Martin Frk (Credit: Red Wings Central)
The Halifax Mooseheads are the highest scoring team in the Canadian Hockey League, but Detroit Red Wings draft pick Martin Frk has yet to secure a big piece of the action.
Frk, who the Red Wings drafted in the second round, 49th overall, in June, has three goals and 11 assists in 14 games and is being used in a secondary scoring role behind potential top-10 2013 draft choices Nathan MacKinnon and Jonathan Drouin.
That duo is perhaps the most dangerous in the QMJHL, combining for 28 goals and 24 assists for 52 points in 16 games even though Drouin missed six of those contests with an injury.
The Mooseheads, meanwhile, have scored 85 goals in 16 games — an average of 5.3 per outing — and are 15-1 courtesy of an active 13-game winning streak.
“This is kind of the first time in his young hockey career that he’s facing adversity — overseas in the Czech Republic, he was always the go-to guy,” said Red Wings director of player development Jiri Fischer. “Being on a great team like Halifax has, it’s different. It’s challenging and he’s finding his way, how to be productive, how not to get down on himself, and how to hopefully provide some secondary scoring.”
Frk sees regular time with MacKinnon and Drouin on the power-play point but otherwise has been used on lower lines, most recently on the third unit with Nashville Predators draft pick Brent Andrews, a two-way centre.
Fischer watched two Mooseheads games on the weekend. After the first game on Saturday he met with Frk and gave him some pointers. In Sunday’s game, Frk responded with a goal and an assist and was named the first star.
The 6-foot 203-pounder went as far as to call Sunday the first good game he played all season, so it’s clear he plans on doing more damage.
“He just has very high standards for himself and that’s how it should be,” Fischer said. “Every player who ever became successful has that quality. They’re always hungry and never satisfied with their performance.”
Fischer said Frk needs to be more consistent and more dangerous in his role — attacking aggressively, putting pucks on net, and chasing down loose pucks and rebounds. But while saying that Frk “needs to get better,” he also raved about his upside.
“It’s unlimited,” Fischer said. “Historically he’s been able to do whatever he wanted on the ice so his upside is going to be determined based on how strong he is mentally.”
NOTES: Defenseman Xavier Ouellet (Blainville-Boisbriand, QMJHL) was named his league’s first star of the week on Tuesday after posting a goal and seven assists in three games. He’s second in QMJHL defense scoring … Center Landon Ferraro (Grand Rapids, AHL) is off to a great start to his sophomore season. He has two goals and three assists in seven games and is building off a good rookie campaign … Goaltender Petr Mrazek has been recalled to the AHL and will join Grand Rapids after going 2-1 with a 2.02 goals-against average and a .944 save percentage in three ECHL starts with Toledo.
Following is this week’s statistical report.
SKATERS: REGULAR-SEASON REPORT
| NAME | TEAM | LEVEL | LEAGUE | GP | G | A | P | PIM | +/- | SOG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ferraro, Landon | Grand Rapids | AHL | PRO | 7 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 2 | +1 | 15 |
| Andersson, Joakim | Grand Rapids | AHL | PRO | 6 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 10 | -3 | 14 |
| Parkes, Trevor | Grand Rapids | AHL | PRO | 7 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 9 | 0 | 10 |
| Lashoff, Brian | Grand Rapids | AHL | PRO | 7 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | -3 | 8 |
| Nyquist, Gustav | Grand Rapids | AHL | PRO | 7 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 2 | +2 | 26 |
| Smith, Brendan | Grand Rapids | AHL | PRO | 7 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 4 | +1 | 16 |
| Tatar, Tomas | Grand Rapids | AHL | PRO | 7 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 4 | +2 | 23 |
| Almqvist, Adam | Grand Rapids | AHL | PRO | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | -1 | 2 |
| Nicastro, Max | Grand Rapids | AHL | PRO | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Raedeke, Brent | Grand Rapids | AHL | PRO | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 1 |
| Sheahan, Riley | Grand Rapids | AHL | PRO | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 4 |
| Aubry, Louis-Marc | Grand Rapids | AHL | PRO | 7 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 6 | -1 | 6 |
| Callahan, Mitchell | Grand Rapids | AHL | PRO | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 11 | +1 | 1 |
| Jurco, Tomas | Grand Rapids | AHL | PRO | 7 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | -1 | 7 |
| Fournier, Gleason | Grand Rapids | AHL | PRO | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| Coetzee, Willie | Toledo | ECHL | PRO | 6 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 0 | -1 | 33 |
| Nestrasil, Andrej | Toledo | ECHL | PRO | 6 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 6 | +3 | 13 |
| Jensen, Nick | St. Cloud State | WCHA | NCAA | 6 | 0 | 6 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 11 |
| Marshall, Ben | Minnesota | WCHA | NCAA | 5 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 0 | +5 | 12 |
| McKee, Mike | Lincoln | USHL/JR-A | USHL | 7 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 63 | +3 | 11 |
| De Haas, James | Penticton | USHL/JR-A | BCHL | 17 | 3 | 7 | 10 | 6 | 0 | – |
| Frk, Martin | Halifax | CHL | QMJHL | 14 | 3 | 11 | 14 | 24 | 0 | 38 |
| Ouellet, Xavier | Blainville-Boisbriand | CHL | QMJHL | 16 | 3 | 15 | 18 | 21 | +8 | 69 |
| Hudon, Philippe | Victoriaville | CHL | QMJHL | 14 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 21 | +3 | 25 |
| Sproul, Ryan | Sault Ste. Marie | CHL | OHL | 7 | 1 | 8 | 9 | 12 | +5 | – |
| Athanasiou, Andreas | Barrie | CHL | OHL | 15 | 7 | 9 | 16 | 10 | +2 | – |
| Tvrdon, Marek | Vancouver | CHL | WHL | 13 | 5 | 10 | 15 | 4 | 0 | – |
| Nedomlel, Richard | Swift Current | CHL | WHL | 17 | 0 | 8 | 8 | 34 | -3 | – |
| Jarnkrok, Calle | Brynas | EUR | SEL | 17 | 2 | 11 | 13 | 0 | -1 | 51 |
| Backman, Mattias | Linkoping | EUR | SEL | 17 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 4 | +2 | 14 |
| Pulkkinen, Teemu | Jokerit | EUR | FIN | 17 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 22 | 0 | 71 |
| Marchenko, Alexei | CSKA Moscow | EUR | KHL | 19 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 4 | +3 | 12 |
| Bodin, Rasmus | HV-71 | EUR-JR | SWE-J20 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 5 |
GOALIES: REGULAR SEASON REPORT
| NAME | TEAM | LEAGUE | GP | W | L | O/S | SO | GAA | SV% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paterson, Jake | Saginaw | OHL | 14 | 5 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 3.52 | .900 |
| McCollum, Thomas | Grand Rapids | AHL | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3.13 | .891 |
| Pearce, Jordan | Grand Rapids | AHL | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 4.38 | .847 |
| Mrazek, Petr | Toledo | ECHL | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2.02 | .944 |
Marchenko has two goals in last three games, one after Datsyuk shouted “Shoot!”
I’m very optimistic about the future of the Red Wings with all these talented prospects we have. Nyquist, Tatar, and Smith are all NHL-ready. They all have the potential to be stars at the highest level. I’m intrigued by Jurco and Ouellet, I think they can be point-per-game talents in the NHL. Frk and Tvrdon will be the future of power hockey in Detroit. In net, Mrazek hasn’t even scratched the surface with what he can accomplish.
Props to the Wings’ Management and Scouting Staff. Keep rewarding Fans’ faith in the Organization by drafting gems like these! Go Wings!
Lukas
Hi,
I don’t see anything in here about Alan Quine. Is he still in Peterborough? Is he still a RW prospect?
Alan Quine has mononucleosis and has yet to play this season
Bob: Quine is still with the Petes, but has yet to play this season due to mononucleosis. Have yet to read of any return date for him.
Ha! I somehow knew that would happen…
I am still worried about Pulkkinen and his lack of scoring. He was the best player at this summer’s prospect get-together prior to the lockout. Maybe he is bored playing for Jokerit. It’s time he moves to Grand Rapids so that we can see if he can play in the smaller rinks. Because he isn’t much of a skater, maybe he will score more over here. I watched him in the world juniors and he seems to just float around waiting for loose pucks. He doesn’t remind me of a guy who can play the run and gun that Detroit prefers to play. Athanasiou in Barrie may be the best player the Wings drafted in June. He skates like the wind and is finally scoring points on a very good team.
Fully agree with you Stevie about Pulkkinen. I’ve never fully understood the hype behind him and feel that most Wing’s fans perception of is based solely off the holy slapper video on youtube. Watching him at the WJC you could tell that he was a weak skater and seemed to lack hustle when the puck wasn’t on his stick. Considering how much hate Hudler got for floating I don’t know why people are so high on him. I see his worth being nothing more than a wicked point shot on the powerplay.
Athanasiou got his wish to be traded and so far seems to have worked. Hope he is another Helm with better hands.Any player with great speed, and a good work ethic, will get the opportunity to play in the NHL.
Actually pulks skating has improved a lot. Its not horrible by any means at all anymore. He seems to be trying to hard so I think its a confidence problem. he is going to be in GR next year. he is already under contract so the wings aren’t just going to give up on him.
Quine is playing his first game tonight against Oshawa
Thanks for the update on Quine Stevie Y. I have had mono myself and it just wipes all energy from your body for what seems an eternity. I can’t imagine being an athlete of this caliber and having to go through it. As for Pulkkinen I’m sure he is just going through the growing pains of a young athlete. We’ve seen the numbers he’s capable of. Talent like that doesn’t just up and leave. I’m sure he will rebound. He is probably trying to press too much.
Quine plays for Peterborough, not Oshawa.
He said Quine was playing against Oshawa. And thanks for the info on him too Stevie Y.
Frk was the first star again last night. Seems like he’s really starting to come around, which is great news for him as well as the Wings.
http://www.theqmjhl.ca/schedule/show/game/62739
Well after two starts with the Griffins I think Mrazek has solidified himself as the starter there. I know it’s only two games but he didn’t lose a step going from Toledo to GR.
Frk had another solid game today (1 goal, 1 assist). Really seems like he’s turning things around and starting to play like he can. I’d love to see him get extensive time with MacKinnon’s line.
I don’t even know why Mrazek was in Toledo to begin with. It’s not like he would’ve been any worse than the other two who are currently in Grand Rapids. On another note its nice to see Quine back in action. 2 goals in 3 games is a great start.