Updated at 6:01 PM: The Red Wings’ beat writers filed their afternoon notebooks today, and most of them focused on acerbic forward Albin Grewe.
- MLive’s Ansar Khan discussed the bite with which the 66th overall draft pick this past weekend in Vancouver plays:
Grewe, 18, has a particular trait that could make him a fan favorite and an irritant to the rest of the league if and when he reaches the NHL.
“I like to go under my opponents’ skin, too,” Grewe said. “I like to hit my opponents. Stuff like that. It’s enjoyable. I like it.”
The Red Wings selected the 6-foot, 187-pound left-shooting right wing in the third round (66th overall), with their fifth pick, from the Djurgardens junior team. He and nine other 2019 picks are among more than 40 prospects and free agents getting instructed and educate while taking part in on-ice drills and off-ice workouts this week at Red Wings development camp at Little Caesars Arena.
It’s somehow fitting Grewe was given No. 18, the jersey worn by long-time Red Wings forward Kirk Maltby, a thorn in the side of opponents for 16 NHL seasons.
Like many Swedes, Grewe grew up idolizing Peter Forsberg. Unlike many Swedes, or anyone else outside of Boston, he is now a big Brad Marchand fan.
Djurgardens coach Robert Ohlsson referred to Grewe as “T-Rex.”
“He said it once in an interview, but now it’s a nickname for me, so it’s funny,” Grewe said.
Khan continues, and he posted a video from Grewe’s scrum interview with the press:
2. The Detroit News’s Ted Kulfan filed a notebook article which focuses on Grewe, too…
There were several scouting services which had Grewe going higher in the draft, mostly in the second round.
“It’s so fun to be here,” Grewe said. “I always watched Detroit when I was a young kid. I liked the Swedes, (Henrik) Zetterberg, (Niklas) Kronwall. I liked all the Swedes here. I was picked when I think I was going to be picked. I’m just happy Detroit picked me.”
Kronwall left a message, Grewe said, congratulating him and telling Grewe he’d like to meet him.
Hakan Andersson, the Red Wings’ director of European scouting who watched Grewe often, related a story at the draft about Grewe’s competitiveness and what he can bring to a team.
“Albin Grewe is an outstanding competitor,” Andersson said. “I can see how he pictures himself after Brad Marchand. He’s very competitive. Out of the Europeans, probably the most competitive player in the whole draft — and in many years, I would say.”
“The senior coach in Djurgarden, a top team in the senior league, one of the better ones, said, ‘I didn’t realize it until I started to look around, but every time this kid (Grewe) came up and practiced with the men’s team, the whole intensity of the practice, the physical part of the practice, would go up.’ At first, he didn’t know why. Then he realized every time this kid (Grewe) came up, he just brought the whole pace up.”
Kulfan continues, discussing Cooper Moore and Kasper Kotkansalo;
3. Hockeybuzz’s Bob Duff filed an article about Grewe, too…
“I’m a power forward, the six-foot, 187-pound Grewe said. “I like to score goals. I think I’m a great goal-scorer and I can pass to my teammates for good chances, too. I think that’s my best part. I think I have this combination of physical play and score goals.”
One aspect of his game he’s sought to rein in are his visits to the sin bin. Grewe sat out 102 penalty minutes in just 25 games last season with Djurgarden in the Swedish junior league.
“It’s a balance,” Grewe said. “I can be better there and not take stupid penalties. Sometimes it happens, but I can be better there.”
He’ll play again in his homeland during the upcoming season but the thought of being a Red Wing is dear to his heart.
“I always watched Detroit when I was a younger kid,” Grewe said. “I liked the Swedes – (Henrik) Zetterberg, (Niklas) Kronwall – all the good Swedes here, so it’s fun to be here.”
On draft day, Wings veteran Kronwall sent a congratulatory text message to Grewe.
“He said, ‘Welcome to Detroit, looking forward to meeting you,’” Grewe said.
4. As did DetroitRedWings.com’s Dana Wakiji:
Defenseman Gustav Berglund, the Wings’ sixth-round pick, 177th overall, said Grewe definitely has a reputation back in Sweden.
“He’s a competitive guy and likes to get under opponents’ skin,” Berglund said. “He likes to get opponents angry and then score some goals.”
Grewe’s coach at Djurgårdens, Robert Ohlsson, had a quote about his player that went somewhat viral last year when he said “(Grewe) is at the top of the food chain, a T-Rex, eats everything and thinks everything is under him.”
“He said it once in an interview but now it’s a nickname for me, so it’s funny,” Grewe said.
With Djurgårdens IF J20, Grewe had 13 goals and 21 assists in 25 games.
“I think I’m a great goal scorer and I can pass to my teammates for good chances, too,” Grewe said. “I think that’s my best part. I think I have this combination of physical play and score goals.”
Grewe said he plans to play in Sweden next year, most likely for Djurgårdens Swedish League team.
5. Shifting gears, Michigan Hockey’s Stefan Kubus filed an article discussing Moritz Seider’s first day at development camp…
Along with his fellow participants, Seider went through two hours of on-ice testing and shooting, providing data and showcasing his abilities for Shawn Horcoff and the Red Wings’ player development staff.
“It was first time for ice time since a couple weeks now, so it was pretty fun to be on the ice again and a really good practice,” Seider said.
“It was nice to spend another day with my family and then come to Detroit. It was such a nice welcome here.”
Horcoff said, especially for guys who travel to the draft and haven’t skated recently, it can be tough to get into the swing of things right away.
“He’s a great kid,” Horcoff said. “Obviously he’s a big kid that can skate well… especially for a guy like that that hasn’t skated in a month, coming off the draft – the guys that end up going to the draft, it’s a tough little stretch for them, so he had a good day today.”
6. And both the Detroit Free Press and Detroit News posted photo galleries from today’s development camp sessions. The Free Press’s gallery contains 7 images, and the Detroit News’s David Guralnick posted 48.
Update: The Free Press’s Helene St. James also penned an article about Grewe…
The best scouting report of this week’s development camp came courtesy of fellow draft pick Gustav Berglund, who knows Grewe from playing against him in their native Sweden.
“He likes to get opponents angry and then score some goals,” Berglund said.
Jesper Eliasson reiterated what Berglund said and followed up with, “it’s always good to have a player like that on your team.”
Grewe was home watching TV when he saw the Wings picked him in the third round, 66th overall. Soon after he received a text from Wings defenseman Niklas Kronwall welcoming him to the organization.
Grewe grabs attention for his style of play; his favorite NHLer to watch is Boston uber-pest Brad Marchand, who combines skill with tactics that earn the ire of opposing fans.
“I’ve always played as I do, and then I also watch Brad Marchand,” Grewe said. “I think I play like he do. I’m a great goal scorer, and I can pass to my teammates. I have combination of physical play and score goals.”
And the Detroit News’s Ted Kulfan wrote about defenseman Albert Johansson:
He’s only 6 feet, 168 pounds, so he has plenty of growing to do, and there’s much to Johansson’s game that needs to be polished.
But even at the draft last weekend, Hakan Andersson, the Wings’ director of European scouting, was intrigued with the young Swedish defenseman.
“I’m very excited about his talent,” Andersson said. “There was another scout that told me he thinks he (Johansson) might be the best of them all — and I kind of agree. He’s a great skater and a very good guy with the puck.”
Johansson also has the bloodlines that make him an intriguing prospect.
His father Roger played 161 games in the NHL (Calgary, Chicago), and was a successful player in the Swedish pro league.
“If he grows, it’s going to help his career more, but even right now as a 6-foot kid, he’s a very good hockey player,” Andersson said. “But he has to fill out.”
