 |
|
Emmerton gets fresh start as rookie pro
By Sarah Lindenau — RedWingsCentral.com / September 16, 2008Cory Emmerton is eager to put a nightmarish season behind him.
The 20-year-old Ontario Hockey League product's luck went from bad to worse when he was traded from the Kingston Frontenacs to the Brampton Battalion at mid-season. He contracted mononucleosis, was sent home from Canada's world junior camp, and never fully got himself back on track.
"It was kind of a disappointing year," he said. "It's just one of those fluke accidents that happens at the wrong time. I would have liked to have gotten that experience of going overseas for the world junior, but unfortunately it didn't work out."
Emmerton sat out for nearly six weeks and could do little in the way of exercise. He said his muscle tone diminished significantly as he rested.
"After I had the mono I felt really sluggish," Emmerton said. "It really affected my speed and strength. Speed was one of the things I had to work on to begin with, so I had to work that much harder to even improve on that (after I recovered)."
The 6-foot, 190-pound forward became so frustrated from being off the ice that he pushed himself to return to Brampton's lineup sooner than he should have. He managed just 12 goals and 30 points in 30 games upon his return — well below his usual clip — and had just two assists in five playoff games.
"I came back a bit early," the St. Thomas, Ontario, native admitted. "I never really got back into how I was playing before. That was kind of upsetting because not playing at your top potential is a letdown."
Emmerton has worked hard to prepare for the upcoming season, his first in the professional ranks. He wanted to regain his muscle tone and improve his speed, the biggest criticism of his well-rounded game.
"This year was big for me to get in the gym and that has helped me," he said. "It was a tough summer, but if I want to make the Red Wings, ever, I am going to have to work that much harder just to have a chance with all those great players."
With three goals and two assists in three games at the annual prospects tournament in Traverse City, Mich., Emmerton is certainly off to a good start. He leads the Red Wings in scoring and is second among all scorers.
He is expected to spend the year in the American Hockey League with the Grand Rapids Griffins, and ice time on the top two lines is up for grabs.
"I am really excited to get back into the season," he said. "Hopefully I will get a couple of exhibition games (with the Red Wings) before I get to (Grand Rapids) and just get that much more confidence."
Emmerton watched rookie forwards Mattias Ritola and Darren Helm earn call-ups to the Red Wings last season, both much earlier than anyone expected. He hopes that he will have the same opportunity this season.
"That would be a dream come true," Emmerton said. "I don't hope for injuries, because I would love to see the Red Wings win the Stanley Cup again. But if there are a couple and I get a chance to get into a couple games, that would be great."
— Jan Mursak did what everyone told him last season, adding 15 pounds of muscle so he could handle the rigors of North American hockey.
Turned out, it didn't do him much good.
"Last year, the start was bad for me," said Mursak, who split the season with the Saginaw Spirit and Belleville Bulls of the OHL.
"I gained a lot of weight in the summer because everyone was telling me I needed to get stronger. It was not good for me — it was too much."
Mursak ended up finding a comfortable playing weight and finished with 66 points in 57 games and earned a trip to the Memorial Cup with Belleville. Since the season ended, he has been preparing to play in Grand Rapids.
"I didn't really take a lot of time off," Mursak said. "I was just practicing hard and I was working on my skating. I wanted to be in good shape to compete at this level."
The Maribor, Slovenia, native has looked strong during the tournament playing on a line with Ritola and Justin Abdelkader. Mursak, who is without a point, has used his strong skating ability to generate offensive chances.
"I really like to play with Ritola and Abdelkader," Mursak said. "I am having a hard time scoring, but I think the goals will come."
— The Red Wings were the better team in Tuesday's 3-2 shootout loss to the Atlanta Thrashers. They outshot the Thrashers 31-27.
"Sometimes when you deserve to win it doesn't always work out," Emmerton said. "We played well all three games so it would have been nice to go to the finals. Give Atlanta credit, they capitalized on their chances and did well in the shootout."
The Red Wings had two goals that were not counted. The first was fired in by Logan Pyett from the point, but was missed by the goal judge and the referee. The second was waved off after a scramble in front of the Atlanta net.
"Logan's shot I was pretty sure went in," Emmerton said. "It's not really too serious, but it would have been nice to get the win and be in that final game. We are still looking to have one of the best finishes this team has had in the tournament."
— Daniel Larsson had a strong game despite allowing two flukey goals. The 6-foot, 170-pound goaltender made some nice stops early in a 25-save outing.
— Brian Lashoff and Bryce Swan sat out as healthy scratches.
— The line of Francis Pare, Cody Thornton and Stephen Johnston played well. The 5-foot-10, 185 pound Pare, last season's Quebec Major Junior Hockey League MVP, was the most noticeable with his speed and playmaking ability.
— Of two fights, the Jordan Foreman/Danick Paquette bout was the most entertaining. The 5-foot-9 Foreman held his own against the 6-foot Paquette. The Joey Ryan-Myles Stoesz was more of a wrestling match.
— The Red Wings play in Wednesday's third-place game at 2:30 p.m. against the Minnesota Wild. Thomas McCollum is expected to start in net for Detroit.
Sponsored Links
The next wave
RWC's featured prospects
| D | Jonathan Ericsson » | Grand Rapids (AHL) |
| F | Ville Leino » | Grand Rapids (AHL) |
| F | Darren Helm» | Grand Rapids (AHL) |
| D | Brian Lashoff» | Barrie (OHL) |
| F | Brent Raedeke » | Edmonton (WHL) |