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 have a special guest for this Red Wings Prospect edition of the podcast. Kyle graced us with his presence as we took a deeper look at not only some of the Griffins prospects, but also some of the kids still in juniors and Europe.
Which Griffins prospects are making a good case for themselves.
Which prospects might be with the Wings next season and which ones might be gone.
Which Junior prospects will be in Grand Rapids next year, and who's ready.
With the defense we have in Grand Rapids, and the lacking defense on the Wings, what's going to happen?
Prospects, prospects, prospects, and more prospects!
Olympic predictions and thoughts.
And much more.
Here are some additional information we referenced on the podcast:
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
-AND-
We're also on iTunes now, so you can listen, subscribe, and leave us feedback there as well.
This is a special Griffins episode of the podcast this week, because both Kevin and I were able to watch the Griffins in person this weekend. Who looks good? Who looks really good? Who looks insanely good? Who has tiny legs? All those questions and more will be answered. So please, get your poop in a group and let's roll!
You may listen to and download the podcast right over here ---> Episode 12
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.
Due to scheduling around the Wings games and our own hockey games, we have an early edition of the podcast this week. Both Kevin and I got to go watch the Wings live against Dallas on Thursday night and while the loss sucked; there were good things to take away from the game. There's always a silver lining, even in the Tampa game. Oh, and how about those Griffins? So, here...we...go!
You may listen to and download the podcast right over here ---> Episode 10
If you'd like to hit us up on Twitter, we can be found here:
The Appledaiquiri, Applegator, Abdelgator, Gator, Abby, Fischer, Larionov, Nill edition of the Podcast is here. We barely fit all the juicy hockey talk into one podcast, but we managed to do it. Hold on to your butts, because we've got lots to dive into, including...
What I saw from Red Wings prospects Jake Paterson and Andreas Athanasiou in their OHL game that I attended. If you'd like to read the full write up, it can be found right here.
Griffins update: Wins, losses, injuries, and roster moves.
Brief (very brief) recap of the Wings last three games (complete with sound effects from Kevin).
Who's qualified to make player judgements, and why it's all Kyle Quincey's fault.
Wings roster moves, line moves, and situation going into their 4 game Canada trip.
What we expect from the Wings upcoming road trip.
Ok, we've done 8 of these bad boys now, and Kevin and I are still pretty new to this gig. We're pretty sure at least one person listens to these (Hi Sprout!) and we would very much like to get make our product better. That's where y'all come in. We would appreciate feedback and yes, even constructive criticism so that we can continue to improve. You can e-mail us at Bluelinepatrol@gmail.com and let us know what you think, and what we can do to improve. We promise not to throw flaming poo at you if you have criticisms. This has been a message from quality control, now back to your regularly scheduled podcast.
The podcast is available for your listening pleasure here --->Episode 8
If you'd like to hit us up on Twitter, we can be found hereKevin and here Michelle. You can also follow the Blue Line Patrol Twitter feed @BlueLinePatrol
Welcome to the WOOOOOuellet episode of the podcast. Kevin and I tried to keep our Ouellet and DeKeyser excitement contained, but that's asking a lot.We had a lot to cover and not a lot of time, so here we go! In this episode we've got...
Brief recaps from Colorado and Phoenix, the McLeod hit on Kronwall, Riggy making us proud, what missing Kronwall means to the team.
Danny Mother Frking DeKeyser!
Xavier Ouellet (WOOOOUELLET!): Amazing? or incredibly amazing?
What we learned against San Jose: Our young defense is better than a lot of people gave them credit for.
Kevin and I attended the Grand Rapids Griffins home opener. What happened, who looked good, who will eat your face off, and oh yeah, Ouellet Ouelletwalled someone and it was amazing.
Darren Helm saga and what the Wings roster looks like in the near future.
And more Ouellet and DeKeyser talk. These guys are very, very special players.
The podcast is available for your listening pleasure here --->Episode 7
Here's the marvelous, wonderful, amazing, fantastic [insert other synonyms here] video of Ouellet knocking Joe Thornton on his assterisk.
And here's a sample of things to come.. a mini Ouelletwalling as Ouellet hits Andrew Desjardins.
You can also find more Griffins (and other Wings Prospects) details (box score, highlights, in game observations, etc...) here in my prospects report on Winging it in Motown.
We hope you enjoy the podcast and always welcome suggestions. If you'd like to hit us up on Twitter, we can be found hereKevin and here Michelle. You can send us an e-mail to Bluelinepatrol@gmail.com. You can also follow the Blue Line Patrol Twitter feed @BlueLinePatrol
Welcome ladies and gentlemen, to a special early episode of the Blue Line Patrol Podcast. In honor of the Wings playing a matinee game that most of us couldn't watch because we were at work (no I'm not bitter), Kevin (who did get to see the game.... jerk (just kidding, he's awesome*)) and I have an early edition of the podcast ready to pump you up. There's lots to talk about, including...
The good, the bad, and the beautiful from the Phoenix, Philly, and Boston games.
My dog gives his input about the Phoenix game (he was so disgusted that he couldn't hold back)
Roster and line changes, for the good, or for the better
Who's looked really good so far, and who's just being a pain in the ass
Luke Mother Frking Glendening
How about those power play goals eh?
The Mini-Wings (Griffins)
The Mini-mini Wings? Anthony Mantha and Jake Paterson signed entry level contracts
Some context to Mantha's performace so far and why tempered expectations are appropriate
Why there's reason to be more excited about Paterson than his stats indicate
The podcast is available for your listening pleasure here --->Episode 6
We hope you enjoy the podcast and always welcome suggestions. If you'd like to hit us up on Twitter, we can be found hereKevin and here Michelle. You can send us an e-mail to Bluelinepatrol@gmail.com. You can also follow the Blue Line Patrol Twitter feed @BlueLinePatrol
We have a special podcast for y'all tonight/today/whenever you're listening to it. In honor of The Perfect Human, we give you "The Perfect but not nearly as perfect as Lidstrom" Podcast. There's a ton of hockey going on and Kevin and I have the high points, and in one case a not so high point. Get your listen on as we discuss:
The good and bad of the Wings first three games of the season. Who looked good, who looked... not so good, and who's filling some new roles.
Special teams: looking good, or extra special?
Henrik Zetterberg- Super Human, Super Hero, Man who can will a game into submission, our Captain.
The Griffins exciting start to their season and who's been impressive so far and some of the new players who give us tingly feeling in our nether regions.
A couple of Wings prospects elsewhere around the world who are kicking butt and taking names. Watch out for these guys in the near future.
Bonus: If you had a TARDIS, how how would it affect/change /your hockey lives? Let us know in the comments or on twitter, and find out what Kevin and I would do.
And many bonus extras and gems. Hopefully you're laughing with us and not at us... Or you can laugh at us, that works too.
This it our best podcast yet, so we hope you enjoy it. Prepare yourselves!
The podcast is available for your listening pleasure here --->Episode 5
We hope you enjoy the podcast and always welcome suggestions. If you'd like to hit us up on Twitter, we can be found hereKevin and here Michelle. You can send us an e-mail to Bluelinepatrol@gmail.com. You can also follow the Blue Line Patrol Twitter feed @BlueLinePatrol
