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Duck sweep and the Calle Jarnkrok North American Tour begins

March 25, 2013, 4:17 PM ET [38 Comments]
Mark Spizzirri
Detroit Red Wings Blogger • RSSArchiveCONTACT
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Following a pair of impressive road victories against the talented Anaheim Ducks this weekend, the Detroit Red Wings find themselves looking to win their third game in four nights this evening when they face the Phoenix Coyotes. (10:00 PM EDT)

Detroit rides into the desert on the heels of a hard fought 2-1 victory last night in Anaheim to climb their way to 5th place in the Western Conference; 5 points clear of the three teams tied for 9th place in the playoff race (San Jose, Nashville & Columbus). Sunday night's victory again was possible due to the strong play in goal of Jimmy Howard who made 33 saves in goal on the evening and made Detroit's two first-period goals stand.

Once again, the Red Wings seem to alleviate the doubts people have about them right after a disappointing outcome. Disappointing 5-2 loss in Calgary is followed by back-to-back wins in as many nights over Edmonton and Vancouver. Drop a home game to the Minnesota Wild and follow it up with back-to-back wins in Anaheim. Depending on which way you look at it, it unfortunately seems to be the M.O. for this year's edition of the Red Wings. They seem to hate prosperity, but as soon as the skeptics start getting louder and lounder, this club seems to knock them back in place.

While Friday night's 5-1 victory saw Justin Abdelkader net his first NHL hat-trick, Sunday also provided another first for a specific Red Wing. Forward Damien Brunner was a healthy scratch for the first time as an NHL player. Coach Mike Babcock suggested it was something he has wanted to do for quite some time in order to give the newcomer a breather and a different vantage point to watch the contest from. Brunner will be thrown right back into the fire tonight in Phoenix. It doesn't seem to be Babcock attempting to send a threat to Brunner, but more of a situation where the club wants the Swiss rookie to get set for the stretch drive and sort of use this healthy scratch as a new beginning. The interesting aspect will be to witness how Brunner responds to it over the next week commencing tonight in Phoenix.

In a weird way, Detroit's successful stay in the OC seems to have been overshadowed with the exciting news surrounding the short-term arrival of prospect Calle Jarnkrok from Brynas of the Swedish Elite League.

Given the agreement between the NHL and the Swedish Ice Hockey Federation, the Red Wings received confirmation from NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly that "any player on the first year of an NHL entry-level contract who played in Europe this season would be allowed to come over and play in the AHL only." He is not allowed to play in the National Hockey League this season. However, Jarnkrok must return to Sweden by April 15th in order to participate for his country in the World Ice Hockey Championships, which are being held in Stockholm and Helsinki, Finland.

As a result, Jarnkrok (who will wear #25 for the Grand Rapids Griffins), will be afforded a 2.5 week crash course on North American professional hockey to help give him a head start on competing for a roster spot next fall when the Red Wings hold their training camp in Traverse City.

Jarnkrok, who was drafted in the second round of the 2010 NHL draft, was Brynas's leading scorer this past season, with 42 points over the course of 53 games played, consisting of 13 goals and 29 assists.

Ken Holland provided the following reasoning as to why the time seemed right to bring Jarnkrok over for a look,
"This gives us a chance to see whether he's strong enough for the game at this point, or whether it's better that he plays for [one more] season in the Eliteserien with Brynas and builds up his muscle strength. We firmly believe in Calle, but we want to do what's right for his development,"


The skilled, playmaking center has been compared in style to Henrik Zetterberg.

More from Holland on the 6-foot, 176 pound Jarnkrok:

“He's a very good prospect, he's just got to get stronger. He's competitive, both offensively and defensively. He has good hands, hockey sense.''

“It's important that he gets on the (strength and conditioning) program this summer that other players are on. He needs to work hard in the summer and come to camp a few pounds heavier and a little stronger.''


The right-handed centremen joins the Griffins as they prepare to continue their season-high seven-game road trip with three games in three nights this week. Grand Rapids will visit San Antonio on Thursday, Houston on Friday and Texas on Saturday.

Lastly, some comments provided by Wings' director of player development, Jiri Fischer on Jarnkrok, as told to Windsor Star columnist, Bob Duff:

"He’s done everything really that needs to be done on his part to make it to the NHL. Calle is probably the most exciting player in Sweden aged 21 and under. He loves the puck. He’s got a ton of personality on the ice and he wants to be a great player."


Excited yet???

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Jonas Gustavsson will get the start in goal for the Red Wings, giving Jimmy Howard a night off given the heavy workload he has faced this week, when you consider the fact this is Detroit's 4th game in 6 nights.

Back-up netminder Jason LaBarbera will get the start tonight in goal for the Coyotes, over Phoenix's usual starter, Mike Smith, who is still recovering from an upper-body injury.

Todd Bertuzzi has joined the team on this West Coast trip and has attempted skating on his own. However, the pinched nerve in his back is having a negative impact on his leg strength, leaving him extremely frustrated with the lack of power in his stride.

On a brighter note (perhaps the minority), Mikael Samuelsson has deemed himself likely ready to return on Easter Sunday afternoon against the Blackhawks at the Joe.


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More to come tomorrow morning as we recap the Wings performance in Phoenix and we analyze the Wings attempt to secure the services of the most sought-after college free agent on the market, rearguard Danny DeKeyser of Western Michigan University.

Lastly, do the Red Wings have a legitimate shot at landing Jarome Iginla?

Even if they do, are the Red Wings interested in "Iggy"? Or has that ship sailed???


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