Month: September 2020

A little reminisce about Pavel Datsyuk, courtesy of Sportnset’s Fox

At some point, you have to let go of a player. We are incredibly lucky as hockey fans to be loaned daily access to fantastically-talented athletes over the courses of their tenures with our favorite teams, but one-team guys are rare, and when they leave (or retire), they’re no longer “yours.”

So I’ve let go of Pavel Datsyuk. Pavel missed some of last season while skating for his hometown team, Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg, in the KHL, and, at 41, he looked to finally be succumbing to the double-whammy of age and injuries.

Datsyuk’s been a KHL’er for five years now, and Sportnset’s Luke Fox noted that Datsyuk is still going at 42…And he’s experienced a renaissance of sorts, at least in the points category, a year after Datsyuk battled his way through an ankle injury:

Pavel Datsyuk found the net in his 250th career KHL game this week and already has three points in the three games for Yekaterinburg Automobilist.

Incredible. At age 42, he can still conjure magic.

These Tweets come courtesy of Fox, and they make me nostalgic for the days when “Pavel and Hank” were the “Eurotwins,” not playing in Central Russia and running a sandwich shop in southern Sweden, respectively.

I also thought of Datsyuk when Nathan MacKinnon won the Lady Byng trophy for his gentlemanly play last night, and I guess I’m just a bit wistful today. Datsyuk hasn’t been a Red Wing for a long time, and things are just different now. For the Red Wings, for Red Wings player personnel, for their fans, and in the world.

So we move on, but we can always smile when we think about the days when we were graced with players’ immediate presence.

NHL.com profiles 2020 draft prospect Marco Rossi

NHL.com’s Mike G. Morreale profiles a possible Red Wings first-round pick this morning, discussing Austrian forward Marco Rossi. Rossi is ranked 6th among North American-based skaters (per NHL Central Scouting’s rankings), and NHL.com’s draft profile of the 5’9″ Rossi, who turns 19 on September 23rd, reads as follows:

• Led the OHL and all players in the Canadian Hockey League (OHL, QMJHL, WHL) in assists and points with 39-81—120 in 56 GP in 2019-20

• OHL’s Most Outstanding Player of the Year in 2019-20 – just the second European import player to win the award

• Named an OHL First Team All-Star at the conclusion of the 2019-20 season

• Ranked 2nd among OHL rookies in 2018-19 with 29-36—65 in 53 GP

• His father, Michael Rossi, was a defenseman who played 20 seasons of professional hockey in Austria from 1992-93 to 2010-11

• Can become third Austrian national to be selected in the first round of the NHL Draft: Thomas Vanek (No. 5 in 2003) and Michael Grabner (No. 14 in 2006)


Scouting Report: Highly skilled offensive player. An excellent skater that plays at a high pace. High-end goal scoring and playmaking ability. Works hard in all three zones and plays a very determined, aggressive game. A huge asset on both special teams. Game-breaking ability.

Current Player Comparable: Brad Marchand

As mentioned, Rossi is a little older than most prospects (he was born 8 days after the birth date cutoff for the 2019 draft), so some pundits argue that Rossi dominated play among a younger set of competitors in the OHL, but his status as a superb all-round athlete (who nearly chose a pro tennis career instead of hockey) draws praise.

Morreale profiles Rossi as someone whose intangibles may echo those of New Jersey Devils forward Nico Hischier:

Continue reading NHL.com profiles 2020 draft prospect Marco Rossi

Roughly translated: Hronek shakes off rust with Mountfield HK

Red Wings defenseman Filip Hronek will patrol the blueline for Mountfield HK of the Czech Extraliga this fall. After Friday’s 4-1 exhibition game loss to Karlovy Vary, Hronek spoke with Hokej.cz’s Martin Voltr and Mountfield HK’s Jan Bruna (as well as Voltr, who’s working double duty here) regarding his play and his outlook as the Extraliga’s regular season approaches.

What follows is roughly translated (Czech doesn’t translate well to English) from the first article by Voltr, which is fairly straightforward, and overlaps the Mountfield HK article:

Continue reading Roughly translated: Hronek shakes off rust with Mountfield HK

Wakiji discusses Wings prospect Seth Barton’s progress

If the Red Wings have a “stealth prospect,” UMass-Lowell defenseman Seth Barton is that player.

As DetroitRedWings.com’s Dana Wakiji notes, the 6’3,” 185-pound defenseman has slowly developed into a two-way defensive prospect with some offensive aplomb, and, after reviewing significant figures from Barton’s 2019-2020 campaign, she speaks with Wings director of player development Shawn Horcoff regarding Barton’s upside:

Quotable: “I think Seth played some real good hockey toward the end of the year. Not that he didn’t at the start of the year, I just think he really, really kind of got himself dialed in and was playing really, really good solid hockey at the end of the year. He’s a good defender, he’s got good size, he can skate. I think one thing is the offensive side of his game is starting to come a little bit more, he’s getting more pucks to the net, he’s jumping up in the play more, becoming more of a well-rounded defenseman. But he’s relied upon at UMass for big minutes. He’s only in his sophomore year, he’s got two more years of eligibility yet. I know he wants to have a big summer this year and hopefully have a big year next year and make a decision.” — Shawn Horcoff, director of player development and assistant director of player personnel

Continued; Barton hasn’t been able to replicate his 33-points-in-44-games campaign with the BCHL’s Trail Smoke Eaters during two college campaigns, but I keep hearing that the young defenseman’s skating skills and late-blossoming status make up for his lack of statistical dominance at the NCAA level.

A quick note about the Ted Lindsay Foundation’s golf outing, and items available in an online auction

The Ted Lindsay Foundation is holding its main fundraising event, its annual golf outing, on Monday, September 14th at the Detroit Golf Club.

If you’re interested in hockey memorabilia, they’ve also got a selection of jerseys, photos, crafted products and a Mackinac Island getaway up for auction online. Some of the products include items signed by Mr. Lindsay before his passing.

NHL announces revised dates for 2020 draft, start of free agency

Per the NHL:

Round 1 of the 2020 #NHLDraft will begin at 7 p.m. ET on Tuesday, Oct. 6, with remaining rounds and the opening of free agency to follow later that week. https://t.co/sGx3MEYDh5 pic.twitter.com/4Ur9TRR9Pe— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) September 11, 2020

NEW YORK (Sept. 11, 2020) – The National Hockey League announced today the dates for the 2020 NHL Draft as well as the opening of free agency:

The 2020 NHL Draft will be held virtually over two days. Round 1 will take place at 7 p.m. ET on Tuesday, Oct. 6. Rounds 2-7 will begin at 11:30 a.m. ET on Wednesday, Oct. 7.

Free agency will open Friday, Oct. 9, at 12 p.m. ET.

Roughly translated: Hyping Hronek’s Czech Extraliga debut

Red Wings defenseman Filip Hronek will be making his Czech Extraliga debut as Mountfield Hradec Kralove plays Karlovy Vary in a season-opening game today, and Hokej.cz’s Martin Voltr set the stage for Hronek’s debut. What follows is roughly translated from Czech:

Continue reading Roughly translated: Hyping Hronek’s Czech Extraliga debut

Roughly translated: For Albert Johansson, hockey success is ‘all in the family’

Red Wings prospect Albert Johansson spoke with Hockeysverige.se’s Ronnie Ronnqvist regarding his hopes of repeating or exceeding his father’s NHL successes. What follows is roughly translated from Swedish:

Continue reading Roughly translated: For Albert Johansson, hockey success is ‘all in the family’

Tweet of note: CATCH charity auctioning off several Wings-related items, including a round of golf with Mickey Redmond

Fox Sports Detroit posted a Tweet of charitable note yesterday evening:

This year’s CATCH “Night of Champions” online auction offers several Red Wings-related items up for bidding, including Red Wings jerseys, autographs, and a round of golf with Mickey Redmond. Bids are open from now until September 16th.

A bit of Torey Krug scuttlebutt

If you happen to be interested in the contractual future of one Torey Krug, an unrestricted free agent-to-be who happens to also be a Livonia native, Boston Bruins GM Cam Neely had this to say about Krug’s future with the Bruins, per WEEI’s Scott McLaughlin:

Speaking to the media via Zoom on Thursday, team president Cam Neely said the Bruins “love” Krug and what he’s turned into for the team, but also said he understands Krug’s desire to see what else is out there if Boston can’t meet his asking price.

“I understand the player’s side,” Neely said. “Being a player, you certainly understand where a player’s head’s at at times. I don’t begrudge Torey, if we can’t work something out that makes sense for him and his family, I do not begrudge him for looking to see if he can get a better deal elsewhere.

“We love Torey. We love what he’s brought to the organization both on and off the ice. He’s turned into a fabulous leader for us. But at the end of the day, both sides have to do what they feel is right, us for the organization and Torey for him and his family.”

Both Sweeney and coach Bruce Cassidy have identified a need for more offensive contributions from the blue line, something Krug certainly brings, but while it may make short-term sense to invest big money in Krug, it’s also easy to see the other side of not wanting to commit big money to a smaller defenseman into his mid- to late-30s.

If Krug finds that big-money, long-term deal elsewhere, which he probably will (hello, Red Wings), and decides that’s what is best for him and his family, then the Bruins may very well decide that no matter how much they like Krug, matching it is not what’s best for them.

Continued; again, I don’t see Krug wanting to come to a rebuilding Red Wings team at 29 years of age, but stranger things have happened.