The Red Wings are good…April Fools!

A few story-lines popped up in the month of April involving Red Wings prospects. So come and get your monthly prospects fix:

“I don’t support what he did. It doesn’t fall in line with the values of our organization.” Kitchener Rangers head coach Jay McKee said on Givani Smith’s “inappropriate gesture” that landed him a two game suspension. In a heavily contested battle against the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds, Smith’s Rangers took a game 6 thriller in OT to force game 7 in the OHL western conference final. During the celebration, Smith had the audacity to flip off the Soo bench, in what would be a regrettable decision. The Toronto, Ontario native got slapped with a two game suspension, and the Rangers fell in game 7.

Getting under the opponents skin is part of his game, but his presence on the ice goes far beyond that. He was a key contributor for Kitchener scoring 18 points in 18 playoff games, including a 3 point performance facing elimination in what would be his last game in the OHL. He watched his junior career come to end from the stands, as Jack Kopacka’s double OT winner sent the Soo to the OHL final.

Now expected to play for the Grand Rapids Griffins next season, this will hopefully be a learning experience for the twenty-year-old. In situations like the one just outlined, he needs to control his emotions, show more class, and most importantly keep his head up. He now has a reputation which many pros won’t like. Moving forward, he needs to do more than put this behind him. Like his agitator style or not (I’m sure he prefers the latter) he’s becoming a pro, so it’s time to grow up.

Defending champions no more for the Grand Rapids Griffins who were sent packing after a hard-fought five game series versus the Manitoba Moose. Decimated with injuries to key players like Axel Holmstrom, Matt Lorito, and Dominic Turgeon, as well as a suspension to Eric Tangredi, Grand Rapids was doomed from the start. “We lost a lot of creativity and offense.” Head coach Todd Nelson said on the amount of regulars out of the lineup.

A disappointing defeat, as Grand Rapids was one year removed from a Calder Cup championship, to go along with a great run to close out the year, expectations were higher. Nevertheless, this group played right to the last whistle. “I’m proud of this group,” team captain Matt Ford said. “We found a way all year. We competed until the very end.”

The farm team’s early exit did more than just start golf season a little earlier. The opportunity to plug some youngsters into the lineup (especially to replace all the injured players) has vanished. Dennis Cholowski managed to slip into a game, but after that many Wings prospects missed out on what Evgeny Svechnikov and Filip Hronek got to experience last year – a long playoff run. One extra victory in the must-win game 5, and we could be seeing Michael Rasmussen and Smith in the lineup (both their junior seasons ended this past week). Getting to be apart of high-pressure situations against high quality competition can go along way in player development.