The rollercoaster of the RedWings

After a dodgy start, we seem to have actually picked up some momentum. More surprising is that the injuries we picked up early doors are still a problem, but our kids are coming through and putting up points at a boner-inducing rate.

12 Games in, and we have iced the following prospects/rookies/younger players:

Mursak, Nyquist, Andersson, Tatar, Smith, Lashoff, Mrazek and Emmerton.

For a team long known as a retirement home for older players, it now seems the era has gone. Bertuzzi is 38yo, and the oldest player the Wings have. Samuelsson is 36, and then Datsyuk and Cleary are 34. Of the 30 players that the Red Wings have iced so far, 21 are 30yo or younger, including all three goalies.

However, the season so far has not been without surprises of a more "Standard Red Wings" nature. In Damien Brunner, the Wings have picked up a forward from Europe, who was undrafted, and pulled from obscurity. He's since put up 6G 3A and is terrorising NHL defences with his slightly different style of play. Kronwall said that Brunner has a "unique way of shooting the puck, which seems to be difficult for defencemen to judge, and goalies to react".

What's not too surprising is the utter failure of Kent Huskins. A defenceman brought in during a 'panic' of injuries, and by far the longest shot of them all. What is most telling is that Huskins has put up 0 pts, and has since lost his spot to Brian Lashoff, an American rookie. Lashoff is at the moment looking like Calder nominee fodder, but even so, to play a rookie ahead of a seasoned defenceman must mean that either the rookie is exceptional (he's good, but he's not exactly the Gretzky of the blue line), or the veteran is complete toss.

As it stands, the Wings are looking OK. The Blackhawks are in an utterly terrifying run of form, that sees them topping the Central Division by a clear 7 points. They are also yet to lose a game. The Wings, Predators, and Blues are all then squashed in the middle with just 2 points seperating them, and then the less said about the Blue Jackets, the better.

Considering the wealth of injuries we still have (The Wings are a walking M*A*S*H unit - Todd Bertuzzi (back) sat out Saturday, joining defencemen Brendan Smith (back) and Carlo Colaiacovo (shoulder), center Darren Helm (back) and forwards Jan Mursak (collarbone) and Mikael Samuelsson (groin)), and the very shakey start to the season, I'm pretty happy with the way things are going right now.

The Wings have done ok so far. I would never ever write them off (last time I did that they won a damn cup) and considering all that has happened they have done well.

Also I hate to say I like a Wings player (Datsyuk aside) I actually quite like young Brunner!

After a shaky start the Red Wings have really come on strong, but you could probably say that about all the top teams aside from Chicago who have been crazy good. The last minute yesterday was quite the rollercoster. Man how the Kings must have felt after that one. Who knew Joe Hart was related to Jonathan Quick? Amazing finish.