RWC REPORT: Rock-solid Abdelkader cools down

By Matthew Wuest - RedWingsCentral.com / November 24, 2008

Justin Abdelkader has fallen back to earth as an American Hockey League rookie after an abnormal scoring binge in October.

The 21-year-old Grand Rapids Griffins center has a goal and an assist in 11 games in November, a steep drop from the seven goals and two assists in his first seven games that earned him AHL rookie of the month.

But Abdelkader, who is tied for fifth in AHL rookie goal-scoring, is known more for his all-around game than his offense anyway.

"He does a little bit of everything," Griffins general manager Bob McNamara said. "He's great defensively, great driving the net, a big strong guy who's not afraid to throw his body around and go to tough areas, to go to the net to score goals. He's been a key guy for us all over the ice."

The 6-foot-2, 215-pound Muskegon, Mich., native is behind Darren Helm and Ville Leino as the top call-up from Grand Rapids. He should earn a full-time spot with the Detroit Red Wings in the next season or two.

* Speaking of Helm, he's red-hot, with five goals and nine assists for 14 points in his past 12 games. He's just a point off Leino's team lead.

* Speaking of Leino, he's cooled off recently. He hasn't scored a goal since Oct. 25 and has just four assists in his past six games.

* Also in Grand Rapids, Cory Emmerton (five assists in five games) is picking up offensive steam, while Mattias Ritola (two points in eight games) and Jan Mursak (one assist in 12 games) are feeling the chill.

* Goaltender Jimmy Howard, meanwhile, has lost three straight games in Grand Rapids, allowing a whopping 13 goals on 75 shots.

* If Gennady Stolyarov (Astana Barys, Kontinental Hockey League) doesn't stop producing, he might just play his way back onto the prospect map. He has six goals and four assists in 17 games and the Red Wings have always appreciated his high skill level. But even if the 6-foot-4 winger does realize his potential, prying him away from the KHL would likely be a longshot.

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

NAME	TEAM	LEAGUE	GP	G	A	PTS	PIM
A H L
Ville Leino	Grand Rapids	AHL	16	4	15	19	4
Darren Helm	Grand Rapids	AHL	16	5	13	18	4
Mattias Ritola	Grand Rapids	AHL	18	6	6	12	6
Justin Abdelkader	Grand Rapids	AHL	18	8	3	11	31
Jakub Kindl	Grand Rapids	AHL	18	3	6	9	16
Jonathan Ericsson	Grand Rapids	AHL	17	0	7	7	24
Evan McGrath	Grand Rapids	AHL	11	3	5	8	2
Cory Emmerton	Grand Rapids	AHL	16	0	8	8	6
Ryan Oulahen	Grand Rapids	AHL	18	6	1	7	9
Logan Pyett	Grand Rapids	AHL	16	0	4	4	0
Sergei Kolosov	Grand Rapids	AHL	12	0	3	3	10
Jamie Tardif	Grand Rapids	AHL	11	2	0	2	4
Jan Mursak	Grand Rapids	AHL	12	0	1	1	4
K H L
Gennady Stolyarov	Astana Barys	KHL	19	6	4	10	16
Miroslav Blatak	Salavat Yulaev	KHL	25	1	6	7	12
S W E D E N
Dick Axelsson	Djurgarden	SEL	15	5	7	12	6
Anton Axelsson	Timra	SEL	23	3	4	7	0
Jesper Samuelsson	Timra	SEL	24	2	1	3	6
Joakim Andersson	Frolunda	SEL	24	1	2	3	12
Joakim Andersson	Boras	SWE-2	4	2	2	4	2
Johan Ryno	AIK	SWE-2	4	1	2	3	2
Jesper Samuelsson	Sundsvall	SWE-2	1	0	0	0	5
C H L
Brent Raedeke	Edmonton	WHL	27	8	16	24	36
Randy Cameron	Moncton	QMJHL	20	3	17	20	12
Zack Torquato	Erie	OHL	22	10	8	18	31
Stephen Johnston	Belleville	OHL	22	6	11	17	12
Brian Lashoff	Barrie	OHL	23	1	11	12	17
N C A A
Brendan Smith	Wisconsin	WCHA	13	4	7	11	32
Gustav Nyquist	Maine	HE	11	5	5	10	14
Nick Oslund	St. Cloud State	WCHA	12	3	1	4	4
Julien Cayer	Clarkson	WCHA	5	1	2	3	6
Bryan Rufenach	Clarkson	ECAC	9	1	1	2	20
Nils Backstrom	Alaska-Anchorage	WCHA	14	1	0	1	14
U S H L
Max Nicastro	Chicago	USHL	14	3	6	9	23

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

NAME	TEAM	LEAGUE	GP	W-L-O	GAA	SPCT
Thomas McCollum	Guelph	OHL	21	11-7-3	2.20	.928
Daniel Larsson	Grand Rapids	AHL	10	5-2-1	2.91	.897
Jimmy Howard	Grand Rapids	AHL	11	4-5-1	3.00	.887

LEAGUE LEGEND: AHL — American Hockey League; KHL — Kontinental Hockey League; SEL — Swedish Elite League; SWE-2 — Swedish Allsvenskan (second level); OHL — Ontario Hockey League; WHL — Western Hockey League; QMJHL — Quebec Major Junior Hockey League; WCHA — Western Collegiate Hockey Association; ECAC — East Coast Athletic Conference; HE — Hockey East; USHL — United States Hockey League.