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By Matthew Wuest - www.RedWingsCentral.com January 15, 2007 Two years ago, the Detroit Red Wings had high hopes for Christofer Lofberg. Now, they will likely relinquish his rights at season’s end. Lofberg, drafted 80th overall in 2005, has been dealing with an illness in his family this season and his on-ice play has suffered as a result. The 6-foot-3, 194-pound center has struggled to keep his heart in the game and has just four assists in 26 games with Djurgarden of the Swedish Elite League. “He’s basically been off the charts,” said Red Wings director of European scouting Hakan Andersson. “If he wants to take a practice off or even a game off (to be with his family), he can. He just hasn’t had a good year hockey-wise but if he wants to focus on his family, I can’t say anything about it.” In his draft year, Lofberg posted stats in Sweden’s under-20 league that compared to those of Anze Kopitar, now a heralded rookie with the Los Angeles Kings. The Red Wings considered Lofberg a home-run pick and Andersson ranked him one of the top Europeans in the draft. Andersson described Lofberg’s skating ability as just shy of five points on a five-point scale and said his skill level wasn’t far behind. Lofberg, who has two goals and four assists in 70 games at the Swedish Elite League level, has never made a junior national team, and his chances of signing with the Red Wings by the June 1 deadline are fading. “The way it is now, probably not,” said Andersson. “Sometimes it’s nobody’s fault, it’s just the circumstances. This might be a perfect example. I can’t blame Christofer if hockey’s not No. 1 for him right now.” If Lofberg re-enters the draft and isn’t selected, the Red Wings could always sign him as a free agent if he eventually reaches his potential. “If we don’t sign him, I will talk to him and say, ‘If your grief is over a year from now, we will be watching you,’” said Andersson, who shares the same home town as Lofberg. “Without a doubt.” HOT: Goaltender Stefan Liv (Grand Rapids, American Hockey League) may have had a rocky start to his North American career, but he’s been solid lately. He’s 6-2 in his last eight starts and has two shutouts, a 2.38 goals-against average and a .910 save percentage ... Center Ryan Oulahen (Grand Rapids, AHL) has a goal and three assists in his last five games ... Forward Johan Ryno (Timra, Swedish Elite League) isn’t slowing down. He has four goals and five assists for nine points in 11 games since joining a new team. COLD: Center Shawn Matthias (Belleville, Ontario Hockey League) has a goal and an assist in his last five games, but is having a solid season. He has 24 goals in 42 games, tied for the most among the Wings’ major junior prospects ... Defenseman Bretton Stamler (Seattle, Western Hockey League) has seen his production stall in a contract year. He has just one assist in his last 12 games ... Center Evan McGrath (Grand Rapids, AHL) has just one goal and no assists in his last 18 games in his rookie pro campaign. NOTES: Defenseman Derek Meech (Grand Rapids, AHL) continued his emergence as a top-notch pro this week, earning a spot on the AHL all-star team. The game will be played on Jan. 28 in Toronto ... Goaltender Jimmy Howard (Grand Rapids, AHL) is currently out with ankle injury ... Left-winger Dick Axelsson (Huddinge, Swedish second level) returned from a knee injury this week and had an assist in one game. He missed several weeks, including Sweden’s world junior team camp and the subsequent tournament ... Defenseman Juho Mielonen (Ilves Tampere, Finnish junior league) remains out after having shoulder surgery for the second season in a row. He could be back skating by late February or early March. CONTENT ADVISORY: RedWingsCentral.com's annual mid-season prospect ranking will be released on Wendesday, Jan. 17. The following is this season’s statistical report to date:
The following is this season's statistical report for goaltenders to date:
LEAGUE LEGEND: AHL -- American Hockey League; ECHL -- East Coast Hockey League; RUS -- Russian Elite League; RUS-2 -- Russian second level; FIN -- Finnish Elite League; FIN-J20 -- Finnish under-20 junior league; SWE -- Swedish Elite League; SWE-2 -- Swedish second level; SWE-3 -- Swedish third level; SWE-J20 -- Swedish under-20 junior league; OHL -- Ontario Hockey League; WHL -- Western Hockey League; NCAA -- National Collegiate Athletic Association Division 1; USHL -- United States Hockey League. |
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