Month: October 2018

The Detroit Red Wings hit the ice just before 3 PM for an afternoon practice at Little Caesars Arena, per DetroitRedWings.com’s Dana Wakiji…

#RedWings Daley on the ice before practice with many of the other players. Ericsson also skating. pic.twitter.com/xLN5tEixxE

— Dana Wakiji (@Dwakiji) October 2, 2018

#RedWings Kronwall not on the ice for practice.

— Dana Wakiji (@Dwakiji) October 2, 2018

The Detroit News’s Gregg Krupa…

Continue reading Tweets from practice: Wings prepare for opener minus Kronwall

The Detroit Red Wings are announcing the details of activities surrounding Thursday’s home opener against Columbus:

Red Wings announce details for Home Opener at Little Caesars Arena
Hockeytown Red Carpet Walk returns for third-straight season. Pregame party with live music and entertainment in Chevrolet Plaza for ticketed and non-ticketed fans. Warm-up jerseys to be auctioned to benefit Detroit Red Wings Foundation. Hockeytown merchandise & matchup pucks available in the team store. Augmented reality through The District Detroit mobile app and exciting giveaways planned for Home Opener.

DETROIT – The Detroit Red Wings today announced details surrounding the team’s regular season Home Opener, presented by Coca-Cola and Meijer, on Thursday, Oct. 4, against the Columbus Blue Jackets at 7:30 p.m. at the award-winning Little Caesars Arena (FOX Sports Detroit / 97.1 The Ticket).

Prior to the game, the Red Wings will hold the third annual Hockeytown Red Carpet Walk, in which current players and alumni walk a red carpet through Chevrolet Plaza to enter Little Caesars Arena prior to the game, giving fans an opportunity to cheer on the team up close before the puck drops on the 2018-19 season. Before, during and after the Hockeytown Red Carpet Walk, Chevrolet Plaza and the plaza outside the Meijer entrance will host a pregame party featuring interactive games, live music and food and drinks for both ticketed and non-ticketed guests.

Fans in attendance at the Home Opener will also have the opportunity to purchase exclusive Hockeytown merchandise and Official Matchup Pucks at the Little Caesars Arena Team Store, collect giveaway items, experience the immersive opening show announcing the 2018-19 Red Wings roster and much more. Additionally, in conjunction with the Home Opener and running through Nov. 30, Red Wings fans can win exciting prizes through the new augmented reality experience within The District Detroit mobile app, presented by Coca-Cola.

Limited seats remain for the Home Opener. Tickets can be purchased in The District Detroit App, online at www.DetroitRedWings.com, at the Little Caesars Arena XFINITY Box Office, or by calling the Red Wings Ticket Sales and Service Office at 313-471-7575.

Continue reading Red Wings announce details of activities surrounding home opener

This may sound campy, but I really respected the fact that the Red Wings’ players and coaching staff preached a, “We’re dedicated to getting back to the playoffs” message during training camp and the exhibition season.

While it might sound a little loony to fans that have watched the team under-perform for the past two seasons, no professional athlete should approach a new campaign expecting to stink, and I certainly appreciated the veracity and sincerity of the players’ comments…

Even though I’m realistic in framing the Wings’ chances of making the playoffs as a little long.

The Detroit News’s Ted Kulfan examines the factors which may help the Wings make a “run for the playoffs” this upcoming season, and his most basic reasons are the most logical means for improvement:

Dominate one-goal games: The Red Wings lost 27 of 37 one-goal games last season — 14 in regulation, 13 in overtime or shootout (10-14-13).

If they can get that number closer to .500, and add eight or nine points to the win column, that would be a huge start in climbing back into the playoff race.

Increased offense from the likes of Athanasiou, Larkin, Mantha, and production from the rookies, should help. But, the Wings can’t afford any slippage defensively while thinking offense.

Improve on special teams: Neither the power play or penalty kill was good enough last season. For any hope of the playoffs, both units have to improve dramatically.

The power play continued to be a disappointment, ranking 24th, forcing the team to replace assistant coach John Torchetti with former Penguins head coach Dan Bylsma.

The Wings did score nine shorthanded goals, but the unit struggled badly, somewhat because of injuries, and ranked 23rd in the league.

Playoff teams, generally, have both units in the top-10, meaning there’s plenty of work to be done.

Kulfan continues…

FYI: The AHL’s new streaming service, “AHL.tv,” is offering a free preview during the AHL’s 2018-19 season-opening weekend, which includes a pair of away games for the Grand Rapids Griffins:

Watch opening weekend for free on AHLTV

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. … The American Hockey League today announced that its brand-new streaming platform, AHLTV, will officially launch with a free weekend of AHL games to begin the 2018-19 season.

All 27 games on the league schedule from Oct. 5-8 will be free on AHLTV to anyone with an AHLTV account. No subscription or purchase is necessary to open an AHLTV account; visit theahl.com/AHLTV to sign up.

The AHL’s opening weekend begins with nine games on Friday night including the debut of the league’s newest team, the Colorado Eagles. The AHLTV freeview continues with 14 games on Saturday and three more on Sunday, and concludes with a Canadian Thanksgiving matinee: the Toronto Marlies’ Calder Cup banner-raising home opener.

Continued…and the Griffins play the Texas Stars on Friday at 8 PM EDT, and then they play the San Antonio Rampage on Saturday at 8 PM EDT.

Amongst the news tidbits of note this afternoon (back to work, we go):

1. The Hockey News’s Jared Clinton issues a prediction in noting the Wings’ most likely milestone-marking player for the upcoming season:

DETROIT RED WINGS: The coming campaign is likely to be Jimmy Howard’s last in a Red Wings uniform. Before that time comes, though, Howard has the opportunity to become the third netminder in Detroit’s history with 500 games played. He’s at 461 games played entering the season, and if he appears in at least half the games in 2018-19, he’ll join Chris Osgood and Terry Sawchuk as the only 500-game goaltenders in Red Wings history.

2. ESPN’s Chris Peters suggests that Gustav Nyquist is the player most likely to be traded by the trade deadline in March…

Peters: Gustav Nyquist. The Red Wings know where they’re at and where they’re going, especially this season. They’re building a nice prospect pool and could potentially bolster that by shopping Nyquist as a rental. The pending unrestricted free agent has a lot of speed and has shown to be productive when put in good situations. A contending team that needs some scoring depth might be willing to pay a premium as the trade deadline nears, while the Red Wings clear the way for some of their youngsters to take more substantial roles late in the season.

(I happen to believe that Nyquist will be dealt as well)

3. And yes, I’m officially back to work after a week-and-a-half’s worth of illness. The mom and aunt are feeling better as well, and I’d be doing a little better if I wasn’t running on two hours of sleep…but the first day back to work tends to go a little wonkily.

The Free Press’s Helene St. James and Jeff Seidel make Red Wings 2018-19 season predictions today. From St. James:

Best-case scenario: Young players show growth, team looks competitive but comes up a goal short most games. Wings miss the playoffs and luck out in the draft lottery to get the first overall selection. Hello, Jack Hughes.

Worst-case scenario: They win just enough games to squeeze into the playoffs only to get ousted in the first round, depriving them off a shot at the draft lottery. They need at least one more high-end player to nourish the rebuilding effort.

Leading scorer: Dylan Larkin should lead the Wings in points if he improves his power-play production. Anthony Mantha leads them in goals, flirting with the 30-goal mark.

Best rookie: Michael Rasmussen. He’s 6-foot-6 and thrives around the net. He’s only 19, but level-headed and unlikely to get rattled as he adjusts to NHL level.

Continued

 

The Red Wings’ AHL and ECHL affiliates opened their training camps on Monday, and the Toledo Blade’s Mark Monroe checked in with the Toledo Walleye:

[Defenseman Matt] Register put on a Walleye jersey for the first time Monday as the organization opened its 10th training camp. The Calgary native was one of six defensemen who Watson put through their paces at the Huntington Center, along with 14 forwards and three goaltenders.

“The first day today, I was impressed,” Register said. “There was speed. There was good execution. They have a great track record here. It’s a winning culture.”

Five players in the Walleye’s training camp were assigned to the team from its NHL parent club in Detroit.

Forwards Jordan Topping, Dylan Sadowy, and Bryan Moore as well as goaltenders Pat Nagle and Kaden Fulcher all were in preseason camp with the Red Wings.

Fulcher, 20, led the Hamilton Bulldogs to an Ontario Hockey League title last season. The first-year pro appeared in 55 regular-season games for the major junior hockey team last regular season.

“First off, [Toledo is] a pretty unbelievable place to play,” Fulcher said after practice. “I’ve heard from the guys just how special it is here and how good the fan support is. It’s first class. It’s well run. Everyone is on the same page. I’m really excited to be here.”

Monroe continues, and the Walleye signed a player yesterday, too:

Continue reading Meanwhile, in Toledo, training camp is underway

Toledo Walleye captain Alden Hirschfeld has retired, and he’s heading behind the bench:

We’re extremely excited to welcome @AldenHirschfeld to our coaching staff for the 2018-19 season. ?? pic.twitter.com/4rajqB4UVc

— Toledo Walleye (@ToledoWalleye) October 2, 2018

Per the Toledo Blade’s Mark Monroe:

Walleye forward and Sylvania native Alden Hirschfeld has been forced to hang up his skates after playing in 200 games for his hometown team.

Hirschfeld, a Northview High School graduate, played for five seasons for Toledo’s pro hockey team and served as the Walleye captain the last two seasons.

 

The Detroit Red Wings made a good choice in deciding to send Filip Zadina to the AHL’s Grand Rapids Griffins this past weekend.

There’s no shame in the fact that Zadina needs to shake off some of his Quebec League tendencies and desire to do all the work himself instead of simplifying his game and relying more upon his teammates.

Making the jump from Major Junior hockey to the NHL is incredibly difficult, and needing more time to adjust is not a failure on Zadina’s part.

Just as importantly, the Grand Rapids Griffins are going to be fairly stacked this year, providing Zadina with an environment in which he can lean upon talented teammates and near-peers as Zadina embarks upon his pro career.

The Grand Rapids Press’s Peter J. Wallner spoke with Zadina at Griffins practice yesterday…

Continue reading Talking about Filip Zadina as the Griffins open camp

The Athletic’s Max Bultman discusses the Red Wings’ 2018-19 season’s expectations this morning, wondering, “What would success look like” for this year’s team:

This season will begin with largely the same, rebuild-centric pillars — success measured by progress more than playoffs, and by prospects as much as the present.

But there is one key difference. A year ago, Detroit still had the unfortunate distinction of being the oldest team in the league. That was out of sync with its rebuilding status, and it was going to have to change before anything got better.

This year, it should. Three rookies, all under the age of 23, have made the team out of camp. A couple of older players were signed in free agency, but an infusion of younger talent should be enough to get the age alignment in order.

That’s a success before the games have even begun. Once that happens, the definition gets a bit more broad.

Continued (paywall)…