Somehow an innocuous play went from odd ball moment to season ending injury for Ryan Sproul. The young-ish defenseman has waited his turn to play for the team and it is all over in an instant.

What should Wings’ fans look for come next season in regard to Sproul? Could he possibly become a mainstay on the blue line?

He isn’t playing insignificant minutes as a defensemen and held his own just fine at times. As I brought up yesterday in a piece about him getting an MRI, he has had an absolutely terrible PDO and played a large portion of his time on the ice with Niklas Kronwall.

Kronwall isn’t the player he once was and has been an absolute anchor on the blue line. Is Sproul better than his numbers have indicated? It’s darn likely considering his teammates. His pure point output is encouraging to see as well. Over the course of an entire season it would put him up near the top of all of his teammates.

Sproul and Russo both had similar numbers in the AHL, it will be compelling to see how they both fair in the years ahead. Especially if they are continually paired with people like Kronwall. Giving younger players advantageous offensive zone starts would be a smart move. Doing anything other than that is asking for trouble.

Hopefully when he comes back healthy next year he can make some improvements, for now as it stands, it doesn’t look like he is going to be a long-term success. Unfortunately, he has many more hurdles to overcome to be a full-time NHLer.