RWC REPORT: Samuelsson 'better shape up'

By Matthew Wuest - RedWingsCentral.com / November 24, 2009

It's a good thing for Swedish forward Jesper Samuelsson there is no International Ice Hockey Federation transfer agreement in place.

If Samuelsson had to sign by June 1 — per previous IIHF rules for 2008 draft choices — he'd probably be out of luck. Instead, the Red Wings retain the right to sign him indefinitely, giving him time to get his act together.

The 5-foot-11, 170-pound center has been a disappointment for the Red Wings, not developing his strength or conditioning and struggling as little more than a fringe player with Timra of the Swedish Elite League.

"There is no deadline, but it's pretty simple," said Red Wings director of European scouting Hakan Andersson. "If he wants to remain in the Swedish Elite League, he'd better shape up. He has a big, big summer coming up. Timra has indicated they're prepared to give him another shot because of his talent, but unless he shows up in much better shape, they're not going to waste their time."

Samuelsson, known as an intelligent playmaker, was a classic Andersson pick. The Red Wings nabbed him 211th overall with the last selection of the draft after he lit up Sweden's third-tier professional league with Hasten. He wasn't rated by any scouting services and some scouts hadn't even heard of him.

He struggled with Timra last season, putting up two goals and an assist in 40 games, and has just one assist in 12 games this year. He has also had brief stints in the Swedish Allsvenskan without much success.

"The coaches were very disappointed," Andersson said. "He did not show up in the condition he was expected to show up in. He's a guy who needs strength. He's a big-time talent, he can make plays other guys can't make, but he's not well-trained enough to play the up-and-down game."

Andersson said he is surprised that Samuelsson didn't come back this season in better shape. He acknowledged the 21-year-old has gluten intolerance and that it could make gaining weight more difficult than it is for most.

"People say it can be worked around ... Other top athletes have this problem, but it takes adjusting," said Andersson. "I don't know if he's just not taking the time to really get into it ... But I hate to give excuses."

NOTES: Forward Tomas Tatar (Grand Rapids, American Hockey League) had a huge week, with a goal and four assists in two games. He has eight points in 12 games as a rookie pro and is an impressive prospect ... Defenseman Jakub Kindl (Grand Rapids, AHL) had a goal and three assists in two games last week and has 10 points in 16 games and is a plus-3 ... Defenseman Adam Almqvist made his Swedish Elite League debut with HV-71 and acquitted himself well, according to Andersson, even getting some time on the power play.

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

NAME	TEAM	LEAGUE	GP	G	A	PTS	PIM
A H L
Mattias Ritola	Grand Rapids	AHL	17	4	6	10	10
Jakub Kindl	Grand Rapids	AHL	16	1	9	10	16
Evan McGrath	Grand Rapids	AHL	17	5	4	9	4
Cory Emmerton	Grand Rapids	AHL	16	4	5	9	2
Jamie Tardif	Grand Rapids	AHL	17	6	2	8	13
Tomas Tatar	Grand Rapids	AHL	12	2	6	8	0
Jan Mursak	Grand Rapids	AHL	17	5	1	6	8
Logan Pyett	Grand Rapids	AHL	17	1	5	6	6
Dick Axelsson	Grand Rapids	AHL	13	2	3	5	6
Francis Pare	Grand Rapids	AHL	15	0	5	5	2
Travis Ehrhardt	Grand Rapids	AHL	8	0	1	1	13
Sebastien Piche	Grand Rapids	AHL	6	0	0	0	4
Sergei Kolosov	Grand Rapids	AHL	16	0	0	0	2
E C H L
Sebastien Piche	Toledo	ECHL	2	0	2	2	4
S W E D E N
Joakim Andersson	Frolunda	SEL	22	3	3	6	24
Anton Axelsson	Timra	SEL	19	0	6	6	2
Jesper Samuelsson	Timra	SEL	15	0	1	1	6
Johan Ryno	AIK	SWE-2	16	3	1	4	8
Jesper Samuelsson	Sundsvall	SWE-2	9	1	2	3	12
Adam Almqvist	HV-71	SWE-J20	15	5	29	34	14
C H L
Willie Coetzee	Red Deer	WHL	25	11	26	37	4
Andrej Nestrasil	Victoriaville	QMJHL	25	10	20	30	22
Brent Raedeke	Edmonton	WHL	28	13	13	26	34
Mitchell Callahan	Kelowna	WHL	26	7	10	17	60
Gleason Fournier	Rimouski	QMJHL	18	4	10	14	40
Stephen Johnston	Belleville	OHL	18	6	4	10	16
Brian Lashoff	Kingston	OHL	25	4	6	10	38
Landon Ferraro	Red Deer	WHL	15	3	6	9	19
N C A A
Gustav Nyquist	Maine	HE	12	7	9	16	6
Brendan Smith	Wisconsin	WCHA	11	3	10	13	18
Brian Rufenach	Clarkson	ECAC	12	3	6	9	29
Nick Oslund	St. Cloud St.	WCHA	12	1	3	4	12
Max Nicastro	Boston U.	HE	11	1	2	3	8
Julien Cayer	Clarkson	ECAC	13	1	2	3	8
U S H L
Nick Jensen	Green Bay	USHL	12	0	5	5	4

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

NAME	TEAM	LEAGUE	GP	W-L-O	GAA	SPCT
Daniel Larsson	Grand Rapids	AHL	9	7-2-0	2.53	.918
Thomas McCollum	Grand Rapids	AHL	9	5-3-0	2.94	.885
Jordan Pearce	Toledo	ECHL	7	2-4-1	4.69	.846