It feels like months since the Red Wings have played, but the Olympics are finally over and we can finally get back to watching the best league in the world. On the Xavier Ouellet episode of the podcast, we've got Griffins news, junior prospect news, an update on Tyler Bertuzzi, Wings talk, speculation, and a lot of questions. I was at the Griffins games this past weekend and there were a few players who really impressed me. Kevin's got your Wings updates to pump you up for the return of hockey.
You may listen to and download the podcast right over here ---> Episode 16
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We're also on iTunes now, so you can listen, subscribe, and leave us feedback there as well.
We all know the Wings have a solid set of defensive prospects currently playing in Grand Rapids. I've also seen lots of people on twitter (yes, this is my fault for reading what people have to say on twitter) freaking out about possible trades since one or more of these players are usually mentioned.
Let's take a look at the current Wings D, the possible top prospects, and what might happen in the coming years. PLAYERS SIGNED TO A LONG-TERM CONTRACT WHO AREN'T GOING ANYWHERE
1. Kronwall
2. Ericsson
Pretty self-explanatory.
YOUNG PLAYERS WITH EXPIRING RFA CONTRACTS
1. DeKeyser (RFA after this season)
2. Smith (RFA after next season)
3. Lashoff (RFA after 2015-2016 season)
I think we all agree DDK will be here for a long time. Smith is improving. He still has some work to do, but for having less than 100 games played in the NHL as of this writing, he's looking to be a pretty decent player, and actually wouldn't shock me if he was one to get traded for a top four player (I doubt he will, but teams have wanted him in the past). Lashoff is Lashoff. He's a cheap 6/7 who can block shots and kill penalties. Good depth player that if we happened to lose, not a huge deal.
YOUNG-ISH PLAYERS THE WINGS SIGNED TO A LONG(ISH)-TERM DEAL BASED ON A HALF SEASON
1. Kindl
After being sent to the press box for a few games as a healthy scratch, this contract (first year in a 4 year, $2.4M a year deal) doesn't look so good. I wouldn't count on him being here the entire time if we can entice a team to take him. He's almost 27, so I doubt there's much more developing left.
GONE BY JULY 2ND
1. Quincey
I don't think he's as bad as most Wings fans do, but he's definitely overpaid for a 4/5. The beat writers are saying he won't be re-signed, and I believe them. There have even been calls for him to be traded, so there's that.
WHERE DO WE STAND AFTER THE CURRENT TOP 7?
LOCKS:
1. Kronwall
2. Ericsson
3. DeKeyser
PROBABLY NOT GOING ANYWHERE BUT YOU NEVER KNOW:
4. Smith
NOT A KEY PART TO THE FUTURE:
5. Kindl
6. Lashoff
7. Quincey
OBVIOUS SUMMARY SECTION
The Wings have four players who are a key part to the next 3-5 seasons. This leaves 3 spots remaining, and that's if the Wings don't sign/trade for another top 4 player. WAITING IN THE WINGS (because puns!)
The only player not in his rookie year in the AHL is Almquist. I believe he is no longer exempt from waivers after this season, so the Wings risk losing him. Ouellet and Marchenko have both played with the Wings this season as well, albeit briefly. Sproul is a top offensive player who still could get a call up this year, and Jensen's rookie year has been derailed by injuries, but has a high ceiling.
WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR THE FUTURE?
Ouellet, Sproul, Marchenko, and Jensen will probably start next season in GR. Jensen definitely needs another year in the minors, and I'm thinking it's better the other three play more minutes in the AHL than be possible healthy scratches half the time with the Wings. Assuming no other trades/signings, this would be the Wings top 7 to start next season:
1. Kronwall (signed for 5 more years)
2. Ericsson (signed for 6 more years)
3. DeKeyser (RFA, will be here for a while)
4. Smith (RFA after next season)
5. Kindl
6. Lashoff
7. Almquist
That doesn't inspire a lot of confidence in me. The top 3 are fine, but after that, it's very weak. Too early to give up on Smith, but don't want to count on him to be a top four guy since he hasn't proven it yet on a consistent enough basis
But here's where the "trade" issue comes in. Those top three aren't going anywhere for two-three years and Smith has played his way into the top 6. Seeing that there are only three spots left, basic math tells us the four top prospects in GR (Ouellet, Sproul, Marchenko, Jensen) is greater than the three openings. Yikes. There are also new draft picks every year signing contracts that are willing to push these players on the depth chart, most notably, Mattias Backman, currently playing in Sweden. And if the Wings sign a top-four guy this summer (as they need to do)....yeah. Overripe joke.
CONCLUSION
It's pretty obvious the Wings need an improvement on their current defense if they want to be serious cup contenders in the next two years. They have the prospect depth to improve their team (salary cap issues be damned...) and they should take advantage of this. If one or two of these players gets traded, don't get upset as long as it makes the current team better.
If the Wings are secretly going through a rebuild, then I wouldn't trade any of these players. I would see which develop the best and go from there. I doubt this is in the plans. I would expect the Wings to be more active at this years trade deadline and/or free agency to try and get another top level NHL defenseman in the line up. I don't know if it will be a younger prospect or maybe Smith, but something has to happen for the Wings to get back to being a Stanley Cup Contender in the near future.
After a month-long absence due to shoulder injuriesconcussion-like symptomssore groins life getting in the way, we're back with a Goosetastic new episode and we try to balance out the good and the bad, the positive and the negative, then excitement and the tears. You know how it goes. Kevin and I talk about the walking wounded Wings, how the call-ups are doing, who's impressing us, and if we think we can actually score some goals. We've also got plenty of Griffins talk when we look at who's hot and who's not this season, what to do with guys like Mitch Callahan (Callyhands) and Landon Ferraro who lose waiver exemption and are UFA's after this season, and what the Frk is going on with Martin Frk.
You may listen to and download the podcast right over here ---> Episode 14
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We're also on iTunes now, so you can listen, subscribe, and leave us feedback there as well.
We make plans to podcast again, and the Wings start winning again. Coincidence? Probably. With all the injuries the Wings are dealing with, we're getting a taste of the future with guys like Jurco, Sheahan, and Mrazek called up from Grand Rapids. The Wings currently have 9 players on their roster who won the Calder Cup with the Grand Rapids Griffins last spring. With all of the currently injured Wings (except Weiss) due back by the end of the year, the Wings will have some tough roster decisions to make. This week Kevin and I take a look at...
What roster moves need to be made short term, and long term, in order to make room for injured players returning.
Tomas Jurco's performance in his first 4 NHL games, how he's done so far, and what should be done with him short term
Riley Sheahan's surprising performance. Should he stay or should he go?
Pavel Datsyuk, the Magic Man is back!
Who gets sent down to Grand Rapids when Nyquist, Helm, and Abdlekader make their expected returns against the Islanders?
Healthy scratches? What are those?
Spoiler Alert! We talk 24/7, the good, the bad, who's the star so far, and what we'd like to see more of.
We also have a special announcement to make... No, Kevin isn't pregnant. The podcast should be available on iTunes in the near future! We've jumped through the necessary hoops and awaiting final approval. We'll make an official announcement when it's up and available, and we're excited about this development because it will make it much easier for you, our valued listeners, to access, download, and listed to the BLP Podcast. We'll keep you posted on further developments. Yay progress!
You may listen to and download the podcast right over here ---> Episode 13
Due to scheduling difficulties, this will probably be the last podcast we're able to record for a few weeks. So we want to thank you again for listening, and wish you a Merry Christmas and a Hockey New Year... Errrr.. Happy New Year.
If you'd like to hit us up on Twitter, we can be found here:
The only positive things about the Wings/Ducks game? Glendening's first NHL point (an assist on Cleary's garbage time goal) and Tomas Jurco's first NHL goal to give the Wings a 1-0 lead.
As much as I don't want to remember anything from this game, it's still awesome to see a player score his first NHL goal. Let's watch the video and break down how this amazingness happened:
Not a whole bunch to break down here, but we're going to do it anyway. To the screenshots with my awesome paint skills!
Pretty basic play here. The Wings have control while trying to complete a line change. You can see Jurco just about ready to get on the ice, while Anaheim only has one player putting semi-pressure on Quincey. They are also changing, leaving lots of room at center ice, which will be important soon.
Side note part one: typically, it's not a good idea to change all at once. This is why you see the one Ducks forward pressuring. Either he is the last Ducks forward to pressure or was the first one to change. When the other team has the puck, if you're the far winger (or far side d-man), your job is to make sure the far boards are taken away. The players changing can cover that side, so the far winger waits just a second or two until that side is covered before he goes. Here, the one Ducks player need to put more pressure on to either force Quincey behind his own net or to go back to Smith.
Quincey skates back a little bit, but the Ducks forward doesn't chase. This gives Quincey time and a much better angle to pass the puck up. Miller is waiting for the puck at the offensive blue line (see below for details why this is a thing). Jurco recognizes this is happening and cuts to the middle.
Side note part two: The two-line pass was eliminated in 2005. Teams started taking advantage of this by basically icing the puck to a player waiting by the offensive zone. This player, typically the far winger, usually just tips the puck into the offensive zone, negating the icing and allowing his teammates to change. Sometimes, however, this player collects the puck if he has support and tries to make a play. Foreshadowing.
Miller does his job as his linemates are changing and collects the puck from Quincey. I'm not sure if he saw Jurco coming or recognized the Ducks D were changing late, but regardless, he receives the pass instead of just tipping it in the corner. Jurco sees Miller basically standing still, and with the Ducks left D changing and the center expecting his D to be there, Jurco has a clean shot to the net. All Miller has to do is get the puck past the Ducks d-man and let Jurco go get it. SPOILERS: it happens.
Aww yeah! Miller does his job with a little saucer pass to the front of the net. Jurco outskates the Ducks center and their d-man (Fowler) can't get back in time. Jurco has amazing hands and decides to Nyquist this and go five hole. Proof:
This goal was awesome and it made me sad that I didn't go to the game. Then...the rest of the game happened and I became content to stay home. Oh well.
To summarize:
Both teams were in the middle of line changes
The Ducks didn't pressure Quincey enough or take away the stretch pass
Miller was in the proper position for the Wings to make the long stretch pass
Tomas Jurco is really good at hockey
Let's hope I get to do another one of these for Luke Glendening or Riley Sheahan in the near future. Until then, GO WINGS!!
I broke down Nyquist's first NHL goal this season here, and now, I'm going to break down his second of the season, which also happened to be in the same game. Oh, and it ended up being the game winner.
Here's the video the awesomeness:
And the breakdown begins...now!
The play starts with Carolina skating up the ice with the puck. With a one goal lead under 5 minutes left, the Wings are making sure they have all the skaters back to prevent an odd-man rush. Hank is doing his job and forcing the puck towards the boards. It looks like Nyquist just got on the ice (based on his position to the bench and the door still being open) and appears to be a little flat-footed. Carolina has all 5 guys in the neutral zone and are looking to create a scoring chance.
Gus and Hank force the Carolina player to move the puck towards the player on the boards. The Wings are still in a good defensive position, with both d-men back and Mule available to cover the high slot. Note how I'm counting all the Carolina players. This will matter soon. What happens next?
The Carolina player carries the puck down the boards, with E covering him and making sure he doesn't get inside. Zetterberg and Franzen do a good job of covering the other Carolina players entering the zone. If you check out the lines above, those are meant to represent passing lanes. All four options are blocked by either Hank or Mule. It's easy for this keyboard warrior to say, but the best play is probably to shoot the puck around the boards and have number 27 on the right point pick up the puck and try to set up. This doesn't happen.
As you can see, the puck was passed towards the player going to the slot (number 15). Mule does a good job and eliminates him so he can't receive the pass. Hank does a good job of being between the guy he's defending and his own net. At this point, Nyquist is high in the zone. After getting his stride back, he's off to cover the trailer in the middle of the ice. Him being flat-footed earlier is about to be a good thing. In the interviews after the game, Gus said he called for the puck, so I would imagine that would be happening just about now when he realizes that Hank is going to have the puck on his stick.
Hank does a good skate-to-stick puck handling thing, because he's Hank. Check out the 5th Carolina player - he realizes right about now that he's the last guy back and there is a guy behind him. Hank doesn't have much time, so he makes a smart play and lightly shoots the puck out of the zone. He knows with Nyquist's speed, it shouldn't be too big of an issue for him to pick it up.
So, not really much for me to break down from this point on. Hank lobs the puck off the boards and Gus goes and gets it and goes 5 hole on Peters (which is really funny to me because I have a story that I don't think is meant for public knowledge and I don't want to piss anybody off (or get sued (mostly the lawsuit part (parenthesis)))). But I mean while I'm here I might as well keep going with the play right?
I'll spread my WINGS and I'll learn how to fly...
I'll do what it takes, 'till I touch the sky...
Almost there. Wait for it....
Awesome. Wait, one last thing...
GOOSE LEAP!!!! Let's get a better picture:
AP/Carlos Osorio
And that's the analysis OKAY FINE ONE MORE PIC OF THE GOOSE LEAP:
DRW/Dan Mannes
Okay, I'm done with Goose Leap things...for now. Let's summarize this goal:
The Wings are trying to protect a lead so have all five guys back
Carolina is trying to put pressure on so they have all five guys on the rush (mistake)
Franzen makes a great defensive play and takes out the guy receiving the pass
We all know he made his NHL return last week against Carolina and did ALL THE AWESOME THINGS. Let's get our hockey nerd on and break down the first goal today. We'll do the other one at a later time. Because hockey.
Here's the video of the first goal:
So awesome.
Let's start.....now!
It starts with the opening faceoff. Nyquist is on the right wing with Hank at center and Mule on the left side. Ericsson is the right side d-man with Kronner on the left. Pretty standard set up.
Carolina wins the face off to their left side. Nyquist forces the defenseman to throw the puck up the boards. Again, nothing huge here as everyone is doing the proper things.
The Carolina d-man goes up the boards with Nyquist pressuring him. The Carolina left winger doesn't cleanly handle the puck. It could be because it's a bouncing puck from an odd angle, or it could be because Ericsson was stepping up and was ready to destroy him. Let's go with this theory. You can see E stepping up on his guy before the red line. This doesn't let the player dump the puck in, and if everyone is covered, there's a good chance for a turnover. But, because the Carolina guy couldn't cleanly handle the puck, Big E gets it anyway.
Not much here. Once Ericsson gets the puck, he hits Mule cutting across the middle. Mule continues towards the boars and softly dumps the puck in the corner. He knows that with himself and Nyquist on the same side, there's a better chance to recover the puck if it stays on that side. This is important hockey knowledge. Pass it on.
Okay, I guess I shall explain what F1, F2, and F3 mean here...
F1 - first forward in, his job is to put pressure on the D and force the puck along the boards.
F2 - his job is to take away the strong side boards since that's where the first outlet pass usually goes. (strong side means which side the puck is on and/or going towards)
F3 - he stays up high (usually between the top of the circles and the blue line) to make sure there aren't any odd-man rushes against.
Because Swedes are awesome, they know this, and play their roles perfectly. Nyquist forces his guy to play the puck up the boards. In the next shot, you will see Hank doing his thing and rocking the boards (and forcing another turnover).
Because of the pressure put on both Carolina players by Hank and Gus, the pass was again not a great one and the winger couldn't handle it cleanly off his skate. Since Hank is awesome, he's about to pick up the puck and head to the net. Look at both of the Carolina players on the top right - they're already heading out of the zone, expecting the puck to be cleared. Wrong. They will very soon all be out of position. Turnovers are bad if they happen to your team.
So Hank takes the puck to the net with Nyquist also heading to the there. One of the Carolina players hooks Hank, with the puck slightly coming off his stick. This forces him to go back to the point. This is where Big E comes in. I'm not sure if he stepped up because he knows there is a penalty against or because he sees all 5 Carolina players well ahead of him, and with Mule playing F3 (up high), he knows there is coverage. Big E just does what he can here to get the puck through to the net.
Okay, so Big E pulls a Quincey and gets his shot blocked. Thankfully, Nyquist went to the front and the puck just sorta kinda happened to bounce right to him. The puck is smart. Justin Peters, the Carolina goalie, went down to block the Big E shot, so as he scrambles to face Nyquist, he's slightly out of position and such. Nyquist uses this to create amazing things.
AAAAAWWWWWWW YEAH!!! This goal was awesome to see live and I'm really happy I went to this game. Nyquist is the best.
In summary:
The Wings had amazing positioning all throughout the play, from center ice and the forecheck
Carolina was not able to cleanly give/receive two passes
Franzen made the smart dump in for Gus to be able to follow the play
The blocked shot caused the goalie to be slightly off line and not in the greatest position
WOOOOO!!!!!
Nyquist didn't miss the net by 4,523 feet...this game
I'll break down Nyquist's second AND GAME WINNING goal in the near future. Because hockey.
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Welcome to the Daniel ClearyAlfredsson ClearyAlfredsson Cleary Alfredsson edition of the podcast! Hey, the Wings finally won a couple games, so there's significantly less cursing and sobbing than there would have otherwise been. There's lots of important Wings stuff going on, so let's get right to the good stuff, such as...
Pavel Datsyuk's injury and the implications for the team
Don't call is a goalie controversy, but Jonas Gustavsson gets a second straight start in net.
What's going on with Jimmy Howard
New injuries, healed injuries, and new lines: good, bad, and serious implications
Justin Abdelkader >>>>>> Daniel Cleary (Who was on the Abdelkader bandwagon early?)
Gustav Nyquist who?
and plenty of bonus nuggets that Sigmund Freud would have a field day with.
You may listen to and download the podcast right over here ---> Episode 11
If you'd like to hit us up on Twitter, we can be found here:
WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOuellet Photo Credit: David Guralnick/Detroit News
Trying something different today. I had planned on doing an analysis of Xavier Ouellet's first NHL goal, because that's kind of my thing. However, that hasn't happened yet and with Ouellet being back in Grand Rapids for now, that post will come in the (very near) future.
Michelle asked the amazing Sanjay (@Weallbleedredd on the twitter and on the YouTube device) to upload Ouellet's shifts against the Jets so we could break them down and give an honest assessment of Mr. Ouellet's performance.
Let's take a look, shall we? Let's watch the first video and break it down:
First shift (0:00-0:34):
Ouellet (we'll shorten to XO for every possible reason) starts on the right side (he's a left-handed shot) paired with Lashoff (also a lefty). Andersson wins the faceoff to Lashoff who quickly gives the puck to XO.
XO turns up the ice and notices the Jets are in the following defensive position:
The lanes to all three forwards are blocked by Jets players. XO has some ice in front of him, and with no passing lane, does the smart thing by getting to the red line and dumping the puck in.
The puck comes back to XO at the right point. He has no direct pressure, so he fires a shot with the Wings crashing the net.
The puck then comes up Lashoff's side coming into the Wings zone. The puck bounces over Lashoff's stick and it looks like the Jets player might have the edge on it:
XO recognizes that there are no additional Jets players skating in, so he comes over to help Lashoff and make sure there is no angle to the net. Once XO sees that Lashoff has forced the Jets forward wide, he quickly checks the front of the net because that's what a smart player does:
See that stick at the left of the pic? Yeah, that's another Jets player coming in. XO recognizes this and peels back to block the lane, which is important because *spoilers* the puck may be going in that general direction:
Thanks, TSN, for changing camera angles AS SOON AS HE PASSES THE PUCK, making for a not-as-good angle for us to see what happens. But we get what happens, XO blocks the lane and deflects the pass. No shot on goal. Puck in the corner. XO FTW.
The shift isn't over yet, however. XO collects the puck in the corner and quickly leads the rush up the ice. The Jets have four players within range of him:
It's way too dangerous here to go backwards to Lashoff. Plus, the worst place for a turnover is just inside your own blue line as the rest of your team is transitioning up the ice. XO tries to hit Sammy with a pass off the boards. He doesn't have enough angle, but he at least gets the puck out of the zone. The Jets knock it down, but Andersson passes back to Lashoff as XO gets back into his defensive position.
I'd say that's a solid shift. This is fun.
Second Shift (0:34-0:44):
The puck is in the offensive zone. XO is on the right point with Kindl on the left. XO gets a pass from Bertuzzi and quickly slaps one on net with traffic in front. The puck bounces around then gets covered. Not much to break down here, had an open lane to the net with traffic in front and got the shot off. I'll take that play.
Third Shift (0:44-1:12):
I suppose Mr. XO couldn't be flawless forever. XO is playing right side with Lashoff on the left. Andersson wins the faceoff to Lashoff (hooray rhyming!) who plays the puck to XO behind the net. XO gets pressured behind the net, so he skates it out front and tries to pass to Lashoff. Yeah, about that...
As you can see, XO missed Lashoff with the pass. He has that first instinct of "OH I DONE FUCKED UP GOTTA GO GET AND PRETEND NOTHING HAPPENED" but thinks better of that. XO get back to the front and covers his guy. The puck gets moved around the Wings zone, but the entire time, XO stays between the Jets forward and the net. There is quite a bit of scrambling done on this play, primarily because of XO's turnover. The Wings eventually clear the zone and no harm comes.
Even though XO turned it over and did briefly panic, he did the smart thing and covered the front and whichever guy he was matched up against. Good thing it's the only mistake he'll ever make...on that shift. Ahem.
Fourth Shift (1:13-End):
Here we go. XO is playing the right side again with Lashoff on the left. The play starts with the puck in the offensive zone but transitioning towards the neutral zone. The Jets LW (the player the right side (XO) is responsible for covering) goes to the right wing to play the puck. XO sees this, along with no other Jets forward coming up the ice, so he follows his guy and hits him. Visual evidence:
Lashoff collects the puck and the Wings successfully break out. XO stays on the left side while Lashoff is on the right. XO moves with the play and Miller hits him with a perfect pass. XO skates up and doesn't have much room:
Once again, XO doesn't have much of a play here, so he makes the smart decision to get the puck in deep. While the forwards are working down low, XO stays on the left side while Lashoff covers the right side. The puck eventually works its way to Lashoff who sends it over to XO, when things get interesting:
XO passes to Miller here. Not a great play since Miller has guys around him, but not a horrible play. Miller quickly backhands the puck on net. XO's guy isn't watching him, so this allows XO to sneak in and wait for a pass or a rebound. Again with the spoilers...
Sadly, XO did not bury this rebound. But his ability to read the play and get a scoring chance is awesome and could easily result in plenty of future goals. Yay positive thinking!
And now, another negative. I've mentioned before how XO needs to get quicker. He's not slow or anything, but his skating needs to be improved. He's 20, I think I'll let it slide for now. Here's a couple of shots showing this.
Thankfully, this didn't come back and hurt the Wings. XO is decently far behind Thorburn, who is not exactly an offensive dynamo in the NHL. Hopefully a little work in the minors and some summer training will help XO increase his skating and then he will be even more awesome.
As far as the rest of the shift, nothing too fancy happened. XO had a guy one on one and kept him to the outside and did the same thing as the puck cycled down low. Even at the very end, with the Jets d-man pinching down, XO slightly loses his man for a second, but still works to block the lane and works his way back to his original guy as the puck gets covered in front.
To summarize the first video: XO is very strong with positional play. His only "major" mistake was turning the puck over on his third shift. Maybe it's a play he used in Grand Rapids and expected Lashoff to be there? Who knows. But he didn't get flustered and still was in position after the mistake.
Can you handle some more? Here...we....GO!!
And the second video:
First Shift (0:00-0:52):
Lots of things happened on this shift for XO. The play starts off in the Jets zone. XO is on the right side per usual, with Lashoff on the left. As the Jets transition up the ice, it looks to be a 3 on 2 with Datsyuk just trailing behind. Notice what XO (and Lashoff) are doing:
Communication. I know Michelle has pointed this out, but XO has solid communication skills. He's very vocal on the ice, which is very helpful, trust me. Here, both Lashoff and XO have their hands pointing to the middle player. I'm not exactly sure what they are saying here, but what ends up happening is XO takes the player in the middle of the ice while Datsyuk ends up lifting the stick of the Jets player on the bottom of the pic. It would make sense that XO was saying "I got him" so Pav knows who to cover on the backcheck.
The puck transitions back to the Jets zone. XO does a good job of slightly trailing the play as the Wings go to the Jets net - he heads to the top of the circle to see if the puck comes out, but it doesn't, so he quickly retreats back to the blue line.
Things then start to get interesting. The Jets gain control and come into the Wings zone on a 2 on 2. Lashoff and XO do a good job and force the Jets to take a bad shot from way down low. XO gains control behind the net with a Jets forward chasing him:
If you watch the video, you can see that this is a broken play (aka: not a thing that regularly happens). Also, Andersson is now on the ice (he didn't start the shift). I don't see the 5th Wings skater. I'm guessing Pav changed for Andersson since they are both centers. Hank is taking the center role here. Bert is out of frame, but with control, he's probably going for a change, so there's no other forward for an outlet pass.
What usually happens on a set break out is one d-man is behind the net with the puck. The other d-man will go to one of the corners. A forward will then almost skate around the opposite circle, from the inside to the boards. The d-man from behind the net, usually with pressure, will pass the puck to either the d-man in the corner or the forward in the opposite corner. This....does not happen.
What happens? XO has no one to pass to in the corner he's skating towards, so he tries to cut up the middle....yeah:
Xavier and Henrik, sitting in a tree.... Here's my thinking on why this happened. Lots of times when a team is in the middle of a change, the d-man will wait until the rest of the team makes the change until he begins the breakout. However, since the Jets had pressure, XO had to move the puck and had no one to pass it to. You can see above how Lashoff did eventually go to the corner to wait for a pass. Andersson is skating up the ice, thinking the rest of the team will be breakout with him. Basically, just a giant fustercluck happened at once. I would have preferred XO skate to the outside and not to the front of the net. But, he does recover nicely....by diving and, along with Andersson, getting the puck out to safety. And just because, here's XO diving:
Awesome. And that's the first shift of the second video.
Second Shift (0:53-1:22):
Much less interesting of a shift for XO. He handles a 2 on 2 like a champ, the puck goes into the Jets zone. The puck does eventually come to him at the point. As we learned earlier, he's not afraid to shoot the puck, which makes this play that much better:
XO has a couple of options here. He can shoot, but he has a Jet player in the shooting lane (which is blocked, can lead to a Jets breakaway) and no Wings player out front. A shot here would serve no purpose. He can dump it in the corner, but the lane to the right corner is blocked. The best option he has is to go to the other d-man on the point. This will buy some time for a Wings player to get in front and the other two at the top (Sammy and Andy) to get back into the play. Great work by XO here. Make the simple and smart play. That's what I like from my d-men.
Nothing else significant happened for XO on this shift. The puck eventually was covered by the Jets.
Third Shift (1:23-1:46)
The play starts in the Jets zone and slowly comes back towards the Wings end. Just to show that the earlier point on communication wasn't an oddity:
Doing the point again. I'm assuming he's telling Lashoff to watch the guy coming up that side while XO is going to go back to the middle of the ice to watch for additional Jets forwards. I love seeing this.
Nothing else spectacular happened on this shift. XO had some good coverage in his own zone but Lashoff ended up taking a tripping penalty.
Fourth Shift (1:46-end):
XO's final shift of the video :((((((((((((((((
The puck goes into the Wings zone. XO and a Jets player are chasing after it and XO has a step.
This is a tough play for any d-man. He has a guy right on his back with no support from his teammates. It would be a tough for him to try and backhand the puck all the way around the boards and shooting it forehand blindly up the close boards would be very difficult. As a d-man myself, I would probably just try and keep skating with it behind the net, but XO is much, much, much better than me at playing hockey. He does the following:
I'm not 100% what the Jets forward was doing here. He may have thought XO was going to continue to go behind the net, so went there to lay on a big hit. He may have been at the end of a shift so he was just putting pressure on XO to get his teammates enough time to change and was going to go for a change himself. Regardless, XO realizes that the Jets forward has peeled towards the center of the ice, so he stops and turns to relieve the pressure. He takes his time, skates up, and hit Bert in stride as Bert skates towards the Jets zone. Having the poise to do that? Awesome.
What did we learn about Ouellet in the second video? I learned that he seems to communicate very well, especially for a 20 year old rookie d-man. He usually makes the smart and simple play. These plays won't make the box scores, but trust me, they are just as important as making the big hit or scoring a few more goals a year. A lack of communication or a mistake under pressure can lead to a goal against, so to have those abilities (especially at this stage of his career) is amazing.
Ouellet mostly played sheltered minutes against 3rd and 4th line competition in his 3 NHL games. That's to be expected. He did get a couple of PK shifts, but was not a regular. This is what is to be expected from a rookie d-man. He will eventually make a few brain farts and cause some goals against. It's not to be expected that he's this calm and smart this early in his career. I'm guessing he won't be a regular in Detroit for two more years, but who knows. If he stays this solid and gets a few more call-ups, he may make the top 6 next season.
That's all for now. To further educate yourself on Mr Xavier Ouellet, check out the following links:
And per usual, yell at me (@KevinN37) on the twitter if you have something else you want me to break down. While you're there, say hi to Michelle (@SlapshotG0al) and the @BlueLinePatrol account for some random hockey things.
