Williams/Newbury Panning out in GR

Alright, let's attempt to move on here, people.  It might not stick, but let's try it anyway...

From NHL.com:

"If Detroit is interested in you, it's a great compliment.  I guess you could say I was jealous of (Kris Newbury) that first day. Then, the next day, my agent called and said Detroit was interested."--Jeremy Williams

I think I touched on this story a few weeks ago, but it still seems to be working.  The Griffs went on a nine game winning streak, thanks largely to Williams and Newbury who lead the team in points.  Newbury has 3G-9A-12Pts, and Williams has 8G-2A-10Pts.
 
Willaims continued on about the Detroit organ-i-zation:
 
"I'm extremely happy with this organization.  It's opened my eyes a lot. The main thing as a player is you want to win all the time. You want to win championships."


Good luck doing that in Toronto.  You made the right move, my friend...uh, I mean friends.

Williams/Newbury Tandem in Grand Rapids

Mlive posted this little article about Jeremy Williams and Kris Newbury, two free agents signed by Detroit who played last year with the troubled Toronto Maple Leafs.

Apparently they get along with each other. Newbury took a little jab at Williams when talking about the fact that he signed with Detroit first. "He followed me," Newbury said, smiling.

Williams had this to add:

"They said they signed him and then they were like, 'Well, we kind of need Williams because Newbury on his own is kind of hard, and Williams on his own is kind of hard.' They put us together, and we seem to be a good tandem."

Let's hope so. Both are playing in Grand Rapids right now, but that obviously isn't why they signed on to this organ-i-zation. Both hope to see time with the big club eventually. Newbury had this to say:

"At the end of the day, you always want to have a chance to win the Stanley Cup. I figured Detroit is the best shot at it. Unfortunately, I'm not up there right now, but I'll just keep chipping away. You never know, hopefully down the road, I'll have that shot."

I hope these boys keep a positive attitude. Detroit's farm system is anything but a fast track to the NHL. Williams, who scored the first goal of the season despite losing to the Toronto Marlies (irony?) last weekend had this to add:

"(Toronto) was obviously rebuilding, and everybody that came in was new. I didn't feel like it would have been the best situation for me at the time. I'm glad I made the decision to come here."

In other words; Burkie didn't like him...which could actually be a positive attribute if you think about it. Probably means he doesn't like to take lots of penalties, grow a soul patch and look like a frat-boy drop out, or eat lots and lots of granola bars while listening to the Grateful Dead.

For more on these two, click the link. The Griffins stay on the road against the Texas Stars (most original farm name) at 8:30 tonight for the third contest of the regular season

Wings beat Flyers in Pre-Season Opener

Via the Associated Press...the pic was obviously from last season.

Kris Draper, Jamie Tardif and Jeremy Williams scored to lift the Detroit Red Wings to a 3-1 win over the Philadelphia Flyers on Wednesday night in the preseason opener for both teams.

So far, so good for Detroit. They might not lose a game all year...seriously.

Red Wings' starting goalie Jimmy Howard made six saves in a little over 30 minutes and Daniel Larsson stopped 14 shots.

Six saves in thirty minutes-plus played? That's a shot every five minutes...Detroit must have been playing keep away while the Flyers thought the name of the game was hot potato. Fourteen saves for Larsson sounds pretty solid. I should have went to the game...couldn't find anyone to accompany me.

Van Riemsdyk opened the scoring 3:26 into the second period when he beat Howard with a wrist shot from the left circle.

So Jimmy stopped 5 out of 6 shots for a .833 save percentage while Larsson went 14 for 14...uh oh, Jimmy. Better get your act together.

Draper tied it at 1, 9:36 into the middle period when he put a rebound past Emery.
Tardif gave the Red Wings the lead with 1:52 left in the second period when he put in a one-time shot from the slot.

Way to go, Drapes...earn that 4th line spot. Tardif, the 24 year old right winger is coming off of a mediocre season in 2008-2009, so it's nice to see him contribute in this situation. No chance he makes the big squad, though.

Williams scored 3:35 into the third when he flipped in a loose puck from a goal-mouth scramble.

I've seen a few clips of Jeremy Williams playing, the kid looks good. He has a nice scoring touch and actually was used by Toronto in shootouts last year. He's a long shot of making the Wings, but he's not going to be a quick throw-away down to Grand Rapids. Especially if he keeps putting the puck in the net.

Always fun to beat Pronger, since we have less opportunities to do so now that he's in the Leastern Conference.