Month: April 2018

The Athletic’s Craig Custance penned a lengthy article regarding Michael Rasmussen this morning, discussing Rasmussen’s wrist surgery, the impact the incredibly serious, studious Rasmussen has made upon the Wings’ coaching staff and front office, and Rasmussen’s play in the WHL playoffs, where he’s posted 14 goals, 15 assists and 29 points over the course of only 12 playoff games.

Custance reached out to Jason Smith, the coach of a team that Rasmussen’s Tri-City Americans defeated in the Kelowna Rockets, and Smith gave Rasmussen a thumbs-up:

“Whether you call it hockey IQ or game management, awareness and vision, the players who can transfer the quickest and give themselves the best opportunity to grow and become players at the next level quicker than the rest are the ones who have that knowledge of the game,” Smith told The Athletic.

Rasmussen showed Smith that hockey IQ with his adjustments on the fly, and his ability to be a factor in all aspects of the game. It was the little things, like having a good stick after a lengthy shift in the defensive zone to knock the puck down and get a clear, or creating offense off the rush with a smart pass in the offensive zone.

“You can look at vision with the puck,” Smith said. “Being able to process the next play at a pace where you don’t have to double clutch and stickhandle the puck three times to make the pass.”

For him, the turning point in his assessment of Rasmussen’s game was Game 2 of that first-round series. Every time Kelowna got a goal, it was Rasmussen and Geekie who seemed to answer.

“Whether it was 5-on-5 or the power play, they found a way,” Smith said. “He’s an elite player.”

Custance continues (paywall)…

Of Red Wings-related note this morning:

1. The Wings posted a video in which Carley Johnston explains Saturday’s draft lottery:

2. The Detroit News’s David Guralnick posted a 12-image photo gallery and a 1:42 elapsed-time video of fans painting the ice at Little Caesars Arena on Thursday,  with donations benefiting the Detroit Red Wings Foundation:

At the end, the Wings Zambonied the ice clean, which is a bummer.

3. And in case you were wondering why the Grand Rapids Griffins won’t be able to use Van Andel Arena for their series against the Manitoba Moose, which re-starts with Monday’s 5th and deciding game, the Grand Rapids Press’s Peter J. Wallner explains the situation:

Why the long wait between games? Grand Valley State and Davenport have the arena reserved for commencement ceremonies

Update: Here’s a fourth thing, from the Detroit Free Press, regarding the distribution of the Russian Five film:

“The Russian Five” will continue its festival run through the summer and is exploring options for distribution while looking into creative ways to bring the film to fans. Sign up for email updates at the film’s website.

The Grand Rapids Griffins defeated the Manitoba Moose 3-0 last night, and Jared Coreau was excellent in stopping the 25 shots that he faced. As the Grand Rapids Press’s Peter J. Wallner notes, Coreau rebounded from his difficult stint with the Red Wings in a big way:

“When you go to the NHL and come back here, you get confidence,” he said. “You played at a faster level. I was there for six weeks. The shots are quicker and you just see the plays a lot more clearer down here.

“You just have to be ready. Tom was playing real well and that’s why he started the series and, hey, things just work out that way. And when you’re called upon, you have to do your job.”

Coreau didn’t face more than nine shots in any period as the defense gave him clear sight lines or absorbed the shots up front. Non-shots are a big deal for any goalie.

“Every time they do it I get excited,” Coreau said. “I mean, it’s hard. It hurts. They have way less gear then us. So, I take a lot of pride in playing with guys that do that every night.”

Wallner continues…

 

Can you handle an hour-and-a-half of Ken Holland. DetroitRedWings.com’s Arthur J. Regner hosted the Red Wings’ GM on the Red and White Authority podcast, and Holland spoke with Regner for 9 seconds short of 90 minutes:

Detroit general manager Ken Holland joins us on Episode 58 of The Red and White Authority. Holland covers a wide range of topics as he lays out his vision of #RedWings hockey.

Listen: https://t.co/7qPYlYCEXH pic.twitter.com/JLJQcwsiGX

— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) April 27, 2018

Of prospect-related playoff note:

In the OHL, Kaden Fulcher stopped 17 of 18 shots as his Hamilton Bulldogs won 2-1 over the Kingston Frontenacs, winning the OHL’s Eastern Conference Championship and the Bobby Orr Trophy via a 5-game series win.

The Bulldogs will await the winner of the Kitchener Rangers-Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds series, which is tied at 2 games apiece.

You can watch highlights of the Bulldogs’ win here;

Elsewhere, in the WHL, Michael Rasmussen was actually held off the scoresheet for the first time this playoff run, finishing at -1 with 1 shot in his Tri-City Americans’ 3-1 loss to Everett.

Tri-City now trails the WHL’s Western Conference Final 3 games to 1, with a possible deciding game on Saturday…

And no, it’s not probable that, should Tri-City lose on Saturday, that the Wings would have Rasmussen pack his bags for Grand Rapids in time for Monday’s Game 5, but stranger things have happened.

 

 

The Red Wings’ other developmental affiliate, the Toledo Walleye, will be taking on the Fort Wayne Komets in the second round of the ECHL playoffs, and the Toledo Blade’s Mark Monroe suggests that the ECHL’s best rivalry will take center stage Saturday at the Huntington Center:

Like clockwork, two storied and successful franchises with extremely loyal fan bases will lock horns when Toledo once again squares off against Fort Wayne in the Kelly Cup playoffs.

The Walleye and Komets are meeting in an ECHL divisional final for the third time in the past four postseasons. The blue-collar cities have pro hockey teams steeped in tradition, dating to the middle of the 20th century.

The rivalry resumes at 7:35 p.m. Saturday in Game 1 of the Central Division final series at the Huntington Center.

Toledo forward Kyle Bonis, who has been part of the past two playoff series against Fort Wayne, said the familiarity between the teams adds more intensity to the do-or-die nature of postseason hockey.

“It’s special,” Bonis said. “We’ve had some history and some great tests and great battles with Fort Wayne. So that leads to a lot of excitement.”

In what has developed into the best rivalry in the ECHL, many fans from each side make the hour-and-a-half trek to invade the opposition’s home rink. The franchises are the closest teams in the league, with just 106 miles separating the Walleye’s downtown arena from Fort Wayne’s Memorial Coliseum.

“Two cities within close proximity where both fan bases can travel to cheer on their team makes for an intense rivalry,” Toledo coach Dan Watson said. “I think the rivalry has escalated recently due to the recent playoff series and the fact that each team continues to battle for division titles each season. If you had drawn it up at the start of the year, both of the fan bases would have wanted this to happen.”

Monroe continues…

Updated 6x at 12:30 AM: I’ve given my “long take” on the Grand Rapids Griffins’ 3-0 win over the Manitoba Moose: here are the players, coach and media’s takes on the game, starting with post-game audio:

Jared Coreau pitched a 24-save shutout, and he discussed his performance and that of the players in front of him during his interview:

Griffins captain Matt Ford was measured in tone despite carrying his toddler son on his back during his post-game presser, discussing his goal and the leadership displayed by the Griffins’ core players:

Ben Street also scored for the Griffins, stepping up in a big way as he, Ford, Colin Campbell and Eric Tangradi were sometimes double-shifted, and Ford addressed the physical nature of the series in his post-game comments:

And Grand Rapids Griffins coach Todd Nelson was satisfied with the result but well aware that the Griffins have to win a winner-take-all Game 5 on Monday. The delay between games, due to concerts at Van Andel Arena, may give some Griffins time to heal from nagging injuries:

Recap-wise, here’s the Canadian Press’s “quick take“:

Continue reading Grand Rapids Griffins-Manitoba Moose Game 4 recaps and round-ups

The Grand Rapids Griffins attempted to stave off elimination from the Calder Cup playoffs as they faced the Manitoba Moose on Thursday evening in Game 4 of the teams’ 5-game first-round series.

Manitoba led 2 games to 1 going into the evening’s festivities, and was going for a series-clinching 3rd win; Grand Rapids’ hopes of repeating as Calder Cup champs was on the ropes, and the Griffins had to respond with sharper, smarter, more physically efficient hockey against a Moose team that got the Griffins’ “goad” in Wednesday’s 6-3 loss.

On Thursday night, Grand Rapids responded in a massive manner, winning a tightly-contested battle 3-0, thus tying the series at 2 games apiece. The winner-take-all Game 5 will be played on Monday at Van Andel Arena.

Matt Ford, Ben Street and Brian Lashoff (empty net) scored the Griffins’ goals, and Jared Coreau pitched a 25-save shutout.

Continue reading Grand Rapids Griffins-Manitoba Moose Game 4 Long Take: Griffins win 3-0 to tie best-of-5 series at 2 wins apiece

Via the Grand Rapids Press’s Peter J. Wallner on Twitter, the AHL appears to have picked a player out of last night’s scrums between the Griffins and Moose and chosen to suspend him:

AHL announces suspension

I had a “snerk” moment when Grand Rapids Griffins coach Todd Nelson suggested that it took a close observer of the Griffins to see that defenseman Filip Hronek can be an agitator.

Hronek’s 2-minute slashing penalty plus 10-minute misconduct in the 3rd period of last night’s 6-3 loss to the Manitoba Moose was indicative of a combative personality that Hronek’s displayed since he first came over to North America, if not before, and his various scraps and skirmishes with a Manitoba Moose team that was clearly targeting #13 were part of the bargain…

As Nelson told The Athletic’s Katie Strang, however, when one of the Griffins’ most talented offensive defensemen is being pulled off his game and goaded off the ice, that’s not necessarily a good thing:

After the game, a 6-3 loss that swung the best-of-five playoff series in Manitoba’s favor, 2-1, Griffins coach Todd Nelson was not pleased.

It didn’t help matters that Hronek took another penalty in the second, an unsportsmanlike conduct minor at 12:56 with the Griffins trailing 4-3.

“I like the emotion, but I don’t like the tradeoff,” Nelson said. “I’d rather see him on the ice.”

Nelson made this a point of emphasis for the 20-year-old blue-liner, a 2016 second-round pick and one of the team’s top prospects at the AHL level, telling him on Thursday why he needs Hronek to be able to navigate the delicate balance better than he did the night prior

“I said I need you on the ice. I can’t have you for 14 minutes in the penalty box. So we talked about it,” Nelson said of the conversation he had with Hronek on Thursday. “That’s something that everybody goes through. And it’s a good learning experience for him. He’s a smart kid. He’ll bounce back and play the right way. But I don’t want him to lose any of that nastiness inside of him. That’s what makes him great.”

Strang continues (paywall), also speaking with Daniel Cleary and Griffin assistant coach Bruce Ramsay regarding Hronek’s learning curve…