Month: November 2020

HSJ discusses Raymond and the Wings’ European-playing prospects

Red Wings prospect Lucas Raymond posted 2 assists in the SHL today, and while he’s playing on the Frolunda Indians’ 3rd line for the most part, Raymond sits second on Frolunda in scoring with 10 points (5 goals and 5 assists) in 15 games played.

The Free Press’s Helene St. James wrote an article discussing Raymond and the rest of the Red Wings’ European-playing prospects this afternoon:

The Detroit Red Wings should be fun to watch next fall, at least from the standpoint of enjoying what appears to be a strong youth movement.

While the NHL is trying to figure out how to play as the pandemic rages across North America, select Wings prospects are enjoying success in Europe. Forward Lucas Raymond, the No. 4 overall pick in this year’s draft, is on a four-game point streak with his Swedish Hockey League club, Frölunda. 

Raymond found Joel Lundqvist in the slot for the first goal in Thursday’s 4-3 victory over Färjestad and earned a second assist on the second goal. That gave the 18-year-old five goals and five assists in in 15 games, equaling the points he tallied in 33 games last season with Frölunda.

Continued

Prospect round-up: Raymond, Brome post 2 assists apiece in SHL action

Of prospect-related note this afternoon:

In Belarus, Kirill Tyutyayev finished even in Yunost Minsk’s 3-1 over Lokomotiv-Orsha;

In the SHL, Albin Grewe took 1 shot in 5:39 played as Djurgardens IF won 6-2 over Linkoping;

Lucas Raymond had 2 assists, 6 shots on goal and finished even in 16:20 played as the Frolunda Indians won 4-3 over Farjestads BK. Albert Johansson had 2 shots and finished at +1 in 16:59 played for Farjestad:

Moritz Seider had 1 shot and finished even in 20:13 played as Rogle BK won 4-1 over Brynas;

Matias Brome had 2 assists, 6 shots on goal and finished at +1 in 16:44 as Orebro Hockey won 6-2 over the Malmo Redhawks. Joe Veleno had 1 shot, finished at -3 and won 22% of his faceoffs in 12:28 played for Malmo;

And Jonatan Berggren took 1 shot and finished even in 16:26 played as Skelleftea AIK won 4-2 over the Vaxjo Lakers. Berggren got the “third assist” on a Skelleftea AIK goal:

Kulfan engages in a Q and A session with coach Jeff Blashill

The Detroit News’s Ted Kulfan checked in with Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill for a wide-ranging, subscriber-only Q and A session today:

Question: It seems like there is some momentum  to get the regular season up and going here pretty soon. Maybe around Jan. 1. Jeff, I would think, after all these months, you’re pretty excited about that.

Answer: I am excited, just to get back at it. When you’re a team like us, that hasn’t done a thing since March in terms of practice or play, we weren’t a part of the summer return to play, there are seven teams that weren’t part of that, we are absolutely itching to get back at it.

But we’re also cognizant of the fact there’s a lot going on in the world and none of this is going to be easy, so we understand that part of it for sure. But we certainly want to get back. The NHL did an excellent job in their Return To Play and were in patient in making decisions when they had to the right information and I’m sure they will again this time.

Q. We still might be weeks away, but what will you and the staff be emphasizing in training camp? You have a bunch of new players, obviously, and it’s been a long time since you guys have played.

A. It’ll be a similar training camp. You start with making sure your work and competitive levels are where they need to be, so that’s the bottom line foundation in order to be successful.

Like any training camp, you have to make sure you’re on the same page as quick as possible. Get your systems in place as quick as possible. We’ll have a lot of new faces this year, so you want to make sure everyone is comfortable and play without thinking and guys aren’t thinking about where they are supposed to be standing, and just instinctly (know) because those habits have been built. That’s what training camp is about, setting the tone and foundation of how you’re going to play hockey.

We don’t know the length of it (camp), we don’t know the number of days or exhibitions (games), which is fine. We’ll adapt on what opportunities we’re given and certainly plan for a different scenarios.

Continued (paywall)

Khan speaks with Tony Granato regarding Wings prospect Sam Stange

MLive’s Ansar Khan profiles Red Wings draft pick Sam Stange today, discussing the University of Wisconsin commit with Badgers coach Tony Granato:

Stange progressed nicely in the USHL in 2019-20 and can further bolster his stock at the University of Wisconsin over the next few years. The 6-1, 200-pound right wing will begin his college career Friday when the Badgers visit Notre Dame.

“Last year was a big jump for him, going from high school to the USHL, and he became an elite scorer at that level,” Wisconsin coach Tony Granato, a former Red Wings assistant coach, said. “He’s a bigger-bodied kid that skates really well. Playing against older players in college will be a challenge but for the most part, the big body that he is and the way he skates, he should physically be able to handle that transition. It’s just playing to the pace of the game that college hockey is.”

Granato described Stange as an athlete who excelled in baseball as well.

“He’s built, he’s got a solid frame and he’s a worker,” Granato said. “The time he puts in the gym and off the ice to help himself to have the best chance at success in hockey is obvious. He’s a kid who’s physically ready for the battles you’re going to have to be ready for in college hockey and potentially pro hockey not too far down the road.”

Continued

Sportsnet’s ‘Greatest NHL Goal of the 21st Century’ match-up features Pavel Datsyuk vs. Blake Coleman today

Today’s edition of Sportsnet’s “The Greatest NHL Goal of the 21st Century” pits New Jersey Devils forward John Coleman against the Red Wings’ Pavel Datsyuk, and I don’t think there’s much of a chance for Coleman to beat the official Datsyukian Deke-maker:

You can vote for the goal that you prefer here.

Update: This isn’t hard, is it?

Thomas Greiss, Kirk Maltby to appear on ‘The Word on Woodward’ today starting at 12 PM EST

The Red Wings’ biweekly program, “The Word on Woodward,” will focus on the Red Wings today, starting at 12 PM EST:

Today’s episode features an update on Red Wings players Michael Rasmussen, Filip Zadina and Filip Hronek as well as interviews with Red Wings goalie Thomas Greiss, Swedish Hockey reporter Jonathan Ekliew and former Red Wings forward Kirk Maltby.

Update: Also:

DetroitRedWings.com’s McWethy discusses Jon Merrill’s ‘homecoming’

DetroitRedWings.com’s Brett McWethy filed an article discussing Jon Merrill’s homecoming-via-free-agency this morning:

Jon Merrill hasn’t stopped beaming since officially signing with the Detroit Red Wings on October 9, the first official day of free agency. Considering his story, it’s hard to blame him.

Simply put, Merrill is coming home. The 28-year-old veteran defenseman grew up in Grand Blanc and Brighton, Mich., and skated for the Little Caesars AAA Hockey Club, the youth program the late Mike Ilitch started in 1968, long before he owned the Red Wings or Detroit Tigers. Merrill also spent two seasons at the U.S. National Team Development Program in Plymouth, Mich., before playing three years of college hockey at the University of Michigan.

Appearing on The Word on Woodward on Nov. 3, Merrill referred to his joining the Red Wings as a lifelong dream. He was wearing a Red Wings jersey before he could even walk, and envisioned himself playing for the Wings while practicing in his driveway as a kid.

“I grew up playing for Little Caesars, and going down to Joe Louis Arena once a week, it felt like, to practice or to catch a Wings game,” Merrill told Carley Johnston in the Catching up with Carley segment of The Word on Woodward, presented by Meijer. “And obviously as a kid growing up in the 90s in Michigan, there was a lot of success with the Detroit Red Wings organization. I was a huge fan, and I’m just so fortunate that my career has led me to this point now, and to have an opportunity to play for my childhood team. I’m so grateful.”

Continued

Roughly Translated: Paywall blues with stories regarding Berggren, Johansson and Hronek, and a bit of Christoffer Ehn on Lucas Raymond

There are a trio of articles regarding two Red Wings prospects and a Detroit roster player out this morning in the Swedish and Czech media, but I can’t give you much from any of them because they’re tagged as premium content.

In Aftonbladet, there are profiles of Jonatan Berggren and Albert Johansson stuck behind paywalls, and iSport posted a long article regarding Filip Hronek, too, but that one’s a premium article as well.

As such, the only tidbit of foreign-language news that I can translate for you this morning comes from GT.se, where former Red Wings forward and recent Frolunda Indians signing Christoffer Ehn spoke with Stefan Nilsson regarding a wide range of topics, including Ehn’s take on Red Wings draft pick Lucas Raymond (and, as usual, what follows is roughly translated):

On today’s Frolunda team, there is Detroit’s first choice in the draft, Lucas Raymond. He’s a player that Ehn has a good grasp on.

“He is a player who can decide [games] when it counts, a player who makes a difference. He has the skills, technique, skating and speed, and he can create a lot on his own. He’s a cool player,” says the former Detroit forward.

“I think it is very good for him that he plays this season in Frolunda. I stayed in Frolunda on a loan for one season before I moved over [to the NHL] and it did me very well.”

The Red Wings have a tradition with many Swedes; is that helpful for Lucas Raymond when he goes over?

“It has changed since I got there. Then Henrik Zetterberg had just left, but Swedes like Niklas Kronwall, Jonathan Ericsson and Gustav Nyquist were there. They became a little like extra parents when I was new there,” he says.

“Now it’s not like that. But Lucas will still be well received and cared for. They have scouted him well and are looking forward to him coming.”

Custance engages in a wide-ranging Q and A with new Wings forward Bobby Ryan

The Athletic’s Craig Custance wrote an article chronicling a Q and A with Red Wings free agent signing Bobby Ryan this morning:

Custance: I was a little surprised Detroit was [your free agency] destination. There was a belief you’d end up on a contender. Follow the Corey Perry path. Why Detroit?

Ryan: I knew that I needed to prove there is still some high-end hockey in me. I didn’t want to go somewhere and immediately be a third- or fourth-line guy. I still think I can play in the top six to nine. Steve made it clear I can earn that there. Whereas other teams I talked to, I don’t know if there were a lot of opportunities to move up. Steve [Yzerman] was honest and candid about the fact of, “Listen, if you’re having a very good year and you want to leave at the deadline and I have offers, we can sit down and talk about those things, then we’ll do that.” This opportunity gave me the most chances.

And I’m excited to play with those young guys. They have four or five really really good young forwards there that not only are they young, they’ve been in the league. Dylan Larkin is what 25? It feels like he’s been in the league for 10 years. I’m looking forward to maybe having a chance to play with him or whoever it might be in that top six if I work my way in there and prove I can still score and that I have some legs left, some hockey left. Then we’ll re-assess. If something happens at the deadline, great, if not, I’ll stay with Detroit. I’m very happy about the situation there.

Continued (paywall)

Praise for the Red Wings’ offseason from Wyshynski

ESPN’s Greg Wyshynski wrote an article for ESPN+ in which he discusses five NHL teams which have, in his opinion, had “Sneaky Good” offseasons, and the Red Wings made his list:

Detroit Red Wings

Steve Yzerman doing incredible work as a general manager is nothing new, as anyone who watched the Tampa Bay Lightning hoist the Stanley Cup no doubt understands. But the Red Wings are so far off the radar for many hockey fans these days, it’s like finding out an Oscar-winning actor is doing exemplary work on a TruTV sitcom.

The Wings did some housecleaning, bidding adieu to veterans like Justin Abdelkader, Trevor Daley, Jonathan Ericsson and Jimmy Howard. Yzerman added to their draft pick treasure chest by getting a second-rounder from the Rangers for picking up the last year of Marc Staal‘s contract ($5.7 million). He made a slew of thrifty signings, too: center Vladislav Namestnikov ($2 million AAV, two years), defenseman Troy Stecher ($1.7 million AAV, two years) and defenseman Jon Merrill ($925,000, one year) among them. Forward Bobby Ryan, looking to continue his climb back from addiction, signed a one-year, $1 million deal because he had Ottawa buyout money so he could play for Yzerman — or so he said.

The only specious signing was Thomas Greiss for two years at $3.6 million against the cap, but that might already be a win considering what he replaced. And by that, we mean no one is expecting Greiss to go 2-23-2 next season.

Remember, Steve Yzerman was Joe Sakic before there was a Joe Sakic.

Continued (paywall); I know that he’s referring to Yzerman’s managerial skills in that last comparison to Joe Sakic, but that still sounds like the kinds of comparisons that Avalanche supporters would make between the Yzerman and Sakic when Sakic was in his prime.