RWC REPORT: Worth smiling about (or not)

By Matthew Wuest - RedWingsCentral.com / December 3, 2007

Three prospects to be happy with this season:

1. Dick Axelsson — It’s great news for the Red Wings that the talented Axelsson is producing in the Swedish Elite League. It’s exactly what the organization needed to see from a player with more pure talent than anyone in the system.

2. Logan Pyett — He’s producing like crazy for a defenseman in the Western Hockey League and looks like a good bet for Canada’s world junior team. The Red Wings aren’t going to be able to resist giving this kid a contract at season’s end.

3. Joakim Andersson — While he’s playing at Sweden’s second level, it’s the seasoning he’ll need to play in the Swedish Elite League next season. Andersson’s offensive totals and faceoff success are outstanding for his age in a tough league.

Three prospects to be unhappy with this season:

1. Igor Grigorenko — It’s been hard not to root for Grigorenko after his courageous comeback from a car accident in 2003, but he did little to endear himself to fans after finally coming across the pond. He’ll be lucky if he gets a second chance.

2. Jan Mursak — He’s struggling, perhaps because 10 pounds of added off-season muscle is affecting him negatively. With just six goals in 26 games and only a point-per-game, Mursak is underachieving should be producing more.

3. Jimmy Howard — The Griffins are downright awful and you can’t pin it all on Howard. But it’s his third year in the AHL, and he’s old enough and good enough to be posting better numbers than a 3.10 GAA (34th in the AHL) and .890 save percentage (39th). His 22-save shutout on Sunday over Milwaukee and a 3-2 record in his last five games are encouraging signs.

NOTES: Pyett (Regina, Western Hockey League) had an assist in one Canada-Russia Challenge game this week ... Forward Cory Emmerton (Kingston, Ontario Hockey League) had a goal and an assist in two Canada-Russia Challenge games ... Both are strong candidates for the world junior championship, as is Andersson (Sweden). Defenseman Brendan Smith (Canada) also has an outside chance ... Forward Evan McGrath (Grand Rapids, AHL) had two goals and two assists in four games this week. That’s considerable production for any player in Grand Rapids this season ... Forward Zack Torquato (Saginaw, OHL) has five goals and four assists in six games, rebounding after an extremely slow start.

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	22	4	7	11	15
Evan McGrath	Grand Rapids	AHL	21	3	6	9	8
Ryan Oulahen	Grand Rapids	AHL	23	4	4	8	14
Johan Ryno	Grand Rapids	AHL	12	3	4	7	8
Randall Gelech	Grand Rapids	AHL	20	4	3	7	14
Jakub Kindl	Grand Rapids	AHL	18	1	5	6	18
Darren Helm	Grand Rapids	AHL	18	3	2	5	4
Mattias Ritola	Grand Rapids	AHL	20	1	3	4	20
Kyle Quincey	Grand Rapids	AHL	16	1	2	3	30
Igor Grigorenko	Grand Rapids	AHL	5	0	0	0	4
R U S S I A
Miroslav Blatak	Salavat Yulaev	RUS	32	2	4	6	22
Gennady Stolyarov	Moscow Dynamo	RUS	16	2	1	3	10
Igor Grigorenko	Salavat Yulaev	RUS	8	1	2	3	16
S W E D E N
Dick Axelsson	Djurgarden	SWE	19	6	6	12	2
Anton Axelsson	Timra	SWE	25	2	7	9	4
Johan Ryno	Djurgarden	SWE	3	1	1	2	0
Joakim Andersson	Boras	SWE-2	22	4	12	16	24
Joakim Andersson	Frolunda	SWE-J20	1	2	0	2	0
C H L
Cory Emmerton	Kingston	OHL	24	13	18	31	6
Logan Pyett	Regina	WHL	31	13	15	28	36
Jan Mursak	Saginaw	OHL	26	6	20	26	15
Zack Torquato	Erie	OHL	26	9	12	21	45
Randy Cameron	Moncton	QMJHL	26	6	9	15	10
N C A A
Justin Abdelkader	Michigan State	CCHA	15	5	5	10	35
Brendan Smith	Wisconsin	WCHA	14	2	7	9	24
Bryan Rufenach	Clarkson	ECAC	13	1	1	2	6
Nils Backstrom	Alaska-Anchorage	WCHA	8	1	0	1	2
Nick Oslund	St. Cloud State	WCHA	13	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	Djurgarden	SWE	21	--	2.17	.921
Jimmy Howard	Grand Rapids	AHL	15	6-8-1	3.10	.890

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.