Brunnström on nyt Detroitin vieraana ihmettemässä Joe Louis Arenaa ja kuuntelemasa Ken Hollandin suositteluja. Ehkäpä tämäkin asia pikkuhiljaa saataisiin päätökseen, ja saataisiin se mies tekemään sopimus jonnekin.
http://www.mlive.com/redwings/index.ssf/2008/05/red_wings_still_courting_top_s.html
DENVER -- Highly-touted prospect Fabian Brunnstrom, still in the process of deciding which NHL team to sign with, arrived in Denver on Thursday to listen to another sales pitch from the Detroit Red Wings.
General manager Ken Holland had several selling points: Their history of team and individual success, their track record for player development, their European puck-possession style, a commitment to winning from ownership and front-office stability.
If all else fails, coach Mike Babcock suggested appealing to Brunnstrom's heritage, noting his club's large contingent of Swedish players.
"Just move into Novi -- Little Sweden -- and hang out, it's like the old country," Babcock said. "I can't even understand how anybody else is in the running. Makes no sense to me whatsoever. They (Swedish players) come here, they're comfortable, they play better than they ever have in their life."
Brunnstrom, who spent the previous two days in Dallas meeting with the Stars, will fly to Detroit today to get a tour of Joe Louis Arena and the facilities. He'll wrap up his three-team North American tour in Montreal on Saturday. The 23-year-old free-agent forward has grown weary of the hype surrounding him and wants to make a decision soon.
"This has been so big, almost like I'm the next Sidney Crosby, and I'm not the next Sidney Crosby," Brunnstrom said. "I just want to sign and get it over with."
Brunnstrom was on the verge of signing with Vancouver a couple of weeks ago but changed his mind after the Canucks fired GM Dave Nonis, who had promised him a spot on a line with twins Daniel and Henrik Sedin. He couldn't get the same guarantee from the Red Wings, who are deep up front and don't like making promises they might not be able to keep.
The only assurance Holland said he gave Brunnstrom is that he will be on the NHL roster the first month of the season. After that, he must earn his spot.
"In the league we're in, with the expectations and the pressures to win, nobody has any guarantees," Holland said. "I'm assuming he's going to look at what he thinks is his (best) opportunity to play. Our sales pitch is we're very proud of our organization, the job we do in developing players."
Said Brunnstrom: "I don't think teams can give me that guarantee (of playing on a top line). I'm just looking for opportunity to play. ... Of course I'm looking at open spots and I know Red Wings are a really good team. It's going to be tough. They seem to give the guys an opportunity to be successful."
Money isn't an issue, as every team offering the same amount under the rookie salary cap, about $2.2 million, base salary and bonuses.
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Samassa jutussa oli myös Hollandin kommentit Grigorenkosta, jotka eivät juuri miestä mairitelleet. Igorin suhteen on käytännössä luovutettu.
Russian prospect Igor Grigorenko, who failed in his first attempt to make the team, no longer fits into the Red Wings' plans. He reported to training camp this season badly out of shape and couldn't keep up with the pace of play in the NHL. He returned to Russia rather than accept an assignment to Grand Rapids (AHL).
"I don't think he had a great year over there," Holland said. "I don't think there's been that commitment to conditioning that we needed to see to give me hope that he can be an NHL player. Unless somebody tells me some new news in the next two months, my take is it's time to move on."