Miles Simon in 1999. Jerebko was drafted in 2009 by the Pistons and was very impressive, averaging nine points and six rebounds in 28 minutes of action in 80 games. He was in the starting lineup in 73 of those in season where he was named to the NBA All-Rookie Second Team.

Just like the NHL in 2004-05, the NBA is currently in a lockout. And just like the NHL then, games are being canceled and there is a high chance there would be no NBA season. Jerebko missed all of last season when he suffered a injury to his Achillies’ tendon in the preseason. He is currently healthy and ready to go back on the court but because of the lockout he has to occupy his time in other fashions. Assuming he’s bored of IKEA [because there's only so much you can do there], he took the ice for a morning skate with the Detroit Red Wings. He’s been spotted at games several times since he’s been in Detroit, as there are seven Swedes on the 25-man roster. He’s made friends with several of them, including Niklas Kronwall. Kronwall lent Jerebko some of his gear when the basketball player took to the ice. He didn’t look too bad when shooting the puck, but he still needs to work on his skating and balance.

Jerebko won’t be giving up his day job anytime soon, but if he were to Jerebko would be the tallest player to ever play in the NHL. He would be one inch taller than 6’9″ Zdeno Chara. Check out this NHL.com video from earlier this week when Fox Sports Detroit caught Jerebko skating with the Red Wings.

<a href='http://www.foxsportsdetroit.com/pages/video?UUID=5d8ede39-0c99-4b77-8467-b40e6385b94b&#038;src=SLPl:embed::uuids' target='_new' title='Jonas on Ice'>Video: Jonas on Ice</a>

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Wings youth movement negates age argument

Oct 5

Posted by Chris in Soap Box | No Comments

The Detroit News offered up some insight today into what sports writers from around the league think about the Detroit Red Wings and their chances coming into the new season. The claims were mostly positive with many wondering how the Wings continue to thrive and show such incredible consistency. The retractors, however, continued to use the same line that the Wings have been dealing with for years.

They are too old.

Most of the writers agreed that the Wings are definitely a playoff contender, although there were mixed feelings whether the Wings or the Blackhawks would lead the Central division this year. But for three out of nine writers, age was a significant concern while advanced age was mentioned by six of the nine writers.

Yes, the Wings are getting older. But consider the following:

  • Sure, Nicklas Lidstrom is 41 years old, which is almost ancient in hockey years, but he is also coming off of a bounce-back, Norris Trophy-winning season and shows no signs of slowing down. Even in a off-year Lidstrom is still better than a vast majority of NHL defenseman. Injuries have never been much of a concern thanks to a smart style of play that relies on good positioning and solid stick work. Age certainly isn’t a concern for the mighty Nick Lidstrom.
  • At 36-years-old, Todd Bertuzzi certainly isn’t the offensive threat he once was with the Vancouver Canucks, but he has been incredibly consistent the last several years – especially with the Wings. Bertuzzi chipped in 45 points last season, one better than his 44 the season before. Sure, the Wings would love a 20-goal, 50-point season from Bertuzzi, but he knows his role as a secondary scorer and he does it well. Besides, do moves like this indicate that Bertuzzi shows any signs of slowing down?
  • Ty Conklin was brought on in the off-season to back up Jimmy Howard when Chris Osgood decided to retire. After a sour season last year with St. Louis, Conklin, 35, re-signed with the Red Wings. A better defense in front of Conklin and more offensive support should help bring his numbers back down this year.

The only other player on the Wings’ roster this season over the age of 35 is Tomas Holmstrom. While Holmstrom has shown signs of slowing down in recent years, probably mostly thanks to the abuse he takes in front of the net on a nightly basis, it appears as if Holmstrom will be used a bit more sparingly this season with other players such as Jiri Hudler and Patrick Eaves rotating in on the top line alongside Pavel Datsyuk.

Also consider the fact that much of the Wings’ “age” retired this offseason with Kris Draper (40) and Chris Osgood (38) hanging up the skates. Defenseman Brian Rafalski (38) also retired and was replaced on the blue line by 27-year-old defenseman Ian White.

The truth is that the Wings will actually look much younger this season with players like Eaves, Drew Miller, Darren Helm (pictured), Justin Abdelkader, Cory Emmerton and Jan Mursak all slotted to play. None of those players are older than 28.

In an ironic twist, the sports writer from Nashville at least went outside the box and cited that the Wings failed to make any significant offseason improvements. Kettle. Black. Done.

In fact, outside of the additions of Commodore, White and Conklin, the Wings didn’t make any significant additions – not because they didn’t want to, but because the talent wasn’t available this summer. Remember that the Wings are roughly $5 million under the salary cap. That gives them more than enough space to address any legitimate concerns at the trade deadline and make them serious contenders for the Stanley Cup.

This season will be the first in a long time to feature a significant youth movement on the Red Wings’ roster with many of the younger players expected to take on more significant roles. Even 30-year-old Niklas Kronwall is expected to take over more responsibility from the ageless Nicklas Lidstrom. And Valtteri Filppula could be in line for a breakout season (finally) after a big preseason with six points in four games. With younger players taking on more responsibilities and veterans still performing at high levels, it’s difficult to take seriously the argument that the Wings are too old to win.

 

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2011-12 NHL Season Preview: Detroit Red Wings

Sep 29

Posted by Chris in Season Previews | 3 Comments

Key Offseason Losses: Brian Rafalski (retirement), Kris Draper (retired), Chris Osgood (retired), Ruslan Salei

Key Offseason Additions: Ian White, Mike Commodore

Last Season Ranking: 3rd in the West

Offense: Top line scoring isn’t a problem in Detroit with guys like Datsyuk and Zetterberg in the lineup. If both players stay healthy, they are both capable of producing at a point-per-game pace. Don’t worry about them. Instead, this is the year for guys like Filppula and Hudler to prove their worth.

Detroit fans have been waiting for a breakout season from Valtteri Filppula. He has the skill, he has the hockey sense, now he just needs to put it together into one cohesive season. At the very least, Filppula should be a 20-goal, 50 point player with the Wings. He has yet to top 40 points in a single season. This could be his year if he centers the second line with Henrik Zetterberg on the wing. Filppula so far has impressed in the preseason and needs to carry that confidence into the regular season.

Hudler had a disappointing season last year after returning from the KHL. Fans called for Hudler to be traded, and Hudler responded with intense offseason workouts with UFC trainers. The result? Well, Hudler is in a contract year and the Wings expect him to be back into the 20 goal, 50 point range again. Coach Mike Babcock has alternated Hudler on Datsyuk’s wing at times this preseason, which could spark his offensive production if it carries over into the regular season. If Hudler doesn’t produce, however, he will likely be on the trading block come March.

The Wings would love to see more consistency from Johan Franzen, who scored five goals in one game against the Ottawa Senators last season and then went scoreless for more than 20 games. But Franzen, along with Dan Cleary and Todd Bertuzzi, provide the Wings with solid depth scoring. Expect the Wings to be among the league leaders in goals scored per game again this season.

Defense: Hockeytown breathed a collective sigh of relief when Nick Lidstrom announced his return, especially after Brian Rafalski blindsided Wings fans by announcing his retirement. But this season may be the year of a different Nik as Niklas Kronwall looks to shoulder more responsibility.

Kronwall will get heavy minutes this season and will fill roles usually occupied by Lidstrom on the penalty kill. Coach Mike Babcock wants to use Lidstrom sparingly, leaving room for Kronwall to blossom into a top defender.

Newcomer Ian White has bounced around the league the past few years, but he may finally find a home with the Wings where he will be counted on to help replace some of the offense the team lost when Rafalski retired. White, a good puck-moving defenseman, will see power play time and will likely be paired with Lidstrom this year, putting the chances of having a career season offensively firmly within reach.

Mike Commodore will help add some toughness and grit to the blue line, something the Wings lacked previosuly, while Jakub Kindl will likely challenge Commodore for the 6th spot on the blue line. Kindl has shown promise in limited playing time in the past and needs to prove his merits as an NHL defenseman.

Goaltending: Playing with the Wings, a goalie doesn’t have to steal many games. But Jimmy Howard was a big reason why the Wings were able to force a Game 7 against the San Jose Sharks in the spring. Coming into his third full NHL season, Howard needs to show more of that poise consistently throughout the season. This isn’t a make-or-break year for Howard, but he’s shown how good he can be and now he needs to realize that potential all season long. Expect Howard to win 30+ games this season.

Behind Howard will be a familiar face in Ty Conklin, a former Wing returning to the squad after a stint with St. Louis. If nothing else, Conklin is solid and capable when he’s called upon and should be a great addition to the roster.

Playoff Prediction: Playoff bound. The Wings are contenders, and with $5 million in cap space they could be big trade-deadline buyers as well. The team looks solid now and they could look even better when the playoffs start in April.

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Dany Heatley gets Kronwalled in Game 3

May 4

Posted by Chris in Media | 1 Comment

Niklas Kronwall has been known to deliver bone-crushing hits in the playoffs in the past, but this postseason he has been relatively quiet so far in terms of hits. That changed tonight when he lined up San Jose Shark’s forward Dany Heatley with a solid, unsuspecting. Watch as Heatley corrals the puck off the boards and Kronwall takes advantage of Heatley with his head down and delivers one of the best hits of this series. Check out the video of the hit below:

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Hockey World Blog Season Previews 2010: Detroit Red Wings

Sep 30

Posted by Chris in Season Previews | No Comments

Key Offseason Losses: Brett Lebda, Andreas Lilja,

Key Offseason Additions: Mike Modano, Ruslan Salei, Jiri Hudler

Last Season Ranking: 5th in West

Offense:

Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg are the bread and butter of the Red Wings in terms of offensive talent. But after down seasons last year, coach Mike Babcock has decided to reunite the Euro-twins on the top line and hope for bounce back seasons from both players in terms of production. Datsyuk could easily shoot right back up to the 90-point plateau and Zetterberg could see himself back into the 80s. These two players work so well together that it’s difficult to keep them separated for too long.

But the Wings have more star power on the second line in left wing Johan Franzen. If healthy, Franzen is an excellent power forward and a 30+ goal scorer. However, Franzen has never played an entire NHL season and was limited to only 27 regular season games last year after suffering a knee injury. Health will be a huge concern again this season, but if Franzen is in the lineup he is a vital part of the team’s offense.

RED WINGS STARSJoining Franzen on the second line will most likely be center Valtteri Filppula and Todd Bertuzzi. The Wings are hoping that more playing time on one of the team’s top scoring lines will give Filppula the breakout season that they have been waiting for. Like many Wings last year, Filppula was limited to 55 games because of injury, but he could easily post 50 or more points in a healthy season playing with some of the Wings’ top talent.

The offseason addition of Mike Modano and reacquisition of Jiri Hudler make the Red Wings one of the deepest teams in the NHL in terms of offense. Modano will likely start the season centering Hudler and Dan Cleary on the third line. Hudler posted 23 goals during his last stint with the Wings before bolting to Russia and both Modano and Cleary are two years removed from hitting the 20-goal plateau themselves. This line could become a very versatile line for Babcock and could also be very pivotal for long-term success as they will mostly be lining up against the oppositions third-pairing defenseman.

Defense:

The Wings boast a deep blue line as well with players like Brian Rafalski and Nicklas Lidstrom contributing at both ends of the ice. At age 40, Lidstrom is still one of the premier defenseman in the game. Lidstrom notched 49 points last season and posted a plus-23 to show that he is still the main man on the Red Wings’ blue line. However, Rafalski was right there with Lidstrom last season with 42 points and a plus-23 rating.

Both Niklas Kronwall and Brad Stuart bring a physical dimension to the Wings’ lineup, and the addition of Ruslan Salai should help as well. Kronwall is also capable of contributing offensively but remains an injury risk. If healthy, Kronwall could post 40 or more points this season.

The Red Wing are really hoping for a bounce back season from Jonathan Ericsson. After a poor rookie campaign, Ericsson needs to show that he belongs with the big club – especially with rookie Jakub Kindl right on his heels for a roster spot. Kindl’s presence will create some healthy competition for playing time between himself, Ericsson and Salei.

Goaltending:

In his rookie year, Jimmy Howard not only outplayed former Stanley Cup winner Chris Osgood to win the starting goaltender job, but he ranked near the top in many of the goaltending stat categories and was a huge reason why the Wings stayed in contention last season. The starting job will most likely be Howard’s to lose when the season opens next week, but Osgood is ready and more than able to step in and be the number one guy if that should happen. Many said that Osgood looked to be in mid-season form at training camp two weeks ago and could challenge Howard all year long. It will be interesting to see how the goaltending battle plays out, but both Howard and Osgood seem ready for the challenge and willing to step up should the other falter.

Season Outlook:

Injuries certainly hurt the team for much of the season last year and remain a concern for key players like Franzen and Kronwall. After two long playoff runs, the Wings should certainly benefit from a long summer that not only provides time to heal physically, but it also allows the players to regroup mentally. The Wings have the talent to compete for the top spot in the West and, barring some sort of epic collapse, should easily skate into a playoff spot.

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Coyotes in Detroit

Jan 26

Posted by EB in News | 1 Comment

Tonight the Phoenix Coyotes visit Joe Louis Arena to go against Conference competitor the Detroit Red Wings. The two teams have met three times already with Detroit taking two out of the three.  Will the Coyotes clip the mending Wings, or will Detroit fly away with the “W”?

Detroit is coming off of a tough loss to the Los Angeles Kings. That loss has leap frogged them the wrong way. The Wings are currently in 8th place among the conference with 58 points, due only in that the Calgary Flames are sinking fast within the Conference (1-8-1 in last ten).

A ray of hope shines for the Wings as defenseman Niklas Kronwall returns to the lineup. One thing to look out for though is every time an injured player comes back to the Wings lineup, another person goes down.

Phoenix sits 5th within the Conference at 63 points. Looking pretty good right now, however goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov is showing possible signs of wear and tear with only 4 wins and a 3.38 goals against average in the last month. Not to worry though as the offense has scored an average of 3.6 goals in their last 5 games.

Tonight I will be in attendance with Tony A., a long time reader, responder and a Barbie doll collector. Hopefully we can agree to disagree on the outcome.

On a different note, rumors of where Ilya Kovalchuk will land before the trade deadline are circulating. Yet no rumors of possibly moving to Phoenix? Hmm…  Phoenix does have the largest cap space currently and would be able to afford Kovalchuk’s expected of 10 million plus salary a year. They also have two first round draft picks. Just throwing it out there. But who knows, maybe there is room for only one Ilya on the team. I’m crossing my finger regardless.

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First Hockey World Blog Video Post

Nov 24

Posted by Eddie in News | 2 Comments

Hockey World Blog has now begun to do video blogging. I posted a short video about the Niklas Kronwall injury to our Youtube account. Feel free to view it and give us feedback. Enjoy!

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