RWC REPORT: Coetzee a free-agent find

By Matthew Wuest - RedWingsCentral.com / October 13, 2009

Willie Coetzee is proving to be quite a find for the Detroit Red Wings.

The soon-to-be 19-year-old right-winger is off to a terrific start in the Western Hockey League with the Red Deer Rebels less than a month after signing a three-year contract with the Red Wings as a free agent.

Coetzee has seven goals and nine assists for 16 points in 10 games, tied for second in the WHL scoring race behind Jason Bast.

"Detroit loves skilled players who can think the game and he's one of those guys," said Rebels head coach Jesse Wallin, a former Red Wings defenseman. "He's very quick, he's got great hands, he's got a very good release, a great shot and he's just a highly-skilled player that Detroit's always looking for."

	Detroit Red Wings prospect Willie Coeztee is tied for second in Western Hockey League scoring.

Wallin said Coetzee "had his head in the clouds" after signing with the Red Wings, but that he's come alive after an inconsistent start.

The 5-foot-10, 180-pounder had 18 goals and 24 assists for 42 points in 72 games last season but wasn't selected in June's NHL draft. His stock dropped playing on the basement-dwelling Rebels, but he finished second in team scoring behind Landon Ferraro, who the Red Wings drafted 32nd overall.

Wallin said he fielded plenty of calls from NHL scouts before the draft and was surprised Coetzee wasn't drafted in the later rounds.

Beyond the offensive skills that could make him a point-producer down the road, Wallin credits Coetzee for being "a very driven kid."

"He works hard, he competes hard, he's got a passion for the game, and it shows in his play," Wallin said. "He loves to play the game."

Strength and defensive play are Coetzee's biggest areas of weakness, but Wallin believes Coetzee is up to the challenge. When Coetzee came to Rebels camp prior to the 2008-09 season as a 17-year-old, he was sent him home because he was "too small, too weak and got knocked off the puck real easily."

"He took it hard but he used it the right way," Wallin said. "He trained incredibly hard, gained 20 pounds without losing a step, and came back a completely different player. He focused on the areas he needed to improve and I have no reason to believe he won't continue to do that to get to (the NHL)."

Coetzee is eligible to leave the junior ranks and play in the American Hockey League in 2010-11, although he will likely return to the WHL.

As for Ferraro, he has been sidelined for the past five games. He injured his knee in his second game and played through pain in three others before the Rebels decided to shut him down. Wallin said he's out "indefinitely" and will fly to Detroit this week to be examined by Red Wings' doctors.

"There's nothing structurally wrong with is knee at this point," Wallin said. "As soon as we can get the pain out of it for him so he can have strength and play and be effective, but when that's going to be, I don't know."

NOTES: Forward Joakim Andersson (Frolunda, Swedish Elite League) is off to a nice start two his second full SEL seaon with three goals and an assist in seven games ... Right-winger Mitchell Callahan (Kelowna, WHL) has nine points and 25 penalty minutes in nine games ... Forward Gustav Nyquist (Maine, NCAA) has started the year with two goals in his first two games.

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

NAME	TEAM	LEAGUE	GP	G	A	PTS	PIM
A H L
Dick Axelsson	Grand Rapids	AHL	2	1	1	2	0
Evan McGrath	Grand Rapids	AHL	2	1	0	1	0
Francis Pare	Grand Rapids	AHL	2	0	1	1	0
Mattias Ritola	Grand Rapids	AHL	2	0	1	1	0
Jamie Tardif	Grand Rapids	AHL	2	0	1	1	2
Travis Ehrhardt	Grand Rapids	AHL	2	0	0	0	4
Cory Emmerton	Grand Rapids	AHL	2	0	0	0	0
Jakub Kindl	Grand Rapids	AHL	2	0	0	0	0
Sergei Kolosov	Grand Rapids	AHL	2	0	0	0	0
Jan Mursak	Grand Rapids	AHL	2	0	0	0	4
S W E D E N
Joakim Andersson	Frolunda	SEL	7	3	1	4	2
Anton Axelsson	Timra	SEL	8	0	4	4	2
Jesper Samuelsson	Timra	SEL	8	0	1	1	4
Johan Ryno	AIK	SWE-2	4	1	1	2	4
Adam Almqvist	HV-71	SWE-J20	7	5	17	22	6
C H L
Willie Coetzee	Red Deer	WHL	10	7	9	16	2
Andrej Nestrasil	Victoriaville	QMJHL	10	4	9	13	10
Brent Raedeke	Edmonton	WHL	9	7	5	12	14
Mitchell Callahan	Kelowna	WHL	9	3	6	9	25
Stephen Johnston	Belleville	OHL	9	3	2	5	16
Brian Lashoff	Kingston	OHL	10	2	3	5	15
Landon Ferraro	Red Deer	WHL	5	1	1	2	0
N C A A
Gustav Nyquist	Maine	HE	2	2	0	2	0
Brian Rufenach	Clarkson	ECAC	2	0	1	1	4
Julien Cayer	Clarkson	ECAC	2	0	0	0	2
Nick Oslund	St. Cloud St.	WCHA	2	0	0	0	2
U S H L
Nick Jensen	Green Bay	USHL	3	0	1	1	2

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

NAME	TEAM	LEAGUE	GP	W-L-O	GAA	SPCT
Thomas McCollum	Grand Rapids	AHL	1	1-0-0	1.00	.958
Daniel Larsson	Grand Rapids	AHL	1	0-1-0	3.01	.909