Yesterday, the Red Wings made their second round of training camp cuts, assigning five players to Grand Rapids, and releases three others from their tryouts. Today, the club continued their sweep by assigning a sixth player to the Griffins, leaving the total number of players in training camp (including injured players and new tryout Brad May) at 41.
The players the Red Wings sent West were as follows:
Tomas Tatar — an 18-year-old draft pick that turned heads at prospect camp, and main camp. He was signed to a contract way ahead of what the Red Wings usually do with their prospects, but in signing with the big club, he was able to void his contract in Slovakia. Thus, the Wings have more control over his development, by either sticking him in Grand Rapids – or allowing him to play Junior with the Plymouth Whalers, who own his OHL rights.
Sergei Kolosov — a second-year pro that many were hoping would become call-up material this season, playing behind Jakub Kindl in Grand Rapids. He only got into one pre-season game with the Wings, so perhaps they feel he’s a bit further away than the fans had hoped.
Jamie Tardif — became an immediate fan favorite, scoring a goal in the pre-season opener and also dropping the gloves in the winning effort. He got into one more exhibition game, but the fact is he’s got a long climb up the depth chart to even begin thinking about being called up by the Red Wings. That’s not to say that he’ll never get there, but he’s certainly got a long journey ahead of him.
Sebastien Piche — a defenseman who was signed late last season, and didn’t get into any pre-season games. He was a big scorer (for a blueliner) in Junior, and one would hope he gets a good chance to play important minutes for the Griffs.
Travis Ehrhardt — signed as a free agent after the prospect tournament, he – like Piche – did not get into any exhibition games, and will benefit greatly by playing in Grand Rapids – assuming he gets into the lineup.
Dan Cloutier — the infamous goaltender played his half-game admirably, surprising many. He didn’t earn a contract with the Red Wings, but he should feel good about his effort and we wish him well. Although, Kris at Snipe Snipe Dangle Dangle thinks this is all part of Kenny Holland’s master plan. I think she’s giving away too much of the plan, but hey…
John Vigilante — the coolest name left at camp was also released from his tryout. He’s already on contract with the Grand Rapids Griffins, so the former Plymouth Whaler will be nearby.
Francis Lemieux — he’s been a Griffin in the recent past, was in Red Wings training camp as a tryout, and still does not have a contract, though I wouldn’t rule out pen-to-paper with the Griffins soon.
Jordan Pearce — the former Notre Dame goaltender didn’t get into any pre-season action, and looks to have lost the battle to be the Griffins backup to Thomas McCollum. He’s been sent to Grand Rapids for now, but may find himself in Toledo in a few weeks.
The players remaining in camp are:
Johan Franzen — Pavel Datsyuk — Tomas Holmstrom
Todd Bertuzzi — Henrik Zetterberg (+) — Dan Cleary
Ville Leino — Valtteri Filppula — Jason Williams
Kris Draper — Darren Helm (+) — Patrick Eaves
Kirk Maltby — Justin Abdelkader — *Brad May
Kris Newbury — Johan Ryno — Jeremy Williams
Mattias Ritola — Cory Emmerton — Jan Mursak
Dick Axelsson — Evan McGrath — Francis Pare
Ryan Oulahen (+)
Nicklas Lidstrom — Brian Rafalski
Niklas Kronwall — Brad Stuart
Jonathan Ericsson — Andreas Lilja (+)
Brett Lebda — Derek Meech
Jakub Kindl — Andy Delmore
Doug Janik — Logan Pyett
Chris Osgood
Jimmy Howard
Daniel Larsson
Thomas McCollum
Dollars to donuts, the next players to go are going to be Logan Pyett, Jan Mursak, Dick Axelsson and Frankie Pare. You heard it here first!