RWC REPORT: Andersson excels in Sweden

By Matthew Wuest - RedWingsCentral.com / November 26, 2007

Joakim Andersson is playing about as well as the Detroit Red Wings could have hoped for an 18-year-old at Sweden's second level.

The 6-foot-2, 198-pound center is the top scorer for Boras and is among the top 25 in the league with four goals and 12 assists for 16 points in 20 games. He also ranks 12th in faceoff percentage at 57.4 and has a plus-4 rating as a rookie on a team that sits in the middle of the pack with six wins in 20 games.

He's a go-to player, and that's a good sign.

"I hate to use the comparison, but he's a (Henrik) Zetterberg type of player," Red Wings director of European scouting Hakan Andersson said. "The upside isn't as high (as Zetterberg's), but he's going to be a very dependable player. He might get 40 points in the NHL and give you very good defense and kill penalties."

The Red Wings took Andersson (no relation to Hakan) in the third round (88th overall) in June's draft, although he was ranked as high as 21st by independent services. His choppy skating likely contributed to the slide.

But the Red Wings like Andersson's work ethic and overall package and hope they have a future checking-line forward. Hakan Andersson wonders if there is untapped offensive potential that will emerge in the next couple of seasons.

"I have to say he has very good hockey sense ... I'm not sure what his upside is," he said. "What I know is, I'll be really happy if he becomes our third-line center because I know we're going to have a really good third-line center for a long time."

— Forward Johan Ryno (Grand Rapids, American Hockey League) was off to what appeared to be a good start to his North American career, but returned to Sweden this week citing both on- and off-ice discomfort.

The 6-foot-5, 209-pounder was one of Detroit's most productive prospects in Grand Rapids, with three goals and four assists in 12 games.

Ryno will join Djurgarden of the Swedish Elite League, a team that features fellow Wings prospects Dick Axelsson and Daniel Larsson.

A season on his three-year contract will be used.

"He might as well go back and hope he's a player at (age) 24, 25," Red Wings GM Ken Holland told redwingscorner.blogspot.com. "It's hard to make the NHL when you're 22, 23. We've agreed to go along with what the player and agent want."

— Forward Igor Grigorenko (Salavat Yulaev, Russian Elite League) is off to a slow start after leaving Grand Rapids last month. He has a goal in five games.

— Things are not going well for goaltender Jimmy Howard in the AHL. He has won just once in November (1-6-1) and has a 3.70 goals-against average to go along with a .881 save percentage. The Griffins, 6-11-0-2 for 14 points, are plummeting in the AHL standings, now in second last and just two points out of the basement.

— Forward Justin Abdelkader (Michigan State, NCAA) has just one assist in his past four games after averaging a point-per-game his first nine contests.

— Defenseman Bryan Rufenach (Clarkson, NCAA) has recorded the first points of his NCAA career, with a goal and an assist in his past four games.

The following is an up-to-date statistical report for skaters:

NAME	TEAM	LEAGUE	GP	G	A	PTS	PIM
A H L
Jonathan Ericsson	Grand Rapids	AHL	18	3	5	8	15
Johan Ryno	Grand Rapids	AHL	12	3	4	7	8
Ryan Oulahen	Grand Rapids	AHL	19	3	3	6	10
Randall Gelech	Grand Rapids	AHL	18	3	3	6	14
Jakub Kindl	Grand Rapids	AHL	15	1	5	6	14
Darren Helm	Grand Rapids	AHL	14	2	2	4	4
Evan McGrath	Grand Rapids	AHL	17	1	4	5	6
Mattias Ritola	Grand Rapids	AHL	17	1	2	3	16
Kyle Quincey	Grand Rapids	AHL	12	1	2	3	22
Igor Grigorenko	Grand Rapids	AHL	5	0	0	0	4
R U S S I A
Miroslav Blatak	Salavat Yulaev	RUS	29	2	4	6	20
Gennady Stolyarov	Moscow Dynamo	RUS	14	1	1	2	10
Igor Grigorenko	Salavat Yulaev	RUS	5	1	0	1	12
S W E D E N
Dick Axelsson	Djurgardens	SWE	17	6	5	11	2
Anton Axelsson	Timra	SWE	22	0	7	7	4
Joakim Andersson	Boras	SWE-2	20	4	12	16	20
Joakim Andersson	Frolunda	SWE-J20	1	2	0	2	0
C H L
Cory Emmerton	Kingston	OHL	23	12	16	28	6
Logan Pyett	Regina	WHL	29	13	15	28	36
Jan Mursak	Saginaw	OHL	24	5	19	24	13
Zack Torquato	Erie	OHL	23	7	10	17	43
Randy Cameron	Moncton	QMJHL	24	5	8	13	10
N C A A
Justin Abdelkader	Michigan State	CCHA	13	5	5	10	35
Brendan Smith	Wisconsin	WCHA	12	2	7	9	24
Bryan Rufenach	Clarkson	ECAC	12	1	1	2	4
Nils Backstrom	Alaska-Anchorage	WCHA	6	1	0	1	2
Nick Oslund	St. Cloud State	WCHA	11	1	0	1	2

The following is an up-to-date statistical report for goaltenders:

NAME	TEAM	LEAGUE	GP	W-L-O	GAA	SPCT
Daniel Larsson	Djurgardens	SWE	18	--	2.07	.923
Jimmy Howard	Grand Rapids	AHL	12	4-7-1	2.47	.888

LEAGUE LEGEND: AHL -- American Hockey League; RUS -- Russian Elite League; SWE -- Swedish Elite League; SWE-2 -- Swedish second level; SWE-J20 -- Swedish under-20 league; OHL -- Ontario Hockey League; WHL -- Western Hockey League; QMJHL -- Quebec Major Junior Hockey League; CCHA -- Central Collegiate Hockey Association; WCHA -- Western Collegiate Hockey Association; ECAC -- East Coast Athletic Conference.