RWC REPORT: Coach unsure about Leino's NHL future

By Matthew Wuest - RedWingsCentral.com / May 12, 2008

There is a long silence when Doug Shedden is asked whether Ville Leino will be successful in the NHL. Shedden, Leino’s head coach with Jokerit Helsinki this season, pauses for thought before delivering his response.

“I think it’s going to be tough,” Shedden said. “I don’t know if his skating will hold him back or not. I hope he (makes it). He’s got the mentality to do it.”

The Detroit Red Wings signed Leino on the weekend to a one-year contract, a few days after being snubbed by highly-publicized Fabian Brunnstrom.

The 24-year-old center/right-winger tore apart the Finnish SM-Liiga this season, piling up 28 goals and 49 assists for 77 points. He finished a point shy of the scoring title, led the league in assists, and was named player of the year.

“It will be interesting to see how he adapts to the skating of the NHL and the smaller rink,” Shedden said. “I don’t know if it will help him or hurt him. It’s not that he’s a bad skater, it’s just that he’s not overly fast.”

Shedden raved about Leino’s determination and work ethic, traits the Red Wings often weigh just as heavily as speed and skill. It’s players such as Henrik Zetterberg, Pavel Datsyuk and Nicklas Lidstrom who show up to play every game, every shift, that have helped the Red Wings achieve consistent success.

“He’s a heck of a competitor — he probably led the league in practice fights,” said Shedden, who will coach EV Zug in Switzerland next season. “He loves to come to the rink, he loves to practice, he loves to put his equipment on and compete.”

Leino was never drafted, playing in junior leagues at depths rarely scouted in Finland. He cracked the SM-Liiga at 19 and became a top scorer at 22. But this past season, his 77 points were nearly double his previous best of 43.

“He’s a natural center and I moved him to right wing and it was better for him,” Shedden said. “He’s strong on the puck down low, he’s a good cycle guy, and he draws a lot of penalties because of his puck control.”

Leino, who must add muscle to his lean 6-foot-1, 183-pound frame, didn’t make the Shedden-coached Finnish team for the world championship. But the squad is loaded with talent up front, with eight bona fide NHLers on its top three lines. Saku Koivu, Teemu Selanne, Mikko Koivu and Olli Jokinen top the list.

Cracking the top two lines against proven NHLers would have been near impossible, and Shedden wasn’t impressed during a pre-tournament camp.

“He hangs onto the puck a lot down low and we found when he played on the national team, he didn’t raise his level to be able to score at higher levels,” Shedden said. “It will be interesting to see how he does with the Red Wings.”

Shedden said Leino not only needs to shoot more, but also use his linemates better. He ends up losing the puck at times by doing neither.

At 24, Leino will make the trek overseas in the fall in an attempt to earn a roster spot with the Red Wings. More likely, he will play in the American Hockey League with the Grand Rapids Griffins as he adjusts to the rigors of the North American game. As with all European prospects, there is a risk he could return home.

The only other European free agent the Red Wings signed under the new collective bargaining agreement rules was German forward Michael Hackert. That move was a disaster, as Hackert left Grand Rapids after 16 games.

The Red Wings hope the Leino experiment has better results.

“The determination is there, and that can compensate for a lot of things,” Shedden said. “He’s one guy who could (make it because) of that.”

— The Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet reported this week that goaltender Daniel Larsson (Djurgarden, Swedish Elite League) had signed a three-year contract with the Red Wings. Larsson told the paper he intends to stay in North America next season, even if he is sent to the AHL. The Red Wings have yet to confirm the signing, which must be made official by June 1.

— Forward Jan Mursak has helped the Belleville Bulls pull off a miraculous comeback against the Kitchener Rangers in the Ontario Hockey League best-of-seven final. The Bulls went down 3-0 in the series, but have battled back to tie it with three consecutive wins. The deciding game is set for Monday.

Mursak, a speedy, skilled winger, is seventh in OHL scoring with 24 points in 20 games, including a goal and four assists in the final.

— Goaltender Stefan Liv, who the Red Wings had the rights to this past season as a restricted free agent, followed in the footsteps of Henrik Lundqvist and Henrik Zetterberg this week by winning the Gold Puck award as Swedish player of the year. He will be an unrestricted free agent on July 1.

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	20	9	15	24	10
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.