RWC REPORT: Steady Kolosov opens eyes

By Matthew Wuest - RedWingsCentral.com / February 23, 2009

When it comes to Detroit Red Wings prospects, many fans want to know who will be the next Henrik Zetterberg or Pavel Datsyuk.

The next Andreas Lilja? That's not likely to create a buzz in Hockeytown, but the Red Wings are quietly hoping to groom exactly that in Belarusian blueliner Sergei Kolosov, a rookie with the Grand Rapids Griffins.

"He's really opened our eyes," said Griffins general manager Bob McNamara. "He's a really, really steady player who just makes the simple play, always seems to make the correct play, and doesn't get himself into problems. There's not a lot of flash to him. His game is a lot like Andreas Lilja's."

At this time last year, the Red Wings weren't even sure if there was any point in signing the 6-foot-4, 210-pounder. Kolosov was drafted 151st overall in 2004, then spent two seasons in the United States Hockey League with Cedar Rapids and two more in the top professional league in Belarus.

He hadn't done much to separate himself until the IIHF world hockey championship in Quebec City last May. That's when soon-to-be Griffins head coach Curt Fraser stepped behind the Belarusian bench and handed Kolosov 15 minutes a night. Fraser was impressed with Kolosov's play against top NHL forwards, and a month later, Kolosov signed a two-year contract with the Red Wings.

The 22-year-old gained a reputation as a mean-spirited hit machine at lower levels, making highlight reels at the 2005 world junior with a punishing check on future NHLer Dan Fritsche. But at higher levels, he's adjusted his game, fitting into the Lilja-mold by getting in the way more than laying big hits.

He has four goals and six assists and is a plus-1 in 51 games and has played well paired with fellow rookie Logan Pyett. For a player with a reputation for being unpolished, Kolosov isn't making many mistakes.

"He's been fine with the puck and he keeps it simple," McNamara said. "He plays within himself. He doesn't try to do anything crazy like beat three guys at once. He's just a steady, steady player and he's really surprised us."

* Defenseman Brendan Smith (Wisconsin, NCAA) returned from a wrist injury on the weekend. He had been out since Jan. 3.

* Red Wings head coach Mike Babcock has already said Darren Helm will be in the lineup in the NHL playoffs, just as he was last year. Babcock also hinted that Ville Leino has a playoff spot within his grasp, too. Both forwards have excelled after being called up from Grand Rapids late last month.

* With Helm and Leino likely to stay in the NHL, forwards such as Evan McGrath, Mattias Ritola, Justin Abdelkader and Cory Emmerton will be given added responsibilities in Grand Rapids during the stretch run, and that's a good thing. All four are having excellent seasons already.

* Goalie Jimmy Howard (Grand Rapids, AHL) earned a one-game NHL call-up and turned aside 24 of 28 shots in a loss to Minnesota. He was subsequently returned to Grand Rapids. He has appeared in nine career NHL games.

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

NAME	TEAM	LEAGUE	GP	G	A	PTS	PIM
A H L
Justin Abdelkader	Grand Rapids	AHL	55	19	22	41	74
Ville Leino	Grand Rapids	AHL	44	11	26	37	14
Evan McGrath	Grand Rapids	AHL	51	13	23	36	14
Mattias Ritola	Grand Rapids	AHL	51	15	20	35	28
Darren Helm	Grand Rapids	AHL	37	11	20	31	16
Jakub Kindl	Grand Rapids	AHL	58	5	25	30	62
Cory Emmerton	Grand Rapids	AHL	52	5	23	28	18
Ryan Oulahen	Grand Rapids	AHL	59	14	7	21	29
Jamie Tardif	Grand Rapids	AHL	50	9	9	18	41
Jonathan Ericsson	Grand Rapids	AHL	37	2	12	14	42
Logan Pyett	Grand Rapids	AHL	48	3	11	14	8
Sergei Kolosov	Grand Rapids	AHL	51	4	6	10	26
Jan Mursak	Grand Rapids	AHL	38	2	6	8	17
K H L
Gennady Stolyarov	Astana Barys	KHL	40	11	8	19	28
Miroslav Blatak	Salavat Yulaev	KHL	51	4	10	14	14
S W E D E N
Dick Axelsson	Farjestad	SEL	37	11	19	30	16
Anton Axelsson	Timra	SEL	49	6	6	14	0
Joakim Andersson	Frolunda	SEL	46	4	6	10	22
Jesper Samuelsson	Timra	SEL	39	2	1	3	10
Johan Ryno	AIK	SWE-2	19	5	8	13	16
Jesper Samuelsson	Sundsvall	SWE-2	11	1	4	5	38
Joakim Andersson	Boras	SWE-2	4	2	2	4	2
Jesper Samuelsson	Timra	SWE-J20	4	2	0	2	2
C H L
Zack Torquato	Erie	OHL	57	24	28	52	70
Brent Raedeke	Edmonton	WHL	62	17	30	47	68
Randy Cameron	Moncton	QMJHL	51	16	28	44	22
Stephen Johnston	Belleville	OHL	53	13	21	34	34
Brian Lashoff	Kingston	OHL	50	3	20	23	43
N C A A
Gustav Nyquist	Maine	HE	31	10	15	25	24
Brendan Smith	Wisconsin	WCHA	23	7	11	18	42
Bryan Rufenach	Clarkson	ECAC	30	8	7	15	32
Julien Cayer	Clarkson	WCHA	25	4	6	10	30
Nick Oslund	St. Cloud State	WCHA	30	4	3	7	26
Nils Backstrom	Alaska-Anchorage	WCHA	28	3	3	6	36
U S H L
Max Nicastro	Chicago	USHL	43	9	19	28	64

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

NAME	TEAM	LEAGUE	GP	W-L-O	GAA	SPCT
Thomas McCollum	Brampton	OHL	47	28-15-4	2.15	.927
Jimmy Howard	Grand Rapids	AHL	34	16-16-4	2.51	.915
Daniel Larsson	Grand Rapids	AHL	30	18-7-1	2.72	.909

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.