RWC REPORT: Who is finding these guys?

By Matthew Wuest - RedWingsCentral.com / April 21, 2008

Whether it's Jonathan Ericsson with the last pick of the NHL entry draft or Niklas Kronwall with a first-rounder, the Detroit Red Wings are consistently finding NHL talent every year they sit down at the draft table.

So who's finding these guys?

Red Wings Central has broken down the scouting hierarchy answer that question.

Assistant general manager Jim Nill: Based in Detroit's front office ... Scouts early-round draft prospects in North American and Europe, as well as prospects identified by team scouts ... Scouts numerous Central Collegiate Hockey Association games ... Has final say at draft table ... Makes final decision on European and college free-agent signings who have been identified by team scouts ... Played 524 games in the NHL, ending his career in 1990 with the Red Wings.

Director of scouting Joe McDonnell: Based in Ontario ... Primary focus is on Ontario Hockey League and the Ontario junior A ranks ... Takes in games all over North America and crosses over to Europe to evaluate draft prospects ... Evaluates European and college free-agent prospects as identified by other team scouts ... Played 50 NHL games in the 1980s and served as head coach of the Kitchener Rangers for eight years before shifting to scouting.

Director of European scouting Hakan Andersson: Based in Sweden ... Voice carries heavy weight on European draft picks, and often makes the call for Nill in later rounds (Ericsson is a fine example of this, as no one else had seen him play) ... Scouts primarily in Sweden, but also crosses over to Finland and other countries and takes in most major tournaments in Europe.

Amateur scout Ari Vuori: Based in Finland ... Hired in off-season after more than a decade with the Los Angeles Kings ... Primarily scouts Finnish SM-Liiga and junior ranks ... Also crosses over to Sweden and focuses on undrafted free agents in second half of season as Andersson gears up for draft ... Played 13 years in the SM-Liiga and on Finland's national team before retiring in 1995.

Amateur scout Bruce Haralson: Based in British Columbia ... Primary focus is on Western Hockey League and junior A leagues in British Columbia and Alberta ... Occasionally crosses over to the regions of other scouts.

Amateur scout Mark Leach: Based in New Hampshire ... Primary focus is on Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, NCAA (Hockey East and Eastern College Athletic Conference), eastern U.S. prep schools and U.S. development program ... Occasionally crosses over to the regions of other scouts ... Played NCAA hockey at St. Lawrence in the early 1980s and served as an assistant coach at Michigan Tech and Boston College ... Brother, Steve, was a 30-goal scorer with the Boston Bruins who played more than seven NHL seasons.

Amateur scout David Kolb: Based in Minnesota ... Primary focus is on NCAA (Western Collegiate Hockey Association and CCHA), U.S. high school, United States Hockey League, North American Hockey League, and U.S. development program... Occasionally crosses over to the regions of other scouts.

Amateur scout Vladimir Havluj: Based in Czech Republic ... Primary focus is on Czech ExtraLiga and junior ranks ... Also scouts Slovakia and Russia.

Amateur scout Evgeni Erfilov: Based in Russia ... Primarily focuses is on Russian Superleague and Russian second-tier and junior leagues.

Part-time amateur scout Marty Stein: Based in British Columbia ... Primary focus is on British Columbia junior A ranks ... Also does some WHL scouting.

LONGEST SERVING: Andersson (1989), McDonnell (1992), Nill (1993) ... Haralson and Leach both signed on before 1997 Stanley Cup.

Here's a look at the prospect news from the past week.

• Forward Jan Mursak (Belleville, Ontario Hockey League) is the only Red Wings prospect with his season still alive. The Bulls lead John Tavares and the Oshawa Generals 3-0 in the OHL semifinals and can finish the sweep on Monday night.
  
  There is a good chance that the Bulls will not only earn a trip to the OHL final with another win, but also a trip to the Memorial Cup.
  
  Mursak, a speedy winger, has a goal and three assists in three semifinal games and sits 11th in the league with 15 points in 12 games.
• One prospect you didn't hear about this year was defenseman Sergei Kolosov, mostly because he played for Dinamo Minsk in Belarus's top pro league, from which statistics aren't readily available. The final numbers are in and the hard-hitting blueliner had 10 points and 73 penalty minutes in 47 games. He has to be signed by June 1, but don't count on that happening.

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

NAME	TEAM	LEAGUE	GP	G	A	PTS	PIM
A H L
Evan McGrath	Grand Rapids	AHL	78	18	17	35	26
Jonathan Ericsson	Grand Rapids	AHL	69	10	24	34	83
Darren Helm	Grand Rapids	AHL	67	16	15	31	30
Ryan Oulahen	Grand Rapids	AHL	75	14	16	30	47
Mattias Ritola	Grand Rapids	AHL	72	7	15	22	62
Kyle Quincey	Grand Rapids	AHL	66	5	15	20	149
Francis Lemieux	Grand Rapids	AHL	59	6	11	17	55
Jakub Kindl	Grand Rapids	AHL	75	3	14	17	82
Randall Gelech	Grand Rapids	AHL	70	7	8	15	37
Johan Ryno	Grand Rapids	AHL	12	3	4	7	8
Zack Torquato	Grand Rapids	AHL	11	1	0	1	8
Cory Emmerton	Grand Rapids	AHL	7	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
B E L A R U S
Sergei Kolosov	Dinamo Minsk	BEL	47	4	6	10	73
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
Bryan Rufenach	Clarkson	ECAC	35	3	3	6	12
Nick Oslund	St. Cloud State	WCHA	38	4	1	5	27
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	54	21-28-2	2.83	.907

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
Miroslav Blatak	Salavat Yulaev	RUS	13	1	0	1	10
Igor Grigorenko	Salavat Yulaev	RUS	4	0	1	1	0
S W E D E N
Anton Axelsson	Timra	SWE	11	2	2	4	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	12	6	9	15	4
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.