After the last offseason personnel losses and the plague of mid-season injuries, it follows that the Wings cant go anywhere but up, even though they finished off the season in an admirable fashion and gave an honest push in the postseason. Methinks ending the season earlier (instead of the end of May/beginning of June like 2007, 2008, and 2009) will allow them to gather themselves and rebuild, rest, and be a little more prepared both physically and mentally for the upcoming season.
Some questions to start us off right for another run for Lord Stanley's Cup.
1. 13 players on the Red Wings roster (some with 2-way contracts) will be over the age of 30. Does that tiring stat really matter anymore? I understand age CAN be an issue, but casual hockey fans and haters have been noting their age for years, and for years, theyve been proved naive. What do you think?
2. On the other end of the spectrum, what young guys do you think will have good seasons? Any breakout seasons? Any disappointments? (Id particularly like to hear, but am not limiting you to, speculation regarding Young James, Matthias Ritola and where he'll be in the coming weeks, Jonathon Ericssons progress or lack thereof, and any other AHL guys that will be spending time in Detroit).
3. What role do you think Chris Chelios will establish within the organization?
4. How do you think Ruslan Salei, Mike Modano, and Jiri Hudler will do this season? Will the newcomers mesh well? Will Happy Huds have lost any momentum (due to a substandard level of play in that phony scam of a russian league) or chemistry with the guys?
5. Of Kris Draper, Justin Abdelkader, Darren Helm, Patrick Eaves, and Drew Miller, what three grinders do you think have the most to offer the team if given the most time playing on our 4th line? Do any deserve a FULL TIME spot?
6. Will Filppula be able to shoulder the resonspobility as the 2nd line center (between The Mule and Bert), or will he have another lack-luster season?
7. What can we expect from our alleged 3rd line of Danny Cleary, Mike Modano, and Jiri Hudler?
BQ - Any other Wings-related predictions, thoughts, or comments?Red Wings 2011 Season Preview?
1. I think it might play a role when playing young fast teams, but as in the past, detroit has proved that experience can be a good thing and they will use that to their advantage.
2. I believe Ericksson will have a breakout season. He had some mistakes last year but i believe his size will benefit him and he will put it all together next year. As for disappointing seasons, I think it might be Hudler. Babcock expects him to perform like he did 2 years ago with over 30 points i believe he had, but he needs to get used to the NHL speed again.
3. Im not sure about Chelios...haha, i dont know if it will be noticed during the season.
4. As i said, Hudler will need time to get his game together. As for Modano, he will be a solid addition and will score the occassional goal, but he is getting older. Im not sure about Ruslan Salei because I didnt watch him with Colorado.
5. I think Adbelkader, and Miller deserve full time spots. A tossup between Helm and Eaves. Helm is very fast and can score and Eaves can bring a physical addition to detroit, we have a solid 4th line i think.
6. Filpulla will be a solid center this year. He has skill but I think he lacked some strength last year but he has speed, and moves which will help him on the 2nd line.
7. Solid 3rd line, although i think someone from the 4th line may get moved up due to a bad performer on the 3rd line such as cleary (ie scoring production), but nonetheless it will be a solid line with a couple of goalscorers and a speedster.
I think we will have a solid season this year and go far into the playoffs as we usually do. THe only doubt i have going far into the playoffs could be goaltending. Howard was solid during the regular season but the playoffs are a totally different scenario.
No comments:
Post a Comment