Of Red Wings-related note this morning:
- During last week’s summer development camp, Red Wings forward Taro Hirose spoke with the media regarding his decision to take part in said camp, as the Detroit News’s Ted Kulfan noted:
“I’m trying to be a student of the game, and watch what the best players in the world are doing,” said Hirose last week during the Wings’ development camp. “Being able to pick their brains, guys on the team, and see what they’re seeing on plays and seeing things that maybe I don’t see, I’m trying to learn all the time. That’s a big part for me.”
Hirose, 23, was one of the older players at last week’s camp, and also had the edge of already played some NHL games.
His success the final weeks of the season was somewhat of a surprise, given he’s only listed at 5-foot-10, 160-pounds, and Hirose isn’t the fastest skater around.
But Hirose has utilized his hockey smarts to the best of his ability, consistently making plays and finding the best places to be on the ice.
“He showed when he came in last season he proved he could produce,” said Shawn Horcoff, the Wings’ director of player development. “He’s been training hard this offseason and he looks good right now.”
2. The New Haven Register’s Chip Malafronte spoke with development camp participant Keith Petruzzelli about his upcoming junior season at Quinnipiac:
He began last season as Quinnipiac’s starting goalie, but his playing time was reduced to almost nothing when Andrew Shortridge emerged as one of the nation’s best goalies.
Shortridge signed a free-agent contract with San Jose in April, passing up his senior season. Quinnipiac is bringing in a freshman goalie in Evan Fear, but Petruzzelli, a junior, is expected to see the majority of time to begin the season.
“I’m really excited, I’m looking forward to next year,” Petruzzelli said. “We’re going to be kind of a young team, we had a lot of freshmen last year coming in so we’re going to need them to step up and be big-time players for us in their sophomore years, but I really like our team, I’m really looking forward to the challenge.”
3. According to the Sherwood Park News’s Shane Jones, Carter Gylander and four teammates will help represent the Alberta Junior Hockey League at the Sochi Cup in Russia from August 23rd to 31st;
4. And in alumni news, the Red Wings chose not to sign 2017 draft pick Zach Gallant before they lost his rights on June 1st, but the San Jose Mercury News’s Curtis Pashelka reports that Gallant will join the San Jose Sharks on an entry-level contract:
Gallant and defensemen Artemi Kniazev, one of the Sharks’ second round draft picks last month, and Nikolai Knyzhov all signed entry level contracts. The Sharks also added two players that should compete for NHL jobs in training camp, signing defenseman Dalton Prout, 29, and forward Jonny Brodzinski, 26, to one-year deals.
Gallant, listed at 6-foot-2 and 195 pounds, was a third round pick by the Detroit Red Wings in 2017, but was left unsigned. He and Knyzhov were among more than a dozen players trying out at the Sharks’ development camp.
“There’s a lot of things you can’t control, and I can’t control whether I’m getting a contract or not,” Gallant said last week. “I’ve got to make sure I’m putting the work in every day and try to earn it.”
