August 2007 Zetterberg Fan.com

Scouting Report: Henrik Zetterberg

By Ansar Khan, Mlive.com, August 30, 2007

The Hockey News ranks Henrik Zetterberg 25th on its preseason list of the NHL's best players. That seems too low for someone who was arguably the league's top two-way forward before being shelved for the final 19 games of the regular season with an inflamed disc.

Zetterberg is about as complete a player as there is in the game. He's an outstanding playmaker who has 40-goal potential (he had 39 goals two years ago and 33 last season in just 63 games). Nobody is stronger on the puck; he has a unique ability to hang onto the puck even while skating through traffic at high speeds. And when he doesn't have the puck his terrific hockey sense enables him to find the open space.

He's a top penalty-killer who's good at stripping the puck from opponents. He doesn't seem to get the credit he deserves as a defensive player, but there is at least one Selke Trophy in his future.

Zetterberg, Pavel Datsyuk and Tomas Holmstrom formed one of the league's most dominant lines from mid-December to late February. Opponents stepped up their physical play against Zetterberg the last few weeks before his injury. He responded by playing more physical himself when he returned at the start of the playoffs, figuring it's better to give than receive.

He was bothered by tendinitis in his wrist last summer. It flared up during the season, forcing him to skip the All-Star Game. He had some back trouble earlier this summer but it's apparently nothing serious.

To provide more balance on their top two lines, Zetterberg and Datsyuk will start the season on separate units, each playing center, the position they prefer.

Zetterberg, who turns 27 on Oct. 9, has two years remaining on a contract that averages $2.65 million a season. The Wings can't sign him to an extension until July 1. They'd like to lock him up to a long-term deal, something similar to -- if not more lucrative than -- the seven-year, $46.9 million pact Datsyuk signed last April. He's destined to be their next captain.

N-ICE ONE HENRIK!

icrenfrewshire.icnetwork.co.uk/pde/sport, August 30th, 2007

A budding ice hockey star thought all his Christmas’s had come at once when he bumped into his idol in Sheffield.

Paisley Juniors Under-14 star Conor McCallum was in Yorkshire for the Best of British Ice Hockey Camp when he met his hero Henrik Zetterberg of NHL side the Detroit Red Wings.

The 13-year-old was left lost words after meeting the Swedish superstar but made sure he got plenty of mementos after Henrik signed a cap, jersey and shoes for the youngster.

And proud mum Anne revealed Conor, whose brother Craig plays for the Pirates, hasn’t stopped talking about it since.

She said: “You’ve no idea how excited he was to meet him. He was grinning like a Cheshire cat and I actually think he was stumped for words for the first time in his life.

“Henrik’s his hero and it was actually quite surreal as we watch him on TV all the time.

“I think Conor was a bit in awe of the situation. He’s not stopped talking about it since, and I think he’s told everybody he knows about it.

“But Henrik couldn’t have been nicer and he autographed a lot of caps which we’re either going to auction or raffle to make some money for Paisley Juniors.”

NHL's top 50 Players

By gmalik, mlive.com, August 27, 2007

The Hockey News posted its annual Top 50 NHL players list in its annual yearbook, and for those of us without a subscription, Spector provided the list and some comments upon the listed players.

The list notes the player's 2006-2007 rankings in parentheses. Detroit Red Wings players Nicklas Lidstrom, Henrik Zetterberg, Dominik Hasek, and Pavel Datsyuk made the Hockey News's cut:

1 Sidney Crosby (6)
2 Alexander Ovechkin (5)
3 Roberto Luongo (25)
4 Nicklas Lidstrom (15)
5 Chris Pronger (2)
6 Jarome Iginla (7)
7 Vincent Lecavalier (21)
8 Joe Thornton (4)
9 Dany Heatley (10)
10 Martin Brodeur (11)
11 Patrik Elias (12)
12 Joe Sakic (17)
13 Miikka Kiprusoff (1)
14 Jaromir Jagr (3)
15 Martin St-Louis (47)
16 Marian Gaborik (27)
17 Dion Phaneuf (32)
18 Eric Staal (14)
19 Marian Hossa (24)
20 Ryan Miller (not ranked)
21 Daniel Alfredson (20)
22 Chris Drury (not ranked)
23 Marty Turco (49)
24 Jason Spezza (22)
25 Henrik Zetterberg (38)
26 Jonathan Cheechoo (36)
27 Daniel Briere (Not Ranked)
28 Tomas Kaberle (Not Ranked)
29 Dominik Hasek (Not Ranked)
30 Brad Richards (23)
31 Martin Havlat (26)
32 Daniel Sedin (Not Ranked)
33 J-S Giguere (Not Ranked)
34 Ryan Smyth (33)
35 Simon Gagne (31)
36 Pavel Datsyuk (35)
37 Rick Nash (9)
38 Rod Brind'amour (38)
39 Zdeno Chara (19)
40 Rick DiPietro (Not Ranked)
41 Scott Gomez (Not Ranked)
42 Sergei Gonchar (Not Ranked)
43 Henrik Lundqvist (Not Ranked)
44 Evgeni Malkin (Not Ranked)
45 Zach Parise (Not Ranked)
46 Dan Boyle (Not Ranked)
47 Brendan Shanahan (Not Ranked)
48 Ilya Kovalchuk (18)
49 Mathieu Schneider (Not Ranked)
50 Niklas Backstrom (Not Ranked)

Henrik Zetterberg 2002-03 Rookie Card Checklist

From Nick Tylwalk, www.sportscards.about.com, August 17^th, 2007

Most seventh-round picks in the NHL Entry Draft don't end up becoming top goal-scoring threats on perennial Stanley Cup contenders. Yet Henrik Zetterberg has done just that, going from unremarkable draftee to top prospect to Hockeytown staple in a relatively short period of time.

It's safe to say not many North American fans had heard of Zetterberg when the Detroit Red Wings picked him 210th overall in 1999. But after a few more seasons playing in his native Sweden, scouts started to take notice. When the 2002 Winter Olympics rolled around, analysts were calling him the best player in the tournament not playing in the NHL.

The Red Wings remedied that situation shortly thereafter, and Zetterberg had a fine rookie season in 2002-03, scoring 22 goals and 44 points. He really took off after the NHL lockout, netting 39 goals in the 2005-06 regular season as well as six playoff goals in just six games.

Zetterberg led the Wings in goals in 2006-07 and would have been a lock to record his first 40-goal season had injuries not forced him to miss almost 20 games. He returned in time for the playoffs, and he is certain to be a key to any Stanley Cup runs the Red Wings make for at least the rest of this decade.

The Detroit fan base includes plenty of collectors, and they've made Zetterberg into a hobby star who runs neck and neck with Rick Nash and Jason Spezza in most 2002-03 sets. Don't fret if you're just thinking about collecting his rookie cards now though: the four manufacturers active that year cooked up 33 different rookies, ranging from his simple Topps Total # 426 to his extravagant autographed patch UD Premier Collection # 81.

Henrik Zetterberg 2002-03 Rookie Cards

BAP All-Star Edition # 139 - #'d to 100

BAP Memorabilia # 286

BAP Signature Series # 190

Bowman YoungStars # 137

Crown Royale # 113 - #'d to 2299

ITG Used # 198 - #'d to 100

Pacific # 405 - #'d to 999

Pacific Calder # 116 - #'d to 825

Pacific Exclusive # 197 - autographed, #'d to 1000

Pacific Heads-Up # 132 - #'d to 1000

Pacific Quest for the Cup # 117 - #'d to 950

Parkhurst # 216 - #'d to 500

Parkhurst Retro # 216 - #'d to 300

Private Stock Reserve # 160 - #'d to 99

SP Authentic # 186 - autographed, #'d to 999

SP Game Used # 75 - #'d to 750

SPx # 151 - autographed jersey card #'d to 1250

Stadium Club # 127

Titanium # 114 - #'d to 99

Topps # 331

Topps Heritage # 131

Topps Total # 426

UD Artistic Impressions # 92

UD Classic Portraits # 111 - #'d to 1500

UD Foundations # 151 - #'d to 1250

UD Honor Roll # 151 - jersey card

UD Mask Collection # 162 - #'d to 1250

UD Piece of History # 128 - #'d to 1500

UD Premier Collection # 81 - autographed patch card #'d to 99

UD Top Shelf # 127 - #'d to 500

Upper Deck # 234

Upper Deck Rookie Update # 168 - dual autographed card with Gordie Howe #'d to 199

Vanguard # 113 - #'d to 1650

Zetterberg is Fine

By Ansar Khan, Mlive.com, August 02, 2007

Henrik Zetterberg told the Wings his back feels good, he's experiencing no symptoms and he's working out every day, general manager Ken Holland said. Zetterberg withdrew from a couple of charity games in Sweden only as a precaution. He had a minor flare-up with his back 2-3 weeks ago but was cleared by a doctor. Zetterberg missed the last 19 games of the regular season with an inflamed disc.

Zetterberg told to skip games with "Icebreakers" due to back issues

By George James Malik, Mlive.com, August 02, 2007

Detroit Red Wings forward Henrik Zetterberg was asked to skip two charity games with the "Icebreakers" after he experienced some discomfort while performing some on-ice training, and was examined by team doctors.

August 2, Aftonbladet (translated): Zetterberg stopped from game with IceBreakers

Has continued problem with back

Henrik Zetterberg has got forbidden to play by his club Detroit for three weeks.

For that reason/therefore has he politely declined to charity cause game hockey with Icebreakers.

He has still trouble of his back vertebra.

Zetterberg's back vertebra has been persistent. He missed several weeks' games spring season with Detroit. Now gets he not train/practice after training ice week and must since heal examine after new by club.

Zäta did despite injury his best season until last winter.

He did 33 goals and passed another 35 during 63 games and conducted his game.

Zetterberg’s Back Flares Up

By Christy Hammond, Behindthejersey.com, August 2nd, 2007

Thanks to a translation from George at Snapshots, Aftonbladet is reporting that the Red Wings have asked Henrik Zetterberg to pull out of two charity games he was planning on playing in. It’s not a good sign at all that his back is bothering him this much during the offseason.

Henrik Zetterberg has got forbidden to play by his club Detroit for three weeks.

For that reason/therefore has he politely declined to charity cause game hockey with Icebreakers.

He has still trouble of his back vertebra.

Zetterberg’s back vertebra has been persistent. He missed several weeks’ games spring season with Detroit. Now gets he not train/practice after training ice week and must since heal examine after new by club.

Update: Ansar Khan @ MLive.com says that Zetterberg’s back isn’t as bad as it sounds, which is good to hear.

Zetterberg told Wings trainer Piet Van Zant last Friday that he had a minor flare-up 2-3 weeks ago.

“The doctor there (Sweden) said it was nothing to be concerned about,” Wings general manager Ken Holland said on Thursday. “The pain had gone away. As of (last) Friday, he was feeling good.”

Nobody from the Wings has spoken to Zetterberg since then, but if there was problem, Holland assumes Zetterberg would have let the club know.

“At this stage, I’m not concerned,” Holland said.

Happy News To Start Your Weekend: Hank’s Back Hurting Again

www.kuklaskorner.com, August 2nd, 2007

Reports out of Sweden (generally more accurate than reports out of, say, Russia) point to an issue we may be discussing for years to come. The old adage seems to be that back problems never really go away, they just fluctuate between bearable and really painful.

Well, Henrik Zetterberg’s back apparently flared recently and if you’ve forgotten about the little break he took prior to the playoffs last Spring, prepare to be reminded.

George Malik provided a translation yesterday of an Aftonbladet story.

Henrik Zetterberg has got forbidden to play by his club Detroit for three weeks.

For that reason/therefore has he politely declined to charity cause game hockey with Icebreakers.

He has still trouble of his back vertebra.

George posted that story around 2:30 Thursday afternoon. Five hours later Khan(!) chimed in.

Khan(!) reports that Piet Van Zant heard from Zetterberg last Friday who told him he’d felt discomfort a few weeks ago. Ready for the funny part? Here we go.

But the Wings don’t believe there’s any reason to worry.

“At this stage, I’m not concerned,’’ Holland said.

I like Ken Holland, but he’s a lying liar. He makes big bucks to stress over stuff like that and, yeah, he’s concerned.

Should we be? Of course. Back issues and the Wings go together like Bubba and possum. Krupp, that frigging dogsledding dumbass bust, started the trend. It continued with Shanahan, and I’ll always be convinced that the dramatic change in his style of play around ‘99 is directly attributed to chronic back problems. Now Zetterberg, and it appears his issues aren’t going away anytime soon.

Don’t worry, though, he’s only the future captain; maybe as early as ‘08-’09. Matt Saler, generally the voice of reason where I am the alarmist, sagely points out it’s probably precautionary. But…

I have to say this is a bit worrisome given that we are well in to the off-season and I would therefore think such injuries would be largely healed, not to mention the fact that the Wings saw fit to ask Hank to step down from what wouldn’t have been strenuous games.

More back problems for Hank. Fun for the whole family.