Month: October 2021

Per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, the Wings are waiving Taro Hirose to send im to Grand Rapids:

Carrick/Larsson (ANA); Jonsson-Fjallby (BUF); Gelinas, Lajoie, Leivo, Noesen, Smith (CAR); Carlsson, Lehtonen, Stenlund (CLB); Delia, Subban (CHI); MacDonald (COL); Petrovic (DAL0; Barber, Hirose (DET); Carlsson, Gibson (FLA)…— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) October 10, 2021

Which Chris Johnston confirms:

Collin Delia (CHI), Malcolm Subban (CHI), Jacob MacDonald (COL), Alex Petrovic (DAL), Riley Barber (DET), Taro Hirose (DET), William Lagesson (EDM), Kyle Turris (EDM), Lucas Carlsson (FLA), Christopher Gibson (FLA), Austin Strand (LA), Austin Wagner (LA) …— Chris Johnston (@reporterchris) October 10, 2021

So it looks like Givani Smith and Carter Rowney make the Red Wings’ roster for now.

No word on Bobby Ryan’s try-out contract.— George Malik (@georgemalik) October 10, 2021

I’m expecting Lucas Raymond and Joe Veleno to be sent down to Grand Rapids to start the season, but, again, I do not expect them to end the season in Grand Rapids.— George Malik (@georgemalik) October 10, 2021

Per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, Red Wings/Grand Rapids Griffins goaltender Calvin Pickard was among those who cleared waivers yesterday.

Everyone on waivers yesterday cleared— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) October 10, 2021

Of prospect-related note in Europe today:

In the Swedish J20 league, William Wallinder finished even with 4 shots in Rogle BK’s 3-2 loss to Linkoping;

And Liam Dower Nilsson finished at -1 with 2 shots and a 10-and-9 faceoff record in Frolunda HC’s 7-2 loss to Sodertalje SK.

The Red Wings held their “Media Day” on Friday, shooting promotions for Bally Sports Detroit and their in-arena videos:

In the alumni department, Frans Nielsen has signed with the Eisbaren Berlin of the DEL:

+++ BREAKING NEWS +++
Die Eisbären Berlin können die Verpflichtung des dänischen Nationalspielers Frans Nielsen verkünden. Der Stürmer erhält die Rückennummer 51 und wird in der kommenden Woche in Berlin erwartet. #ebb #Nielsen
Mehr dazu hier: https://t.co/SNHQ08XQLE pic.twitter.com/9CS0Vvs5xZ— Eisbären Berlin (@Eisbaeren_B) October 10, 2021

MLive’s Ansar Khan discusses the battle for spots on the Red Wings’ roster this morning, noting that several players may be injured, complicating the coaching and management staffs’ decision-making processes:

The only [roster] decisions are at forward, and they could be impacted by injuries. Blashill said nobody other than Jakub Vrana (shoulder surgery, out four months) has been ruled for the opener, but they will know more Monday at practice.

Michael Rasmussen and Givani Smith have been dealing with what Blashill described as day-to-day injuries. Dylan Larkin, Robby Fabbri, Adam Erne and Vladislav Namestnikov also did not play Saturday, preventing the team from having a “dress rehearsal” in the exhibition finale.

“We don’t know who’s going to be available and who’s not,” Blashill said. “We’re taking it day by day. We’ll make (roster) decisions when we have to make decisions and not before that.”

The Red Wings might be inclined to sign veteran right wing Bobby Ryan, in camp on a tryout. He had two goals and two assists in six games and could slot into the top six with his offensive ability as Vrana’s replacement. Ryan’s right-handed shot and leadership ability also would be assets.

The Red Wings have several young players pushing for job, mostly notably former first-round picks Joe Veleno and Lucas Raymond, who are waiver-exempt, and Taro Hirose, who is not waiver-exempt.

Continued; along those lines, the Free Press’s Helene St. James also posted an article this morning which discusses the players she believes will make the Wings’ final roster:

Continue reading Khan, HSJ in the morning: On the battle for roster spots at forward

Of prospect-related note in North America on Saturday:

In the QMJHL, Jan Bednar stopped 30 of 33 shots and four shootout shooters in the Acadie-Bathurst Titan’s 4-3 shootout win over Saint John;

Oscar Plandowski finished even with a shot in the Charlottetown Islanders’ 2-0 loss to Halifax;

In the WHL, Alex Cotton scored 2 goals, finishing even with 9 shots, and he was named the second star in the Lethbridge Hurricanes’ 2-1 OT win over Red Deer;

Cross Hanas had an assist, finishing at +2 with 5 shots, in the Portland Winterhawks’ 3-2 win over Seattle;

Sebastian Cossa stopped 28 of 30 shots and 2 of 3 shootout shooters in the Edmonton Oil Kings’ 3-2 shootout loss to Medicine Hat;

Continue reading Prospect round-up: Bednar wins, Cossa drops shootout, Cotton scores 2, and a busy NCAA Saturday

Detroit Hockey Now’s Bob Duff offers a list of 5 Takeaways from the Red Wings’ final preseason game, a 3-1 loss to the Buffalo Sabres, and I feel like just leaving this observation here and letting the firecrackers hit the wall:

Kids Aren’t All Right: If this was the final exam to determine if they’ll earn a spot on the team, those test papers are going to come back to rookie forwards Lucas Raymond and Joe Veleno with a lot of red marker all over them.

Neither player distinguished themselves. Did they extinguish their chances of sticking with the big club? That remains to be seen.

“It does show guys, our young guys, the relentless nature of the league,” Blashill said. “You got to show up every single night and you got to find a way to have a great ‘B’ game when you don’t quite have your best stuff. That’s good experience and it’s good for evaluation purposes.”

Continued; there’s no doubt that Raymond, Veleno and Moritz Seider didn’t play great games vs. Buffalo or Pittsburgh.

I would suggest that all three experienced the NHL preseason grind in a big way–both mentally and physically–over the course of playing 5 or 6 preseason games apiece, and I would also suggest that Veleno and Raymond are all but locks to start the season in Grand Rapids, but I’m not sure that they’ll be in the AHL to end the season.

I also hope that some of the expectations that Moritz Seider was going to step in and be an All-Star right off the bat were tempered by his ups and downs during the preseason. I know that he had hiccups, and that he has to be much more demonstrative in terms of making plays himself instead of deferring to his elders, but he learned fairly quickly over the course of the preseason, and while I’m not willing to compare him to Nicklas Lidstrom, it’s been a long time since I’ve seen a defenseman with so much raw potential on the Wings’ roster.

The Toledo Blade’s Mark Monroe covered the first two days of Toledo Walleye camp, and the ECHL team is getting back to what is a new normal:

Coach Dan Watson conducted the first day of training camp on Friday as a team filled with new faces got to know each other.

“It’s nice to walk out here and see some fresh ice and see that Walleye logo back in the middle of the ice again,” Watson said. “To hear the puck snapping against the glass, hitting the net … all those sounds you actually miss when you are not around it. To see these guys out here having fun and with jump in their step, those are the things I really enjoy being back out on to the ice.”

On Saturday, the fresh faces got a taste of what to expect as the organization held a meet-the-team event for season-ticket holders. Nearly 400 season-ticket holders attended the event Saturday. The goal horn blasted for the first time in 19 months to kick off the event.

Walleye executive vice president and general manager Neil Neukam addressed the crowd, urging fans to be supportive and patient. Neukam said there will be no events where fans will have direct access to the players.

“We’re all happy to be back here for hockey. It will be different,” he said. “We will do the best we can to keep it as normal as possible. It’s been a challenge for everyone. Please be patient.”

Continued

The Free Press’s Helene St. James posted a set of post-game observations after the Red Wings’ 3-1 loss to Buffalo this afternoon, and St. James offers this take on the Wings’ 4-and-4 exhibition season record:

Only so much can be read into the 3-1 loss in Saturday’s finale at Buffalo, and the Wings’ 4-4 record — no one plays with a full NHL lineup — but the past two weeks have been a time for players to acclimatize and coaches to evaluate.

“It’s good to go through them,” coach Jeff Blashill said. “It’s experience for a number of guys. It shows how hard the league is — it’s not the teams we’re going to face in terms of the makeup of each roster, there’s going to be a lot better players in the lineup, but it does show our young guys the relentless nature of the league. That’s good experience and good for evaluation purposes.”

The Wings didn’t have much spark in the first period Saturday. Sam Gagner scored off a setup by Mitchell Stephens, tying the game shortly after JJ Peterka’s goal in the second period. The downfall was a goal given up during a power play, when Zemgus Girgensons capitalized on goalie Alex Nedeljkovic mishandling the puck and made it 2-1. Vinnie Hinostroza put it away with an empty net goal late in the third period.

After making do with scrimmages in lieu of exhibitions last season, the Wings having a preseason, even a hectic one, was a welcome return to some normalcy.

“Just getting back into the flow of things is nice,” Gagner said. “Last year, as fortunate as we were to be playing, it was a different year. Everyone is happy to be back on the regular schedule and looking forward to getting things started.”

Continued (with observations regarding Pius Suter and Moritz Seider)