Richard Nedomlel (Credit: Darwin Knelsen)
Most looked at Richard Nedomlel’s breakthrough scoring totals last season and saw them as nothing but a positive. But the 46-point campaign with the Western Hockey League’s Swift Current Broncos didn’t come without a price.
“Last year, he put up great numbers, but at the same time, it took away from his defense a bit,” said Red Wings director of player development Jiri Fishcer.
The point production was obviously nice to see, but the Red Wings didn’t draft him for that. At 6-foot-4 and 202 pounds, the Red Wings loved his tough, stay-at-home style, and selected him in the sixth round, 175th overall, in 2011, despite the fact he had no goals and just 10 assists in 66 games as a WHL rookie.
“The reason why he got drafted was because he was in people’s faces and he played hard and he can move the puck and take care of the D-zone,” Fischer said. “Our organizational message to him (in the summer) was to be better defensively this year than he was last year.”
The 19-year-old is an assistant captain with the Broncos this season and has no goals and 10 assists along with a minus-3 rating in 20 games. Swift Current is 9-9-3-2, sixth in the WHL’s Eastern Conference.
NOTES: Forward Riley Sheahan (Grand Rapids, AHL) was arrested and charged with driving with blood-alcohol content of .17 or higher after being stopped going the wrong way on a Grand Rapids street on Oct. 29, according to MLive.com. He pleaded not guilty on Nov. 6, according to the report. The report also says team disciplinary action was also taken on Sheahan, although no details are available … Defenseman Mike McKee (Lincoln, USHL) has a league-leading 92 penalty minutes through nine games. To do the math for you, that pro-rates to a ridiculous 838 minutes over an 82-game schedule … Defenceman Xavier Ouellet (Blainville-Boisbriand, QMJHL) finished the Subway Super Series with two goals, an assist and a minus-2 rating in two games for Team QMJHL, while goaltender Jake Paterson (Sault Ste. Marie, OHL) stopped eight on nine shots faced in a half a game of duty … Forward Marek Tvrdon (Vancouver, WHL) is out indefinitely with an arm infection after producing 22 points in 18 games. Fischer said Tvrdon had a slow start to the season because he was adjusting to life without high-scoring linemate Brendan Gallagher.
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 | 13 | 5 | 5 | 10 | 10 | +4 | 25 |
| Andersson, Joakim | Grand Rapids | AHL | PRO | 12 | 4 | 5 | 9 | 16 | +1 | 32 |
| Parkes, Trevor | Grand Rapids | AHL | PRO | 13 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 9 | 0 | 13 |
| Lashoff, Brian | Grand Rapids | AHL | PRO | 12 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 13 |
| Nyquist, Gustav | Grand Rapids | AHL | PRO | 13 | 6 | 9 | 15 | 4 | +9 | 39 |
| Smith, Brendan | Grand Rapids | AHL | PRO | 13 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 10 | +5 | 36 |
| Tatar, Tomas | Grand Rapids | AHL | PRO | 13 | 5 | 7 | 12 | 10 | +6 | 38 |
| Almqvist, Adam | Grand Rapids | AHL | PRO | 10 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 0 | 12 |
| Nicastro, Max | Grand Rapids | AHL | PRO | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | +1 | 2 |
| Raedeke, Brent | Grand Rapids | AHL | PRO | 9 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 4 |
| Sheahan, Riley | Grand Rapids | AHL | PRO | 11 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 14 |
| Aubry, Louis-Marc | Grand Rapids | AHL | PRO | 13 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 23 | 0 | 8 |
| Callahan, Mitchell | Grand Rapids | AHL | PRO | 8 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 13 | 0 | 3 |
| Jurco, Tomas | Grand Rapids | AHL | PRO | 13 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 | -6 | 12 |
| Fournier, Gleason | Grand Rapids | AHL | PRO | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 |
| Coetzee, Willie | Toledo | ECHL | PRO | 13 | 5 | 6 | 11 | 2 | -2 | 56 |
| Nestrasil, Andrej | Toledo | ECHL | PRO | 13 | 5 | 5 | 10 | 8 | +1 | 29 |
| Jensen, Nick | St. Cloud State | WCHA | NCAA | 10 | 0 | 8 | 8 | 4 | -1 | 18 |
| Marshall, Ben | Minnesota | WCHA | NCAA | 9 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 2 | +4 | 21 |
| McKee, Mike | Lincoln | USHL/JR-A | USHL | 9 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 92 | +2 | 11 |
| De Haas, James | Penticton | USHL/JR-A | BCHL | 17 | 3 | 7 | 10 | 6 | – | – |
| Frk, Martin | Halifax | CHL | QMJHL | 18 | 8 | 15 | 23 | 32 | +5 | 51 |
| Ouellet, Xavier | Blainville-Boisbriand | CHL | QMJHL | 21 | 4 | 18 | 22 | 26 | +8 | 77 |
| Hudon, Philippe | Victoriaville | CHL | QMJHL | 18 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 28 | +2 | 36 |
| Sproul, Ryan | Sault Ste. Marie | CHL | OHL | 7 | 1 | 8 | 9 | 12 | +5 | – |
| Athanasiou, Andreas | Barrie | CHL | OHL | 20 | 9 | 11 | 20 | 12 | +2 | – |
| Quine, Alan | Peterborough | CHL | OHL | 7 | 5 | 2 | 7 | 0 | -8 | – |
| Tvrdon, Marek | Vancouver | CHL | WHL | 18 | 8 | 14 | 22 | 16 | +2 | – |
| Nedomlel, Richard | Swift Current | CHL | WHL | 20 | 0 | 10 | 10 | 40 | -3 | – |
| Jarnkrok, Calle | Brynas | EUR | SEL | 21 | 3 | 15 | 18 | 2 | -3 | 59 |
| Backman, Mattias | Linkoping | EUR | SEL | 20 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 8 | +2 | 19 |
| Pulkkinen, Teemu | Jokerit | EUR | FIN | 19 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 33 | -4 | 77 |
| Marchenko, Alexei | CSKA Moscow | EUR | KHL | 21 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 4 | +3 | 15 |
| Bodin, Rasmus | HV-71 | EUR-JR | SWE-J20 | 10 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 7 |
GOALIES: REGULAR SEASON REPORT
| NAME | TEAM | LEAGUE | GP | W | L | O/S | SO | GAA | SV% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paterson, Jake | Saginaw | OHL | 19 | 8 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 3.43 | .902 |
| McCollum, Thomas | Grand Rapids | AHL | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3.09 | .886 |
| Pearce, Jordan | Grand Rapids | AHL | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 4.38 | .847 |
| Mrazek, Petr | Grand Rapids | AHL | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.71 | .940 |
| Mrazek, Petr | Toledo | ECHL | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2.02 | .944 |
| Pearce, Jordan | Toledo | ECHL | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3.03 | .871 |
We need to see what McKee can do on the ice not in the penalty box. If he goes to university next year he will not be able to fight. Time will tell what type of a career this young man will have, my guess, a short career in the ECHL at best. Too bad about Sheahan, he needs to grow up if he ever wants to play with the Wings. Maybe time in a Michigan jail and a year or more of DUI counselling will wake this kid up. He has financial stability at his fingertips yet is taking major steps in ruining his life. Nice to see Quine with 7 points in 7 games since his return. Frk is on fire now also. This is a nice group of prospects.
Did they forget to put Quine in the update list? I don’t see him there. Poor Alan gettin no lovin from redwingcentral! =-)
I’m impressed with alquist steps think he could be like Enstrom if it works out. Peterson played in the super series wonder if he is up for the world juniors job …
I think Almquist needs to pack on a few pounds but he looks like he’s starting to get used to playing North American hockey.
I’m excited about Almquist. These are impressive numbers for a little AHL rookie D-man. If he can do this now, he can dominate with a couple of years experience and some added muscle. It will come.
Can someone tell me a little about Chad Billins? Recent captain of Ferris State, now leading the Griffs in points for defensemen… that’s impressive considering B. Smith is on the team. He’s small, but does he play bigger than his size? Is he the next undrafted pick-up?
As for Sheahan and Smith before… I’m not downplaying the seriousness of alcohol-related offenses, but it’s not the end of their world. This will make Sheahan focus more, try harder, and will force him to act more responsibly off the ice — all good things, just when he needs them most. In my opinion, the Wings will be better off with a few guys that haven’t had entirely fairy tale lives.
Stevie, I agree on McKee. I thought he was going to play collegiate hockey this year. I’m very disappointed that he’s not; it seems a waste to leave him in the USHL for another year.
This IS a great group of prospects… just keeps getting better.
Billins is a good puck mover but is small and doesnt play any bigger than he is listed to answer your question. After a slow start AA has started putting up points which is good to see because really Billins has kind of taken his role on the team as the small puck mover.
Interesting to see Justin Schultz,d-man for OKC an Oiler farm club, is leading the entire AHL in scoring. Holland said he was interested in JS last summer but the Wings did not even make the short list of 6 teams. Not like money was the problem as the max he could be paid was $925,000 per yr. Schultz said he wanted to go to a young, emerging team and live in a city where he could raise a family in a good environment. That seemed to be the trend for the FA’s last summer. Where, and how, is Kenny going to improve this roster?
More bad news for Tvrdon out of Vancouver………
http://www.theprovince.com/sports/Giants+Most+talented+player+Marek+Tvrdon/7556786/story.html#axzz2CONppBa1
yrv – The max Justin Schultz could get was exactly what he received from the Oilers: $3.775M per season. Not only was money a problem for Holland to hand over to a rookie with zero NHL experience, but Justin’s preference to go to a team that would immediately insert him into a top 4 role was the major hurdle. Good luck to him in Edmonton.
@Ryan…..to repeat, the max salary JS could be signed for was $925,000 due to the loop hole that allowed him to become a FA….your $3,775M is with signing bonuses the Oilers offered. Since the Wings had two top 4 spots open on D because of Nick and Stewie departing, one would think he could have made one of those spots. Did Babcock already not hand Brunner, an untested Swiss, a top 6 forward spot. Let’s see how this turns out.
Sorry to hear about Tvrdon’s shoulder. It sucks for him and Vancouver Giants but at least it isn’t something that could threaten his career.
As for the question about Billins, he’s an exciting puckmover and strong skater. He takes charge of the PP, by far his biggest strength. His stats are kinda indicative however, he doesn’t have a great shot and he’s on the soft side defensively. He’s a good amount smaller than Almqvist I’d say and doesn’t hold up as well in his own end even if his stick work is decent. Still, he has been a good pick-up.
Almqvist has gotten better each day. Crisp passing, starting to shoot more and has been surprisingly fast on the skates. He’s not an offensive specialist by any stretch even though he’s on the small side. He’s been playing on the second PP unit so his stats could improve further once Smith leaves the team. Good rookie start, solidly in the top4 on the team now after being scratched early on.
Other than that the most pleasant ‘surprise’ has been Ferraro. He’s just a player that helps your team win hockey games. Skates like the wind and is a threat even on the penaltykill. And best of all doesn’t take shifts or nights off. I think he finally shows why he was picked so high, he needs some time to build strength still but the rest is there.
Backman and Marchenko are the sleepers in this group of prospects. Backman was solid for Sweden in the World Junior tournament and a lot of people don’t know this but Marchenko was going to be the captain of team Russia before he was injured. Both are playing big roles for their respective teams in Europe despite the fact that they are both only 20 years old. I see both of them in North America within two years.
I wondered on Tuesday, then again on Wednesday… I guess no article this week, eh?
@Shawn I wondered the same thing too, my week is not complete without one
Looking forward to the next update. Martin Frk has been on an incredible run lately.
@Shane….Frk had a goal and an assist tonight….you know you can check all the prospects in Canadian junior on a daily basis with box scores on http://www.chl.ca….you know the player, the team, so easy to look up ….just sayin’
New article would be great. It’s been 2 weeks.
Levi – maybe you should write one.
ryan — I don’t think Levi is complaining, there’s nothing wrong with liking somebody’s work to the extent of wanting to read the next one. But of course, I suppose you’ll come up with some rude retort haha.
Yeah, I can and have gone to eliteprospects.com to check all the prospects’ stats, but I really would like to read RWC’s next article. They only publish one per week…. And of course, I enjoy the commentary we all provide on new material as well.
Jiri Fischer and Hakan Andersson was watching Mattias Bäckman Thursday (November 29), and gave some quotes to Swedish daily Aftonbladet. Hakan Anderson: “He has developed by leaps and bounds. Last season he played more to survive, now he’s got the confidence to do more.” Jiri Fischer: “I’ve only got good things to say about him. He’s playing with greater confidence, and from what I’ve seen this season he’s the D-man that has developed the most in the Swedish Elite League.” Hakan Anderson, on the future: “We’ll sign him in the summer, but my guess is that he’ll play in Sweden next season as well. There’s no hurry. I think that he should play in Sweden til he’s played on the national team and maybe played a World Cup. That’s important in order to mature and to find out how one’s matching up against the competition.”
Personally, I believe Bäckman is in a good situation playing on his present team, Linköping. Their coach, a well-respected veteran coach, has said publicly that Bäckman has been their best D-man, and he plays 20+ minutes each game in many situations. While he’s made progress, he’s not dominating the league yet – there’s still room to improve in the SEL. Considering his age, he might potentially grow a tad more, and can all but certainly add a lot of strength.
Thanks, Joakim! Great news. I always appreciate your posts here…
Shawn
This morning Ryan Sproul, Jake Patterson and Xavier Ouellet were invited to Canada’s world junior hockey championship camp in calgary next week. As far as I’ve heard Ouellet is the only one expected to make the team but I believe Sproul and Patterson still have a strong chance
Anyone heard how Ouellett’s progress is coming with his injury?
Nedomlel has been left of the Czech WJC roster as far as camp invites again. Most think politics is still the reason for him being left out and his decision to come to North America. Still very disappointing and I feel for the young man, cannot believe they have made that choice now two years in a row when he was a deserving guy.
What is wrong with Ouellett? The Canadian team has not historically kept players who are injured going into the selection camp. He has a tremendous chance of playing a top four role with Canada, but not if he is injured during the next two weeks of their camp which starts on the 11th.
Are the authors at RWC ok? Should we call out a search party?
Seriously, everyone ok? This is highly unusual.
Ouellett has a sprained ankle and did not play tonight for the Armada. No word on the severity of the sprain or if it will hamper his trial for Team Canada.
What other sites do people use for prospect watching?
http://www.hockeysfuture.com/teams/detroit_red_wings
Eliteprospects.com is updated in near real time, it seems, and is SUPER thorough. But, that only shows stats and links to news in a sort of “off the wire” manner.
Kind of sucks that NHL is locked out, MLive has turned really crappy, and now RWC isn’t posting articles. Maybe my brothers and I should start a new site… guess I’d have to move back to the mitten.
Thanks Stevie Y and Shawn, The good thing about the lock out is that you pay more attention to the prospects. Found this good article http://www.hockeysfuture.com/articles/81981/deep-balanced-group-of-detroit-red-wings-prospects-playing-at-junior-level/
Tough break on Quine, Tvrdon and Hudon but some good news on the others!
Thanks for sharing the hockeysfuture article Burr. I feel terrible for Tvrdon. First the injury now the blood clot. Hopefully this run of bad luck will all be over for him soon. I’m glad to see Quine get back to a good run after having mono. His +/- is brutal though. I’m not really sure what to think about Hudon. I know he has mental health issues so hopefully he can get past that. I really hope Sproul can make team Canada. He seems to be doing great. Finally, I don’t know what his chances are but I wonder if Paterson can get a trade to a better team in the O. I’m sure it would be a bit difficult for a goalie trade that would benefit the goalie but one can only hope.
Both Quine and Hudon must be signed by June 1st 2013. What I am hearing is that Quine will sign and Hudon will become free to sign elsewhere. They don’t all pan out, that’s why they are considered prospects. How about Brooks Macek in Calgary in the WHL. The Wings didn’t sign him this past June and now he is a free agent who is scoring again. He has 33 points in 27 games. I wonder if the Wings will consider signingig this 20 year old who seems to have found his touch again?
sorry for the spelling mistake
I’d believe your source if they say Quine vice Hudon… poor kid just had some difficulties right from the get go. It’s hard to overcome them. Rest assured the Wings will keep tabs on him.
I recently saw a game with Macek (on TV)… he looked good. He looked to be one of the sort of guys that is always making things happen, always involved in any significant play, and a bit of a leader from what I gathered. Honestly, I had forgotten he was dropped from the list of prospects. He seems to be the type of guy we’d like to have in the fold and he’s probably too good to play in the ECHL, so GR should pick him up. I wouldn’t be surprised at all if they offer him a tryout this summer and then GR signs him. Good eye.
On another note, I am really excited for the young D coming along! Sproul and Ouelett are obviously turning heads (though I was a litte underwhelmed with the two TV games I saw of Ouelett, I’m sure it was just a couple of bad games for him). But Backman is playing a really solid game for a young D in the SEL, Marchenko is playing really well for a rookie in the KHL, and I don’t know if you guys have noticed Almquist’s numbers, but they are very impressive for a rookie AHL D-man. When Almquist puts on weight, this guy could be something really special. With guys like Lashoff (who is getting ripe) and Nedomlel to add some stay-at-home flavor, we’re looking really strong on the back end.
Strange… AHL.com doesn’t list Almquist as a rookie; he only played 3 games in the AHL last year.
Almquist is not considered a rookie because he played three years in the Swedish Elite League (SEL). Pulkkinen is finally starting to score in the SEL. He now has the following stats: 31-6-6-12-41.Both Pulkkinen and Jarnkrok need to come over to North America to play for Grand Rapids next year with Backman and Marchenko to follow in 2014. I believe that all of these Europeans will be in Detroit within three years, if not before. Also, keep an eye on recent draftee James De Haas from Mississauga. He is playing defence in Pentincton in British Columbia and is going to the NCAA next year. Therefore, Detroit doesn’t have to sign him until 2017. He has 16 points in 27 games as an 18 year old.
Did anyone see the Griffins Hogs game tonight? I saw some videos on youtube. Between Smith and Shaw I think the Wings Hawks rivalry is going to be huge in the not too distant future.
The Griffs/Hogs games was one of the most intense, great regular season games I’ve seen in Grand Rapids. At this point, if they cancel the season I don’t care too much as I’d love to see what Grand Rapids can do with this lineup (just wish we could get some tv coverage). It’s the first really competitive team I’ve seen there in a while.
Jake Patterson had a good game in the inter-squad match for the world junior camp. Stopped all 10 shots he saw in regulation and 4 of 5 in the shootout. I don’t think he’ll beat out Subban or Binnington but I see him beating out Brossoit for third goalie spot. Ouellet is out of the lineup for todays game against the CIS all-stars along, pretty good indication that his spot is locked up. Sproul didn’t really stand out, and got hammered by Ritchie. Unless he completely dominates tonight I don’t see him making the team.
Xavier Ouellet (ankle sprain)still out of the Team Canada lineup. If he can’t get in soon, he won’t be with this team. The final selection takes place on Thursday or Friday. The five players cut from the Canadian roster Wednesday were forwards Tyler Graovac (Minnesota Wild) and Sean Monahan (2013 draft eligible) of the Ottawa 67′s, and defensemen Derrick Pouliot (Pittsburgh Penguins) of the Portland Winterhawks, Adam Pelech (New York Islanders) of the Erie Otters and Francis Beauvillier (Florida Panthers) of the Rimouski Oceanic. Sproule, Patterson and Ouellet still with the team for now.
Eight more to cut Thursday at the Canadian World Junior camp after their 2nd exhibition game against university players from Alberta. The team will be made tomorrow.
Yeah, I read afterwards about Ouellet being out for the ankle sprain. I’m not so sure it will keep him off the team. If it was serious enough to cut him it would have happened already. If Hamilton had an ankle sprain at the start of camp that was expected to be healed by the start of the tourney he wouldn’t be cut just because he couldn’t make it into any of the games in a three day span. They’ve had the chance to see him play a lot in the summer series vs. Russia and again in the Subway series. Also, the roster doesn’t have to be officially announced until Dec 25th, so they could include him on the team and if he’s not healed by Christmas they can replace him.
As reported on TSN, Ouellet has made Team Canada along with Paterson while Sproule was cut.
Ouellet has been a lock since his performance in the subway series. He hasn’t been playing because of his sprain but TSN has been reporting that he was already 1 of the locks from the 4 d-men locks on the team.
Sproul just got cut tonight. IMO he played well at camp but the coach obviously favors Murphy since he’s his own player.
Patterson was probably the best goalie at camp. He’ll probably start as backup to Subban, but history shows he’ll get his chance.