Bob Duff: Defense making their points Detroit's defensive brigade has begun contributing more regularly to the team's offense.

Enjoy the defensive bombs while they last. Ouellete should have stayed up, he's got a nice shot and is an extremely smart player.. he definitely was helping with the scoresheet it seemed. Nice to see Big E doing something besides being a liability as per usual.

Enjoy the defensive bombs while they last. Ouellete should have stayed up, he's got a nice shot and is an extremely smart player.. he definitely was helping with the scoresheet it seemed. Nice to see Big E doing something besides being a liability as per usual.
- YzermanIsTheMan

I believe they admitted Oulette earned his spot but I think with the trade deadline they may be trying to work ppl in to see who's progressing. Also with Marchenko being more of a shutdown guy they may have been trying to use him to close the flood gates a bit....although XO wasn't the reason they were allowing so many goals

Machenko played fine but to me. hes just a Ericsson who is a right handed shot. not physical at all and would only fight when severely pushed into doing so.

They need someone to play top pairing with Kronwall. bottom line.

I believe they admitted Oulette earned his spot but I think with the trade deadline they may be trying to work ppl in to see who's progressing. Also with Marchenko being more of a shutdown guy they may have been trying to use him to close the flood gates a bit....although XO wasn't the reason they were allowing so many goals
- HomestyleMelt

I've heard some talk that Marchenko was being displayed for the trade deadline. Don't know how true that is. He played very well.. I'm not too worried about the Wings d-corp from 2-6 in the long run. That 1, possibly 2 spot, worries me.

And XO was solid in all zones. Reallllllllllly liked his play.

Machenko played fine but to me. hes just a Ericsson who is a right handed shot. not physical at all and would only fight when severely pushed into doing so.

They need someone to play top pairing with Kronwall. bottom line.
- wingz4life

He didn't even get in a practice in with the team so with that said, I thought he did pretty well. He has playing it safe which was the total opposite of Smith his first year/games that I remember.

I'm going to wait a 1/2 dozen before I make any judgement on him regarding his ceiling. I remember a couple of nice specific plays that were nice. I also remember a couple of him standing around. Overall a success.

He didn't even get in a practice in with the team so with that said, I thought he did pretty well. He has playing it safe which was the total opposite of Smith his first year/games that I remember.

I'm going to wait a 1/2 dozen before I make any judgement on him regarding his ceiling. I remember a couple of nice specific plays that were nice. I also remember a couple of him standing around. Overall a success.
- MedicineMan

Think Jensen has a place on the Wings in the next 2-3 years?

Think Jensen has a place on the Wings in the next 2-3 years?
- YzermanIsTheMan

Had a real nice camp. Surprised a lot of people if anyone on here remembers.

Can't keep them all. Offensively, he may have a bit more an upside than Marchy but he is lankey like DD. Who knows.

Had a real nice camp. Surprised a lot of people if anyone on here remembers.

Can't keep them all. Offensively, he may have a bit more an upside than Marchy but he is lankey like DD. Who knows.
- MedicineMan

Jensen isn't much of an offensive d-man, I like what we have in the coming half decade. Hope we pull out 5 or 6 good players out of this super deep draft this year to keep the Wings competitive for the 2020s.

Think Jensen has a place on the Wings in the next 2-3 years?
- YzermanIsTheMan

Honestly, no.

He looks like he's developed into a competent AHL defender, but by the time the puck drops on next season he'll already be 25, and he seems to have been passed on the depth chart by guys who are still 2-3 years younger than he is. It's not even clear he's better than Lashoff (now that both are in the minors together we'll get to see), and the two are only 2 months apart.

Late bloomers aren't unheard of, and I wouldn't be shocked to see Jensen bouncing around for a few years as a third-pairing/No. 7 guy, but of the four "legitimate" prospect defenders playing in GR this season I tend to see Jensen as having the lowest overall probability of becoming an impact NHL player.

Honestly, no.

He looks like he's developed into a competent AHL defender, but by the time the puck drops on next season he'll already be 25, and he seems to have been passed on the depth chart by guys who are still 2-3 years younger than he is. It's not even clear he's better than Lashoff (now that both are in the minors together we'll get to see), and the two are only 2 months apart.

Late bloomers aren't unheard of, and I wouldn't be shocked to see Jensen bouncing around for a few years as a third-pairing/No. 7 guy, but of the four "legitimate" prospect defenders playing in GR this season I tend to see Jensen as having the lowest overall probability of becoming an impact NHL player.
- Sven22

Thanks for your analysis.

I don't get to watch the Griffins any more now that I moved from GR to Nashville. I still love our depth if Jensen, who isn't a bad player at all, is our 7th or injury call up. Would like to see if we could get a pick out of him this offseason or next if we choose not to utilize him in the future.

And so glad we waived Lashoff. Allows for young players to cycle in to test the waters of the NHL