Month: April 2018

Walleye lose 5-3 to Fort Wayne as 2nd round begins

The Toledo Walleye lost a bizarre playoff game on Saturday night, dropping a 3-1 lead to the Fort Wayne Komets, who ultimately won 5-3 during a game in which the Komets out-shot the Walleye 36-15.

Toledo was out-shot 21-5 in the 1st period and 8-3 in the 2nd period, so the Walleye afforded the Komets a peppering of goaltender Pat Nagle. Without much support, he could only keep Fort Wayne down for so long, and the Komets now lead the second-round series 1 game to 0 going into Sunday’s rematch.

The Walleye’s website posted a recap:

Continue reading Walleye lose 5-3 to Fort Wayne as 2nd round begins

Red Wings to draft 6th in the 2018 draft

The Detroit Red Wings will draft 6th in the 2018 draft. No lottery win for the Wings.

Update: Ken Holland spoke briefly with the Free Press’s Helene St. James regarding the news:

“You’re hoping to get into top three, but you know the odds,” general manager Ken Holland said Saturday. “We’re disappointed not to get a lottery pick, but it’s a good draft. We’ll get a good player for our organization.”

Sweden’s Rasmus Dahlin is the prize of the draft, the sort of generational player who will immediately improve a team. Instead the Wings could be looking at defensemen Evan Bouchard or Noah Dobson, or perhaps forward Oliver Wahlstrom.

…

The Wings will gather their scouts for final pre-draft meetings May 5-10. The draft is June 22-23 in Dallas.

While Dahlin is NHL-ready as soon as next season, the Wings might still get a player who can come right in and contribute.

“Let’s get to training camp and see them on the ice,” Holland said. “But it would not surprise me if three or four or five players out of this draft start out in the NHL next season.”

Griffins’ Eric Tangradi suspended for Game 5 of Griffins-Moose series

From the AHL:

AMERICAN HOCKEY LEAGUE ANNOUNCES SUSPENSION

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. … The American Hockey League today announced that Grand Rapids Griffins forward Eric Tangradi has been suspended for one (1) game as a consequence of a cross-checking incident in a playoff game vs. Manitoba on Apr. 26.

Tangradi was suspended under the provisions of AHL Rule 28.1 (supplementary discipline). He will miss Game 5 of the Central Division Semifinals, Monday (Apr. 30) vs. Manitoba.

Jensen joins Larkin on Team USA’s World Championship roster

Team USA released its initial roster for the World Championship today, and Nick Jensen will join Dylan Larkin on the Jeff Blashill-coached Team USA.

 

Videos: Painting the Ice at LCA and hyping Griffins-Moose Game 5

Of Red Wings and Griffins-related video note:

1. The Red Wings posted a video chronicling their “Paint the Ice” day at Little Caesars Arena, which benefited the Detroit Red Wings Foundation…

2. And the Griffins have posted a hype video ahead of Game 5 vs. the Manitoba Moose (7 PM Monday at Van Andel Arena):

 

A superb article from Custance and more draft lottery hype (yadda yadda)

I must admit that I feel little to no excitement regarding tonight’s draft lottery (7:30 PM EDT on CBC/NBC). The Red Wings have an 8.5% chance of earning the top pick and a 26.1% chance of landing a top-three pick, but it’s more probable that the Wings will actually end up picking sixth instead of their current fifth spot, and I’m not thrilled about that.

There are some good media offerings regarding the draft and draft lottery today, with WDIV’s David Bartkowiak Jr. providing something of a draft primer, and MLive’s Ansar Khan produced a fine scouting report on the top twelve ranked skaters…

The Athletic’s Craig Custance also wrote a superb article regarding the slim probability that the Wings might land Dahlin, and it’s his words that explain why I’m trying to not be stung too hard by the high probability that the Red Wings don’t end up with the first overall pick:

“What stands out the most about Dahlin is his poise with the puck,” [Nicklas] Lidstrom wrote in an e-mail to The Athletic. “Especially playing against men in the SHL. He doesn’t seem to panic with the puck.”

He’s exactly what the Red Wings need. They need impact players. They need a top-pair defenseman. They need a young player who can play 28 minutes per night and control the course of the game. They don’t have it on their current roster. They don’t have that player in the system.

Landing him would speed up the process considerably. There’s not a compelling case for the Red Wings to pursue Tavares or defenseman John Carlson in free agency this year if they’re picking anywhere but first. But land Dahlin, and the expectation is that the Red Wings will throw their hat into those conversations. They’re not alone on this front among NHL teams.

In 2019, they’d love to be in on one of the big free-agent defensemen: Doughty, Oliver Ekman-Larsson or Erik Karlsson. Dahlin gives them a good reason to push in free agency and gives those three a legitimate reason to listen.

Custance continues (paywall), and while I fully believe that the Red Wings are going to try to bid for Carlson and Tavares (there have been indications that the Wings are interested in the latter player for a while now), it’s my job to prepare for the worst-case scenario, and every scenario in which the Wings don’t finish with Dahlin–a 91.5% probability–is worse than the best, so you’ll have to forgive me for not sharing your enthusiasm.

Walleye ready to get back to work for 2nd round series vs. Indy

The Toledo Walleye open their second-round series against the Fort Wayne Komets on Saturday night, and the Toledo Blade’s Mark Monroe spoke with the Walleye’s players and coach regarding the match-up:

Both teams had a full week of practice and time to rest after ousting their first-round opponents. Toledo swept Indy, while Fort Wayne eliminated Cincinnati in five games. But each was a hard-fought series, with two games going to overtime in each series.

“Both teams found ways to get through them to get some days off to rest. I think both teams will be very excited coming into Saturday night,” [Pat] Nagle said. “It’s almost unfortunate that we meet so early in playoffs.”

[Tyler] Barnes has a team-high seven assists, which is the most for any player in the playoffs. Forward Christian Hilbrich is tied for the league lead with five goals in the playoffs. Forward Austen Brassard and defenseman Simon Denis, with three assists, posted four points against Indy.

“It’s a different mentality,” Brassard said. “Playoffs are the time of year that really count, so it’s important to play your role and work hard and do whatever you can to help the team out.”

Fort Wayne forward Gabriel Desjardins scored two goals and had seven assists against the Cyclones, and he leads the ECHL in playoff scoring. Rookie Phelix Martineau had four goals and three assists. Goalie Michael Houser went 4-1 with a 2.56 goals-against average.

Nagle, who earned All-ECHL second-team honors in the regular season and ranks sixth in the league with a 1.79 GAA in the playoffs, said the Huntington Center and Memorial Coliseum are “equally tough” venues.

Game 2 also will be at the Huntington Center at 5:15 p.m. Sunday, with the series shifting to Indiana for Games 3 and 4 next week.

Continued, and Monroe posted a list of 3 keys to the series as well.

Prospect playoff round-up: Sambrook posts 2A in Greyhounds win

Of prospect-related playoff note:

In the OHL, Jordan Sambrook had 2 assists and finished at +3 as his Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds won 7-3 over the Kitchener Rangers. Givani Smith finished at -1 with 4 PIM for Kitchener.

Sault Ste. Marie now leads the OHL’s Western Conference Final 3 games to 2, and you can watch highlights of the game here.

Draft lottery hype and draft hype are interchangeable for Wings’ brass

Regardless of whether the Red Wings land a top-three pick in tomorrow’s draft lottery (7:30 PM EDT on NBCSN/Sportsnet for picks 15-4, 2nd intermission of Vegas-San Jose game for picks 3-1), the Red Wings’ representatives at said lottery told the Detroit News’s Ted Kulfan that the team will have the opportunity to significantly improve their stead…

Wherever the Red Wings wind up picking, it’ll be an interesting and busy weekend July 22-23 when the NHL Entry Draft takes place. The Red Wings have 11 draft picks overall, including seven in the first three rounds — two in the first round (including Las Vegas’ toward the bottom), two in the second round (including Ottawa’s) and three in the third round (including Philadelphia’s and Pittsburgh’s).

This draft, Holland said, can be considered two drafts built into one for the Red Wings, given the multiple picks in the first three rounds.

“Every draft is important, but this is an important draft for the future of the Detroit Red Wings,” Holland said.

While Dahlin is the prize catch, there are numerous prospects who could either move immediately into the NHL, or are projected to be impact players soon. Forwards Filip Zadina, Andrei Svechnikov (brother of current Wings’ prospect Evgeny Svechnikov) and Brady Tkachuk, and defensemen Adam Boqvist, Evan Bouchard and Quinn Hughes (Michigan) are some of the top players available.

Many scouts have called this one of the deepest classes in recent memory.

“There are a lot of players who could be able to step in soon and help teams,” Cleary said. “There are a lot of talented players available. This will be an exciting day for the Red Wings, and Red Wings fans. Everyone should be real excited.”

And the Free Press’s Helene St. James penned a list of some of the top prospects available in June’s draft:

D Adam Boqvist

Size: 5-foot-11, 168 pounds.

2017-18 stats: 14 goals, 10 assists for 24 points in 25 games in Sweden’s junior league and played 15 games (one point) in the top Swedish league.

Buzz: Shoots right. Skilled and creative with great vision.

D Evan Bouchard

Size: 6-foot-2, 193 pounds.

2017-18 stats: 25 goals, 62 assists for 87 points in 67 games with London (Ontario Hockey League).

Buzz: Shoots right. Reads plays well, has tremendous offensive instincts. Excellent passer. Wings are very high on this guy, if they pick second or third overall, he could be the choice.

St. James continues, and if you want to do your own research, NHL.com has posted its list of the best North American skaters, European skaters, North American goalies and European goalies.

Darren McCarty discusses “the bud,” Bettman and the Golden Knights in radio interview

CBS Sports Radio’s Scott Ferrall spoke with former Red Wings forward Darren McCarty on Wednesday night, and McCarty didn’t pull any punches regarding his post-career palliative of chose, nor his dislike for one Gary Bettman’s NHL:

“I can just tell my truth – and that’s my truth,” McCarty said on Ferrall on the Bench. “Whoever doesn’t think that marijuana is the answer for all these opioids – for me, coming from alcohol and coming from pills and stuff like this and watching guys – Derek Boogaard and Wade Belak – commit suicide, I’m not going to let that happen. So we get the word out. There is some benefits for it. It’s about living better and healthier, and I found it through the bud. Now I can medicate myself. I encourage, encourage, encourage people to get out there and get educated.”

NHL commissioner Gary Bettman must think McCarty is crazy, Scott Ferrall quipped.

“Who cares what Bettman thinks?” McCarty responded. “He ruined my game. Screw him. I’m glad I got to play earlier. What do you expect when you put a basketball lawyer from New York in charge of hockey? It was really a Canadian sort of game. Nothing against the Americans, but you could have made a better selection if you wanted to keep the game that it was, the game that we grew up with. This is a European game. This is a global game. Congratulations, it’s awesome. It’s great. But it’s not my game. It’s not your game.”

Continued, and here’s the interview: