Month: July 2018

The Detroit News’s Ted Kulfan profiles Red Wings prospect Jack Adams this afternoon. Adams stands at a lanky 6’5,” and he possesses superb goal-scoring skills, but he had a rough freshman season at Union College:

At 6 feet, 5 inches, Jack Adams, the Red Wings’ 2017 sixth-round draft pick, has it. But along with being a benefit in hockey, Adams has seen how having size can be a problem, too.

“It’s definitely an advantage, but it’s also harder than people think,” Adams said last month at the Wings’ development camp. “(People think) you’re big, you can go crush people. (When you’re playing opposing big players), you have to play more of an all-around game when you’re bigger, you have to finish your checks, be hard on the forecheck, be hard in front of the net. You can’t lose your one-on-one battles. There’s definitely more responsibility.”

Rick Bennett, the Union (N.Y.) College head coach, has been on Adams to utilize his size and strength in a positive way.

“Coach Bennett always stresses if you’re a big guy and you do something wrong, it looks worse because  you’re all over the place and you’re so much bigger,” Adams said. “But if you’re a smaller guy, you just go down. There’s definitely more responsibility. But there’s also more upside if you really capitalize on your strength.”

Kulfan’s profile continues…

DetroitRedWings.com’s Arthur J. Regner sat down with Dylan Larkin and his siblings/cousins at the Larkin Hockey School last week, and the result is a 54-minute “Red and White Authority” which includes comments from Dylan, Adam, Ryan and Colin Larkin:

No surprise here, per the Chicago Blackhawks:

The Chicago Blackhawks announced today that Hall of Famer Chris Chelios will serve as team ambassador, joining legends Tony Esposito, Bobby Hull, Stan Mikita and Denis Savard in representing the organization at events at the United Center and throughout the Chicagoland area. Chelios will be officially introduced at the Blackhawks Convention this weekend at the Hilton Chicago.

“Through multiple generations of players and fans, Chris Chelios will forever be etched into the history of the Chicago Blackhawks,” said Blackhawks Chairman Rocky Wirtz. “His contributions to our organization and the overall sport of hockey stand tall. We are proud to welcome Chris and his family back home to the United Center and we are honored to call him an ambassador.”

Red Wings swingman Luke Witkowski worked at the Great Lakes Hockey camp in Holland, Michigan last week, and Witkowski spoke with WOOD TV’s Larry Figurski about his participation in said camp.

Figurski speaks with Witkowski about playing for the Red Wings, playing for coach Jeff Blashill, the direction of the team going into the 2018-19 season and his role on the team:

 

The Free Press’s Helene St. James engaged in a Q and A with Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill this morning:

HSJ: Is there a minimum number of prospects that you need to integrate on the team for the sake of rebuilding? 

JB: I don’t know that there is a number. I think one of the big keys is that when you are a playoff team on an annual basis, the right move is that when a young player and a veteran player are tied, the tie goes to the veteran. When you are a team that hasn’t made the playoffs for two years and a young player and a veteran player are tied, I think now the tie should go to the young player. And I say that because we need different results, and part of having different results is improving internally, and that can come with new guys being in spots. So I don’t know that there is a number per se — I think it has way more to do with when guys are ready and show that type of promise, that they get the opportunities to deliver on that promise. I don’t think it’s blind hope, though. One of the things that can happen in the sports world is just because there are unknowns, people think everybody should be given opportunity. Our jobs as evaluators are to decide which guys are going to make us better and which aren’t. It’s not just blind hope. 

Continued

The Detroit Free Press has produced a list of 12 potential Detroit athletes who may become the city’s “next sports star,” and 4 of the players on Marlowe Alter’s list are Red Wings players or prospects, including #1 on the list:

1. Dylan Larkin, Red Wings forward

Age: 21.

Acquired: Drafted 15th overall in 2014.

Stats: 82 games, 16 goals, 47 assists.

Why he will become a star: He has established himself as a top-two line center in the NHL, and has been a go-to guy for the U.S. at two World Championships. He plays in all situations, makes good decisions with the puck and shows creativity. He’s a great skater, and has a high internal drive to be an elite player.

Why he won’t become a star: Can he continue to find ways to produce more?

The list continues, and Filip Zadina, Michael Rasmussen and Tyler Bertuzzi also make appearances for the Wings…

Of Red Wings-related note this morning:

1. The Russian Five film director Joshua Riehl gave an interview to the Northern Express’s Ross Boissoneau as part of the film’s debut at the Traverse City Film Festival, and Riehl addressed the sticky issue of distribution:

Riehl hopes to continue to showcase his film through as many channels as possible. With streaming, premium channels, and the ability to host films on websites, including Youtube, Riehl said there are more opportunities to release movies than just in megaplexes across the country. “There are lots of tools now to distribute. The sky’s the limit.”

The interview continues, and it’s quite good…

2. According to the Huron Daily Tribune’s Mike Gallagher, Darren McCarty will be performing stand-up comedy in Ubly, Michigan on August 4th:

Golfers at Ubly Heights Golf & Country Club, along with the public, will get the chance to find out about his comedy, as Darren McCarty’s Slapstick Comedy Tour will be coming to the Ubly Heights Golf & Country Club Men’s Invitational on Aug. 4.

“This came together with a little bit of help from the Men’s Invitational committee,” [Ubly Heights PGA Professional Dave] Hanson said. “It’s actually going to be the entertainment part of the Ubly Heights Men’s Invitational this year. We always do some sort of card game, or comedians or magicians. We did a Vegas night one year, so we try to mix it up and we decided to go with the comedians again this year.”

Hanson added: “When we called, they said that we could have some comedians or we could have Darren McCarty, who had an open weekend. So we jumped on it.”

The show will feature not only McCarty, but also a variety of other Michigan comedians, including Jason Douglas, who has opened for the likes of Dennis Miller, Ron White, Jim Gaffigan, Carrot Top and Weird Al.

“Darren has become quite the good comedian on this tour,” said Douglas. “Darren and I had a mutual friend and I said to a buddy of mine, that I thought Darren could host a comedy show and we could bring in a lot of hockey fans. He could tell some stories and we could have some pro comedians on it. Next thing you know Darren went on stage, we booked the first show and he was super funny. Since then we’ve sat down with some other comics and we do writing sessions.”

3. And finally, Dennis Cholowski engaged in a game of “This or That” during the Wings’ summer development camp:

 

 

From Western Michigan University, via MLive:

Western Michigan Hockey alums Steve Abbott and Danny DeKeyser are set to be inducted into the WMU Hockey Ring of Honor on Saturday, July 28 as part of the annual Friends and Alumni Golf Outing at The Moors.

The ceremony begins at 12:30 p.m., following registration and lunch for the golf outing. Spots are still available and fans and alumni can register by going to www.wmugolfoutings.com.

MLive’s Ansar Khan offers an update on the Dylan Larkin contract talks:

The Detroit Red Wings have one more important piece of business to take care of before training camp – sign Dylan Larkin.

They’re not concerned about it because they anticipate no problems getting it done, whether it’s finalized shortly or next month.

The Red Wings, a source said, have been pushing for five years. Larkin and his representatives are seeking six years. Chances are it’ll be in the $6 million-a-year range.

The Red Wings are comfortable locking up Larkin to a long-term deal at age 22 (on July 30) because he is more proven than other young forwards they signed to two-year bridge deals earlier this month (Anthony Mantha and Andreas Athanasiou).

Khan continues, and adds this:

Zetterberg’s status remains uncertain due to his chronically bad back, but the Red Wings expect him to participate in training camp.

According to the Grand Rapids Griffins, one of Michael Rasmussen’s teammates from the WHL’s Tri-City Americans will earn a chance to turn pro with the Griffins or Walleye this upcoming season:

GRIFFINS SIGN JORDAN TOPPING

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – The Grand Rapids Griffins on Friday signed forward Jordan Topping to a one-year contract.

Topping, 21, spent the last four seasons as a member of the Tri-City Americans of the Western Hockey League and compiled 218 points (109-109—218) and 202 penalty minutes in 243 regular season games. He totaled 17 points (6-11—17) and 20 PIM in 22 playoff contests while competing in the 2015, 2017 and 2018 postseasons. Topping was a teammate of Michael Rasmussen, the Detroit Red Wings’ first-round selection in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft, for three full seasons (2015-18).

The 6-foot-1, 200-pound winger posted career highs in points (80), goals (38) and assists (42) in 72 appearances during the 2017-18 campaign. Topping scored a team-high 38 goals – the second time in his WHL tenure he surpassed the 30-goal plateau – and tied for 20th on the circuit. He placed second on the club in points while also ranking among the team’s leaders in shots (246, T1st), power play goals (12, 2nd), assists (3rd) and power play assists (19, T3rd). Topping added 14 points (4-10—14), a plus-nine rating and 10 PIM in 14 postseason contests as Tri-City fell in six games in the conference finals.

A native of Salt Spring Island, British Columbia, Topping also spent one season with the Cowichan Valley Capitals of the British Columbia Hockey League in 2013-14, tallying 15 points (10-5—15) and 39 PIM in 51 games.

With the release of the Griffins’ 2018-19 schedule, group tickets for all home dates at Van Andel Arena are now on sale, along with 2018-19 season ticket packages. Single-game tickets will go on sale to the public on Sept. 14. Fans can secure their full-season, select-season or group ticket packages by calling (616) 774-4585 ext. 2 or visit griffinshockey.com for more information.