The Malik Report

Hoo boy:

“A floppy disk? Never heard of it.”#DRWPT pic.twitter.com/YjpFU0my4W— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) September 17, 2022

From the Red Wings comes this list of players participating in tonight’s game between Detroit and Dallas (6 PM EDT on the Wings’ social media channels):

DobberHockey’s Peter Harling posted a list of potential Hobey Baker Award candidates prior to the start of the 2022-2023 NCAA season, and he included Red Wings prospect and University of North Dakota freshman Dylan James on his list:

Dylan James – Forward, University of North Dakota (Detroit Red Wings)

Dylan James had himself an exceptional rookie season with the Sioux City Musketeers and was an integral part of their Clark Cup winning team after he compiled 61 points in 62 regular season games. The USHL rookie of the year was an effective player at both ends of the ice, using his size well along the boards in puck battles and to force his way past the opposition with the puck. He has soft hands and a large frame that enable him to out-muscle the opposition and afford him some extra time on the puck to make a play. He may not be as offensively inclined as some of the other names on this list but his defensive contributions as a forward should not be discounted and his effort and ability to break up passes and close down players on the point go a long way to helping his team out and making him an asset to his team. He can produce offense as well as work hard to shut down the opposition on defense and that versatility could earn him a nod on the shortlist at the end of the season.

Continued

The Detroit Red Wings’ prospects took part in a spirited 50-minute morning skate today at Centre ICE Arena, working on:

Breakouts, playing the puck through the middle of the ice instead of along the boards (a major sticking point for coach Ben Simon), warming up their goalies (I think Jan Bednar will get the nod tonight vs. Dallas) and generally working on producing more screens in front of opposing goaltenders, as well as more speed on the rush.

Tonight’s 6 PM opponent, the Dallas Stars’ prospects, are coming off a 6-2 loss to Toronto on Thursday, and they skated just before the Red Wings on Saturday as tonight’s game is the only game on the schedule at Centre ICE Arena on a college football Saturday, so it’s going to be packed, and hopefully well-watched on the Red Wings’ social media channels.

In terms of player assessments, there’s a very short turnaround between now and the game, so I’m going to keep my assessments short:

Continue reading Quick impressions from Saturday’s game-day skate at the Red Wings’ prospect tournament

Of Red Wings prospect-related note from the SHL and the J20 league today:

In the SHL, Rogle BK won 5-4 in overtime over Brynas. In terms of Red Wings prospects taking part in the game:

Marco Kasper had an assist, a +1 and 2 shots on goal in 16:51 played, winning 70% of his faceoffs:

Marco Kasper regular season opener:

16:51 TOI, 2 SOG, 1 assist, +1, 70% faceoffs pic.twitter.com/obJhCp54Wy— IcehockeyGifs (@IcehockeyG) September 17, 2022

Theodor Niederbach finished at -1 with 1 shot in 10:25 played;

And William Wallinder scored a goal on 2 shots, finishing at +1 in 22:38 played:

William Wallinder scores his 1st goal of the season, making it 4-2 Rögle #LGRW pic.twitter.com/YgceinjPIj— IcehockeyGifs (@IcehockeyG) September 17, 2022

In Frolunda HC’s 3-2 shootout loss to Timra, Liam Dower Nilsson finished even with 1 shot in only 5:09 played;

And in the Swedish J20 league, in Leksands IF’s 4-2 win over Skelleftea AIK, Anton Johansson finished even with 2 shots and a penalty taken.

Update: Via Red Wings Prospects on Twitter, Antti Tuomisto and TPS Turku had a rough day, losing 6-0 to Lukko, and Tuomisto finished at -2 in 23:41 played.

The Red Wings’ prospects held a morning skate ahead of tonight’s game vs. Dallas (6 PM EDT on the Red Wings’ social media channels), and after the skate, myself, Detroit Hockey Now’s Kevin Allen and Bob Duff, The Athletic’s Max Bultman and DetroitRedWings.com’s Jonathan Mills all spoke with Jeremie Biakabutuka and Cross Hanas.

Biakabutuka was forthcoming regarding his status as a life-long hockey player despite his connections to Michigan football, he discussed the fact that he feels almost intimidated sometimes by the caliber of players that he’s playing with, and he spoke about stepping up and making plays and finding his confidence alongside Eemil Viro:

Cross Hanas also spoke with us, discussing his self-appointed role as a playmaker after posting 60 assists (and scoring some highlight-reel goals) in the WHL this past season, trying those trick goals that worked for him, improving his defensive game and being a little edgy, too, and playing with 6’8″ Elmer Soderblom and 5’10” center Amadeus Lombardi on the Wings’ top line:

This is unique, via the Detroit News’s Gregg Krupa on Twitter: Rogle BK celebrated its Champions Hockey League title before kicking off today’s game vs. Brynas:

Rögle firar Champions League-titeln 🎶🏆 pic.twitter.com/0oEEQS1Y9V— C More Hockey (@cmorehockey) September 17, 2022

After the Red Wings’ prospects won a 5-2 decision over the Columbus Blue Jackets on Friday afternoon/evening, the Red Wings’ beat writers weighed in with several overnight or early morning-posted articles discussing the game’s events, and pertinent storylines, ahead of today’s 6 PM game vs. Dallas:

1. MLive’s Ansar Khan posted an article about Riley Piercey’s four-goal performance..

Piercey scored in a variety of ways Friday – a deflection in the first period, a snipe in the second period and a breakaway and short rebound in the third. It is the first time he has scored four goals in a game at any level.

“I guess it was just one of those nights,” Piercey said. “Puck bounces were there. I capitalized on my opportunities when I had them. It’s just hockey. It’s just one of those games. I thought I did well.”

Grand Rapids Griffins coach Ben Simon, who is coaching Detroit’s prospects, said of Piercey: “Obviously a night like that you don’t get too often. I’m happy for him. Hopefully, that will breed some confidence and lead into training camp. Good for him having a good first game and let’s see what that leads to.”

The Red Wings face the Dallas Stars tonight at 6 (live-streamed at DetroitRedWings.com).

The Red Wings invited Piercey to development camp at Little Caesars Arena in July and he played well enough to earn an invite to the main camp.

“Now I’m just here trying to make a good name for myself,” he said.

2. Detroit Hockey Now’s Kevin Allen also took note of Piercey’s performance…

Continue reading Morning round-up: Regarding Riley Piercey, Elmer Soderblom and ‘where the Wings go from here’

The Detroit News’s Ted Kulfan filed a notebook article regarding several points from the Red Wings prospects‘ 5-2 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets on Friday afternoon/evening, including this note about Elmer Soderblom:

Friday’s game was the first test for forward Elmer Soderblom, who is making his North American debut.

The 6-foot-6 forward is likely going to begin the season in Grand Rapids. But after a 21-goal season in Frolunda (Sweden) last season, expectations have grown for the 2019 sixth-round draft pick.

“They’ve told me they want to see (here) what I did in Frolunda,” said Soderblom, who had an assist and one shot with a minus-two rating against Columbus. “Just keep playing my (game) and add some physicality, play with my size even more. That’s what I have to do to be able to take a spot.”

Soderblom’s big body (6-foot-6, 220-pounds) was evident in the offensive zone, hanging around the net and especially blocking the view of goaltenders while stationed net-front on the power play.

“I’m pretty much the tallest guy on the ice often,” Soderblom said. “I just have to use it to my advantage and do the best I can.”

Continued

I just posted my impressions from the Red Wings’ 5-2 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets at the 2022 Prospect Tournament, and The Athletic’s Max Bultman posted a set of his own takes on Riley Piercey’s four-goal game, Simon Edvinsson’s North American debut, Sebastian Cossa’s game and the performances of Cross Hanas and Kirill Tyutyayev.

I’ll concur with his take on Edvinsson, who I critiqued based upon expectations as well:

Edvinsson might be the best all-around prospect at this tournament, so expectations are high. And on the whole, it was a pretty good first showing.

You might have ideally liked to see the defenseman take charge a bit more with the puck, especially early, but Edvinsson looked characteristically smooth, poised and effective on the back end for Detroit. He finished as a plus-2, killed penalties and, perhaps most importantly, looked quite good running the Red Wings’ top power-play unit. That’s not a role Edvinsson had much last season in the SHL or with Sweden at world juniors, but he made good decisions while doing so Friday.

Because Edvinsson has a legit shot at the Red Wings’ opening-night roster, he will probably be graded on a harsher curve at this event — whether that’s fair or not. And from that standpoint, he didn’t necessarily kick the door down in Game 1. But keep it in perspective: He played well in a decisive victory, and he continues to look like one heck of a prospect for the Red Wings.

“He’s very confident with the puck, he’s confident in who he is and how he wants to play,” said Griffins coach Ben Simon, who is running the Detroit bench at the tournament. “I thought he made some really nice stretch passes today, but again he moves pretty well — he moves very well for a bigger guy. He kind of floats on the ice.”

Continued (paywall)