Month: October 2020

Brooks surmises that the AHL might play ‘bubble hockey’

Red Wings general manager Steve Yzerman is on the AHL’s Return to Play Committee, but a December 4th-scheduled 2020-2021 AHL season start seems unlikely at this point.

As the league is so very dependent upon ticket sales for revenue, it’s hard to say whether there will be an AHL season at all, and as such, the New York Post’s Larry Brooks wonders aloud whether the AHL will have to adapt to “bubble hockey” to survive:

For if the structure of the NHL’s 2020-21 is fraught with uncertainty, the entire minor league operation is in question. The AHL long ago announced that the season would begin on Dec. 4, but that appears to be wildly optimistic. More to the point, it is difficult to conceive how the minor leagues can proceed without gate-related revenue.

The NHL has appointed a committee of club executives, including, but not limited to, Edmonton’s Ken Holland, Winnipeg’s Mark Chipman and Toronto’s Kyle Dubas, to investigate hypotheticals that might apply to the AHL and minor league seasons.

One would have to believe that the “alternate site” concept adopted by baseball this season would be under consideration, with taxi-squads formed that might skate in either local practice venues or perhaps as part of a group in centralized locations.

Conclusions and plans of action will of course affect the progress of prospects within every organization. More than that, they will affect the livelihoods of thousands of individuals within the industry. It seems inevitable that more pain is in store.

Continued; I’m genuinely worried about the AHL and ECHL surviving through the 2020-2021 season.

Hockeybuzz’s Allen suggests that the Red Wings aren’t done ‘helping’ cap-strapped teams

It’s my opinion that the Red Wings are probably done adding players to their roster, given that the team needs to use a big chunk of its $18.73 million in cap space to re-sign Tyler Bertuzzi (preferably before his arbitration hearing on Tuesday next Sunday) and Anthony Mantha.

Long-time USA Today writer Kevin Allen, writing for Hockeybuzz, believes otherwise. Allen suggests that the Red Wings may yet flex some of their available cap space to “help” a team in need of salary cap relief:

Are the Red Wings, with almost $19 million in cap available, done dealing?
Answer: Don’t believe so. Some of that money is going to restricted free agents Tyler Bertuzzi and Anthony Mantha, two important players in their rebuild. But the Red Wings are willing to take a bad contract from a team with cap trouble if they are given a nice return. It would be logical for the Red Wings to make a deal with the cap-strapped Lightning. As the former general manager in Tampa Bay, Yzerman would know their prospect list well. It feels like a deal could get completed for Tyler Johnson. But Yzerman would want plenty and would want Tampa to eat some of the Johnson cap space.

I’m leaning against Yzerman adding anybody else to the roster (still), but one never knows…

Prospect round-up: Seider posts first assist, Berggren posts 2 more helpers on a busy day in the SHL, Allsvenskan and Liiga

Of Red Wings prospect-related note from Sweden and Finland:

In the SHL, Matias Brome had an assist, finishing at +1 in 16:37 as Orebro won 3-2 over Oskarshamn IK;

Joe Veleno had 2 shots and won 46% of his faceoffs in 17:09 played as the Malmo Redhawks lost 4-2 to Lulea hockey. Malte Setkov remains sidelined for Malmo with an injury;

Moritz Seider registered an assist and had 3 shots on goal, finishing at +1 in 19:37 played as Rogle BK lost 3-2 to Leksands IF;

Albert Johansson took 2 shots and finished at +1 in 21:10 played as Farjestads BK won 3-0 over the Frolunda Indians. Lucas Raymond had 2 shots and finished even in 14:53 played for Frolunda;

Albin Grewe took a penalty and finished at -1 in 9:28 played as Djurgardens IF won 6-3 over HV71;

And Jonatan Berggren had 2 assists, a shot, and he finished at +1 in 15:15 played as Skelleftea AIK won 3-2 over Linkoping.

Red Wings Prospects on Twitter and Antonj85 posted a clip of one of Berggren’s assists:

In the Swedish Allsvenskan, Gustav Berglund had 4 shots in 14:28 played as Vasteras IK won 3-2 over Almtuna IS. Gustav Lindstrom played a massive 27:30 for Almtuna, finishing at -1, and Filip Larsson stopped 11 of 13 shots but did not finish the game.

Red Wings Prospects on Twitter questioned Almtuna’s director of social media as to what happened with Larsson:

In the Finnish Liiga, Jared McIsaac remains sidelined for HPK, which lost 5-1 to KalPa;

Victor Brattstrom stopped 24 of 28 shots as KooKoo lost 4-1 to Lukko;

Otto Kivenmaki had an assist, finished at +1 and played 17:14 as Assat Pori won 5-3 over Ilves. Kasper Kotkansalo played 19:26 for Assat, finishing at -1;

Later tonight, Kienan Draper’s Chilliwack Chiefs will play against the Surrey Eagles in the BCHL.

Update: UNT.se is reporting that Filip Larsson might have a broken hand, too.

Update #2: Kienan Draper didn’t score as his Chilliwack Chiefs won 5-2 over Surrey.

Via A2Y: Fair praise for the Wings’ free agency work

Via Paul Kukla of Abel to Yzerman comes the following take on the Red Wings’ forays into free agency from the Boston Globe’s Matt Porter:

▪ Detroit: Still a lottery team, but with several more legitimate NHL players on the roster (Thomas Greiss, Vlad Namestnikov, Bobby Ryan, Troy Stecher, Marc Staal, Jon Merrill), they may have added 20-30 points in the standings. Not that it gets them anywhere, but wins are building blocks.

The Red Wings are hoping to avoid the lottery–it’s at least GM Steve Yzerman’s goal to screw up Kris Draper and company’s drafting a bit–but no matter how well or how badly the Red Wings play this upcoming season, there is a sense of hope around the organization for the first time in a long time.

Senators coach D.J. Smith tells Detroit News’s Falkner that Bobby Ryan will do well as a Red Wing

The Detroit News’s Mark Falkner spoke with Ottawa Senators coach D.J. Smith regarding Bobby Ryan’s signing with the Red Wings, and Smith suggests that Ryan will adapt well to his new surroundings:

It was nearly a year ago at Little Caesars Arena when Ottawa Senators coach D.J. Smith heard the news that forward Bobby Ryan had left the team indefinitely after the morning skate and wouldn’t be in that night’s lineup against the Detroit Red Wings.

Ryan checked himself right away into the National Hockey League/National Hockey League Players’ Association substance-abuse program on Nov. 20, 2019. Three months later, he returned and scored a hat trick in his first home game on Feb. 27, 2020.

Now, the 13-year veteran and the 2020 Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy winner as the player who best exhibits perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication is continuing his comeback from alcohol addiction after signing a one-year, $1 million contract with the Red Wings on the first day of free agency on Oct. 9.

“I wish Bobby all the best,” said Smith, who guided the rebuilding Senators to a 25-34-12 record in his rookie season last year, 23 points ahead of the last-place Red Wings (17-49-5, third-worst record in the franchise’s 94-year history).

“He played really well for us and he was a good guy in the room. It’s a fresh start for him in Detroit and I think he’ll have some success. If he gets a chance in the slot, he can score as well as anyone in the National Hockey League.”

Continued

Red Wings pay tribute to Justin Abdelkader’s tenure with the team

The Detroit Red Wings posted a Twitter video to pay tribute to Justin Abdelkader’s tenure with the team today:

Update: The Wings posted a YouTube video as a companion to their Tweets as well:

Roughly translated: Joe Veleno speaks with Hockeysverige.se

Red Wings prospect Joe Veleno has spoken with Hockeysverige.se’s Robin Olausson regarding his hopes of translating his time with the SHL’s Malmo Redhawks into a spot with the Red Wings. Here’s a rough translation of his discussion:

“I want to dominate the SHL to earn a spot in the NHL”

Joe Veleno is on site in Sweden and has had his SHL debut yesterday.

Now he hopes that his time with the Malmö Redhawks will be a springboard for him to earn a spot with the Detroit Red Wings in the 2021-22 NHL season.

“I want to come here and show that I can dominate in the SHL, so that I can strengthen my chances for next season, and hopefully earn a spot in the NHL, the 20-year-old Canadian tells hockeysverige.se.

Continue reading Roughly translated: Joe Veleno speaks with Hockeysverige.se

Prospect round-up: Injuries, McCollum and Swedish prospect points

Of prospect-related note in Europe’s pro leagues today:

In the Finnish Liiga, Jared McIsaac remains sidelined as HPK lost 3-2 to Tappara;

In the ICE Hockey League, Michael Rasmussen remains out with an undisclosed injury as his Graz99ers lost 3-2 in OT to Foxes HCB;

There’s a new goaltender who’s standing in the way of Jesper Eliasson playing for the Red Bulls Salzburg–Tom McCollum, who served as the back-up today in Red Bulls Salzburg’s 4-1 loss to Kolner Haie;

In the Swedish Allsvenskan, William Wallinder had an assist and finished even in 11:58 played as MODO Hockey won 6-4 over Kristianstads IK;

In the Swedish J20 league, Elmer Soderblom scored a goal on 4 shots on goal, finishing even, and Theodor Niederbach scored a goal on 5 shots, finishing at +1 in the Frolunda Indians’ 7-2 loss to HV71.

Via Red Wings Prospects on Twitter, the reliable Antonj85 posted both Soderblom and Niederbach’s goal highlights:

Update: Kienan Draper’s Chilliwack Chiefs lost 4-3 in a shootout to the Surrey Eagles.

Kulfan profiles Jan Bednar

The Detroit News’s Ted Kulfan profiles Red Wings prospect goaltender Jan Bednar today:

At 6-foot-4 and 195 pounds, he has the long body and athleticism teams covet. Scouts raved about Bednar’s ability to make outlandish, acrobatic saves – but are troubled by his tendency to get into funks where stoppable shots are missed. Still, what Bednar thinks is the strength of his game is his calmness.

“I’m a really calm goalie,” Bednar said. “I like puckhandling (and make) plays with the puck. I’m a big goalie and I like big goalies, and yes, I’m a little athletic. But it’s not the most important thing for me. I just think I’m calm in the net. (Because) I’m a big goalie, I need speed and agility and I (am) working on that this summer. I will be prepared for this season.”

Bednar’s favorites among current NHL goalies are Commerce’s Connor Hellebuyck (Winnipeg) and Braden Holtby (Vancouver).

Bednar played against men the last two years in the Czech pro league, competing against future and former NHL players. For a young, inexperienced goaltender, the opportunity was invaluable.

“It was a great experience,” Bednar said. “I played my first game as a 16-year-old so it was great experience for me. I would like thank Karlovy Vary (Bednar’s Czech team) for this chance and great experience.”

Continued

Khan profiles William Wallinder

MLive’s Ansar Khan profiles Red Wings second round draft pick William Wallinder today, discussing the big defenseman’s positive attributes:

“My skating is really an important thing,” the 6-4, 191-pound Wallinder said. “I try to always give 100 percent every shift, always do my best to help the team win. I’m just a good two-way defenseman that can play in every zone.”

Wallinder, 18, will need to utilize his size playing against men for Modo in Allsvenskan, Sweden’s second-highest division. That is where he spent half of 2019-20, after being promoted from the junior squad.

“He’s going to get tested night in and night out,” Kris Draper, Red Wings director of amateur scouting, said. “He knows he has to get stronger, but when you start talking about the size and the range, you look at some of the teams that were successful throughout the playoffs, they had a big D corps. That’s something we were talking about, but in the end … you’re not going to draft them just because they’re big, you want to draft them because they can skate, make a good first pass and that’s what we felt we got in William.”

Several projected Wallinder to be taken in the first round – NHL.com had him going 19th, TSN predicted he would be taken 26th.

Continued