Who will be the Red Wings 6th Defenseman?

It's time to play:

Spin.
That.
Wheel.

As the preseason is coming to an end soon it looks to be coming down to three choices to be paired with Ruslan Salei as the third defensive pair for the Red Wings.

We have 6'4" Swede Jonathan Ericsson who as many have come to say on Twitter "Has lost his hockey sense", Rookie Jakub Kindl and veteran with a head injury Derek Meech.

Now Ericsson did have a great end of the season and post season when he came up from the Griffins to fill in for fellow Swede Andreas Lilja when he went on long term injured reserve after a one sided fight with Nashville Predators Shea Weber. This past season was Ericsson's first full season with Detroit and left a lot to be desired. The coaching staff has given the "kid" every chance possible to kick the funk he is in, and be that defenseman that was good enough to be paired with his long time defense idol Nicklas Lidstrom. Will Ericsson finally kick the funk and get his confidence back? Or will Jakub Kindl push him down to the 7th defensive spot?

Jakub Kindl, the 19th overall (yeah you read that right 19th OVERALL) pick in the 2005 NHL Entry Draft, has been playing in the AHL with the Griffins other than a short appearance last season with the Red Wings. The way the games have gone so far this preseason Kindl might just take that 6th spot with Salei and have Ericsson watching from the press box.

Derek Meech may have seen his time with the Red Wings come to an end as he would have to go on waiver to go back to Grand Rapids. Meech has been with the big club for a few seasons now but spends more time in the press box than on the ice during games. One skill of Meech's that has endured him to the organization is his ability to fill in as a forward the problem is he's played forward so often in his few appearances that many fans around the league thought he was a forward. With how much depth the Red Wings have for forwards now that niche Meech had in the system appears to have been phased out.

*Picture taken by Amanda Nitz at the Red and White Game at the end of Red Wings Training Camp in Traverse City, MI 2010