Month: June 2018

NHL.com’s draft experts offer suggestions for Wings’ 6th, 31st(?) picks

NHL.com’s Adam Kimelman, Mike G. Morreale and Guillaume Lepage offer their takes on the first round of the NHL draft on June 22nd, making triple picks for each and every one of the teams with 1st round picks, including the Red Wings.

The trio expect the Wings to pick either Quinn Hughes or Evan Bouchard at 6th overall…

6. Detroit Red Wings

Kimelman — Quintin Hughes, D, Michigan (BIG10): His ability to control the game far exceeds any questions about his size (5-9, 170). He’s a dazzling skater and puck-handler with a hard, accurate shot from the point. The Red Wings should be able to stay in-state to fill a major organizational need.

Morreale — Evan Bouchard, D, London (OHL): The big (6-2, 193) right-shot defenseman tied for seventh in the OHL with 87 points (25 goals, 62 assists); he’s the first defenseman to finish in the top 10 in the league since Ryan Ellis of Windsor in 2010-11 (101 points, tied for fourth). David Gregory of NHL Central Scouting said Bouchard is “the prototypical new-millennium defenseman” NHL teams want.

Lepage — Hughes: Although he has a few shortcomings, mostly his defensive play, he has the potential to become a star. Red Wings fans will appreciate his on-ice vision and instincts.

And the trio are split into thirds regarding the Wings’ options with the 30th or 31st pick (depending on whether the Vegas Golden Knights win the Stanley Cup):

Continue reading NHL.com’s draft experts offer suggestions for Wings’ 6th, 31st(?) picks

ECHL’s announces “protected lists” for teams: Walleye protect mix of North American, European-playing players

The ECHL allows its teams to protect non-free agent players who the teams wish to retain, and here’s the Toledo Walleye’s protected list:

Simon Denis, Jared Wilson, Trevor Hamilton, Ryan Obuchowski, Kevin Lohan, Beau Schmitz, Parker Reno, Jamie Doornbosch, Scott Czarnowczan, Jacob MacDonald, Kyle Bonis, Austen Brassard, Tyler Barnes, Colin Jacobs, Connor Crisp, Mike Embach, Charlie O’Connor, Christian Hilbrich, Shane Berschbach, Alden Hirschfeld, A.J. Jenks, Dane Walters, Tyson Spink, Tylor Spink

As you’ll note, some of the Walleye’s protected players are skating in Europe or elsewhere, so the Walleye are attempting to retain their rights should players like Simon Denis, Kyle Bonis or the Spink brothers return to North America.

Update: Here’s more information from the Toledo Blade’s Mark Monroe:

Continue reading ECHL’s announces “protected lists” for teams: Walleye protect mix of North American, European-playing players

Toledo Walleye coach Dan Watson exploring opportunities at AHL level

The Toledo Blade’s Mark Monroe reports that Toledo Walleye coach Dan Watson is exploring possible coaching opportunities at the AHL level:

After two successful ECHL seasons as head coach of the Toledo Walleye, Dan Watson has thrown his hat into the ring for several coaching positions at the higher level American Hockey League.

Watson confirmed he has been in talks with several AHL teams regarding vacant coaching positions, including an open spot with Toledo’s fellow Detroit Red Wings affiliate in Grand Rapids.

“Everyone has personal goals they want to achieve,” Watson said. “My personal goal is to be a head coach or assistant coach in the NHL. My goal is to coach at the highest level possible.”

Watson has been with the Walleye organization since its inception in 2009, first as an assistant before becoming head coach in 2016.

The former Toledo Storm defenseman led the Walleye to regular-season conference and division championships the past two seasons. Watson has led Toledo to the Kelly Cup playoffs in both of his seasons, taking the team to the Western Conference final series his first year and the second round in 2017-18.

Watson said he has the full support of team officials.

“It’s exciting that Toledo [officials] allow us to venture out and explore opportunities. We’re very fortunate to have that support,” Watson said. “As of today, I’m still the head coach of the Toledo Walleye.”

Monroe continues…

Grand Rapids Griffins to announce new coach at 11 AM Tuesday

Per the Grand Rapids Press’s Peter J. Wallner:

The Grand Rapids Griffins apparently will be without a coach for less than a week.

The team announced Monday that the next coach of the Griffins will be introduced at a press conference 11 a.m. Tuesday.

Detroit Red Wings assistant general manager Ryan Martin, who leads in direction of the Griffins, will introduce the new head coach at the press conference at Van Andel Arena.

The announcement will be live streamed.

Todd Nelson, who was the coach the past three seasons, announced Thursday he had accepted a position as assistant coach with the Dallas Stars.

Tweets of note: A 10-year Cup anniversary and Gordie’s NHL farewell

Of Twitter-related note this morning:

 

WOOD TV’s “exit interview” with Todd Nelson

WOOD TV’s Larry Figurski conducted an “exit interview” with Grand Rapids Griffins coach Todd Nelson (who’s taken an assistant coach’s job with the Dallas Stars and new coach Jim Montgomery’s staff), and the 8-and-a-half-minute long clip was aired on Sports OT last night.

According to Nelson, it was his decision to leave the Red Wings’ organization despite the assistant coach’s vacancy in Detroit. Nelson felt that he needed a fresh start:

 

Two things: Khan on the Wings moving up in the draft; Ouellet’s future likely lies elsewhere

Of Red Wings-related note this morning:

1. MLive’s Ansar Khan answered reader questions in a mailbag article, and Khan answered a couple of draft-related questions:

Q: Do the Wings plan to look for a lot of trade-up opportunities at the draft and use extra picks to move up? – Tom

A: They will try. They would like to move up to No. 3 for a shot at right wing Filip Zadina or No. 4 or 5 to get defenseman Evan Bouchard. If they do trade up or down it would happen during the draft on June 21 and of course depend on what transpires ahead of them.

What would it take to move up? At minimum, in addition to swapping the No. 6 pick, the Red Wings surely would need to relinquish their other first-round selection (30 or 31, depending on whether Vegas wins the Stanley Cup) or one of their second-round picks (No. 33 or 36).

Khan continues, and this is a situation where Ken Holland will have to do his due diligence to determine whether the teams ahead of the #6 pick will go for Bouchard. I hope that the Wings stand pat and draft whoever’s available at #6, but I could easily see the team moving up to 4th or 5th.

2. DetroitRedWings.com’s Arthur J. Regner penned a “By the Numbers” examination of Xavier Ouellet’s 2017-18 season, and Regner was particularly candid regarding Ouellet’s future:

Once the year concluded, he requested a trade and Detroit is seeking to accommodate his request. It has long been speculated the Red Wings have been trying to move Ouellet since the middle of last season but received lukewarm interest.

Whether the Wings can deal Ouellet is iffy. He is in the second year of a two-year, $2.5 million contract and most teams may feel a cap hit of $1.25 million is too high for a player who has been relegated to spot duty.

A likely scenario could be Ouellet getting optioned to Grand Rapids. He will go through waivers and if he isn’t claimed, he will begin next season as a Griffin.

If Ouellet is in Grand Rapids, only $225,000 will count against the Wings salary cap.

Regner continues, and Ouellet’s always been a good soldier, so I hope that the Wings can find him another home.

The Fourth Period reiterates Wings trade talk

You may take the following rumors from The Fourth Period for what you will:

The Detroit Red Wings could have an active month as the club is expected to be active in the trade market and may be willing to trade the sixth-overall selection in the NHL Draft.

With seven draft picks in the first-three rounds of the draft, the Wings could utilize some of those picks in trades for immediate help on the roster.

Red Wings GM Ken Holland entertained trade calls for forwards Gustav Nyquist and Luke Glendening during the season and could revisit those discussions later this month. But the possibility of trading the No.6 pick in the draft could change things for the franchise.

“I’m open to possibly move,” Holland told Craig Custance of The Athletic, as quoted by Sportsnet. “I’ve started to talk to some teams about a lot. As you work your way toward Dallas at the draft, draft movement possibilities, I think at this stage in the game, everybody is kicking tires as to what might be out there.”

The Wings have roughly $17.5 million in available salary cap space, to date, but with the cap increasing, they’ll have more room to play with. A number of pending restricted free agents are due to major deals, including Dylan Larkin, Anthony Mantha and Andreas Athanasiou, but the team will have plenty of room to tinker with the rest of its roster.

Detroit needs a backup goalie, a stronger defensive corps – re-signing pending unrestricted free agent Mike Green may be a possibility – and adding extra fire power up front is a priority.

I honestly don’t expect the Red Wings to move up or down in the draft as they’ve got a good choice of defensemen to pick in Bouchard, Hughes, Dobson or Boqvist.

I wouldn’t be totally surprised if Nyquist is dealt, but the problem with these draft-related trade rumors is that they start at the combine, foment and ferment on their own, and reach a fever pitch by the draft, and so few of them reach fruition…

As for the possibility of adding up front, or on defense, I’d be quite happy if the Wings trod lightly regarding Mike Green and just let re-signing Athanasiou, Bertuzzi, Frk, Larkin and Mantha remain the team’s priorities up front.

All of that being said, TFP is pretty well-connected…so we shall see what transpires later this month.

Afternoon news: Hits, goals and Hughes

Of Red Wings-related note this afternoon:

1. AWood40 posted a clip of the Red Wings’ best “hits and fights” of the 2017-18 season:


2. The Free Press’s Helene St. James spoke with top draft prospect Quinn Hughes regarding his experiences with Wings personnel at the World Championship:

Hughes, 18, is a dynamic skater and puck transporter, assets he showed off at the World Championship under Wings coach Jeff Blashill and alongside Wings players Larkin and Nick Jensen. Hughes held his own among men, and played in every game through a final victory over Canada. From the start, Blashill was clear about what was expected.

“There was an open line of communication, for sure,” Hughes said. “He stressed what he wanted from me and everything like that, so it was good for me to listen to him and learn and try to get better and try to improve my game and try to apply that. I think I did a good job with that. From game one, I thought I was pretty good, to game 10, I thought I was twice the player. From Game 10 to 82 or something like that, when you’re under a coach like him, I think my game can get even better.

“The players were unbelievable and the coaching staff was unbelievable. I can’t say enough about the whole experience, just the way they brought me under their wing. I just tried to soak up everything I could.”

Continued…

3. The Grand Rapids Griffins posted video clips of Eric Tangradi and Joe Hicketts’ 2017-18 goals:

 

Via KK: A Seattle-related rumor regarding a front office friend for KH

Via Kukla’s Korner, the Toronto Sun’s Steve Simmons makes quite the assertion tonight:

Mark Hunter will have at least two options available when mid-July hits and he’s available to join another NHL team. Lamoriello has interest in him with the Islanders. But word around now is that Detroit GM Ken Holland would be able to offer Hunter the same job he had in Toronto with a promise of being the next GM of the Red Wings. Holland, apparently, has serious interest in being involved with the Seattle expansion team, which would open the door for Hunter.

Simmons’ hockey notes continue, and I really don’t know what to make of the assertion. Holland is the company man in an organization of company men, but he’s over 60 and we know he’s “looking for a friend” in the front office.

I’m not sure he’d jump to the Seattle team simply because it’s close to home (Vernon, BC) because he wants to see out the Wings’ rebuild, but one never knows for certain what lurks in the hearts of GM’s.

All of that being said, the Red Wings’ organization has seen talented and intelligent front-office personnel leave the braintrust for years, and it would be lovely if the Wings were able to lure a bright person into the fold.