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HELENE ST. JAMES
Detroit Free Press
August 19, 2007

Shortly before planning to leave for an Alaskan vacation, Red Wings head coach Mike Babcock chatted with Free Press sports writer Helene St. James, telling her who is likely to be paired with Niklas Kronwall, how the lines will shake out, and his thoughts on free-agent additions Brian Rafalski and Dallas Drake.

Babcock sees Drake, a 38-year-old forward, as a mentor for Tomas Kopecky, the way Jiri Hudler is expected to be guided by Kris Draper, and Valtteri Filppula by Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg.

Rafalski joins a defense headlined by Kronwall and Nicklas Lidstrom, and he won't be the only newcomer. Babcock raved about the expected competition for the sixth and seventh spots among Derek Meech (who can no longer be sent to the minors without clearing waivers), Kyle Quincey (who made a favorable impression when called upon in the playoffs), journeyman Brad Ference, recent draft pick Jonathan Ericsson and possibly even Jakub Kindl (the No. 1 pick from 2005).

Of course, as Babcock likes to point out, grand schemes often stumble against reality. And one unknown that could upset the line combos is Igor Grigorenko, the 2001 draft pick who has honed his skills in the Russian Super League and finally is set to make his NHL debut.

• Given Lidstrom will play with Rafalski, who will be Kronwall's defensive partner? "Probably (Andreas) Lilja. The way I look at it, Lidstrom and Rafalski and Kronwall will eat up the minutes. Kronwall is going to get a real jump. It's time. He would have gotten it during the second half last year, but he was injured. The interesting thing to me is Ference, Quincey, Meech and the competition there. And Ericsson is in there -- he's 6-foot-5 and can skate and move the puck. And Jakub Kindl -- he's the most talented of the whole crew. He's just a kid, though. But we're excited about that. We feel we've got guys knocking on the door."

• How do you compensate for the loss of Mathieu Schneider on the power play? "Rafalski and Kronwall. Now we'll have a right-hand and left-hand shot in Rafalski and Lidstrom, (respectively), and Kronwall all over the ice. Kronwall really is a dynamic player."

• An entire line (Kyle Calder, Robert Lang, Todd Bertuzzi) is gone. If the roster stands as it is, does this increase the likelihood you'll split up Zetterberg and Datsyuk?

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