Are the Detroit Red Wings over-ripening prospects?

Over-Ripened

Jonatan Berggren

Put your pitchforks down for just a second.

Whether you are team trade or keep Jonatan Berggren, I’m not sure there’s much argument that Berggren is overripe.

I get it. Our team was full, he made mistakes, his defensive play isn’t NHL-caliber…I’ve heard the arguments all before.

Have they swayed my mind, even just a little? Not in the slightest.

If anyone watched a Grand Rapids Griffins game and thought Berggren belonged there, I think you might need to adjust your tv set (or monitor, or mobile device, whatever screen you’re watching).

He did not belong there.

Every shift, he was the biggest weapon for the Grand Rapids Griffins and opponents knew it. They took advantage of that fact.

Berggren was run over, tripped, cross-checked, slashed, hit in the head, boarded, charged and I don’t know what all more than I have ever seen in my life. Hardly were there ever any penalties called against him.

I’m shocked he was able to even get up from some of those hits, they’re more vicious than I’ve seen any prospect take. 

In some ways, I think it was a bit refreshing when Berggren joined the Detroit Red Wings for that short stint, where referees actually penalized opponents when they were warranted. It seemed like a foreign concept, Berggren earning a power play for his team. 

There were mistakes made while Berggren was in the NHL, however, I don’t think they’re mistakes that would be learned from at the AHL level.

Berggren is a passer. Even if I try to explain to everyone, including Berggren that he’s more than a playmaker and doesn’t know it yet, it seems that he wants to be a pass first player. 

He has the elite vision and can thread a puck through the tiniest of openings. 

At the AHL-level, he already knows timing, speed of play, his teammates/opponents, etc. While these things are great, they aren’t fully applicable to the NHL level.

It’s a different speed, pace, quality of competition, etc., so sending him back to the AHL to learn how to make better reads of plays or passes isn’t going to help. 

Berggren needs time to re-adjust to the NHL game and style of play. He needs more than four periods of hockey to learn from. As importantly, he needs to be able to go back on the ice to adjust his game, to implement anything new that he’s learned. 

He’s an intuitive guy, watching videos and listening to veterans can only go so far. 

Last season, Berggren had nothing to gain from the AHL and everything to learn at an NHL level. In the long run, I’m not sure it’s stunted his overall NHL ceiling, but it just leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

If this is how they treat Berggren, will they treat Kasper, Danielson, and other prospects the same way?

If they do, I grimace in anticipation of the outcome.

Hopefully, it was a one-off and they’ll give the next group of prospects more grace that when they do make mistakes they can learn from them instead of being shunned back to the land where they beat the heck out of them.

Albert Johansson

Resume pitchfork holding.

I know the argument, Albert Johansson will get his shot in the NHL this upcoming season. There wasn’t any room for him in the NHL. It’s why he had to stay in the AHL all season.

To a degree, I understand the logic. 

On a micro level, I disagree with the viewpoint. 

Johansson had an alright season. He started off okay, played stellar through the middle of the season, then tapered off towards the end of the season. When averaged together, I’d say he played as well as expected. Did I want more in the playoffs from him? Most definitely, but he wasn’t alone in that category.

I think Johansson’s case is a bit different from Berggren’s. 

He wasn’t ready to start in the NHL this season. I think midway through the season to the end of the season, though, he earned his call up.

Part of Johansson’s play at the end of the season might have been a reflection of being ignored for call ups. Who knows? Maybe he was nursing some injury (most players probably were, the Grand Rapids Griffins were getting rocked regularly every night from a physical standpoint).

I think Johansson is a good example of learning what each prospect needs in their development at any given moment. 

If (that fun what if game, again) Johansson was called up, I think it would have been a wake up call in terms of, this is how the NHL is and here are things that can really help you claim your spot in the lineup next October, and I think Johansson would be much better prepared for the upcoming season.

It wouldn’t be surprising if Johansson thinks he’s totally ready for the NHL only to get slapped by the reality that is the NHL. To then find himself up in the pressbox more often than not, because he’s too good of an asset to give away for free. He doesn’t have the NHL experience needed to fulfill a trade request (because again, not giving him away for free, or at a lower value than his worth to the Detroit Red Wings–Yzerman isn’t cheap, he just likes his value), and he’s ill-prepared to keep his spot in the lineup.

Johansson is a pretty consistent player, but he has some moments like all young players. My concern is when he makes a play like Berggren, why would head coach Derek Lalonde continue to play him? How does he get to learn? Because he is going to need to and to learn quicker than he ever has before in his hockey life, at the highest level possible in his career of choice.

I’m excited to see Johansson in the NHL, but terrified that he’s not going to be given a proper chance to play and learn–the two most vital things for the next steps in his development.

A lot of this anxiety could have been alleviated with just a game or three in the NHL last season. Why he wasn’t worthy of a chance, I’ll never know but I hope it all works out for the better.

Conclusion

With each prospect, there is a level of ripeness.

While I believe a couple have been over-ripened, none are past the point of no return. Furthermore, I think it’s difficult at this juncture to even assess if the organization as a whole is over-ripening prospects. 

Even though five years (how long ago Yzerman took over the Detroit Red Wings) seems like a long time, it can take a prospect anywhere from one-to-five years to play in the NHL. 

I know Yzerman likes to take his time. Fully assessing the situations (or players in this case), gathering as much information as he can, to make the best decision possible for his Detroit Red Wings. His reasons may not be clear, but I think his reasoning makes perfect sense to him and the organization. Truly, I appreciate his lack of second guessing himself and ability to move on when things don’t work out well. 

At this point, I’m not ready to deem the Yzerplan as a gatekeeper to prospects, but I’m not sure the system is set so that prospects flourish. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t concerned about the future path of upcoming prospects.

They seem to be more of an afterthought for the organization when they’re the future of the organization. The next dynasty isn’t being built on veteran players or a mirage of a playoff run now. 

It’s built on the foundation of its youth and its ability to get the most out of each individual prospect. Hopefully the Detroit Red Wings adjust accordingly, otherwise the mushy middle might become the norm.