Three things: On Liam Kirk, a Drummond Island visit to LCA and Danny DeKeyser

Of Red Wings-related note this afternoon:

1. This is more of a rumor than anything else, but there’s been chatter regarding the Detroit Red Wings as one of the suitors for draft-eligible English hockey star Liam Kirk, and that chatter has been going on for the entire 2017-18 season.

The Sheffield Steelers forward told the Sheffield Star’s Bob Westerdale that he’s been in contact with the Red Wings during the NHL’s Scouting Combine in Buffalo, NY:

Detroit Red Wings are among those monitoring Maltby marvel Liam Kirk’s credentials in an NHL assessment camp. The 18-year-old Sheffield Steeler is being tested physically and mentally by potential draft suitors in New York state.

Kirk was interviewed by the Detroit organisation, which included four-time winner of the Stanley Cup Kris Draper, a Wings’ executive. The winger said tests “went well” – they included the Y-Balance Test which checks on strength, control, and flexibility.

He explained that there wasn’t an overly competitive atmosphere among the NHL hopefuls, but he added: “Obviously everyone wants to do their best.

“It’s more about the interviews as of now and everyone is just serious for them.”

2. Justin Abdelkader hosted a group of students from Drummond Island schools today, and the Wings donated books and deck chairs to the school district:

Abdelkader spoke with DetroitRedWings.com’s Dana Wakiji about the event:

The Wings worked with the Tigers to get the group tickets to the afternoon game at Comerica Park to make it a full day of fun.

“I try to put myself in their shoes and it’s always tough. But gosh, to have the opportunity to come here in the locker room, get the tour of the brand new facility, to meet a Red Wings player and then gosh, I never went to a Tigers game until I was in high school,” Abdelkader said. “Just for the opportunity to come down and spend a full day here in Detroit, it’s special that they’ve taken the time and commitment to come down here. It’s just really exciting that a reading program like this can stretch as far as Drummond Island. To know that we have a ton of support up there and between the Red Wings and the Michigan Education Savings Program, we can send some things back with them, so I think that will be exciting for them to use.”

Wakiji continues…

3. And finally, the Detroit News’s Ted Kulfan posted an article about Danny DeKeyser’s importance to the upcoming season’s Red Wings defensive corps:

With the Wings expected to get even younger next season – particularly on defense, with prospects Joe Hicketts, Filip Hronek and Dennis Cholowski not far away, and one or two openings likely – DeKeyser’s veteran presence becomes increasingly vital.

Despite missing the playoffs the past two seasons, DeKesyer believes the Wings aren’t far from the playoffs.

“In today’s game there’s not a whole lot difference,” said DeKeyser, of playoff and non-playoff teams. “If you swing some of those one-goal games and score a few extra goals here or there, get your special teams working a little bit better, it can make a big difference.”

DeKeyser understands the need for a rebuild, and an influx of young players on the roster.

“We missed the playoffs the last two years, you have to look at it like that,” DeKeyser said. “You have to do something, mix things up a bit. It’s not fun for sure when you have to watch other teams play for a Stanley Cup. Our goal is to try to get back there next year and try to give ourselves a chance to get back into the playoffs.”

Kulfan also continues…

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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, when MLive hired me to work their SlapShots blog, and I joined Kukla's Korner in 2011 as The Malik Report. I'm starting The Malik Report as a stand-alone site, hoping that having my readers fund the website is indeed the way to go to build a better community and create better content.

2 thoughts on “Three things: On Liam Kirk, a Drummond Island visit to LCA and Danny DeKeyser”

  1. Isn’t it awesome that there’s a decent prospect from BRITAIN? I’m 23 now and hopefully I live to see the NHL draw talent from ever more countries. I don’t care if the players are Canadian/American if it means if we have 3-5 McDavid caliber players in the league at once.

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