From the OHL’s Kitchener Rangers comes a profile of Red Wings 3rd round pick Dominic Sebrango, a rugged two-way defenseman who plays for Kitchener:
? “I’ve been lucky to be drafted to both Kitchener and @DetroitRedWings, I know I’ll be guided so I can turn into the best player I can be” – Donovan Sebrango (@D_sebrango3) on #NHLDraft Day
?: https://t.co/iEIBOrDgmK
#RTown | #OHLRangers— Kitchener Rangers (@OHLRangers) October 14, 2020
Sportsnet’s Luke Fox examines the respective situations of his top 15 restricted free agents this morning, including Red Wings forwards Tyler Bertuzzi and Anthony Mantha:
9. Tyler Bertuzzi
Age: 25
Position: Left wing
2019-20 salary cap hit: $1.4 million
Arbitration rights: Yes — and filed
Bargaining chips: Made first All-Star Game appearance. Back-to-back 21-goal, 47-point seasons. Skates nearly 20 minutes a night. Organization has invested seven years developing him into a first-line threat.The latest: One of the few bright spots on a sad-sack Red Wings, Bertuzzi has over-delivered on his two-year, $2.8-million bridge pact signed back in 2018 and deserves a nice pay bump.
Of the three pending RFA forwards GM Steve Yzerman still must make decisions on, Bertuzzi is the most essential. Yzerman has been busy rebuilding his roster through smart, low-risk UFA signings, while clearing out veterans through buyout (Justin Abdelkader) or simply letting them walk (Jimmy Howard, Trevor Daley, Jonathan Ericsson).
Bertuzzi has 30-goal potential, brings grit to his game, and should be seen as a building block for a rebuild that needs as many as it can get.
Negotiations with Yzerman have begun as the sides try to work out a deal prior to arbitration Oct. 25.
Continued; Fox notes that Mantha has suggested that contract talks with the Wings won’t be easy, but we do know per Steve Yzerman’s conference calls that the talks with Mantha are a little further along than Bertuzzi’s negotiations.
NHL.com has posted a 2-and-a-half-minute long video of Dylan Larkin’s top 5 best plays from the 2019-2020 season:
Red Wings play-by-play announcer Ken Daniels appeared on “X’s and Bros” on the Michigan Sports Network this morning to discuss tonight’s “Celebrity Roast of Scotty Bowman” (8 PM EDT tonight on Fox Sports Detroit). Daniels appears at the 25-minute mark of the following clip, and he speaks until the 39-minute mark (i.e. the interview is 14 minutes long):
Long-time hockey scribe Kevin Allen has moved on from USA Today to write articles for several websites.
Today, Allen, writing for Hockeybuzz, praises both Red Wings GM Steve Yzerman and Colorado Avalanche GM Joe Sakic as NHL executives whose qualities off-ice moves have mirrored to their sterling on-ice reputations:
The Red Wings, the NHL’s worst team in 2019-20, were often unwatchable. Yzerman signaled his intention to address that when he completed a trade with the New York Rangers for defenseman Marc Staal.
Yzerman stayed true to his desire to build through the draft by picking up a second round pick in exchange for Staal’s hefty $5.7 million cap hit for one season. But Yzerman also liked the idea of adding a veteran defenseman to his lineup.
Picking No. 4 in the draft, Yzerman took Lucas Raymond, a slick Swedish sensation with the potential to be as good as anyone taken ahead of him. He also earned high praise for his second round pick of 6-foot-4 Swedish defenseman William Wallinder, said to be mobile and rich in offensive potential.
Yzerman was also active in the free agent market, adding forward Bobby Ryan, two more veteran defensemen in Troy Stecher and Jon Merrill, plus goalie Thomas Greiss and center-winger Vladislav Namestnikov. All of them will help make the Red Wings modestly better, and none of them received more than a two-year deal.
You never heard a single rumor about any of those moves until it was about to happen. That’s not how Yzerman operates.
The Athletic’s Scott Wheeler has released a list of his Top 50 NHL Prospects today, and Lucas Raymond checks in at #5 overall:
If [Cole] Perfetti is a problem avoider, the kind of player whose ability to anticipate helps him stay out of trouble, Raymond’s a problem solver. He’s the kind of player whose puck-dominant skill set can get him into trouble and tough spots. But he’s also uniquely equipped with escaping out of that trouble, whether that’s with a short three-foot pass through feet and sticks when he has pushed into traffic or a deceitful shoulder fake or foot adjustment to pull away. You almost want Raymond getting into trouble because it normally means he’s drawn two or three players to him and everyone else is open. And there’s a risk that comes with his game in that way, and in projecting players like him to the next level when everyone’s bigger and faster. But as Raymond’s opportunity at the pro level has grown to match his skill level, it has become increasingly clear that his poise and comfort when he’s under pressure should translate in the NHL, especially when he’s surrounded by better players. Then you added in a constant willingness to apply pressure and work to get the puck back when he doesn’t have it and an improved shot that he appears more willing to use, and suddenly you’ve got a unique and exciting player.
It has been a ton of fun to watch him look to pull the trigger a little more since returning to the ice for the 2020-21 season in August, because his ability to adjust his feet and his stick all elsewhere on the ice also help him deceive goalies with his shot when he wants to.
Continued (paywall); Moritz Seider checks in at #22 as well:
Continue reading Raymond, Seider earn ‘Top 50 Prospect’ rankings from The Athletic’s WheelerThe Athletic’s Craig Custance asked anonymous NHL executives to weigh in regarding all 31 NHL teams’ free agency moves (or the lack thereof), and here are some of the execs’ takes on Steve Yzerman’s short-term deals (as one executive notes, the Wings’ moves aren’t Cup-winners, but that’s okay):
“To be honest, the Red Wings have done a good job,” said another executive. “They’ll be somewhat competitive. They brought in character and leadership. Stevie Y does a great job.”
“Detroit had a good offseason,” said a Western Conference exec. “Namestnikov for $2 million. Bobby Ryan for $1 million. It fits exactly what they’re doing. They’re not going long term with anybody. They’ve got some good, cheap players who will improve their team right away. They’ve got a couple more D. They got more assets for the deadline. They’re movable contracts.”
Multiple execs brought up the character element. All the players signed seem to be oozing in character.
“Stevie is very deliberate who he puts around his team,” said one. “If a player is not a culture guy or does not serve a specific purpose, they get shipped out pretty quick. I like Namestnikov. Bobby Ryan is fine. I like Stecher. I like Greiss. Those guys are pretty good.”
Continued (paywall)
ESPN’s Greg Wyshynski and Emily Kaplan posted a lengthy article which discusses free agency “winners and losers” this morning, and Wyshynski deems Red Wings GM Steve Yzerman’s low-cost, short-term UFA deals to be “winners”:
Yzerman had a year to figure out a path forward for the Detroit Red Wings, and he made a series of smart decisions to help the team in the short and long term.
He signed forwards Vladislav Namestnikov (two years, $2 million AAV) and Bobby Ryan (one year, $1 million) at great bargains.
He inked defensemen Jon Merrill (one year, $925,000 AAV) and Troy Stecher (two years, $1.7 million AAV) to smart deals and replaced an ineffective Jimmy Howard with Thomas Greiss of the Islanders — a nice, German-born liaison for top defensive prospect Moritz Seider — at two years and $3.6 million AAV.
He picked up defenseman Marc Staal, along with a second-round pick from the Rangers, for the last year of his contract to help stabilize the blue line.
Finally, he bought out the rest of Justin Abdelkader‘s ill-fated contract.
The Wings have only eight players signed beyond this season, and they have six picks in the first three rounds of next year’s draft. Let’s go! — Wyshynski
Update: The Score’s John Matisz agrees with Wyshynski’s assessment:
Continue reading Wyshynski declares Yzerman a ‘free agency winner’For those of you who don’t get Fox Sports Detroit on your local cable or satellite TV systems, there’s good news: Foxsportsdetroit.com will stream the Jamie Daniels Foundation’s “Celebrity Roast of Scotty Bowman” tonight at 8 PM EDT, i.e. as the program airs on Fox Sports Detroit itself. The show will repeat at 9:30 PM EDT as well.
Among today’s Tweets of note regarding the “Celebrity Roast”:
Proud to be part the production of the Scotty Bowman Roast in honour of the Jamie Daniels Foundation. Great to work with @davehodge20 again at the @HockeyHallFame in building the storylines for the show.
— John Shannon (@JShannonhl) October 13, 2020
Watch it October 14th on @FOXSportsDet at 8 pm. pic.twitter.com/6hpn92Ox7d
Thanks to our friend @JShannonhl! Streaming information can be found at https://t.co/FIsVN6BkMJ https://t.co/0JVDD1ZuMw— Jamie Daniels Foundation (@JDanielsFund) October 14, 2020
Calling attention to this special event tomorrow night. The show can be seen outside of Michigan on https://t.co/u8dENNKKDj or https://t.co/47uXvSYP9i (There is an impressive silent auction underway at the foundation’s site) https://t.co/slKnHxgNB9— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) October 14, 2020
It will be on @NHLNetwork on Sunday, October 18th at 2pm et. https://t.co/8911vHhEyb— John Shannon (@JShannonhl) October 13, 2020
Here’s a link to the impressive silent auction to help support @JDanielsFund tonight during the Scotty Bowman Roast. Just a great cause.
Really surprised Sabres fans are letting the McDavid stick go for that much more than Eichel: https://t.co/jQouRMv3f2 pic.twitter.com/JQ5YqYRjUZ— Craig Custance (@CraigCustance) October 14, 2020
As the presenting sponsor of the @JDanielsFund‘s Virtual Roast of Scotty Bowman, it is important to educate people about the dangers of opioid addiction, even in the dental industry. Read more about the importance of spreading the message to everyone. https://t.co/jqJfIq1DPs pic.twitter.com/6rRS3jDvzZ— Delta Dental of Michigan (@DeltaDentalMI) October 13, 2020
For what it’s worth, the charity auction is also remarkable in terms of its breadth and scope of items, as well as the affordability of its items. Give it a look.
Update:
This big event goes tonight. ?
Good luck to @coachwsb @davehodge20 @JShannonhl and everyone connected with the Jamie Daniels Foundation.
Which, BTW, you can support here:https://t.co/M0txtgYAgF https://t.co/dYWXoo559z— Bob McKenzie (@TSNBobMcKenzie) October 14, 2020
Update #2:
In just a few hours, we’ll roast and toast the winningest coach of all time! In addition to airing locally on @FOXSportsDet folks anywhere in the world can tune in via Youtube. Find streaming information, the silent auction and ways to give by visiting https://t.co/FIsVN6BkMJ pic.twitter.com/ZiePy2vV99
— Jamie Daniels Foundation (@JDanielsFund) October 14, 2020
Red Wings 2020 draft pick Sam Stange attended this year’s World Junior Evaluation Camp in Plymouth, Michigan alongside fellow Wings prospect Robert Mastrosimone.
While the camp was closed to the media due to the coronavirus, the Detroit News’s Mark Falkner reached out to Stange, a two-sport star (hockey and baseball) regarding Stange’s experiences at the camp, his outlook for both the World Junior Championship and the NCAA Division I hockey season to come (Stange will be a 19-year-old freshman at the University of Wisconsin) and Stange’s status as something of a late-blooming prospect:
“It was my first time being at a camp like this,” said Stange, a late bloomer who was bypassed in last year’s draft but stepped up with 24 goals and 18 assists in 44 games with the Sioux City Musketeers and Sioux Falls Stampede in the United States Hockey League this year. “The level of skill is really high and the speed of the game goes up. I haven’t been able to represent the USA on a world stage or wear the jersey. To be able to get selected or take the next step would mean a lot to me.”
Stange’s Big Ten season will begin as soon as Nov. 13 (the schedules haven’t been released yet) and will feature 24-game conference schedules, plus an additional four games per school against Arizona State hosted at Big Ten venues. The 2020-21 schedule will conclude March 18-20 with the Big Ten tournament.
“It’s been pretty crazy the last week,” Stange said. “Less than 24 hours after I was picked, I was on my way here for the camp. I didn’t really get to see the city too much in the bubble environment. It was still cool knowing I was in the area.”
Stange helped his hometown of Eau Claire win the Wisconsin state baseball championship in 2019, but he’s made the choice to pursue hockey as a sporting career, and he tells Falkner that he’s leaving the World Junior Evaluation Camp with some homework to do:
“I want to take this experience back to Madison and learn from Tony and the rest of the coaching staff,” Stange said. “Even some of the smaller guys here have big-time strength. It shows me I’ll have to develop my strength and know how to use it.”
