RWC REPORT: Anton finishes strong

By Matthew Wuest - RedWingsCentral.com / March 10, 2008

Anton Axelsson started slow and finished strong.

The Detroit Red Wings prospect wrapped up the Swedish Elite League regular season with Timra by scoring two goals and two assists in three games, continuing a second-half resurgence after a sluggish start to a contract year.

Axelsson, the younger brother of Boston Bruins forward P.J., had 10 goals and 10 assists for 20 points in 50 games, including five goals and three assists in his final 11 games. All 10 of his goals came in the final 28 games.

The 6-foot, 187-pound left-winger is a dark horse for a contract before the June 1 deadline, and has definite NHL potential as a checker, but may find himself in a numbers crunch in an organization that has no shortage of role players.

Red Wings director of European scouting Hakan Andersson is one of Axelsson’s biggest fans, comparing his potential to that of his brother.

• Anton wasn’t the only Axelsson to have a hot finish. Forward Dick Axelsson (Djurgardens, Swedish Elite League) had four goals and three assists in his final nine contests, a good turnaround from a mid-season slump.
• Goalie Daniel Larsson (Djurgarden, Swedish Elite League) also wrapped up his season. He finished with a 2.29 goals against average (third in the league), .921 save percentage (third) and six shutouts (tied for second).
• Forward Darren Helm (Grand Rapids, American Hockey League) has two goals and an assist in three games. He has four goals and seven assists in his last 16 games, equivalent to shooting the lights out in Grand Rapids.
• Defenseman Brendan Smith (Wisconsin, NCAA) remains injured, out with a back injury since late December. It’s a tough blow to his freshman year.
• Forward Justin Abdelkader (Michigan State, NCAA) was named Central Collegiate Hockey Association player of the week last Monday.

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	54	7	18	25	63
Ryan Oulahen	Grand Rapids	AHL	64	12	11	23	34
Evan McGrath	Grand Rapids	AHL	62	9	13	22	24
Mattias Ritola	Grand Rapids	AHL	59	6	15	21	52
Darren Helm	Grand Rapids	AHL	58	9	11	20	26
Jakub Kindl	Grand Rapids	AHL	56	3	11	14	65
Kyle Quincey	Grand Rapids	AHL	50	4	10	14	94
Randall Gelech	Grand Rapids	AHL	54	5	7	12	29
Francis Lemieux	Grand Rapids	AHL	45	3	9	12	43
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	57	2	12	14	34
Igor Grigorenko	Salavat Yulaev	RUS	27	4	6	10	24
Gennady Stolyarov	Moscow Dynamo	RUS	37	3	2	5	22
S W E D E N
Dick Axelsson	Djurgarden	SWE	47	12	13	25	44
Anton Axelsson	Timra	SWE	54	10	10	20	10
Johan Ryno	Djurgarden	SWE	30	2	7	9	18
Joakim Andersson	Frolunda	SWE	9	1	0	1	2
Joakim Andersson	Boras	SWE-2	33	6	17	23	26
Joakim Andersson	Frolunda	SWE-J20	6	8	2	10	30
C H L
Jan Mursak	Belleville	OHL	57	17	47	64	23
Zack Torquato	Erie	OHL	63	24	40	64	101
Cory Emmerton	Brampton	OHL	52	24	35	59	16
Logan Pyett	Regina	WHL	59	19	32	51	50
Randy Cameron	Moncton	QMJHL	59	12	25	37	26
N C A A
Justin Abdelkader	Michigan State	CCHA	37	17	18	35	91
Brendan Smith	Wisconsin	WCHA	21	2	10	12	26
Nick Oslund	St. Cloud State	WCHA	35	4	1	5	25
Bryan Rufenach	Clarkson	ECAC	30	3	2	5	10
Nils Backstrom	Alaska-Anchorage	WCHA	16	1	2	3	18

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

NAME	TEAM	LEAGUE	GP	W-L-O	GAA	SPCT
Daniel Larsson	Djurgarden	SWE	46	--	2.29	.921
Jimmy Howard	Grand Rapids	AHL	43	18-21-2	2.77	.909

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

NAME	TEAM	LEAGUE	GP	G	A	PTS	PIM
R U S S I A
Igor Grigorenko	Salavat Yulaev	RUS	2	0	1	1	0
Gennady Stolyarov	Moscow Dynamo	RUS	1	0	0	0	0
Miroslav Blatak	Salavat Yulaev	RUS	2	0	0	0	2

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.