Morning news: Tweets of note, a spiffy video and a draft prospect ranking

Of brief Red Wings-related note today:

1. According to the Detroit News’s Gregg Krupa, the Red Wings are set to make a charitable announcement on Tuesday:

2. This is pretty cool, via Michigan Hockey:

 3. Via HSJ:

4. Joe Hicketts said the following after the Grand Rapids Griffins were ousted from the playoffs, and it’s good to know that “Hicksy” feels that he can improve his skills despite having made his NHL debut this past season:

5. Finally, The Athletic’s Corey Pronman penned a tiered list of the top prospects for the 2018 draft. Here’s one of his scouting reports:

5. Quinn Hughes, D, Michigan-Big 10

Oct. 14, 1999 | 5-foot-10|170 pounds

GP: 37| Goals: 5 | Points: 29 |  Shoots: Left

Skating: 70
Puck Skills: 60
Physical Game: 35
Hockey sense: 65

Hughes was a second-team All-Star in the Big 10 this past season and is the first of his three talented brothers to become NHL draft eligible. Hughes is the best skater in the draft class, and one of the best skating defensemen I’ve ever seen at his age. He has incredible agility and ability to get up to a dangerous top speed quickly, and the power he gets from each stride is special. I’ve never seen a defenseman that can pivot from backwards at full speed to dashing up the ice like he can. He can transition the puck well due to his feet, but his great puck skills and IQ allows him to drive play. He’s not a pure dangler, but he controls the puck very well in a way that distinguishes him. He processes the game so well at both ends of the rink and is extremely creative with the puck, allowing him to make unique rushes and distributions. He controls the puck in a unique way and is very tough to dislodge due to his skating, skill and work ethic. While he can make end to end rushes, with his aforementioned smarts, he knows when to pick his spots to make a play or just make a crisp outlet. His passes are always hard and on the tape. The main drawback on him is his size, and its valid in terms of being subpar at winning battles, but his sense and feet allow him to disrupt enough plays to be useful defensively and he’s not a huge liability. His point shot could be a tad stronger, as well.

USNTDP U17 coach John Wroblewski said: “His acceleration and escapability are second to none. He has the best 1-on-1 instincts I’ve ever seen. Through the neutral zone, he darts and slashes, rarely making a poor read on when to join [the attack]. In the offensive zone, he’s like a point guard. He breaks people down and makes them look silly.”

Pronman continues at significant length…

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George Malik

My name is George Malik, and I'm the Malik Report's editor/blogger/poster. I have been blogging about the Red Wings since 2006, and have worked with MLive and Kukla's Korner. Thank you for reading!

11 thoughts on “Morning news: Tweets of note, a spiffy video and a draft prospect ranking”

  1. Pronman is one of the few I’ve heard label this draft as average. I think the lack of centres is probably a big factor in that.

    1. “My preference is for highly skilled players with upside. I look for prospects with speed, skill and intelligence. I prefer forwards to defensemen and centers to wingers. My ranking philosophy is the No. 1 goal of drafting and development is to find stars, and even a minor chance of becoming a star has significant value.”
      —- Corey Pronman

      That looks a lot like how Ken Holland has been drafting for the last decade.

      1. Speed, skill, and IQ. You think that’s been Kenny’s approach? Haven’t they specifically acknowledged that size and character were key factors. Isn’t that why they chose Rasmussen over say Villardi? When they picked Turgeon they said they liked his size and 200 foot game…then allowed Tampa to select Point who has speed, skill, high IQ, but no size.

        Pronman’s philosophy is literally the opposite of Kenny. He’s swinging for superstars while we play it safe.

        1. My bad. I forgot about those exceptions. I was thinking AA, Larkin, Cholo, Saarijarvi, Janmark-Nylen, Jarnkrok….

          Acorn, should I go on? Probably not because you don’t really have conversations about hockey you just look for dopes to agree with you.

          1. How does listing fast, skilled players prove that our draft philosophy has been rooted in speed, skill, and IQ?

            I could list a dozen more instances when we favoured size and let a smaller, skilled player slip.

            Instead, maybe we should listen to the words of our actual scouts and GM…they have repeatedly mentioned size, character, 200 foot game. So these do seem rather important to them.
            I think if you found an unbiased fan and asked them to name a franchise that emphasizes speed, skill, and IQ at the draft table…they might mention a Tampa Bay, maybe New Jersey, Nashville. Very very few neutral observers would say Detroit. But I’ll let other readers make up their own mind since you are so certain already.

          2. How does listing players with size prove that our draft philosophy has been rooted in size?

            I could list a dozen more instances when we favoured speed and let a bigger player slip.

            Instead, maybe we should look at the drafting done by actual scouts and GM…they have repeatedly speed, IQ and skill. So these do seem rather important to them.

            “But I’ll let other readers make up their own mind …..”
            Bah ha hah ahhah ah ah ah ahah ahah ah. Sure acorn, you do that. Please, let other people make up their own mind.

  2. Also if it’s speed, skill and IQ then we should be drafting either Hughes or Boqvist right? Even Dobson skates better than Bouchard. Yet we keep hearing about Bouchard. Maybe they like his SIZE!!

  3. I think every draft pick is about the whole package. Depending on the guy you like you are always passing up someone bigger or someone more skilled. That said I feel like Detroits philosophy has shifted in the last 3 or 4 drafts to get some more big guys in the system. And I think this has a bit to do with the way some of our more highly skilled guys like pulkkinen, frk, and jurco who have been good in the AHL have not made a great jump into the NHL.

    The NHL has changed from being a puck possession game (skill) to more of a speed/playing heavy type game to limit opponents space and time (which favors speed/grit; ie bigger and more NHL ready if possible). I think the wings draft philosophy has followed this change to some extent. At least up front.

    1. You know, I can’t remember the quote and whom from but in terms of drafting philosophy and building a team for the future, paraphrased “You need to be a leader not a follower”.

    2. The organization has openly stated that they are emphasizing size and character. It’s been a clear message, particularly after our “skill” guys have all flopped…Jurco, Pulkinnen, Frk, Kindl, Smith, etc…

      Hence it’s bizarre to label us as an organization that puts speed and skill first. That’s what Tampa Bay has done. They selected the small, but highly skilled and fast guys like Kucherov, Drouin, Point. Worked for them. But we do have a lot of character guys like Turgeon on the way. Yippee!!

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