This already happened this morning, but it’s worth noting, per the Red Wings:

“Red Wings Play Zone” to be unveiled at Children’s Hospital of Michigan

Ribbon-cutting ceremony at 11:30 a.m. featuring Red Wings goaltender Jimmy Howard and leadership teams from Ilitch Holdings, Children’s Hospital of Michigan and Children’s Hospital of Michigan Foundation to officially open 1,700 square foot outdoor play zone

Continue reading Red Wings opened a ‘Red Wings Play Zone’ at Children’s Hospital this morning

The Free Press’s Helene St. James interviewed assistant player developer Daniel Cleary ahead of this weekend’s NHL draft lottery, where Cleary will be sequestered behind closed doors where the lottery actually takes place.

Cleary touched upon a wide range of topics, from his position with the team to his post-career injuries:

Q: You had quite the NHL career. First-round draft pick (13th overall in 1997, Chicago), but came to Detroit in 2005 on a tryout. You turned that into nearly a 10-year stay, including three 20-goal seasons and a Stanley Cup. You finished your playing career with Grand Rapids, as a player-coach. Now you’re in player development. How have your playing days helped the transition to your new role?

A: For me, I’m a good soundboard for a lot of these guys in terms of perseverance and not giving up. I talk to our guys a lot about it. I got a tryout here, found my niche. I was so dialed in and it became a full time gig. I fully embraced the culture. I watched what Kris Draper and Nick Lidstrom and Chris Chelios and Brendan Shanahan did and thought, that’s what I have to do. We had a great run. I love Detroit, l love the Red Wings, I love being a part of it. I love this job. I want the Wings to be great again, and I am fully invested in that.

Q: Do you still play now and then?

A: No. I just had cornea transplant surgery in February. I’ve been told I shouldn’t play, because I could lose the eye with any hit. My left eye had a scratch that was bothersome for a lot of years. That was from fighting Chris Pronger in 2008. I got clipped as I was getting up. I see Pronger now and then and chuckle, wonder what I was doing. The guy is huge.

I need knee replacement surgery, two shoulder surgeries. My knee is by far the worst, but I still work out.

Continued

The Fort Wayne News-Sentinel’s Blake Sebring duly notes that Toledo Walleye goaltender Pat Nagle will be battling his former team, the Fort Wayne Komets, in the second round of the ECHL playoffs:

Pat Nagle will approach this playoff series just like he approaches everything, calm, prepared and ready. His outlook will be just like it was in October when he became the Toledo Walleye’s No. 1 goaltender after playing three seasons in Fort Wayne.

“Obviously, it’s a change of pace with new scenery this year,” Nagle said. “Anytime you are getting a fresh start somewhere, it’s always good for you to come in and be humble and do your work at the rink and try to get some victories on the weekend.”

In other words, he won’t get too excited about the Komets and Walleye rivalry. That’s simply not how he lives. He always tries to remain stable while everything else may be falling apart around him, slowing things down to give his teammates confidence.

“I’m looking forward to it,” he said. “Obviously, I think this rivalry has always been a fun one. I would say it’s two of the top teams in the league every single year, with great fanbases, great rinks to play in and the atmosphere in both of them is awesome. It’s almost unfortunate that we have to play each other so soon, but that’s just the way the seedings are.”

Continued

Update: Here’s more on the alumni match-up from the Toledo Blade’s Mark Monroe:

Nagle, who is 4-0 in the Kelly Cup playoffs with a 1.79 goals-against average, will be between the pipes against his former teammates in Game 1 of the best-of-7 series on Saturday at the Huntington Center.

Embach, who played with Nagle in Fort Wayne the last three seasons, said he is looking forward to squaring off against so many familiar faces.

“You always want to beat your buddies in everything, right? You want to have the bragging rights,” Embach said. “So I will do anything and everything I can to make sure I’m the one smiling when we go through that handshake line at the end of the series.”

The Central Division rivals are meeting for the third time in the last four postseasons, and the teams have been on a crash course to another playoff meeting throughout the year.

Division champion Toledo (105 points) and the second-place Komets (98) pulled away from third-place Cincinnati (81) and fourth-place Indy (78), then in the first round of the playoffs the Walleye swept the Fuel and the Komets needed only five games to get by the Cyclones.

In 2015 and 2017, the Walleye eliminated Fort Wayne at the same point in the playoffs, winning the division finals and advancing to the conference finals. Nagle and Embach were both on the losing end in each of those series.

Monroe continues…

Update: Also, from Toledo’s 13 ABC’s Andi Roman:

Schedule for Best of Seven Series (All Times Eastern)
• Saturday, April 28 vs. Fort Wayne at 7:35 p.m. (7:30 p.m., Fox Sports Radio 1230, BCSN)
• Sunday, April 29 vs. Fort Wayne at 5:15 p.m. (5 p.m., Fox Sports Radio 1230, BCSN)
• Wednesday, May 2 at Fort Wayne at 7:30 p.m. (7:30 p.m., Fox Sports Radio 1230, BCSN)
• Friday, May 4 at Fort Wayne at 8:00 p.m. (8 p.m., Fox Sports Radio 1230, BCSN)
• Saturday, May 7 vs. Fort Wayne at 7:35 p.m. (7:30 p.m., Fox Sports Radio 1230, BCSN) *If Necessary
• Tuesday, May 8 at Fort Wayne at 7:30 p.m. (7:30 p.m., Fox Sports Radio 1230, BCSN) *If Necessary
• Wednesday, May 9 vs. Fort Wayne at 7:35 p.m. (7:30 p.m., Fox Sports Radio 1230, BCSN) *If Necessary

CONFERENCE FINALS: Best-of-Seven Series | May 11 to May 23
KELLY CUP FINALS: Best-of-Seven Series | May 25 to June 6

2017-18 Regular Season Meetings vs. Fort Wayne
(Toledo record 2-5-1, 2-2-0 at Home, 0-3-1 at Fort Wayne)
• October 14, 2017 – Walleye lose 4-2 at Fort Wayne
• November 16, 2017 – Walleye win 6-3 in Toledo
• November 23, 2017 – Walleye lose 5-4 at Fort Wayne
• December 1, 2017 – Walleye 3-2 in a shootout at Fort Wayne
• December 6, 2017 – Walleye lose 5-2 in Toledo
• December 31, 2017 – Walleye lose 3-0 at Fort Wayne
• January 12, 2018 – Walleye win 3-1 in Toledo
• April 6, 2018 – Walleye lose 5-2 in Toledo

Walleye Notes
• Brooms out against Indy: In a series that was close (three games decided by a goal) the Walleye took care of Indy in short order, posting the first-ever sweep in Toledo Walleye history. The last time a Toledo team swept a team out the playoffs was in the 2006 Kelly Cup Playoffs when the then Toledo Storm defeated the Johnstown Chiefs three games to none in a best of five series.

• Winning series: With its win over Indy, Toledo has won at least a round in the playoffs in three of the last four years. In 2015, Toledo advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals and last year reaching the Western Conference Finals. Since the start of the 2015 playoffs, Toledo has a playoff record of 27-22.

• Leading the way: Both Kyle Bonis (3G, 5A) and Tyler Barnes (1G, 7A) are tied for the league lead with eight points each. The seven assists for Barnes is the most for any player so far in the playoffs. Christian Hilbrich is tied for the league with five goals in the playoffs. Both Austen Brassard (2G, 2A) and Simon Denis (1G, 3A) each posted four points in the series win over Indy. Goaltender Pat Nagle allowed just nine goals in four games vs. Indy for a 1.79 goals against average and a .942 save percentage.

• Welcome in a Close Friend/Foe: The closest rivals in the ECHL (106 miles from Huntington Center to Memorial Coliseum) meet for the third time in the last four years during the postseason. Toledo took the previous meetings first during the 2015 Kelly Cup Playoffs in seven games to advance to the then Eastern Conference Finals and then in five games last year to advance to the Western Conference Finals.

• Stats during the Year: Toledo finished the regular season with a record of 2-5-1 (2-2-0 at the Huntington Center and 0-3-1 at Fort Wayne), and were outscored 29-21 in the season series. The total shots were fairly even with Toledo having 236 on Fort Wayne and the Komets with 243 on Toledo. The Walleye power play was 4-31 (12.9%) against Fort Wayne during the regular season while Toledo’s penalty kill stopped 16 of 17 power plays (94.1%). The two teams finished as the top two in attendance during the regular season (Fort Wayne 7,784 and Toledo 7,600).

 

The Detroit News’s Ted Kulfan filed an article regarding the NHL’s draft lottery this upcoming Saturday (8 PM EDT on NBC), where the Red Wings will have an 8.5% chance of moving up from their current 5th overall spot to the #1 draft pick, and a 26.1% chance of landing a top three spot:

With the NHL Draft lottery taking place Saturday night in Toronto, the one large, looming question will be answered: Who gets to pick first, and the right to choose Swedish defenseman Rasmus Dahlin?

There are actually at least 10 legitimate prospects who could provide immediate help to the teams in the lottery. And that’s great. But there’s only one “franchise” player, a guy who can make a team better, quicker, and instantly turn the complexion of his team around. Meet Dahlin, a 6-foot-2, 183-pound prospect that Saturday’s draft lottery will revolve around.

“He’s the best player (in this draft), there’s nobody close,” said Craig Button, TSN’s chief draft analyst, when discussing Dahlin in recent mock drafts. “There’s nobody even in the discussion. He’s advanced beyond his years.”

So, one can see why Saturday’s draft lottery is so huge for the Red Wings. The Red Wings have the fifth-best chance of landing the first pick given their season record, with an 8.5 percent shot of winning the lottery and gaining the first pick.

Buffalo (18.5 percent), Ottawa (13.5 percent), Arizona (11.5 percent) and Montreal (9.5 percent) are the four teams with better odds than the Red Wings.

“(Dahlin) will make whichever team that wins the lottery feel a whole lot better about the miserable season that got them there,” said Jeff Marek, Sportsnet’s draft analyst, who had Dahlin as the No. 1 prospect from start to finish of the season.

There is one piece of trivia that could serve as a good omen for the Red Wings heading into Saturday. Don’t look now, but Saturday also is the birthday of Red Wings’ legendary Hall of Fame (and Swedish) defenseman Nicklas Lidstrom, who happened to add late in the season that Dahlin is more advanced at his age than Lidstrom was similar stages of their career.

Kulfan continues…

The Athletic Dallas’s Sean Shapiro penned a profile of Grand Rapids Griffins coach Todd Nelson, who may be a candidate for the Dallas Stars’ vacant head coaching position:

The Key Questions

Nelson is very highly-regarded. With three current openings (Dallas, Carolina, New York Rangers) it’s hard to fathom a scenario where he doesn’t end up coaching an NHL team next season.

But will his style translate to the NHL? That question that will come up in interviews and ultimately be answered on the ice. Players have bought into Nelson’s system throughout his career, but he’s never had a full-season opportunity to install it at the NHL level.

Teams always feel like they’re taking a risk when hiring a coach without vast NHL head coaching experience, but Nelson could be worth the gamble.

Shapiro continues (paywall)…

MLive’s Ansar Khan filed a locker room clean-out day article regarding Niklas Kronwall, who’s currently serving a role as a mentor as much as a player (though his ice time is still a bit “heavy”):

Kronwall is the ideal mentor and role model for young defensemen, Red Wings captain Henrik Zetterberg said.

“Everyone that has been in this locker room and has spent a lot of time here knows what he’s gone through the last 10 years with his body and how he battles through everything with his work ethic and how he shows the young players how to do things right,” Zetterberg said.

Said Gustav Nyquist: “My first couple of years, I’ve probably never seen anyone work as hard as him.”

Coach Jeff Blashill said he has as much respect for Kronwall as any player, calling him a long-time underrated defenseman.

“I was here as an assistant when he was in his prime (in 2011-12); he was always in the shadows of Nick Lidstrom, but he was such a two-way defenseman,” Blashill said. “He brought the physical element, he brings the offense, he’s done such a good job over the years and there’s not a better pro. Probably sometimes he does too much. There’s been times where we’ve kind of said to him, ‘Do you need to work that hard in the gym?’ He’s just got that inner drive that makes great players.”

Khan continues at length…

 

Of multimedia-related Grand Rapids Griffins note:

1. Fox 17 filed a game day report ahead of tonight’s game between Grand Rapids and Manitoba (7 PM EDT on ESPN 96.1 FM and the AHL Live), in which Todd Nelson discusses tonight’s game…

2. And the Grand Rapids Griffins posted a video in which Matt Ford discusses Games 1 and 2 of the Griffins-Moose series:

 

From the Grand Rapids Griffins tonight, ahead of tonight’s game against the Manitoba Moose (7 PM EDT on ESPN 96.1 FM and the AHL Live):

.@dcholowski27 is getting ready for his playoff debut. He’s in tonight’s lineup for Game 3 of the Central Division Semifinals against the @ManitobaMoose. #GRvsMB #GoGRG #DefendTheCup pic.twitter.com/udJPindgsd

— Grand Rapids Griffins (@griffinshockey) April 25, 2018

There’s not-so-good news as well, per the Grand Rapids Press’s Peter J. Wallner:

Axel Holmstrom did not practice for the Griffins on Tuesday, further thinning the already-thin center position. He’ll be out at least a week, coach Todd Nelson said.

— Pete Wallner (@petewallner) April 24, 2018

 

Red Wings prospect and Grand Rapids Griffins forward Dominic Turgeon spoke with the media yesterday, addressing his recovery from a blood clot caused by thoracic outlet syndrome:

The Grand Rapids Press/MLive’s Peter J. Wallner took note of Turgeon’s comments…

After the clot was removed in Texas, where the team was playing in Austin that night, Turgeon flew to Tampa, Fla where a rib was removed from his right side. Turgeon said he was told he could make a full recovery and return to play in time for training camp.

“It’s a scary thing,” Turgeon said. “Especially coming out of nowhere and just realizing that blood clots can be serious.”

After experience swelling in his arm, he told athletic trainer John Bernal who had him go in for tests.

“We went to the hospital and I’m thinking I’m going back for my pregame nap,” Turgeon said. “Then they say you need surgery right away. So, I’m getting hooked up to a machine and then a surgery an hour after that.”

Dr. Karl Illig, who performed the surgery, also successfully treated Tampa Bay Lightning star Steven Stamkos for a similar condition two years ago.

The condition occurs more often in athletes with overhead motions, such as in baseball or tennis, said Dr. Joshua I. Greenberg from Mercy Health Hospital, Saint Mary’s Campus in Grand Rapids. He has treated professional and collegiate athletes for thoracic outlet syndrome, and is also professional acquaintances with Illig.

The condition occurs when the vein between the collarbone and first rib gets compressed, he said.

Wallner continues, and he posted a video of Turgeon’s comments…

24 Hour News 8 filed a report about Turgeon…

The Detroit News’s Ted Kulfan also filed a report about Turgeon’s recovery…

Not being in the Griffins’ lineup, and getting an opportunity to defend the Calder Cup championship, is difficult.

“You work all summer, you work all year to be in the playoffs and you want to be part of it,” Turgeon said. “But when it comes down to this, it’s a life-threatening thing. I’m glad it went well.”

Turgeon said he’s “feeling a lot better” and the bruising it going away, although he will be on blood thinners the “next few months.”

The support from Griffins’ teammates has been helpful.

“We’re a real close family in here,” Turgeon said.

Turgeon made his NHL debut with the Red Wings this season on Jan. 14 in Chicago, and played five games total.

Turgeon played in 69 games with Grand Rapids, with 14 goals and 18 assists.

As did The Athletic’s Katie Strang…

Continue reading All about Dominic Turgeon’s blod clot and his recovery from thoracic outlet syndrome

From the Lapeer County Times’ Nicholas Pugilese:

Hockey fans will recognize a familiar name heading to the Mezz inside The Polar Palace on Friday. Detroit Red Wings legend Darren McCarty will be headlining a one-night-only comedy show, scheduled to kick off at 8 p.m.

McCarty will share a night of stories, laughs and an audience Question and Answer section, and after the show will participate in a full private meet-andgreet at Louie’s Sports Tavern, as well as time for selfies with audience members. McCarty will be headlining a night of comedy that will also feature Dustin Cole and the Comedy All Stars.

Tickets are $20 in advance and $25 at the door. The show beings at 8 p.m. and will run an estimated 90-120 minutes. For tickets or details, call 810-358- 7024. The Mezz is at 3301 Davison Rd., Lapeer.