BlackBay: Visst verkar han ha haft #15... fast å andra sidan är det ju lite osannolikt att han redan nu har livit Assistant Captain... än otroligare är det väl att någon som heter Ballantyne skulle ha blivit Captain :-). Det ger sig väl medtiden vilket nummer han kommer att bära i NHL. Kanske blir han fäst vid #15 att han fortsätter med det eller så blir det väl något annat. Hockeyspelare verkar ju vara rätt så skrockfulla. Det var väl inte en slump att Zäta valde #40? Men vem vet hur han tänkte. "Jag ska ha ett nummer som slutar på en nolla" eller "Kan jag inte ha #20 så dubblar jag till #40"... eller kanske det var en blandning av båda. Vem vet. Någon annan som har en vinkling av det hela så varsågoda att dela med er av era teorier.
RedEagleJkp: Skulle JAG vara i hans position så skulle jag nog ta 40 eller nåt annat med en nolla på slutet... man skulle ju vilja ha nåt liknande..... Själv så har jag för övrigt precis som Zäta #20 när jag spelar innebandy...
BlackBay: Själv skulle jag ha kört på den gamla klyshan att köra på mitt födelseår och ta #69. Inte så originellt kanske... men kanske ändå... har inte noterat någon på senare tid som haft just #69... så lite originell skulle man väl kanske vara ändå. Och tänk alla spekulationer som skulle uppstå om det verkligen var för mitt födelseårs skull eller om det var min favorit bland de sexuella varianterna :-).
RedEagleJkp: Anledningen till förvirringen är att bilderna tagits på Zäta under matchandet med Detroits prospect-lag.. Han kommer sannerligen inte vara någon "A-bärare" i A-laget!!
Och sedan spelar det ju ingen direkt roll vilket nummer han bär... han är ju Kungen hur som helst... även när han ser ut som den värsta Vivstaraggaren :-).
RedEagleJkp: Vetti katten asså. När han hade den där hemska raggarlooken var faktiskt glorian lite på sned. Påminde lite om ett par TIKare från mitten på 70-talet iofs =)
Marodören: jasså det blev samma nr på nya matchstället?.... själv så kör jag stenhårt på min #20....... du har ju sett likheterna på mina o Zätas dragningar på plan.. he he
All eyes on rookie as Wings' prospects report September 6, 2002
TRAVERSE CITY -- Henrik Zetterberg is not your run-of-the-mill rookie. How can you tell? Well, there he was Thursday as the Red Wings' prospect camp opened, zooming around in a red No. 15 sweater. Was he nervous? Nah.
KEY WINGS DATES Prospects camp: Through Tuesday at Centre I.C.E. Arena, Traverse City. Training camp: Sept. 13-18, Centre I.C.E.
Intrasquad game: Sept. 19, Van Andel Arena, Grand Rapids.
Exhibition opener: Sept. 20 at Dallas.
Exhibition home opener: Sept. 24 vs. Toronto.
Regular-season opener: Oct. 10 at San Jose.
Regular-season home opener: Oct. 17 vs. Montreal.
"It's really great," he said, helmet nudged back on his mess of hair, an easy smile on his face.
Sure, he'd been in the country for only a week. But defenseman Nicklas Lidstrom had helped him feel comfortable, picking him up at the hotel and taking him home for dinner Monday, helping him get a car and a cell phone Tuesday.
"It's nice to have Swedes on the team," Zetterberg said. "If I didn't have other Swedes here, I don't know what I should do."
How much should be expected of Zetterberg this season? That's a delicate question at this point, although he clearly has much potential.
Zetterberg, a forward, will turn 22 on Oct. 10, and he hasn't played a second in the NHL. The Wings don't want to put too much pressure on him.
Pavel Datsyuk was such a pleasant surprise as a rookie last season in large part because he wasn't overhyped, and he was insulated from any talk about him because he spoke little English.
People already expect a lot from Zetterberg. He played well at the Olympics -- winning his first face-off cleanly against none other than Eric Lindros -- and won the Golden Puck as the Swedish Elite League's top player last season, after he was rookie of the year the season before. Toronto and Team Sweden captain Mats Sundin has compared him to Colorado superstar Peter Forsberg.
As the prospects warmed up Thursday, two teenagers stood against the glass.
"Where's Zetterberg?" one asked.
"Yeah, Zetterberg," the other said. "He's (bleeping) awesome."
Because he speaks English fairly well, Zetterberg will soon hear a lot about himself.
"We're just hoping he can come in and contribute, be a regular full-time player for us," assistant general manager Jim Nill said.
No one knows if Zetterberg will be awesome, let alone (bleeping) awesome. At 6-feet, 180 pounds, he needs to get stronger.
"Back in Sweden," he said, "all the defensemen are maybe 10 centimeters shorter than the ones here."
Having played on the smaller North American surface only for five games or so four years ago, he has to adjust to a new style of play.
"The corners are a lot quicker here," he said. "There's not so much room as there was back in Sweden."
That said, the Wings hope Zetterberg can make the same kind of impact Datsyuk did last season, when he finished fourth -- a distant fourth, but fourth -- for the Calder Trophy as rookie of the year.
Zetterberg made progress with a personal trainer during the summer. "You hate him when you train with him, but afterwards you like him," he said.
He lifted weights. He ate.
"I ate a lot," he said. "All of the time, I think, I ate."
And he has a knack for coming out of the corner with the puck.
As for the smaller ice surface, it might work to his advantage, as it did for Datsyuk. The game is quicker on the smaller surface, and he might be able to take advantage of that with his skill.
"When you're at the blue line," he said, smiling, "you have an opportunity to score."
Zetterberg is confident and expects to stick around.
Asked what were his strengths and weaknesses, he said, "It's difficult for me to answer that. You have to wait and see, and then you can judge me in a couple months."
vonDöbeln: Nu låter man som en facebookidiot men jag tror på det här! Jag tror på Olli, Dahlen och alla andra. Det är ingen som vill losa en enda match av grabbarna och nu vilar vi lite och tar tag i det här, oavsett hur det sett ut ... | #Läs mer ·
