Bryan Lerg signed with the Oilers, Turris is with the Coyotes already...Seems like this says pretty good things about NCAA hockey.

It’s certainly a lot of fun to watch! 

As an MSU fan, I am sad to see Abdelkader go. As a Detroit fan, I am glad to see Abdelkader with the Wings. Definitely have mixed emotions.

MSU hockey fans will forever remember the emotional rollercoaster when he hit the post with 25 seconds to go in the national championship game and then buried the winning goal with 18.9 seconds to go.

Best of luck to Abdelkader.
Do not the Red Wings have Darren Helm and others in Grand Rapids?

Yeah, surprising move, timing-wise.  It’s going to be great to see this kid in action in the NHL!!!

In case you were wondering, I certainly was, here is the offical MSU roster notes for Abdelkader:

Justin Abdelkader

Class: Junior

Hometown: Muskegon, Mich.

Height / Weight: 6-2 / 215

Position:  Forward

Birthdate:  02/25/1987

Previous Team: Cedar Rapids Rough Riders (USHL)

Alternate Captain ... A big, strong physical forward who has continued to develop his game ... Will play in all situations ... Won a bronze medal with team USA at the IIHF World Junior Championship in Leksand and Mora, Sweden in January 2007… 55 career points (25g, 30a) in 82 career games, fourth among active players ...

2006-07 (Sophomore): Named Most Outstanding Player of the 2007 Frozen Four ... Scored the game-winning goal in the National Championship game against Boston Collegewith just 18.9 seconds left - the latest a game winner has ever been scored in an NCAA title game ... Led the Spartans in penalties (40) and penalty minutes (91) ... Finished third on the team in scoring with 33 points, and tied for third on the squad with 18 assists ... Three of his tallies were game-winners ... One of six players to net four or more power play goals ... 70 of his 91 penalty minutes came in conference games ... Had a goal and an assist in a season-opening win over Western Michigan (10/13) ... Set a career high for points (2-1-3) and goals (2) in a 7-4 victory against Michigan (11/3) ... Tied a career high for assists in a game (2) at Ferris State (11/10) ... Tied his career high for points (1-2-3) and assists (2) in a 5-4 loss at Minnesota (11/24) ... Scored his second game-winning goal of the season on an empty-netter at Northern Michigan (12/8)… Notched two power-play points (1-1-2) in an overtime victory against Lake Superior State (1/19) ... Had a career-high five-game point streak (3-3-6) upon his return from the World Junior Championships from game one of the Alaska series (1/12) to game one of the Nebraska-Omaha series (2/2). The streak also contained a career best for consecutive games with an assist (three) ... Had 12 points (8-4-12) in 10 games upon his return from the World Junior Championships in January ... Tallied the game-tying goal in the Spartans’ eventual overtime victory over Ferris State at Munn Arena (2/9) ... The next night, tied a career high by potting two goals - including the first shorthanded tally of his career - in a 3-3 tie with Michigan at Joe Louis Arena (2/10) ... Scored a pair of power-play goals in game one of the Western Michigan series (2/16) to tie a career high for the second time in three games ... Tallied a point in six of the last seven games of the season (1-6-7) ... Tied a career-best three-game assist streak twice in the postseason - from game two of the CCHA quarterfinals to the consolation contest at the CCHA tournament, and from the Midwest Regional final to the national title game ... Assisted on Tim Crowder’s first-period tally in the second CCHA quarterfinal game against Nebraska-Omaha (3/10) ... Had a helper on Jim McKenzie’s first-period power play goal in the CCHA Consolation game with Lake Superior State (3/17) ... Assisted on Tim Kennedy’s game-winning goal against Notre Dame in the NCAA Midwest Regional final (3/24) ... Assisted on Chris Snavely’s second-period goal in the Frozen Four semifinals against Maine (4/5).

2005-06 (Freshman): Opened his collegiate career with a 22-point freshman campaign (10 goals, 12 assists) in 44 games ... Honorable Mention selection to the CCHA All-Rookie Team ... Ranked eighth among CCHA rookies in scoring ... Played the stretch run of the season with classmates Tim Crowder and Tim Kennedy ... Scored his first Spartan goal on the power play in a 5-1 victory over Wayne State (10/8) ... Had his first assist as a collegian in the series opener against Cornell (10/28), a 4-2 loss ... Snapped a six-game pointless streak with a second period power-play tally in a 3-2 loss to Ohio State (11/15) ... Assisted on Chris Mueller’s power-play goal against Western Michigan (11/18) ... Tallied an assist on Tim Crowder’s goal in a 2-2 tie against No. 7 Minnesota (11/26) ... Scored MSU’s second goal - on the power play - against Alaska Fairbanks (12/9) ... Collected his second goal in as many games with his game-winning tally (the first of his career) in the 3-0 victory over Alaska Fairbanks ... Collected a goal and an assist for his first career multiple-point game in a 3-2 OT win over Michigan Tech in the GLI semifinal (12/29) ... Assisted on Corey Potter’s power-play goal in 3-1 victory over Wayne State (1/6) ... Scored MSU’s first goal the next night in 5-1 win over the Warriors (1/7) ... Contributed an assist on Tim Crowder’s second period goal in a 4-0 victory over Alaska Fairbanks (1/13), his third point in as many games ... Scored his second career game-winning goal in the 2-1 victory over Alaska Fairbanks (1/14). The goal was his fourth point in as many games, setting his career-high point streak ... Racked up a pair of assists in a 5-5 tie against Michigan (1/28) ... Recorded the third multiple point game of his career with a goal and an assist at Notre Dame (2/3) ... Collected his fourth multiple-point game with his goal and an assist in 4-3 victory at Ohio State (2/9) ... Assisted on the lone Spartan tally in the 2-1 loss to Fairbanks in the first game of the quarterfinals of the CCHA Tournament ... Scored a power-play tally in the first period of MSU’s 2-1 victory over Miami in the CCHA Championship game ... Helped generate MSU’s only goal - a Tim Crowder power-play strike - in a dramatic 1-0 victory over New Hampshire in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, the first NCAA shutout in Spartan history.

PRIOR TO MSU: Selected by the Detroit Red Wings in the second round (No. 42 overall) in the 2005 NHL Entry Draft ... Played for Cedar Rapids of the United States Hockey League in 2004-05 ... Registered 52 points (27 goals, 25 assists) in 60 games to rank third on the team in scoring ... His 52 points tied for 16th among the USHL scoring leaders ... His 27 goals tied the team record for goals in a season ... Led Cedar Rapids to the Clark Cup Championship ... Played in the 2005 USHL All-Star Game ... Prior to playing at Cedar Rapids, named Mr. Hockey 2004 by the Michigan High School Hockey Coaches as a junior ... Member of the 2004 Dream Team and an all-state selection ... Tallied 80 points (37 goals, 43 assists) in 28 games for Muskegon Mona Shores High School in 2003-04 ... Mona Shores fell to Trenton 4-3 in the 2004 Michigan Division 2 state final ... As a sophomore in 2002-03, recorded 23 goals and 29 assists for 52 points ... At the USA Hockey Select-17 Festival in St. Cloud, Minn., in July 2004, tied for the festival lead in goals with five in six games while playing for Team Michigan ... Attended the 2005 U.S. National Junior Team Evaluation Camp in Aug. 2005, and had a goal and an assist in four games.

W2j2: 

Best of luck to Abdelkader. Do not the Red Wings have Darren Helm and others in Grand Rapids?

I too find the move “curious”?  All I can imagine is that the Organ-I-Zation is not terribly impressed with their crop of forwards in Grand Rapids, and they must be really impressed with this kid.  He is pretty good sized, and according to the roster notes, not afraid to use it.

Just think, for Abdelkader and Kyle Quincey the Wings could have possibly had Darcy Tucker at the trade deadline.  And we all know how important grit is in the playoffs! 

They might have figured it would be worth it to see how he fares in the last couple games of the season and (potentially) playoffs.  After three years he was likely leaning toward coming out of school anyway, so why not give him a brief audition?

Seems to be something many teams are doing (Okposo, Turris).  I wonder if there are salary cap/contract implications in giving a prospect a week or so to give him an idea of what the NHL is like?

Here is what Ken Holland had to say about Abdelkader, from the Detroit News: 

He’s big and strong, he likes to play physical, he’s a good penalty-killer,” Holland said. “Our hope is he’s going to become a really good third-line player. Now, that was sort of our hope for Johan Franzen and obviously he’s a lot more than that. What you do is you get the guys in the league, you fit ‘em in a role and then anything beyond that is a bonus.”

Good for Justin, he deserves it.

What this says to me is that behind the scenes is that the Wings are hurting more than they are letting on.