Jeremy Laura: Processing Edvinsson, Larkin’s impact.

Weird. I thought Edvinsson looked lost at times in his own end. Blown coverage. Poor decision to get his stick in the way of the puck and deflect into his own net. He has all the tools to be a very good player. But he seems in over his head.

Eddy looked good. He did not appear to be out of place and was good on both sides of the ice.
Glad they resigned Larkin. I say that because of all the people saying to trade him, that he was too old for Stevie's timeline and that they could get 2 1st's and a very good prospect for him. And some of those very voices will get loud again if the Wings fail to make the play-offs, and probably again if they fail to advance in the play-offs!

Keep Edvinsson up here. Cant be any worse then Petry/Chiarot.
Also, Holl is very lucky. Paid millions of dollars to sit on the bench.

Weird. I thought Edvinsson looked lost at times in his own end. Blown coverage. Poor decision to get his stick in the way of the puck and deflect into his own net. He has all the tools to be a very good player. But he seems in over his head.
- HockeyBuzzed

I really appreciate the drop in. I’ll do some rewatching. Love having 2 sides on this. I felt like he looked good and is going to have a rough trial by fire coming up. The tip in is rough. I don’t envy dmen at the net when they end up deflecting. Thanks for another point of view on this and I’ll be looking at D zone play more over the next few days.

Eddy looked good. He did not appear to be out of place and was good on both sides of the ice.
Glad they resigned Larkin. I say that because of all the people saying to trade him, that he was too old for Stevie's timeline and that they could get 2 1st's and a very good prospect for him. And some of those very voices will get loud again if the Wings fail to make the play-offs, and probably again if they fail to advance in the play-offs!
- HenryHockey

I’m on the same page, but Hockeybuzzed has given me some good food for thought. Regardless, when Yzerman put the “C” on Larkin, it was special. Steve had that brutal surgery and finished his career on one leg. He’s big into character and I do think Larkin has those qualities.

Keep Edvinsson up here. Cant be any worse then Petry/Chiarot.
Also, Holl is very lucky. Paid millions of dollars to sit on the bench.
- wingz4life

Yeah, it seems like Eddy would benefit from NHL minutes and use his experience for off season training focus. Some players get mad about the scratch because they want to be seen on the ice. The business will leave you behind. It wouldn’t be a shock if Holl wants to move on but not sure how they facilitate that. Klim was happy to move on, I think Mazur may get a shot (if healthy) next season. Still excited to see Sandin Pellikka and Danielson at camp

It’s impossible for me to tell all of you how much it means that you take time to read and comment. You all have made this dream possible. Thank you for dropping in.

Eddy was solid. Has a few areas to grow into a bit, as expected. Solid outlets, used his reach to great advantage, created a G simply by out-reaching his opponent, very calm, leveraged his body to drive a couple guys off the puck. He's going to be a rock-steady presence on the d-line. As he hones his game, he's going to be a d-dude to be accounted for by opposing teams more & more. There's this presence about him this time around; can't point it out directly, but there's just this aire about him......Yeah, he's gonna be a good one.

Larkin....sheesh. a long time ago, there was this huge debate about him on this blog. Some loved him, some didn't. Regardless of what folks think, he's imprinted on the personality of this team. That's good AND bad. Good: he leads by example and elevates the team when he's on the ice....Bad: it's like guys are lost puppies without him, someone needs to grow a set and lead when he's nit in the game. Good: can turn a game around....Bad: teams know to take him off the ice and we're rudderless. Simply put; leaders develop their teams to perform at high levels of efficiently consistently, that way if the leader's gone the team performs the same in the leader's absence. He needs to bring that to the team because I bet you dinner that teams are going to do everything they can to get him off his game, and maybe off the ice (NOT saying they're trying to hurt him, rather get him to blow up & catch a game/match penalty by retaliating, etc....).

The prospect pool's in good shape. We need some help, for sure. Some help is coming, but I still think we need to augment via TDL, UFA, trades, etc...

Weird. I thought Edvinsson looked lost at times in his own end. Blown coverage. Poor decision to get his stick in the way of the puck and deflect into his own net. He has all the tools to be a very good player. But he seems in over his head.
- HockeyBuzzed

I've been watching Edvinsson all season in Grand Rapids and he's been dominant there. Playing in all situations and getting a ton of ice time. He's one of the reasons the Griffins are having their best season in about 5 or 6 years. There isn't any reason to keep him in the AHL at this point. He's a lock to be in Detroit next season. NHL defenseman take more time to develop. The absolute worst thing to do would be to pull a Ken Holland and let him stay in GR too long. Especially when you consider the Wings are starving for top defensive talent. This kid is the best defensive prospect I've seen in GR for about a decade... he's only 21 and he's only going to get better IMO. I also thought he was a very good pick by Yzerman. He's progressing as well as anyone could have hoped at this point.

Admit it Cooleus... he's a keeper.

Did I say Edvinsson isn't a keeper? Nope. He has all the tools to be a very solid d-man. Maybe even a top pair guy one day.

Did I say Edvinsson shouldn't be in the NHL and we shouldn't play him? Nope. Playing NHL minutes is the next step in his development. Simply said that I didn't think he had a great game and looked lost at times.

These two realities can co-exist. A player could be on the path to greatness, but at this moment have some serious weaknesses that opponents can exploit.

As for Larkin, I actually don't recall too many people saying he should be moved. Or he wasn't a good player. I think some were skeptical that he wasn't a legit 1C, certainly not for a team looking to compete for a Cup. I personally still feel that way. I think for a team to win a Cup with Larkin as your 1C...you are going to need Vezina-type goaltending (like what Binnington did with StLouis who also lacked an elite 1C) and a Norris-type d-man. But some of course will read this and conclude that I'm bashing Larkin. He'd be a great 2C, captain, leader type guy.

I think Edvinsson played very well... I agree he had a few mistakes which maybe you can attribute to eager to please on the big stage and prove yourself...but the keep in at the line was heads up and he engaged with confidence..... and no doubt Jeremy, Stevie appreciates good people, and I respect that.... if you have character issues he has no interest in you.... Larkin is a classy guy...good person and can play the game....exactly what Stevie wants.... Larkin still needs another center capable of carrying the load when he's out or simply off his game and could use weight lifted from his shoulders.....great read as usual Jeremy

I think Edvinsson played very well... I agree he had a few mistakes which maybe you can attribute to eager to please on the big stage and prove yourself...but the keep in at the line was heads up and he engaged with confidence..... and no doubt Jeremy, Stevie appreciates good people, and I respect that.... if you have character issues he has no interest in you.... Larkin is a classy guy...good person and can play the game....exactly what Stevie wants.... Larkin still needs another center capable of carrying the load when he's out or simply off his game and could use weight lifted from his shoulders.....great read as usual Jeremy
- angryagain

Thanks for that, much appreciated! Unfortunately we’ve seen very good players hurt themselves and their careers with bad decisions made outside of the rink. I really want to see Edvinsson get some reps in red. I think a potential tough situation could arise if both GR and Detroit are in the post season. We’ll see how it all plays out, but really enjoyed watching the big man play

Did I say Edvinsson isn't a keeper? Nope. He has all the tools to be a very solid d-man. Maybe even a top pair guy one day.

Did I say Edvinsson shouldn't be in the NHL and we shouldn't play him? Nope. Playing NHL minutes is the next step in his development. Simply said that I didn't think he had a great game and looked lost at times.

These two realities can co-exist. A player could be on the path to greatness, but at this moment have some serious weaknesses that opponents can exploit.

As for Larkin, I actually don't recall too many people saying he should be moved. Or he wasn't a good player. I think some were skeptical that he wasn't a legit 1C, certainly not for a team looking to compete for a Cup. I personally still feel that way. I think for a team to win a Cup with Larkin as your 1C...you are going to need Vezina-type goaltending (like what Binnington did with StLouis who also lacked an elite 1C) and a Norris-type d-man. But some of course will read this and conclude that I'm bashing Larkin. He'd be a great 2C, captain, leader type guy.
- HockeyBuzzed

To be completely fair, there are multiple areas where you’ve helped me see a different side of something that I wasn’t looking at. There are very few gaffe free players, and learning to identify and minimize those risks is part of the process. It would be a good day if the option to have Larkin on line 1 or 2 because another center is carrying the water. It’s likely a necessary step to a championship.

I've been watching Edvinsson all season in Grand Rapids and he's been dominant there. Playing in all situations and getting a ton of ice time. He's one of the reasons the Griffins are having their best season in about 5 or 6 years. There isn't any reason to keep him in the AHL at this point. He's a lock to be in Detroit next season. NHL defenseman take more time to develop. The absolute worst thing to do would be to pull a Ken Holland and let him stay in GR too long. Especially when you consider the Wings are starving for top defensive talent. This kid is the best defensive prospect I've seen in GR for about a decade... he's only 21 and he's only going to get better IMO. I also thought he was a very good pick by Yzerman. He's progressing as well as anyone could have hoped at this point.

Admit it Cooleus... he's a keeper.
- Vladdie_Kon1

I agree that Edvinsson is ready to put the AHL in the rear view. Depending on playoff situations he may do a return this season and the experience in Detroit will be a nice add. This was a player I was fairly sure wouldn’t be there for Detroit to pick. Definitely seems to be on the right path. Hoping he can have some chats with Gostisbehere in terms of offensive production at the NHL level. I’ll try to be totally fair, I think Hockeybuzzed has brought some valid point to the table. It’s going to be in game where the education really happens, but I think Eddy is up for the challenge. Very curios to see how many spots open up for prospects and who could be moving on. Will do a “voting” post soon on who is in and who will be moving on or stay in development. It’s awesome that you’ve gotten to see so many Grand Rapids games. Really curious to see Mazur after the summer. Seems to have climbed the ranks after a long recovery.