Month: November 2020

Justin Abdelkader discusses his time as a Red Wing in ‘The Players’ Tribune’

From The Players’ Tribune:

All I ever wanted to be was a Red Wing.

As a boy, that’s what I dreamed of.

It was a dream I felt like I could reach out and touch when I was five years old and I was at the Joe Louis Arena for the very first time.

I remember the drive to the arena. The tall buildings of downtown Detroit looked like they went up into the sky forever, and the traffic went down the road the same way. There were red-and-white sweaters and hats on everybody on the sidewalks. There was just this feeling in the air. Like my family and I were going somewhere special. Like it was something that not everybody got to do. 

Walking through the concourse I must have looked like a kid on Christmas Day. I remember running up to the entrance of our section and peeking through the plastic curtains that hid the ice from the hallways — that was when I saw the Joe in all her beauty for the first time.

It was just perfect.

I knew that day that I wanted to become part of it.

And against the odds, I did.

I played on that ice for 13 years in red and white.

Now, though, my time as a Red Wing is up. But just because there won’t be a winged wheel on my jersey doesn’t mean I won’t always have a bit of Detroit in me.

It’s always going to be there, because we’re family now.

Continued

HSJ discusses the 20-21 NHL season’s possible start

The Free Press’s Helene St. James wrote an article which discusses the high probability of a 2020-2021 NHL season, as well as the possibilities surrounding the league playing in “bubbles”:

“I’m very optimistic,” [Red Wings GM Steve] Yzerman said this week. “I’m hopeful. I don’t really have any control over it.  The league can only control so much, as well. I think the Players Association and the league, the cooperation from both sides has been fantastic. It’s my understanding they’re working together now to put a plan in place.”

The NHL and NHLPA succeeded in staging the 2020 playoffs in August and September because they were able to hold games to Toronto and Edmonton. Teams were isolated in “bubbles,” with quarantines required before entering. (Players, such as Boston Bruins goalie Tuukka Rask,  were also allowed to opt out.) But it’s one thing to ask people to hole up for two months with the Stanley Cup as the ultimate carrot, another to limit contact for a full season, even if it’s reduced in length. 

The NHL naturally would prefer to have some degree of fan attendance, but that might not be possible, even if it reconfigures the league for a season to prioritize regional play. 

“Ultimately we’re restricted by international governments — the Canada-US border —local, state governments,” Yzerman said. “Right now it looks like we’ll be able to come up with some kind of plan, but I don’t know specifically what that is.

“And then I kind of keep my fingers crossed that things don’t go sideways again and we are not able to play. I’m optimistic we will come up with something that works, and we’re just kind of waiting for any guidance from the league as to what the plan will be.”

Continued

Bultman’s mailbag feature discusses Michael Rasmussen’s potential ‘upside’

The Athletic’s Max Bultman compiled a mailbag’s worth of reader questions this morning, and among his questions answered is this about Michael Rasmussen:

I’d wager there are two reasons Rasmussen doesn’t get talked about a ton. The first is that he missed significant time last season due to a back injury, meaning he wasn’t consistently in headlines or highlight reels. And the second is he’s already spent significant time in the NHL, meaning he doesn’t have the air of mystery about him some prospects do.

But I do think Rasmussen is going to help the Red Wings someday, and possibly quite soon. He’ll need to stay healthy, but he has all the tools to be a weapon on the power play, useful on the penalty kill and a tough-to-play-against, two-way center. Where specifically he slots into the lineup will, of course, depend on how everyone around him develops, too. Still, he should be perfectly capable as a third-line center at even strength, in addition to those special-teams advantages. That’s a valuable player.

You alluded to Tomas Holmstrom, and that’s exactly the comparison TSN’s director of scouting Craig Button made when I asked him for one this spring. For now, Rasmussen has been loaned to Austria, but he should be recalled for Red Wings training camp, and it wouldn’t surprise me to see him in Detroit before the end of this season if all goes well for him.

Continued (paywall)

Khan discusses the Wings’ goaltending prospects, including Jan Bednar

MLive’s Ansar Khan posted an article this morning which discusses the respective statuses of each and every one of the Red Wings‘ goaltending prospects, including that of one Jan Bednar, the Wings’ lone netminding pick from the 2020 draft:

[Bednar] currently is practicing with Karlovy in the top Czech league, with whom he played 13 games last season, posting a 4.39 goals-against average and .884 save percentage. He spent the majority of the season with Sokolov in the second division (24 games, 3.26 GAA, .873 save percentage).

“I’m working on my active hands, rebound control,” Bednar said. “Off the ice, I work on my speed and my agility. I’m a big goalie and I need speed, I need agility.

“I think I’m a really calm goalie. I like puck-handling, I’m a little athletic, but not most important thing for me. I need speed.”

As a young Czech goalie, naturally, he was going to be asked about Dominik Hasek.

“When I was young, I loved Dominik Hasek’s saves and then (saw) some highlights,” Bednar said. “I know (former Red Wing) Petr Mrazek. I talked with him two years ago. Great guys. Of course, Steve Yzerman is great guy. I saw some documentaries of year 2002, when Detroit Red Wings won Stanley Cup with Dominik Hasek and Brett Hull and Steve Yzerman and more.”

Continued; I like the fact that Khan’s summary emphasizes the fact that the Red Wings do have goaltending prospects–eight of them, actually–but none of them are close to playing in the NHL.

Prospect round-up: Hronek named Karjala Cup’s best defenseman despite Czech loss; Rasmussen 2+1 in Austrian league return

Of prospect-related note:

At the Karjala Cup, Filip Hronek took 5 shots but finished at -1 as the Czechs lost the championship game 3-0 to Russia.

Via The Athletic’s Max Bultman on Twitter, DobberHockey’s Jokke Nevalainen reports that Hronek was named the tournament’s best defenseman. He also wore the captain’s “C” today:

Jonatan Berggren didn’t register a point in Sweden’s 3-2 loss to Finland, and Berggren looked solid in .gif land:

Berggren played on the power play as well:

In the Swedish Allsvenskan, Gustav Berglund finished even in 14:12 played in Vasteras IK’s 5-0 loss to Timra;

In the ICE Hockey League, Michael Rasmussen had 2 goals and an assist–and took a 10-minute misconduct penalty–in the Graz99ers’ 4-2 win over VSV. Rasmussen finished at +3.

Sportsnet’s Saturday ‘NHL Goal of the 21st Century’ match-up: Tkachuk’s between-the-legs goal vs. Datsyuk’s change-up

Sportsnet has “The Greatest: NHL Goal of the 21st Century” match-up taking place on Sportsnet.ca, and today, you can either vote for this between-the-legs goal by Matthew Tkachuk on Pekka Rinne…

Or this “trick shot” by Pavel Datsyuk on Antti Niemi:

Update: Here’s Sportsnet on YouTube:

Prospect round-up: Czechs win at Karjala Cup; Zadina scores as Ocelelari Trinec return to play

Of prospect-related note from Europe:

At the Karjala Cup in Finland, Jonatan Berggren didn’t play in Sweden’s 2-1 shootout loss to Russia. No reason was given for his scratching from the lineup;

Filip Hronek didn’t register a point but took 5 shots and finished at +1 in the Czech Republic’s 2-0 win over Finland;

In the Czech Extraliga, Jan Bednar served as the back-up goaltender in HK Energie Karlovy Vary’s 5-4 win over Ceske Budejovice;

And Filip Hronek had a goal and an assist–and 7 shots–as HC Ocelari Trinec won 4-3 in overtime over HK Kometa Brno.

You can watch Zadina’s goal here or here:

Update: In the USHL, Kyle Aucoin didn’t play in the Tri-City Storm’s 5-1 win over Sioux City;

And, in the BCHL, Kienan Draper didn’t register a point in the Chilliwack Chiefs’ 5-2 loss to Coquitlam.

Via Twitter: Wings prospect goaltender Jan Bednar will be spending some time in the Czech Extraliga

Via Chris Nova on Twitter, it looks like Red Wings prospect goaltender Jan Bednar is going to spend some time with HC Energie Karlovy Vary of the Czech Extraliga until the Acaide-Bathurst Titan solve their goaltending situation.

The Titan have loaned Bednar back to the Czech team he whose system he grew up playing within, per Elite Prospects, and Karlovy Vary confirmed the temporary situation via a Tweet:

Roughly translated, the Tweet reads: “

 “Jan Bednar also traveled to [play against] Ceske Budejovice with the team. The team’s management have given the 18-year-old goalkeeper the opportunity to start for the Energie until he goes to Canada!”

Update: Barry A. Craft on Twitter notes that Bednar may be having issues getting into Quebec due to coronavirus issues:

A pair of interviews with Wings draft pick Donovan Sebrango

The Ontario Hockey League isn’t starting until February, but Red Wings draft pick Donovan Sebrango headed to the Kitchener Rangers’ rink, the Kitchener Memorial Auditorium, to speak with their website for a “fall update” interview…

And I can’t embed this, but the Canadian Hockey League’s website also posted an 8:06 interview that Sebrango gave after he was drafted (and prior to his most recent haircut), in which Sebrango speaks with Ontario Hockey League communications manager Sarah Jean Maher.