A fantastic article and video are provided by Bill Roose of detroitredwings.com discussing Tuesday's visit by the OHL's Windsor Spitfires with the NHL's Detroit Red Wings.


Prospects experience life in the NHL


The two prominent prospects from the Windsor Spitfires that were interviewed for this piece will be highly sought after in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft. Both Taylor Hall and Cam Fowler were front and center on the NHL Central Scouting Bureau's preliminary rankings of Ontario Hockey League draft eligible players. Hall (ranked 2nd) and Fowler (3rd) were joined by Spitfire teammates Austin Watson (8th) and Justin Shugg (11th) on the list.


NHL Central Scouting Bureau's Preliminary OHL Player rankings



Meanwhile, 2009 1st round draft pick of the Nashville Predators, Ryan Ellis had an interesting visit in Detroit, as told to the Windsor Star's Dave Waddell:

Not surprisingly, defenceman Ryan Ellis wanted to talk to the player he's most often compared to.

"Everyone would like to meet Datsyuk, Zetterberg, Lidstrom and the top-end guys, but someone for me is Brian Rafalski," said Ellis, who was Nashville's first pick and the 11th overall in last June's NHL draft. "I've seen him play a lot and I know a lot about him.

"We've got similar styles of game and in other ways too, so it will be interesting to hear what he has to say.

"He's had it a lot rougher than I have. He took a little while to crack the NHL because back in the day the smaller guys weren't acceptable in the league."

Ellis admitted after attending the Predators' training camp, it felt a little odd to be behind the scenes with Nashville's divisional rivals.

"Yeah it feels like (sleeping with the enemy)," Ellis chuckled. "They're in the same division and they've had a few good playoff battles.

"I don't think I should tell them (Predators) that I was here, but it's been a pretty awesome experience."

Throughout the season, I will provide in-depth interviews with each of these highly touted prospects, in addition to Tyler Seguin, the current #1 prospect in the OHL of the Plymouth Whalers.




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Following Saturday night's goalfest vs. the Ducks, the Red Wings return to action on Wednesday night with a date against the Dallas Stars. This will begin a 3 game in 4 nights stretch for Detroit and 7 games in 11 nights. Although Chris Osgood returned to practice, Jimmy Howard is expected to once again get the start in goal against the Stars on Wednesday night.

Henrik Zetterberg was named the NHL's first star for last week. His nine points led the league for the week and he recorded a plus-5.


mark.spizzirri@hockeybuzz.com