Month: September 2018

Khan on Rasmussen’s attempt to make the Wings’ roster

MLive’s Ansar Khan discusses Michael Rasmussen’s attempt to make the Wings’ roster as a 19-year-old rookie:

Rasmussen, the Red Wings’ top pick in 2017 (ninth overall), will be in the lineup for Wednesday’s preseason opener against the Pittsburgh Penguins at Little Caesars Arena (7:30 p.m., Fox Sports Detroit).

“I feel good. I got to bring it to another level for preseason and I’m just excited to get that going,” Rasmussen said. “I got a lot of opportunity. I’m just ready for whatever games they give me. The more the merrier. It’s exciting.”

The Red Wings broke training camp Tuesday and will play eight preseason games in a span of 11 days. Coach Jeff Blashill told media at Centre ICE Arena that Rasmussen will skate on a line with Joe Veleno, the 30th pick this year, and Justin Abdelkader on Wednesday.

Blashill said Rasmussen, 19, improved as camp progressed and is more comfortable at wing, where he excelled for Tri-City in the WHL playoffs (16 goals, 33 points in 14 games) and also for the Red Wings in the Prospects Tournament. A natural center, the Red Wings want him to transition to the NHL at wing, where he won’t have quite the same defensive responsibility.

“Ras will get a chance, first earn a spot on the team and then earn those minutes in exhibition,” Blashill said.

Continued

 

 

The Athletic’s Proman talks ‘Under-23 cores’

The Athletic’s Corey Pronman ranked each and every one of the NHL’s 31 teams’ “under-23 cores” this morning, and here’s what Pronman had to say about the Red Wings:

12. Detroit Red Wings

U23 Core: Dylan Larkin, Filip Zadina, Anthony Mantha, Joe Veleno, Michael Rasmussen, Filip Hronek, Jonatan Berggren, Tyler Bertuzzi, Dennis Cholowski, Evgeni Svechnikov

The Red Wings’ first rebuild in a long time is underway. They’re going in the right direction and have added a lot this past summer to go with a top young center in Larkin, but they still have a ways to go before they rank among the top teams in the league. Many of their top young talents are still prospects but, for guys like Zadina and Rasmussen, we might see soon how they perform in the NHL.

Continued (paywall)…

A bit about Tyler Bertuzzi, top-line forward

Red Wings forward Tyler Bertuzzi enters his sophomore season with the Red Wings filled with confidence and a pair of superb linemates in Anthony Mantha and Dylan Larkin. The Detroit News’s Ted Kulfan discussed the plucky forward’s presence on what will be the Wings’ top line:

“You have three real good players, you have good pieces in the sense that Bert is an F-1 (first forward) on the forecheck, and he’s a net-front guy,” [coach Jeff] Blashill said. “That allows the other two- not that they’re not hard on the forecheck — but it allows them to use their skill. Bert is a special player. He thinks the game at a high, high level. He’s got real good talent, and Bert’s got a chance to be a real good player. Putting them together can make a real good line.”

While Mantha can also go to the net and be a factor, Bertuzzi’s net presence allows Mantha to roam and use his shot.

“Mantha has learned the net is a spot where if you get to a lot,  you’re going to score some easy goals,” Blashill said. “Having Bert there allows some flexibility for Mantha to use part of his skill set, which is a real good shot, too.”

Bertuzzi signed a 2-year contract worth $2.8 million ($1.4 million salary cap hit) in June. But don’t think for a second that Bertuzzi is content.

“I’m going to take it the same way I was did out of juniors, just go work hard and earn your spot (in the lineup),” Bertuzzi said. “I’m just going to take it day by day and kind of take what I learned from last year and put it into this year.”

Continued

Bultman on Thomas Vanek, filling a leadership void

The Athletic’s Max Bultman discusses Thomas Vanek’s mentoring ability as a player who can step up in that department on and off the ice given Henrik Zetterberg’s retirement:

“I think just playing with a player that’s so highly skilled like him just makes the game so much easier,” [Andreas] Athanasiou said Saturday. “When the puck’s on his stick, kind of don’t have to worry too much, and know that it’s going to be in the right spot.”

Athanasiou may now be further along the NHL development curve than he was a couple years ago, but adding him back with a player of this caliber could really help bolster his production, especially as he inherits more responsibility elsewhere. While defense could be an issue in pairing the two, this is about taking a player with gobs of offensive potential and pairing him with someone who can truly help maximize it.

And that’s before we’ve even really gotten to [Filip] Zadina. It sounds like they’ll play together during some of the preseason, and if the Red & White game was an indication, the draw of that combination should be clear.

“Vanek creates scoring chances all over the place, it’s just what he does, so when you play with him you end up getting a lot of scoring chances,” [coach Jeff] Blashill said after the game. “And Zadina has consistently finished. I think there’s more to his game than just scoring goals, but I think he’s somebody that’s been billed an excellent goal scorer and he’s done that so far. It was an unreal play by Vanek and AA, but at the end of the day someone’s gotta put it in the net, and he put it in the net.”

Continued

Custance: NHL won’t take issue with the Zetterberg deal

According to The Athletic’s Craig Custance, the NHL will not take issue with the Red Wings’ ability to place Henrik Zetterberg on the Long-Term Injured Reserve despite having previously investigated Zetterberg’s so-called “back-diving” contract:

In Zetterberg’s case, [NHL deputy commissioner Bill] Daly said the NHL investigated the 12-year Zetterberg contract when it was signed in 2009 to get out front of any concerns.

“We wanted to understand the motivations, what was discussed, everything about that,” Daly told The Athletic. “We were ultimately very satisfied that there was no precooked deal that after ‘Year X’ he was going to leave, go into retirement and the club is going to get a benefit because of that.”

So now, nine years later, when the outside protests arise, the league has that groundwork to point to if there are any skeptics among the Red Wings’ rivals.

He also said that likely won’t be the end of the NHL’s work on this front.

“We don’t question it by any means,” Daly said of the back injury that has led to Zetterberg’s early retirement. “We know he’s been suffering and it’s been a significant issue for a number of years going back to the Olympics. He couldn’t even participate in the Olympics. You know it had to be a serious injury. I have no doubt to the bona fides of the situation. But will we (investigate) to make sure we check the boxes? Probably.”

Continued (paywall)…

 

Audio from the 5th day of the Red Wings’ training camp ’18: Smith, Rasmussen, Blashill

The Red Wings wrapped up training camp in Traverse City today, and as a result of the team’s desire to get the heck out of dodge, we received limited media availabilities.

Givani Smith spoke with the media earlier this morning, discussing his anticipated role as he prepares to turn pro with the Grand Rapids Griffins, as well as his ability to play net-front on the power play, which he hopes to do during the exhibition season:

Michael Rasmussen speaking for nearly 3 minutes is a lot of time for “Ras” as he speaks quickly, and Rasmussen made sure to emphasize that he does not plan on heading back to the WHL this season, instead focusing on earning a job with the Wings (a task which I believe he will accomplish):

Finally, coach Jeff Blashill spoke with the media, discussing the challenges of the exhibition season, the “tweaks” Vanek and Zadina suffered, his desire to get Hronek and Cholowski working as quarterbacks on the power play and more:

Update: Here are some short Twitter videos from the Red Wings, as well as a Tweet of note:

A discussion of the ‘state of USA Hockey’ as evidenced by the Stars and Stripes Showdown

Sports Illustrated’s Alex Prewitt wrote an article regarding last month’s “Stars and Stripes Showdown” in Plymouth, Michigan, suggesting that the Dylan Larkin-organized exhibition game displayed the fine state of hockey in the United States:

Partway through pregame warmups for the Stars & Stripes Showdown, the summer exhibition that he helped organize to honor the late USA Hockey executive Jim Johannson, Dylan Larkin remembers surveying the star-studded scene in Plymouth, Mich., and remarking to himself, simply, “Holy crap, look at these guys out here.”

At first, the Red Wings forward was simply relieved that his peers were all there. Scores of calls, texts and meetings had dovetailed toward the sold-out event on Aug. 26, seven months after Johannson died of heart failure at 53. A live auction would be held. Tickets for autograph sessions would be sold. Proceeds would either benefit grassroots hockey programs, or help send Johannson’s two-year-old daughter Ellie to college. And Larkin, as a native of nearby Waterford and graduate of the national team development program, had volunteered to make sure the talent showed up.

Once those initial nerves were quelled—“I was like, ‘Thank god everyone’s here, it’s happening,’”—Larkin began to internalize the names of those skaters buzzing around USA Hockey Arena.

Continued

 

Red vs. White Game’s linesmen taken aback by NHL speed

The Cadillac News’s Martin Vieau spoke with the gentlemen who were invited to work as linesmen during Sunday’s Red vs. White Game in Traverse City:

“It was very, very, very fast-paced,” [Ryan] Pendrick laughed. “Being a linesman, you know where to be at the other levels. When (the Wings) were coming down the ice and the dumping the puck in, they give you a nod and you stay there. They blister the puck down the ice and it scares the crap out of you.”

[Evan] Kornacki worked a Red Wings event on Friday at Centre Ice, as well, and said the speed is something to behold.

“It took me a couple of minutes to get used to it,” he said. “You just stay where you are and they can put the puck wherever they want. It’s just crazy.”

And, of course, there’s being on the ice with the Red Wings.

“It was kind of a surreal moment for me,” Kornacki said. “I grew up watching them. The fact that I skated with them and with one of my best friends growing up was pretty cool.”

Continued

Blashill on ‘roster flexibility’

The Traverse City Record-Eagle’s Jake Atnip filed a notebook article discussing Justin Abdelkader’s decision to return to the team from paternity leave to get in the flow of training camp, the Wings’ goaltending situation and its player personnel flexibility:

The Red Wings have more open roster spots heading into the preseason than many years past.

The organization is looking toward young players and some veterans to lend some flexibility to their lineup and change some looks they will give in the early going.

Prospects like Filip Zadina, Michael Rasmussen and Dennis Cholowski figure into that equation and Blashill likes the idea of having players to change up the pace.

“I think the more players that are either really good or elite type players and are guys that you can trust, the more flexibility you have,” Blashill said. “You can look for mismatches the more players that are at your disposal. It creates a more competitive environment where lines are competing for ice time. We have set up the teams to give the young guys the opportunity in those first couple exhibition games to see how well they run the power plays and how well they execute.”

Blashill noted veterans Thomas Vanek, Tyler Bertuzzi and Abdelkader as players who can play both ways and create mismatches for the Red Wings

Continued