Blue Line Patrol Podcast:Episode 15

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:

Prospect Report Card: The Forwards
Prospect Report Card: The Defense and Goalie
Should I Stay Or Should I Go: Mitch Callahan

Thanks again to Kyle for chatting with us. You can follow him on Twitter @kylemcilmurray and why wouldn't you want to?

You may listen to and download the podcast right over here ---> Episode 15

-AND-

We're also on iTunes now, so you can listen, subscribe, and leave us feedback there as well. 

Blue Line Patrol on iTunes

If you'd like to hit us up on Twitter, we can be found here:

Kevin @KevinN37
Michelle @Slapshotg0al  
Blue Line Patrol @BlueLinePatrol 

and you can always e-mail us at Bluelinepatrol@gmail.com

Let's Go Red Wings!!! Let's Go Griffins!!! 

Blue Line Patrol Podcast: Episode 8

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 here Kevin and here Michelle.  You can also follow the Blue Line Patrol Twitter feed @BlueLinePatrol 

Let's Go Red Wings!!! Let's Go Griffins!!! 

Blue Line Patrol Podcast: Episode 2

Hockey is back! Frk Yeah!

There's a lot happening in the hockey world already, so there's a lot to cover this week, including...

•  Training camp: Kevin and I both attended camp and we'll let you know who looked good, who looked great, and who didn't blow our skirts up.
• The first two preseason games: Who looked good, who didn't impress, hey PK practice!, and look forward to the Bruins game Thursday night.

You can listen to or download the podcast here. ---> Episode 2

There was one thing that both Kevin and I forgot to mention on the podcast that we want to rectify.  Justin Abdelkader looked very, very good in training camp. He played with Datsyuk and Zetterberg, and that line was on fire (in a good way, not a dumpster fire). I'm sure we all remember when Abby first got moved up to the first line because we had approximately 6.75 healthy players left on the team. It was painful to watch at times because Abby was in way over his head. As the season progressed, he got more comfortable and competent in the new role he was assigned. Abby is essentially filling the Homer role, but he has more skating and puck handling skills than Homer did. There were times in training camp, and in the first preseason game where Abby reminded us a lot of Homer. He's was really good at digging pucks out of the corner, screening the goalie, creating chaos in the crease, but he also has decent puck handling skills and while his skating isn't mind blowing, it doesn't hold him back. Abby improved a ton last year in this role, and he looks even better now, than he did at the end of the playoffs. Both Datsyuk and Zetterberg have said they like playing with him, and Z even said that hopefully they can keep playing together.

When we re-signed Cleary, Babcock said he originally planned to put buckets up on the top line in Abdelkader's place, but Abby played so well that Babs didn't do it. I am 100% in favor of keeping Abby on the top line, and Kevin is 95% in favor of it. Abby is younger, stronger, and has more future potential than Cleary (or Bertuzzi) and keeping him on the top line so he can continue to get better at the role, is better for the future of the team. 



Here's the link to George Malik's post with the "highlights" from the game against Chicago.

Here's the awesomely awkward picture of Ouellet and Sproul (the article is worth a read as well).


We hope you enjoy the podcast and always welcome suggestions. If you'd like to hit us up on Twitter, we can be found here Kevin and here Michelle.
You can also follow the Blue Line Patrol Twitter feed @BlueLinePatrol 

Let's Go Red Wings!!! Let's Go Griffins!!! 

Blue Line Patrol Podcast: Episode 1

Welcome to the first episode of the Blue Line Patrol Podcast!

Kevin and I covered a lot of ground, and we went a little (lot?) longer than planned, but we hope you enjoy the bonus content and will stick with us as we cover...

• The NHL Prospect Tournament in Traverse City
• Why Grand Rapids Griffins coach Jeff Blashill is so good
• The Griffins upcoming season and what the roster might look like
• Who might be the next young guy(s) to be called up to the Wings
• A brief preview of the Red Wings Training Camp
• And More...

 The link to listen to and download the podcast can be found here --> Episode 1

If you'd like to read my full writeup of each of the Prospect Tournament games, complete with player evaluations and video of the games, they can be found here:

Game 1: Detroit (3) vs Minnesota (1)
Game 2: Detroit (4) vs Dallas (2)
Game 3: Detroit (4) vs St. Louis (1)
Game 4: Detroit (4) vs Buffalo (2)

These are the Griffins "Between the Benches" videos Kevin mentioned in the podcast. These are amazing videos and we both highly recommend watching them. The griffins also have a lot of other very cool videos on their vimeo channel that are worth the watch.

(Part 1) Between the Benches: Calder Cup Playoffs - PEDAL DOWN
(Part 2) Between the Benches: Calder Cup Playoffs - FIRST TO THREE
(Part 3) Between the Benches: Calder Cup Playoffs - SACRIFICE AND FOCUS
(Part 4) Between the Benches: Calder Cup Playoffs - THE PROCESS
(Part 5) Between the Benches: Calder Cup Playoffs - 100 GAMES
(Part 6) Between the Benches: Calder Cup Playoffs - TAKE IT IN BABY 

We hope you enjoy the podcast and always welcome suggestions. If you'd like to hit us up on Twitter, we can be found here Kevin and here Michelle

Thanks for listening!