Month: February 2018

HSJ interviews Kris Draper

The Free Press’s Helene St. James engaged in a Q and A with Red Wings special assistant to the GM Kris Draper recently, and Draper discussed the scouting side of his day job:

HSJ: What has been your focus this season?

KD: “I’ve worked a lot with Tyler on the amateur side. I’m trying to see all the high-end draft eligibles. Went to World Juniors. Been to the Maritimes to watch the top players there. Been out west to watch the top players there, and all throughout Ontario. So a little bit of everything.

“I enjoy the amateur side. I really enjoy the scouting side. That’s where I’ve gravitated the most to. Ken wants me to go see games and if I know players and if I like players, he wants me to make sure I speak up and I have knowledgeable input at all levels.”

HSJ: What do you look for in players?

KD: “Obviously I love skaters. You look at hockey sense. You look at skill. I talk to Hakan Andersson quite a bit — anytime we get a chance to sit with him, he is a big guy on hockey sense. I always argue about how fast this game is, but how can you argue with the success of Haks?”

Continued

Tweets from practice: Red Wings take a layover day in New Jersey

The Red Wings made a stop-over in New Jersey the day after their 7-6 OT loss to the New York Islanders, per DetroitRedWings.com’s Dana Wakiji:

If you’re wondering when you can start worrying about Zetterberg’s “maintenance days,” today is the day.

Also: Wakiji is probably the only person at practice because the beat writers had to get to Washington for tomorrow’s 3 PM-starting game against the Capitals.

Continue reading Tweets from practice: Red Wings take a layover day in New Jersey

Prospect round-up: Griffins win in OT; Walleye beat KC; Sulak 1+1; Pearson progresses

In the AHL, the Grand Rapids Griffins rallied from 1-0 and 2-1 deficits en route to a 4-3 OT win over the San Antonio Rampage. Matt Lorito scored 2 goals, including the OT winner, Colin Campbell, Dominic Turgeon and Ben Street had 2 assists apiece and Tom McCollum stopped 35 of 38 shots for Grand Rapids.

The Griffins’ website filed a recap:

Continue reading Prospect round-up: Griffins win in OT; Walleye beat KC; Sulak 1+1; Pearson progresses

Red Wings-Islanders wrap-up–Bertuzzi, Wings don’t play very s-m-r-t vs. high-scoring Islanders

The Detroit Red Wings lost a 7-6 overtime decision to the New York Islanders on Friday night, finding a way to lose a game that they led 3-0 and 5-2 at various junctures due to a horrific penalty-kill on a 5-minute major called on Tyler Bertuzzi:

After a game like this, I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that the Islanders lauded Clutterbuck for getting hacked, as Mathew Barzal told the New York Post’s Kyle Schnitzer:

Continue reading Red Wings-Islanders wrap-up–Bertuzzi, Wings don’t play very s-m-r-t vs. high-scoring Islanders

So it was Tyler…

Tyler Bertuzzi did a very dumb thing on Friday, hacking Cal Clutterbuck in the leg.

Clutterbuck went down like he was shot and the Wings got a 5-minute penalty that ultimately cost the Wings a point against the New York Islanders.

Detroit lost 7-6 in overtime, and I’m going to write up a recap (I’m just getting back from a Noel Gallagher concert):

Bertuzzi spoke to the media after the game, per Fox Sports Detroit:

Coach Blashill was not happy about the turn of events…

As was Henrik Zetterberg…

Here are the game’s highlights from NHL.com:

 Tyler’s 22–I get that–but he’s played a lot of hockey at the AHL level (as Zetterberg notes), and he should know better than that.

Red Wings-Islanders open post: see you after Noel

TMR readers: I’m heading out in the heavy snow to go downtown and see Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds at the Masonic Temple. The doors open at 7 PM, so I’m going to be absent from covering tonight’s game…

I’d stick around due to the snow and game, but quite frankly, I haven’t seen Noel perform in over 10 years, and even hockey bloggers have to exit the house every once in a while.

If you wish to discuss the game during or after the event, here’s an open post for your comments.

 

Red Wings-Islanders game-day updates: Greiss vs. Mrazek in goal; Boychuk may return for Isles

Of Red Wings-related note ahead of tonight’s game against the New York Islanders (7:00 PM on FSD Plus/MSG+/97.1 FM):

1. Here is the Red Wings’ Game-Day Preview video, in Twitter form:

2. New York Islanders coach Doug Weight spoke with the media prior to the game, confirming that Thomas Greiss would start in goal (opposite Wings goalie Petr Mrazek), and that the Islanders may get defenseman Johnny Boychuk back from injury:

Update: Here’s Wings coach Jeff Blashill speaking with the media:

Update #2: This Blashill quote, from Hockeybuzz’s Bob Duff, seems appropriate:

“I’ve been at some consistent teams that won consistently and the nights when we didn’t play good, we still won,” Blashill said. “We don’t have that luxury here. Those were teams that just had way more talent than our opponent in general, so we could not play great and win.

“Ten years ago, there were lots of nights here when that happened. That’s not happening now. It doesn’t mean every night we go in we have an absolute, but if we play our best hockey, I’ll take our chances all day long. I’ve got great belief, but we’ve got to play that close to the vest hockey every night.

“Most teams don’t do that. We’ve got to be different than most teams. We’ve got to be on that edge every night of playing our very best hockey. It’s a hard thing. I can go through the league and tell you Tampa has scored easy this year. There’s been lots of nights I’ve talked to their coach (Jon Cooper) where they didn’t play good and won. That’s not happening for is, so we’ve got to make sure we play as close to optimal every single night the rest of the way.”

Duff continues to discuss the Wings’ goal drought…

USA Hockey Arena in Plymouth to host Under-18 Five Nations Cup

From USA Hockey’s National Team Development Program website…

While the Olympic hockey tournament will be getting underway in PyeongChang, South Korea, there will be another huge international tournament happening in Plymouth, Michigan — the 2018 Under-18 Five Nations Tournament presented by Hines Park Lincoln with bragging rights on the line for each of the countries represented.

The tournament, which runs from Feb. 13-17, features some of the top Under-18 hockey players from the Czech Republic, Finland, Russia, Sweden and the United States. Many of the players skating in this event are eligible for the 2018 NHL Entry Draft, which will allow NHL management and scouts an opportunity to see them play on American soil.

“The Five Nations U18 tournament is a premier event leading up to the annual NHL Entry Draft,” said Ray Shero, executive vice president/general manager of the New Jersey Devils. “NHL teams and their scouting staffs use this opportunity to view best-on-best competition for players from all the top hockey countries. With USA Hockey Arena hosting the event in Plymouth, the venue provides great accessibility for all NHL organizations and fans alike.”

Continued, and the Plymouth Observer’s Tim Smith also weighed in:

Yes, South Korea might be the main focus of the hockey world beginning this weekend at the 2018 Winter Games in Pyeongchang.

But USA Hockey Arena in Plymouth also will be hosting some exciting February hockey of an international variety. The Under-18 Five Nations Tournament is scheduled to take place from Tuesday through Saturday, Feb. 13-17, with the U.S. and four other teams on the docket.

The building (14900 Beck Road) will be jammed with National Hockey League officials and scouts who will be filling notebooks with musings about dozens of players considered the cream of the crop in the 2018 NHL Entry Draft.

In addition to the U.S., the round-robin tournament will include Russia, Sweden, Finland and the Czech Republic.

“The ones who have been here for any international event know they’re fun, the games are great,” said Scott Monaghan, senior director of operations for USA Hockey’s National Team Development Program, which is based in Plymouth. “(During) the women’s world championship, the USA-Canada games just rocked.

“We hosted a Five Nations in February two years ago, that was the younger age group, U-17s. We had a fantastic final game with USA-Russia. The building was packed and it was rocking.

“This is a bigger event, because it is the last event before the U-18 World Championship, the next-to-last time the NHL teams and scouts can see all these kids. And there’s probably going to be upwards of 60 kids that are ranked in the draft from these five countries.”

Continued

Kulfan: Wings’ players bummed that they’re missing the Olympics

The NHL isn’t participating in the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea, and the Detroit News’s Ted Kulfan reports that the Red Wings’ players aren’t happy about that.

Jimmy Howard and Niklas Kronwall addressed the issue:

“The Olympics are supposed to embody the best athletes in the world, it’s a shame we’re not going to be there,” said goaltender Jimmy Howard, who was on Team USA in 2014 in Sochi. “It’s been great hockey since the pro guys have started going. It made hockey the focal point of the Olympics.”

What has made the NHL uneasy, even when sending its star players for the Olympics, is the overall cost of shutting the league for three weeks.

As the Olympics rolled on, NHL arenas went dark with no games played. Also, several high-level stars were injured, obviously hurting their NHL teams when they returned. Still, Howard would gladly do it again if given the opportunity.

“Every guy that has been able to do it would say the same thing,” Howard said. “It was special to be able to go over there, be part of the Olympics. It was an honor.”

….

“All the players still don’t quite get why we’re not there,’ Kronwall said. “The possibility of having two Olympics in Asia on top of each other, in an untapped market. We all wish we were there, but we’re not.”

Talkin’ trades?

Today we’re talking trades: CBS Detroit’s Will Burtchfield caught wind of Bob McKenzie’s remarks regarding a Mrazek-or-Howard trade…

And The Athletic’s Craig Custance suggests that a “pure hockey trade”–the kind that was suggested by Elliotte Friedman in his 31 Thoughts column, as in Justin Faulk for Andreas Athanasiou–would be useful for the Red Wings to consider:

Now, Elliotte is careful to frame it in a way that doesn’t suggest it’s been discussed, but it’s exactly the kind of deal in structure that makes sense for the Red Wings.

“I think both of those players are available for a hockey deal,” said one NHL source outside of Detroit and Carolina. “You could definitely see Carolina doing something.”

Another source pointed out that another contract negotiation with Athanasiou this offseason in a time when the Red Wings also have to get deals done with Dylan Larkin and Mantha might make a deal more of a possibility, even if Athanasiou has played his way back into management’s good graces.

“The whole team, there’s question marks,” said the NHL source of the Red Wings. “Kenny has to make room financially. He still has to sign Athanasiou. It starts all over again (this offseason).”

Custance continues (paywall), and while we’re talking in theoretical terms…

It may not come in this exact form, but these are the kind of trades the Red Wings have to aggressively pursue. Even if it’s been awhile.

I’m just not sure. I see the Wings trading Mike Green for sure, and as McKenzie suggested, Detroit won’t enter the 2018-19 season with both Petr Mrazek and Jimmy Howard on the roster, but after that?

The notoriously loyal KH appears to still have ownership’s mandate to manage the team as he chooses, and this team has been hesitant to make substantial changes on the roster for a long, long time.

I don’t know if that changes just because it sounds like a good idea.