RWC REPORT: How long must Jonathan Ericsson wait?

By Matthew Wuest - RedWingsCentral.com / March 31, 2008

When will Jonathan Ericsson get his full-time shot at the NHL?

That’s the big question surrounding Ericsson, a 6-foot-5, 218-pound blueline stud who would probably already have a full-time job on most NHL teams. Instead, it’s possible he will spend a third season in the American Hockey League with the Grand Rapids Griffins in 2008-09 because of his waiver-exempt status.

There aren’t many jobs up for grabs in Detroit, with five of eight regular defenseman under contract for two more seasons. The Red Wings also plan on re-signing at least two of the other three — Brad Stuart, Chris Chelios and Andreas Lilja — and when you throw Kyle Quincey into the mix, it clouds the picture.

Quincey, a prospect entering his fourth pro season, is no longer waiver-exempt, meaning the Red Wings risk losing him if they send him down.

That potentially leaves Ericsson as the odd man out.

“You get to the point where you could lose a guy then,” Red Wings assistant general manager Jim Nill said. “It’s much like Derek Meech. You’d rather have him playing all the time, but you can’t, so you make the best of the situation.”

Ericsson has 10 goals and 21 assists for 31 points in 78 games along with a plus-3 rating with the Griffins. He averaged 15:27 of ice time, including ample time on both special-team units, in a seven-game call-up to Detroit.

Quincey, who was called up before Ericsson, averaged 13:58 including heavy penalty-killing time, but was sent back to Grand Rapids first.

Another season the minors probably wouldn’t hurt Ericsson. He still has work to do, although his rapid rate of progression is an indication he would likely rise to the occasion if the Red Wings threw him into their day-to-day lineup.

“It’s a consistency thing, being consistent every night, but he has definitely turned himself into an NHL caliber defenseman,” Nill said.

Here are some other tidbits from the past week.

• The Red Wings took a long look at signing free agent goalie Pier-Olivier Pelletier in training camp, but decided to let him return to the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League for one more season to prove his worth. Unfortunately for Pelletier, it hasn’t worked out. The 20-year-old struggled behind a powerful Halifax Mooseheads club and is now backup up 19-year-old Mark Yetman in the playoffs. It’s highly unlikely Pelletier will earn contract at this stage, especially with Swedish prospect Daniel Larsson’s rapid development.
• Defenseman Brendan Smith (Wisconsin, NCAA) had missed almost three months with a bulging disc in his back when returned to action on Sunday in a 3-2 overtime loss to North Dakota in the Midwest Regional Final. Smith skated as a forward on the fourth line in his first action since Jan. 11 as Wisconsin just missed a shot at the NCAA's Frozen Four.
• Forward Cory Emmerton (Brampton, Ontario Hockey League) signed an amateur tryout contract with the Griffins this week after his disappointing junior season came to a close. Emmerton had just two assists in five games as the favored Battalion fell 4-1 to the Barrie Colts. Emmerton told the Battalion’s official website he “wasn’t 100 percent” when he returned from mononucleosis at mid-season, but added he’s eager for the chance to finish the season in the AHL. He registered an assist in his first pro game of the season on Sunday.
• Defenseman Logan Pyett (Regina, Western Hockey League) had a goal and three assists in six games, but saw his team fall 4-2 to Swift Current in the first round of the playoffs. Pyett is likely to sign with Detroit in the off-season.
• Forward Darren Helm (Grand Rapids, AHL) is fast-tracking his way to a full-time spot with the Red Wings with his recent play. He has been brilliant in March, with seven goals and five assists in a nine-game span. He’s averaging close to three shots per game overall, impressive for a rookie.
• Forward Zack Torquato (Grand Rapids, AHL) has already played seven pro games and netted his first goal on Sunday. It’s a good experience for Torquato, who could bust out offensively in 2008-09 in the junior ranks.
• Goaltender Jimmy Howard (Grand Rapids, AHL) will be glad to be done with the month of March after posting a 2-6 record, a 3.56 goals-against average and a .886 save percentage during an important stretch. He did pick up the Griffins’ man-of-the-year award for outstanding community involvement.
• Forward Igor Grigorenko (Salavat Yulaev, Russian Elite League) and his squad have advanced to the championship series against Alexei Yashin-led Lokomotiv Yaroslavl, but Grigorenko’s been out with an undisclosed injury for the past two weeks and it’s unclear when he’ll return.
• Forward Justin Abdelkader (Michigan State, NCAA) likely saw his college career come to an end this week as he and the defending national champion Spartans lost 3-1 to Notre Dame in the West Regional final on Saturday. He is expected to turn pro next season and may sign an amateur tryout contract with Grand Rapids this week. Abelkader won CCHA awards for best defensive forward and humanitarian of the year and earned honorable mention for the all-conference team. He was tied for 26th in the nation in scoring with 40 points in 42 games. He also piled up a whopping 107 penalty minutes.
• Forward Anton Axelsson (Timra, Swedish Elite League) has two goals and an assist in nine games and has helped his team to the semifinals.

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	64	10	21	31	78
Ryan Oulahen	Grand Rapids	AHL	74	14	16	30	47
Evan McGrath	Grand Rapids	AHL	72	15	15	30	26
Darren Helm	Grand Rapids	AHL	63	13	15	28	30
Mattias Ritola	Grand Rapids	AHL	67	6	15	21	56
Kyle Quincey	Grand Rapids	AHL	60	5	15	20	145
Jakub Kindl	Grand Rapids	AHL	69	3	12	15	76
Randall Gelech	Grand Rapids	AHL	64	6	8	14	35
Francis Lemieux	Grand Rapids	AHL	53	4	10	14	47
Johan Ryno	Grand Rapids	AHL	12	3	4	7	8
Zack Torquato	Grand Rapids	AHL	7	1	0	1	8
Cory Emmerton	Grand Rapids	AHL	1	0	1	1	0
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
Zack Torquato	Erie	OHL	66	25	42	67	112
Jan Mursak	Belleville	OHL	57	17	47	64	23
Cory Emmerton	Brampton	OHL	54	25	36	61	16
Logan Pyett	Regina	WHL	62	20	34	54	54
Randy Cameron	Moncton	QMJHL	62	12	37	39	30
N C A A
Justin Abdelkader	Michigan State	CCHA	42	19	21	40	107
Brendan Smith	Wisconsin	WCHA	22	2	10	12	26
Nick Oslund	St. Cloud State	WCHA	38	4	1	5	27
Bryan Rufenach	Clarkson	ECAC	35	3	3	6	12
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	51	20-26-2	2.82	.908

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
Gennady Stolyarov	Moscow Dynamo	RUS	8	1	0	1	2
Igor Grigorenko	Salavat Yulaev	RUS	3	0	1	1	0
Miroslav Blatak	Salavat Yulaev	RUS	9	0	0	0	8
S W E D E N
Anton Axelsson	Timra	SWE	9	2	1	3	4
Joakim Andersson	Frolunda	SWE	4	1	1	2	2
Dick Axelsson	Djurgarden	SWE	5	1	0	1	2
Johan Ryno	Djurgarden	SWE	5	0	0	0	2
C H L
Jan Mursak	Belleville	OHL	5	3	2	5	2
Logan Pyett	Regina	WHL	6	1	3	4	0
Cory Emmerton	Brampton	OHL	5	0	2	2	2

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

NAME	TEAM	LEAGUE	GP	W-L-O	GAA	SPCT
Daniel Larsson	Djurgarden	SWE	5	--	2.64	.920

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.