RWC REPORT: McGrath struggles in pros

By Matthew Wuest - RedWingsCentral.com / February 18, 2008

Evan McGrath couldn't be having a rockier transition to the pros.

The Grand Rapids Griffins center's struggle to produce has continued in his second year in the American Hockey League, as the former 100-point man in junior has just eight goals and eight assists for 16 points in 52 games.

He had 14 points in 59 games as a rookie.

"We expected him to be better offensively — for a second-year player, around 15 to 20 goals," Griffins general manager Bob McNamara said. "He's got work to do."

McGrath was picked in the fourth round (128th overall) in 2004. The 6-foot, 195-pounder is a skilled stickhandler and playmaker who works particularly well on the power play. But he will be expected to round out his game.

"He's still learning to play in his own end," McNamara said. "In junior, he was counted on offensively and the defensive side of the game was secondary. Now, he's got to continue to learn to be a better defensive player."

• Goaltender Jimmy Howard and defenseman Kyle Quincey were called up from Grand Rapids this week and saw time with the Red Wings. It was a nice reward for Howard, who has played well as a third-year pro, and for Quincey, who was sent to the minors out of training camp in part because of his waiver-exempt status. Both should be full-time NHLers next year.
• The Red Wings added a prospect on Feb. 8 with the acquisition of Francis Lemieux for minor-leaguer Brett Engelhardt. Lemieux, a product of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, was never drafted and signed as a free agent with Montreal in 2005. The hard-working checker is in his third pro year and produced a career-high 40 points in 67 games as an AHL rookie.
• Defenseman Logan Pyett's (Regina, Western Hockey League) banner year continues. He not only has 18 goals among 46 points in 51 games, but his plus-16 rating is far and away the best on a team full of negatives.
• Center Zack Torquato (Erie, Ontario Hockey League) had a goal and five assists in three games this week, and is having a good season under the circumstances of playing for the worst team in the OHL. The Otters are 13-40-2-1 and have the third-worst offense in the league, but Torquato has still managed 17 goals and 35 assists for 52 points in 54 games. If the 18-year-old ends up on a better team next year, his numbers could skyrocket.

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	53	7	17	24	59
Ryan Oulahen	Grand Rapids	AHL	54	9	9	18	30
Evan McGrath	Grand Rapids	AHL	52	8	8	16	20
Mattias Ritola	Grand Rapids	AHL	49	3	11	14	46
Darren Helm	Grand Rapids	AHL	48	6	7	13	16
Jakub Kindl	Grand Rapids	AHL	49	3	10	13	50
Randall Gelech	Grand Rapids	AHL	45	5	5	10	29
Kyle Quincey	Grand Rapids	AHL	45	2	8	10	86
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	50	2	11	13	34
Igor Grigorenko	Salavat Yulaev	RUS	22	4	4	8	22
Gennady Stolyarov	Moscow Dynamo	RUS	31	2	2	4	18
S W E D E N
Dick Axelsson	Djurgarden	SWE	38	8	10	18	30
Anton Axelsson	Timra	SWE	46	7	8	15	8
Johan Ryno	Djurgarden	SWE	21	1	5	6	14
Joakim Andersson	Frolunda	SWE	7	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	49	16	42	58	23
Cory Emmerton	Brampton	OHL	44	19	33	52	14
Zack Torquato	Erie	OHL	54	17	35	52	79
Logan Pyett	Regina	WHL	51	18	28	46	44
Randy Cameron	Moncton	QMJHL	51	12	22	34	22
N C A A
Justin Abdelkader	Michigan State	CCHA	33	13	14	27	77
Brendan Smith	Wisconsin	WCHA	21	2	10	12	26
Nick Oslund	St. Cloud State	WCHA	29	4	0	4	8
Bryan Rufenach	Clarkson	ECAC	26	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	40	--	2.28	.920
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.