Month: September 2021

The blog is up and operational today, September 1st, which equates to good news on the fundraising front.

We’ve been able to raise enough money to ensure that Bluehost will continue to host the Malik Report for another year, and there’s an extra $100 left over to transfer to the prospect tournament/training camp pool.

I want to thank everybody involved for being so very kind in helping out!

Now the focus shifts toward the 14 days between now and me leaving for Traverse City for 2 weeks and 1 day. We need to raise about $2,500 to get the trip done (thanks to increases in the hotel rate and the prices of gas and groceries).

While we don’t need to be 100% there for September 14th, the goal is to get as much fundraising done between now and two weeks from now, so:

If you’re willing to help me raise the $600 for my server bill, and/or what’s getting closer and closer to $3,000 for the Traverse City trip, you can use Paypal at https://paypal.me/TheMalikReport, Venmo at https://venmo.com/george-malik-2, Giftly by using my email, rtxg@yahoo.com, at https://www.giftly.com, and yes, you can contact me via email if you want to send me a paper check.

Thank you again for your readership and your time!

According to the Detroit News’s Tony Paul, sports fans in Detroit have new choices in terms of sports-based talk radio:

Two local radio stations are getting into the sports-talk radio game.

Beasley Media Group-owned 93.5 and 99.1 FM have launched “The ROAR,” unveiling syndicated but Detroit-centric programming that will air from 3 to 6 p.m. on weekdays. It gives sports-talk powerhouse 97.1 The Ticket its first lick of perceived competition since Detroit Sports 105.1’s four-year run ended in 2016.

As part of the deal, the stations will simulcast programming from the previously all-digital network Woodward Sports Network, funded in large part by Lady Jane’s founder Chad Johnson.

…

Airing from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. will be Woodward Sports Network’s two signature shows — a show with former Lions running back Joique Bell and Red Wings legend Darren McCarty, and occasionally featuring former Detroit News columnist and 97.1 The Ticket host Terry Foster, hosted by Neal Ruhl; as well as a show featuring former Michigan receiver Braylon Edwards, hosted by Ryan Ermanni.

In the mornings, from 6 to 9, the stations will air “X’s & BrO’s” with Anthony Bellino, and in the afternoon from 3 to 6 they will air the west Michigan-based “Huge Show” with Bill Simonson. Both shows are part of the Michigan Sports Network.

National programming from SportsMap Radio, founded in 2020, will be simulcast overnights.

Continued

The Athletic is listing their top prospect pipelines in the NHL, defined as the teams with the best crops of players under 23 years of age, and the Red Wings have finished 9th in Corey Pronman’s rankings. Here are Pronman’s top 2 Wings prospects:

1. Moritz Seider, RHD, Rogle-SHL

Apr. 6, 2001 | 6-foot-4 | 183 pounds

Drafted: No. 6 in 2019

Tier: Projected bubble all-star and top of lineup player

Skating: Average
Puck Skills: Below-average
Hockey Sense: Average
Compete: Above-average

Seider had as good a season as you could have hoped for, as the best defenseman in the SHL last season and at the world championships. He’s so tough to deal with for opposing forwards. He’s a 6-foot-4, highly mobile, highly physical defender who projects to match up versus top NHL players. His skating helps him transition pucks very well to go with a strong first pass. The offense might never be elite, but it will be good to go with elite defending. Seider projects as a true top-pair defenseman with a chance to be a star No. 1 in the NHL.

2. Lucas Raymond, LW, Frolunda-SHL

Mar. 28, 2002 | 5-foot-10 | 170 pounds

Drafted: No. 4 in 2020

Tier: Projected top of the lineup player

Skating: Average
Puck Skills: High-end
Hockey Sense: Above-average
Compete: Average
Shot: Above-average

Raymond is an offensive weapon. He’s an extremely skilled and creative player with the puck who can make dazzling displays of puck handling and passing, and improvise like few forwards out there. Raymond also is a dangerous mid-distance shooter, making him a projected PP1 player in the NHL. He had a good but not amazing season in the SHL for Frolunda. He has the puck talent. The question after watching him versus men the past two seasons at his frame without amazing quickness is how does that play in the NHL. He has great edges and balance but struggles to pull away from checks. It may keep him from ever becoming a star, but I still project him as a top-line forward.

Continued (paywall)

Detroit Hockey Now’s Bob Duff posted an article in which he discusses the players most likely to inherit alternate captain’s “A’s” from the outgoing Luke Glendening and Frans Nielsen. At this point, Duff believes that Tyler Bertuzzi and Marc Staal will wear letters on their jerseys this upcoming season:

Tyler Bertuzzi: Locked in to a two-year deal and rebounding from a season-ending back surgery, Bertuzzi is the ideal type of the player to be a leader. He’s willing to do whatever is necessary to help the team.

Issuing an A to Bertuzzi would also be another step toward handing the team over to the future. As longtime Wings like Niklas Kronwall, Glendening, Justin Abdelkader and Darren Helm have departed in recent seasons, it’s clearly been a case of a changing of the guard.

It’s no secret that the Detroit brass thinks highly of Bertuzzi and the qualities he brings to the team. Bertuzzi is the ideal lead by example type of player.

Continued, with Staal’s case for an “A”…