On the Wings

I’m happy to report that I’ve purchased some Wings tickets. For non-season ticket holders, I’ve found it very hard to get tickets to games. I was able to get tickets for my family for the September 25 pre-season game against the Dallas Stars. Today, the first 14 home games’ tickets went on sale at 10am. I was able to purchase 2 tickets each for 3 games: Anaheim, Coyotes, and the season opener. I will only be able to go to one of those games b/c my brothers get to go to a game as well. But I plan on having my Dad take pictures at all the games and whatever turns out, I’ll post here. I am totally and completely excited/ready for Wings hockey. As much as I love being a fan of a winning team with a rich history, the Wings could suck and I’d still love watching my hockey team. Hopefully it’ll never get to that, but the era of “buying wins” is sadly over.

Kronwall impressing teammates and bringing comparisons to Vladdie
In Traverse City camp, Niklas Kronwall impressed teammates and Wings staff alike. Since he was 16 years old, the Wings have watched him play in Sweden and more recently, Grand Rapids. Now they hope to see him develop into an NHL defenseman.

“He’s got good offensive skills — he’s good defensively, great mobility, he’s strong on his skates,” assistant general manager Jim Nill said. “He’s one of our top young players.”

Thus far, 24 year old Kronwall has been paired up with veteran player Chris Chelios.

“He’s going to be a great player in this league for years to come, without a doubt,” Schneider said. He’s one of those guys that is the full package — plays physical, moves the puck well, sees the ice well — and it’s just a matter of experience, now. Not to mention he’s a great kid. He’s got a great attitude. You don’t want to compare him to Nicky, but he’s got the same type of mentality, the same attitude.”

Others have compared Kronwall to Vladimir Konstantinov like in the way he hits players.

“In the sense that they have the ability to catch a guy with his head down in the neutral zone, Vladdie was good that way, too,” Yzerman said. “They’re good skaters, agile, they can adjust to when a guy is moving across the ice. I don’t think he’s as chippy as Vladdie was as a player, but certainly as physical. He’s a great open-ice hitter. He will get a reputation for that, but his first year or two around the league, he’s going to catch people by surprise and then force players to have their heads up coming through the neutral zone.”

While he has already gained a reputation as a physical player, Kronwall broke his leg during the 2003-2004 season causing him to miss out on some games. During the lockout, Kronwall had a chance to work on his game.

“I think I’ve improved a lot, actually, especially my offensive game,” Kronwall said. “I got a lot of good chances last year to work on it. In my own opinion, I think maybe last year was probably the best thing that could have happened to me — I got to play a lot in Grand Rapids and get some more experience on the smaller ice surface.”

Head coach Mike Babcock was quote impressed with Kronwall’s performance at the world championships when he represented Sweden.

“At the world championships, I thought he was outstanding,” Babcock said. “I’ve seen him against the best players in the world, and he was, in my mind, a high-end player. It might take him a little bit of time, but he’s going to be a high-end NHL defenseman.”