RWC REPORT: Pare in right place, right time?

By Matthew Wuest - RedWingsCentral.com / March 2, 2009

It's not often Red Wings Central devotes its weekly update to a prospect not signed by Detroit, but Francis Pare is a special case.

The 21-year-old forward is having an outstanding American Hockey League rookie season with the Grand Rapids Griffins, with 19 goals and 18 assists for 37 points in 45 games. He attended training camp with the Red Wings in the fall but is signed to a minor-league contract with the Griffins.

	Francis Pare is getting attention from Red Wings and could be signed. (Photo: Sarah Lindenau).

The Red Wings are keeping a watchful eye on Pare, a skilled 5-foot-10, 185-pounder who fits their puck-possession system to a T.

"He's such a smart player ... The puck follows him around," said Griffins general manager Bob McNamara. "He's got great hands, he always knocks it out of the air, and he's in the right place at the right time — all the time."

Pare recorded 298 points during a four-year career in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League but was never drafted. Size and skating worked against him, but as a 20-year-old, he exploded for 54 goals in a 102-point campaign with Chicoutimi and was named QMJHL most valuable player.

His smooth transition to the AHL is opening some eyes, and he could be one to watch if he picks up a quicker step in his skating stride.

The Red Wings have a history of signing free agents who impress them. They inked Brent Raedeke and Brian Lashoff out of training camp, and last season, they were so impressed with Jamie Tardif's play on a minor-league contract with the Griffins, they locked him up with a two-year NHL deal.

* Defenseman Jonathan Ericsson (Grand Rapids, AHL) returned from a wrist injury on Friday and has played three games, recording an assist in a 5-4 win over Toronto. Ericsson has missed 22 games to injury and told the Grand Rapids Press, "You want to go out there and help the team any way you can, so it's really tough just sitting and watching. I've done that way too much this year."

* Forward Justin Abdelkader (Grand Rapids, AHL) has been dynamite lately, with six goals and 11 assists for 17 points in his past 14 games.

* Forward Cory Emmerton (Grand Rapids, AHL) has scored four times in his past six games. He had just three goals in his first 49 contests. Overall, he's made a smooth adjustment and posted 30 points in a solid rookie campaign.

* Forward Stephen Johnston (Belleville, Ontario Hockey League) has just one point in his past 12 games and three points in his last 18.

* Goaltender Thomas McCollum (Brampton, OHL) continues his sensational season. He leads the OHL in goals-against average (2.09) and shutouts (seven) and is second with a .929 save percentage in 49 starts.

* Forward Zack Torquato (Erie, OHL) has 10 goals and 11 assists for 21 points in his past 17 games and is doing what he can to earn a contract. Conversely, forward Randy Cameron (Moncton, Quebec Major Junior Hockey League) has been out with an injury at a key point in his contract year.

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	58	20	24	44	78
Evan McGrath	Grand Rapids	AHL	54	14	26	40	16
Mattias Ritola	Grand Rapids	AHL	54	15	22	37	30
Ville Leino	Grand Rapids	AHL	44	11	26	37	14
Darren Helm	Grand Rapids	AHL	37	11	20	31	16
Cory Emmerton	Grand Rapids	AHL	55	7	23	30	18
Jakub Kindl	Grand Rapids	AHL	61	5	25	30	62
Ryan Oulahen	Grand Rapids	AHL	62	17	9	26	29
Jamie Tardif	Grand Rapids	AHL	53	9	9	18	43
Jonathan Ericsson	Grand Rapids	AHL	40	2	13	15	48
Logan Pyett	Grand Rapids	AHL	50	3	11	14	8
Sergei Kolosov	Grand Rapids	AHL	54	4	6	10	28
Jan Mursak	Grand Rapids	AHL	40	2	6	8	17
K H L
Gennady Stolyarov	Astana Barys	KHL	44	12	9	21	28
Miroslav Blatak	Salavat Yulaev	KHL	54	4	10	14	14
S W E D E N
Dick Axelsson	Farjestad	SEL	39	11	19	30	42
Anton Axelsson	Timra	SEL	52	6	9	15	0
Joakim Andersson	Frolunda	SEL	49	6	6	12	22
Jesper Samuelsson	Timra	SEL	40	2	1	3	10
Johan Ryno	AIK	SWE-2	21	5	8	13	18
Jesper Samuelsson	Sundsvall	SWE-2	13	1	5	6	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	60	27	29	56	76
Brent Raedeke	Edmonton	WHL	65	19	32	51	76
Randy Cameron	Moncton	QMJHL	51	16	28	44	22
Stephen Johnston	Belleville	OHL	56	14	21	35	38
Brian Lashoff	Kingston	OHL	53	4	21	25	45
N C A A
Gustav Nyquist	Maine	HE	33	10	16	26	24
Brendan Smith	Wisconsin	WCHA	25	8	13	21	46
Bryan Rufenach	Clarkson	ECAC	32	9	7	16	32
Julien Cayer	Clarkson	WCHA	27	4	6	10	30
Nick Oslund	St. Cloud State	WCHA	31	4	3	7	26
Nils Backstrom	Alaska-Anchorage	WCHA	30	4	3	7	36
U S H L
Max Nicastro	Chicago	USHL	45	9	20	29	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	49	30-15-4	2.07	.929
Jimmy Howard	Grand Rapids	AHL	35	16-13-4	2.58	.913
Daniel Larsson	Grand Rapids	AHL	33	19-8-2	2.77	.906

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.