Month: July 2019

Of note from The Athletic this morning:

1. The Athletic’s Max Bultman takes part in a thought exercise today, considering what the Red Wings’ lineup might look like in 2022-2023:

There was a moment at the Red Wings’ development camp last month when Moritz Seider, Joe Veleno, Jonatan Berggren and Robert Mastrosimone were all introduced together before a scrimmage at Little Caesars Arena. All of them were first- and second-round picks from the two most recent NHL Drafts, and two more such picks — Filip Zadina and Jared McIsaac — probably would have been out there, too, if both hadn’t been withheld due to injury.

These types of scrimmages happen everywhere in the NHL. But in Detroit, a sight like that means just a little bit more right now. The Red Wings have missed the playoffs three years running. Draft day has become the most important date on the calendar. The future is everything.

So when fans get to see that collection of talent finally play together, it’s understandably exciting. It’s a reminder that all this waiting really should pay off someday.

This article is about that “someday.”

Continued (paywall)

2. And The Athletic’s Bill Shea, formerly of Crain’s, wrote a remarkably thorough article discussing the public funding of sports stadiums as it applies to the lessons learned from the construction of Joe Louis Arena, the Palace of Auburn Hills and Little Caesars Arena:

The owners of the Red Wings had quietly worked on getting a replacement arena for Joe Louis and by 2012 those efforts bore fruit when the state approved a bond deal on the city’s downtown development agency to finance a new building. Municipal bankruptcy, which likely would have killed a publicly financed arena deal in any other city, didn’t slow Detroit’s new facility. The financing happened outside the traditional city government by using an economic development property tax already on the books for downtown landowners. The team owners would pick up less than half the construction cost, which fell outside of the overall national financing trend.

“It looks extremely distasteful in most cities outside of Detroit to hand over billions of dollars to billionaire owners and millionaire players while laying off public workers,” said [Holy Cross’ Victor] Matheson, the sports economist.

Shea continues at extensive length (paywall)

Stuff you can only post when it’s your own blog: a sentence with a link to a website and no actual content on yours.

Mickey Redmond spoke to Michigan Sports Now’s John Bucek prior to serving as the grand marshal of Traverse City’s Cherry Royale parade earlier this month, and MISportsNow.com posted a non-embeddable 6:45 video of Mickey talking about the parade, Steve Yzerman’s return to the team as the Wings’ GM, the rebuilding timeline given the Wings’ youth movement and the tumult taking place in the Eastern Conference, his opinion as to when Dylan Larkin will assume the captaincy, and Jeff Blashill’s job as a player development catalyst.

Updated at 6:57 PM: WXYZ’s Brad Galli posted two superb video interviews with Dennis Cholowski and Givani Smith after the players participated in the Red Wings’ youth camp today, and the Free Press’s Helene St. James also spoke with Cholowski regarding his later-season demotion to the Grand Rapids Griffins:

Cholowski was back at Little Caesars Arena on Monday to help out with the Wings’ youth hockey camp, and addressed his rookie season.

“Having to go down to Grand Rapids was a disappointment a little bit; I guess it would be for anybody,” Cholowski said.  “In order to play you have to be good defensively and then that generates the offense. So I’m working on the D-zone and hopefully I take those things I learned into camp this year.

“Just the d-zone stuff, fishing the puck out my net, basically is the biggest thing.”

Cholowski played 52 games with the Wings last season and had a team-worst plus-minus of minus-20. He said he’s focused on getting better at reading plays and “sensing danger — just knowing when to pull out and when to jump in. It’s kind of a balance and in order to play at the highest level, you have to have that.”

St. James continues

Update: The Detroit News’s Ted Kulfan also spoke with Cholowski:

Cholowski played in 52 games with the Wings, with 16 points (seven goals, nine assists) and an eyebrow-raising minus-20 rating, a signal of poor defensive play.

With Grand Rapids, Cholowski played 25 games with 12 points (all assists) and an even plus-minus rating.

It was his defensive play that led to Cholowski’s demotion. He was getting lost in coverage too often, the confidence was slipping, and opponents were outmuscling him around the net.

“In order to play you have to be good defensively,” said Cholowski, of the message sent to him upon his demotion. “That generates the offense. Just working the defensive zone and taking the things I’ve learned (last season) to camp this year.”

Continued

The NHLPA posted a set of videos in which Ted Lindsay discusses various topics pertaining to the creation of and qualities necessary to win the Ted Lindsay Award as the NHLPA’s MVP, and today, they wrap up their series with a video in which Lindsay discusses the topic of “fearlessness”:

Here are the other videos in the series:

Continue reading NHLPA wraps up its ‘Ted Takes’

Of disparate Red Wings-related note this afternoon:

1. Pro Hockey Talk’s Adam Gretz listed a set of “power rankings” encompassing levels of “on the hot seat” status for the NHL’s 31 GM’s, and he suggests that Steve Yzerman sits somewhere far removed from such a discussion:

• Steve Yzerman, Detroit Red Wings. This will not be an easy rebuild, but it will be an extensive honeymoon period.

2. The Free Press’s Gregg Levinsky posted an article discussing what NHL experts are saying about the Red Wings’ off-season moves, including the drafting of Moritz Seider:

Moritz Seider

Contract: 3 years, entry-level 

Last year’s stats: 29 games, 2 goal and 4 assists with Adler Mannheim (Germany) 

What they’re saying: “Steve Yzerman’s first draft as Red Wings GM went relative well for a guy who was armed with double-digit picks at his disposal. Overall, he could have done better, but he also picked up a half-dozen quality prospects with legitimate potential for NHL success. Although his weekend began with his surprising selection of big-bodied puck mover Mortiz Seider at sixth overall, Yzerman went on to overdraft another physical presence in Finnish blueliner Antti Tuomisto (35th).” — Sporting News’ Steve Kournianos

“Still, you can’t help but wonder: could the Red Wings have traded down in the draft and still gotten their guy in Seider? Sometimes, it’s not just about judging the quality of draft selections, but also “reading the room” and managing assets properly. At this very moment in time, the Red Wings opened themselves up to a ton of questions.” — NBCSports’ James O’Brien

3. Finally, the Red Wings posted a slightly hammy video in which Alec Regula, Jack Adams and Ryan Kuffner played, “What’s In the Box?”

Update: The Griffins posted something of a blooper reel as well:

WXYZ’s Brad Galli spoke with Red Wings prospect defenseman Dennis Cholowski and forward Givani Smith as both players coached at the Wings’ Youth Camp today.

Galli presents in-depth interviews with both subjects:

Two things, except in Twitter form:

1. Centre ICE Arena will begin its online sale of Red Wings prospect tournament and training camp tickets on Tuesday at 10 AM EDT:

Tickets for @DetroitRedWings Training Camp and NHL Prospect Tournament go ON SALE TOMORROW at 10 am! Online Ticket Sales Only. You can indicate your seating preference on your order. Visit this link for details: https://t.co/pmaVZBsnU5 @RedWingsCamps @CentreICEArena pic.twitter.com/UMjKErhxTz— Centre Ice Arena (@CentreICEArena) July 15, 2019

2. And the Red Wings’ youth hockey camp began today, with prospect Givani Smith taking charge of the kids participating in camp:

Day 1 of #RedWings youth camp underway! Coach @givanismith24 checking in. #ForTheKids #LGRW pic.twitter.com/DKzQ1khlXH— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) July 15, 2019

Coach @givanismith24. ? pic.twitter.com/58PySFq70j— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) July 15, 2019

#RedWings athletic trainer Piet Van Zant running the youth campers through some off ice. #ForTheKids pic.twitter.com/dJFRr70p1V— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) July 15, 2019

Talked with Red Wings forward Givani Smith today at @LCArena_Detroit.

He says this year, he is confident it’s his time. He believes he’s going to make the Red Wings roster.— Brad Galli (@BradGalli) July 15, 2019

Update: FYI:

The 2019-2020 @ushl season schedule has officially arrived.

Check out the in-state battles between @USAHockeyNTDP and @MuskegonJacks, as well as some other highlights.

? | https://t.co/0YwbkcLpmI pic.twitter.com/TpCd6Md83N— MiHockey (@MiHockeyNow) July 15, 2019

Hockeybuzz’s Bob Duff ponders the possible playing locations for Moritz Seider this upcoming season:

Unlike the majority of prospects in the Detroit system, there are a number of options available to the 6-foot-4, 207-pound Seider. The most obvious, of course, would be that he comes to training camp with the Wings in the fall, knocks everyone’s socks off and makes the big club.

If not, Seider could be assigned to AHL Grand Rapids. He was selected by the OHL’s Owen Sound Attack in the CHL Import Draft, so that’s another possibility but a remote one at that. If he goes there, under CHL rules Seider could not be recalled to the pros until the conclusion of his junior campaign.

He can go with the status quo and return to play in the Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL) with Adler Mannheim, the team he played for last season. They are defending league champs. Seider is currently back in Mannheim training with the team, and seems to favor this option if he’s not going to be with the Red Wings next season.

Duff continues, and I’m fairly certain that Seider will play with Mannheim for one more season.

Boston University Today’s Rusty Gorelick and Brian Kelley discuss the Boston University Terriers hockey team’s six NHL-drafted freshmen this morning. The Terriers’ freshman class includes two Wings prospects:

Robert Mastrosimone

Detroit Red Wings, second round, 54th-overall pick

Mastrosimone, ranked 55th in the Hockey News predraft prospect rankings, comes off a prolific year with the Chicago Steel of the USHL, where he finished second on the team in points, with 60 (31 goals, 29 assists). The NHL website calls him one of the most underrated prospects in the draft in its recap of day five of the NHL Scouting Combine. The East Islip, N.Y., native can play across the front line, and his new coach touts his offensive ability.

“BU’s an awesome school, an awesome hockey program, and I’m so excited to get in there,” Mastrosimone says.

…

Ethan Phillips

Detroit Red Wings, fourth round, 97th-overall pick

Mastrosimone’s future BU and Red Wings teammate Ethan Phillips was the other BU draftee who did not play for the NTDP, but he helped his USHL team, the Sioux Falls Stampede, to the league championship. The right winger had 43 points in 50 regular season games and 5 five points in 6 six playoff games. The Red Wings selected Phillips with the 97th-overall pick. O’Connell says Phillips will give the team a threat on the right side while also providing offensive versatility and a great competitive nature.

Continued

The Free Press’s Helene St. James posted an article in which she examines the “hits and misses” of the Red Wings’ amateur scouts between drafts 2008 and 2017:

6. F Tyler Bertuzzi

Age: 24.

Drafted: 58th, 2013

Has a special blend of skill and and in-your-face style; he’s effective around the net and in the corners. Coming off a 20-goal season, he ranks 30th in draft class with 71 points in 128 games. 

7. D Filip Hronek

Age: 21.

Drafted: 53rd, 2016

This second-rounder (acquired from Arizona in Pavel Datsyuk contract trade) is emerging as top-four material with potential to be a significant factor offensively. Ranks fourth among defensemen in his draft class with 23 points in 46 games (everyone ahead of him has played at least 100 games). 

St. James continues, and I’m a little confused as to what the arbitrary dates coincide with (they span both the Jim Nill/Joe Mcdonnell draft administration and the Tyler Wright administration), but her article’s interesting nonetheless.