RWC REPORT: Ritola makes positive impact

By Matthew Wuest - RedWingsCentral.com / February 11, 2008

Mattias Ritola has been a big plus for the Grand Rapids Griffins this season.

The 20-year-old Swede came to North America with a reputation for his high-end skill, but as an American Hockey League rookie, has made an impression with his solid two-way play and mature, responsible game in his own zone.

He's tied for a team-best with a plus-10 rating in 48 games.

"There's a learning curve in terms of playing in North America, and he's continuing to get better each game," Griffins general manager Bob McNamara said. "He's a responsible player, he's a plus player on a team with a lot of minuses, and he's been very good in his own end of the ice."

The 6-foot, 198-pound right-winger regularly skates on the Griffins' top two lines and has modest production, with just three goals and 11 assists for 14 points. But McNamara sees plenty of offensive potential that should shine through during the next two seasons of Ritola's three-year entry-level contract with Detroit.

"He's got great skill, he's not afraid to take the body and be physical in the corners and along the wall," McNamara said. "He just needs to go into the middle of the ice more often in the offensive zone and the goals will come."

Ritola made an impression on Red Wings head coach Mike Babcock in training camp, and was one of Detroit's last cuts after a strong pre-season.

• Defenseman Brendan Smith (Wisconsin, NCAA) remains out for a troublesome back injury. He's been out of the lineup since late December.
• Forward Cory Emmerton (Brampton, Ontario Hockey League) busted out in a big way, scoring two goals and five assists in three 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	50	6	15	21	52
Ryan Oulahen	Grand Rapids	AHL	51	7	8	15	30
Evan McGrath	Grand Rapids	AHL	49	7	7	14	20
Mattias Ritola	Grand Rapids	AHL	48	3	11	14	46
Jakub Kindl	Grand Rapids	AHL	47	3	10	13	48
Darren Helm	Grand Rapids	AHL	46	6	6	12	16
Randall Gelech	Grand Rapids	AHL	42	5	5	10	27
Kyle Quincey	Grand Rapids	AHL	44	2	7	9	84
Johan Ryno	Grand Rapids	AHL	12	3	4	7	8
Igor Grigorenko	Grand Rapids	AHL	5	0	0	0	4
R U S S I A
Miroslav Blatak	Salavat Yulaev	RUS	49	2	11	13	34
Gennady Stolyarov	Moscow Dynamo	RUS	29	2	2	4	16
Igor Grigorenko	Salavat Yulaev	RUS	21	4	4	8	22
S W E D E N
Dick Axelsson	Djurgarden	SWE	36	8	10	18	30
Anton Axelsson	Timra	SWE	44	6	8	14	6
Johan Ryno	Djurgarden	SWE	19	1	5	6	12
Joakim Andersson	Frolunda	SWE	6	1	0	1	2
Joakim Andersson	Boras	SWE-2	33	6	17	23	26
Joakim Andersson	Frolunda	SWE-J20	1	2	0	2	0
C H L
Jan Mursak	Belleville	OHL	46	15	40	55	23
Cory Emmerton	Brampton	OHL	41	19	30	49	12
Zack Torquato	Erie	OHL	51	16	30	46	65
Logan Pyett	Regina	WHL	49	17	27	44	44
Randy Cameron	Moncton	QMJHL	50	11	22	33	22
N C A A
Justin Abdelkader	Michigan State	CCHA	31	13	12	25	71
Brendan Smith	Wisconsin	WCHA	21	2	10	12	26
Nick Oslund	St. Cloud State	WCHA	27	3	0	3	6
Bryan Rufenach	Clarkson	ECAC	24	1	2	3	6
Nils Backstrom	Alaska-Anchorage	WCHA	14	1	1	2	6

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

NAME	TEAM	LEAGUE	GP	W-L-O	GAA	SPCT
Daniel Larsson	Djurgarden	SWE	38	--	2.38	.917
Jimmy Howard	Grand Rapids	AHL	39	17-19-2	2.61	.914

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.