Month: October 2020

The Red Wings have suffered their share of injuries overseas this season, and in Sweden, a pair of Wings prospects have had to pull out of the Swedish World Junior Championship selection camp.

First, Frolunda’s Elmer Soderblom had to take a pass on the Sweden-vs-Finland camp to be held in Malmo this week due to a foot injury, and today, HockeyNews.se’s Alexander Nilsson reports that MODO Hockey’s William Wallinder has had to decline an invitation to the camp.

Albin Grewe and Theodor Niederbach were already named to the Tre Kronor’s WJC camp as injury replacements, joining fellow Wings prospects Lucas Raymond, Albert Johansson and Gustav Berglund.

Former Red Wings goaltender Norm Maracle spoke with InQuinte.ca’s Paul Svoboda regarding his professional career and his status as returning to his home province to coach youth hockey:

He has hoisted the Stanley Cup in the Motor City and danced, on ice, for appreciative fans in Germany. He is Norm Maracle.  And, he’s back. And he wants to give back.

Maracle, 46, a proud member of the Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory First Nations Reserve, has returned to his roots and is eager to get back into coaching. 

“I see myself coaching around here,” said Maracle, during a recent conversation with Inquinte.ca. “I will always love the game of hockey. And, I want to give back what I learned as a young boy.”

Continued

Of prospect-related note:

In the Finnish Liiga, Otto Kivenmaki had an assist and finished at +1 in 18:22 played, and Kasper Kotkansalo took 12 penalty minutes and finished at +1 in 14:35 played as Assat Pori lost 4-3 to Karpat Oulu;

Eemil Viro finished at +1 in 17:03 played as TPS Turku lost 4-3 in OT to IFK Helsinki;

Victor Brattstrom did not play in KooKoo’s 3-2 OT loss to Tappara;

In the SHL, Matias Brome finished even in 18:05 played as Orebro Hockey won 3-2 over Skelleftea AIK. Jonatan Berggren had 1 shot, took 1 penalty and finished even in 15:36 played for Skelleftea;

Albert Johansson scored a goal and finished even in 19:10 with 1 hit as Farjestads BK won 3-2 over the Malmo Redhawks. Malte Setkov took a shot and finished at -2 in 15:47 as he returned from an injury, and Joe Veleno had 3 shots, took a penalty, finished at -1, won 33% of his faceoffs and registered 2 hits in 18:33 played for Malmo;

Albert Johansson gjorde mål i första perioden för Färjestad. #SHL #FBKse #LGRW #DRW pic.twitter.com/vcUuet3jUG

— Anton (@antonj85) October 31, 2020

Finally, in the Swedish J20 league, Theodor Niederbach was held off the scoresheet as the Frolunda Indians’ J20 team lost 3-2 to Farjestads BK.

Update: Kyle Aucoin registered a goal, an assist, a penalty taken and a +2 in the Tri-City Storm’s 9-0 win over Lincoln.

Red Wings prospect Lucas Raymond spoke with Rakapuckar’s Henrik Leman earlier this week, and here’s a rough translation of the Swedish-language interview:

Lucas Raymond has a plan – look for shots first

► He posted a goal against Oskarshamn, and a goal against Örebro. It was no coincidence. Lucas Raymond, 18, has a plan:
► “I have worked hard mentally, want to get a mindset’ to take more shots.”
► It bodes well for Frölunda which is screaming for goal scorers. And it’s clear where the Detroit-drafted Raymond’s focus is:
► “I want to win Swedish Championship gold.”

OSKARSHAMN. ON TUESDAY, Frölunda almost tied it on the power play, and the puck went to Lucas Raymond, who did not hesitate, a couple, three strides into the attack zone–bang, shot, no doubt, goal.

In Gothenburg on Thursday, Raymond showed a pickpocket thief’s talents when Örebrobacken Robin Salo carried the puck, got chopped like a cobra–bang, shot, no doubt, goal.

Five SHL goals now for the right-handed 18-year-old, upon whom the Detroit Red Wings are building much of their faith in the future.

“It’s nice that they are going in,” says the Gothenburger, contentedly.

Continue reading Lucas Raymond speaks with Rakapuckar regarding his focus on ‘the process’ with Frolunda

Red Wings prospect Theodor Niederbach is on quite a tear in the Swedish Under-20 league, having posted 33 points in 17 games thus far. He’s received an invite to the Swedish World Junior Championship selection camp next week as a result, and he’s even earned his way up to the SHL as the Frolunda Indians’ 13th forward from time to time.

This morning, Niederbach spoke with HockeyNews.se’s Alexander Nilsson regarding his scintillating start, his recovery from injuries and more. What follows is roughly translated from Swedish:

Frölunda Talent about his points form, the Junior Kronor and the draft: “I’m really satisfied”

Theodor Niederbach’s autumn has offered the most.

He’s rattling off points at a record speed in the J20 league, he has made his debut in the SHL, been drafted and most recently he earned a spot with the Junior Kronor.

“It will be instructive ,and you want to do it as well as possible, so maybe you can strengthen your chances to be able to participate in a potential World Junior Championship later on, he says to HockeyNews.se regarding his national team assignment that’s waiting around the corner.

Continue reading Roughly translated: Theodor Niederbach speaks with HockeyNews.se

Despite a significant number of cancellations and delays taking place across European hockey leagues due to the coronavirus, the Czech national team will be taking part in the Euro Hockey Tour’s Karjala Cup in Finland from November 3-8.

The Czechs, Finns, Swedes (including Jontan Berggren) and Russians will face off in round robin play to determine a tournament winner, and on Thursday, the Czech Ice Hockey Federation named Filip Hronek to their team.

If you’ve been wondering where Hronek and Filip Zadina have been lately, both players and their respective Czech Extraliga teams, Mountfield HK and Ocelari Trinec, are currently stuck in lockdown with the rest of the Czech Republic.

The Czechs would be holding a World Junior training camp during the November break for European hockey teams, too, but they’re unable to practice right now. That’s why you haven’t heard about Filip Zadina participating in a WJC mini-camp the way that Lucas Raymond, William Wallinder, Albert Johansson, Theodor Niederbach and Gustav Berglund are for Sweden.

Mountfield HK actually tried to head to Germany to hold a mini training camp, but the Czech and German authorities caught wind of the plan to afford Mountfield HK some ice time (as teams aren’t even allowed to practice indoors until November 20th, per Hokej.cz’s Ondrej Mach), and they shut the trip down.

The same kind of restrictions underway in most of Europe aren’t in effect in Finland, Sweden or Russia right now (we’ll see what happens with this “second wave”), so that’s why the Karjala Cup will take place (hopefully).

Of prospect-related note:

In the Finnish Liiga, Eemil Viro finished at +1 in 14:41 played as TPS Turku won 2-1 over KooKoo. Victor Brattstrom didn’t dress for KooKoo;

Otto Kivenmaki had an assist and finished at -1 in 15:06, winning 56% of his faceoffs, and Kasper Kotkansalo finished at -2 in 17:15 as Assat Pori lost 5-2 to the Lahti Pelicans;

In the Swedish Allsvenskan, Gustav Lindstrom played only 9:51, and didn’t play in the third period in Almtuna’s 4-3 loss to Mora IK. That indicates an injury of some sort. Filip Larsson is also injured for Almtuna;

William Wallinder also didn’t play in MODO Hockey’s 2-1 loss to Vasterviks IK;

And in North America, on Thursday, in the USHL, Keith Aucoin had an assist and finished at +2 in the Tri-City Storm’s 5-2 win over Omaha.

Update: Also, regarding Frolunda Indians forward Elmer Soderblom, from The Athletic’s Max Bultman:

Sounds like Elmer Söderblom’s injury is a foot injury, more like week-to-week than day-to-day.

— Max Bultman (@m_bultman) October 30, 2020

Update #2: Kienan Draper took a double-minor penalty for slew-footing in the Chilliwack Chiefs’ 5-4 loss to Coquitlam.

FYI from USA Hockey:

Try Hockey For Free Days Presented by SportsEngine Announced For 2020-21
Local rinks set to host Try Hockey for Free Nov. 7 and Feb. 20

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – USA Hockey has announced that its two national Try Hockey For Free days, presented by SportsEngine, will be held Nov. 7 and Feb. 20 this season. Children across the United States who have never tried hockey will have the chance to skate, shoot and score at their local rinks. Since the introduction of Try Hockey for Free, more than 200,000 kids have tried the sport during national events.

Host sites will provide equipment, where available, for children to borrow during Try Hockey events and no experience is needed to attend. Certified USA Hockey coaches and volunteers will be on the ice to help participants with skating and beginner hockey skills.

“We’re excited to welcome new kids and families to our sport through our Try Hockey for Free days,” said Pat Kelleher, executive director of USA Hockey. “Things will look a little different than usual with the COVID precautions our host sites will have in place, but thanks to the efforts of our volunteers all across the country, kids will have a chance to try the sport in a safe and fun environment.”

Families can find the Try Hockey for Free location closest to them by entering their zip code at TryHockeyForFree.com. While the number of locations will be fewer than normal due to the varying conditions across the country, USA Hockey anticipates some 200 sites will host a Try Hockey for Free event Nov. 7.

USA Hockey’s annual Hockey Week Across America celebration will include the second national Try Hockey for Free day on Feb. 20.

USA Hockey’s Try Hockey For Free days, with the support of the NHL and NHL member clubs, among others, are designed to provide a national platform for introducing children to the sport free of charge. They are the world’s largest introduction-to-hockey initiative, annually spanning more than 800 rinks nationwide.

CCM Hockey, Pure Hockey and SportsEngine are official sponsors of Try Hockey For Free.

NOTES: Now in its 11th season, USA Hockey’s Try Hockey For Free initiative has introduced more than 213,950 children to the sport of hockey… USA Hockey encourages participants to post photos and videos on social media tagging @usahockey and using the hashtag #TryHockey.

The Red Wings had a 24-hour window in which they could buy out players due to Tyler Bertuzzi’s election of salary arbitration, but the team chose not to place anyone on waivers for the purposes of a buyout today.

So there goes the Frans Nielsen buyout theory…

MLive’s Ansar Khan posted a profile of Red Wings prospect and Kitchener Rangers defenseman Donovan Sebrango, who was named to Hockey Canada’s World Junior Championship selection camp today:

The Detroit Red Wings selected Sebrango, from the OHL Kitchener Rangers, with the first pick in the third round of this year’s draft (63rd overall).

Sebrango (6-1, 184) was among 46 players named Thursday to Canada’s World Junior Championship evaluation camp, which runs from Nov. 16 to Dec. 13 in Red Deer, Alberta. The World Junior Championship takes place Dec. 25-Jan. 5 in Edmonton.

The Red Wings drafted Sebrango mainly because of mobility.

“If you see clips of me, I think the skating is the one thing that really pops out,” Sebrango said. “I think it’s jumping in the rush, late man, and moving pucks quick and hopping in where there’s an open lane, not overextending plays or going out of my comfort zone. That’s when you have to find more offensive chances.

“But I always kind of relate to just the simple play, simple passes, tape-to-tape, and that’s where the offense will lead from.”

Continued