Month: October 2021

Of prospect-related note in North America on Sunday:

In the OHL, Pasquale Zito got 5 minutes and a game misconduct for fighting early on (only 9:02 into the 1st period) in the Windsor Spitfires’ 6-2 loss to Oshawa;

In the WHL, Alex Cotton’s Lethbridge Hurricanes won 4-1 over the Calgary Hitmen;

In NCAA Hockey, Red Savage finished at -1 with a shot and a penalty taken, as well as a 9-for-17 faceoff record, in the Miami of Ohio Redhawks’ 4-3 loss to Ferris State;

And Ryan O’Reilly didn’t play in the Arizona State University Sun Devils’ 4-2 loss to UMass-Lowell.

Red Wings prospect and 2021 draft pick Sebastian Cossa split his first two games for the Edmonton Oil Kings this season, and he spoke with the Edmonton Sun’s Derek Van Diest regarding both his experiences at the Red Wings’ prospect tournament and main training camp, as well as his expectations for the upcoming season with the WHL’s Edmonton Oil Kings:

“It was really good; just being around there for two weeks, being around pros for that long, I think I took away a lot things coming into the season,” Cossa said. “Just practice habits and off-ice habits I kind of took away. Just coming here, I’m prepared to use that for the whole season and keep my body feeling better and try to have a good year.”

Cossa is expected to play the bulk of the games for the Oil Kings until they lose him to the world juniors. From there, head coach Brad Lauer might manage his minutes in preparation for an expected lengthy playoff run.

“We’re likely going to lose him for 12 games for the world juniors and right now, the way our schedule is set up, you can run with a guy for a while,” Lauer said. “There is a little bit of travel and not a lot of games, so it gives us the opportunity to run with him a little bit, but we’ll see. Everything changes day by day. We do have a start plan for him that we may stick to and we may change too, as well. But we’ll probably run with it for a little while.”

The Oil Kings travel to face the Lethbridge Hurricanes on Wednesday, Swift Current Broncos on Friday and Medicine Hat Tigers on Saturday.

Cossa is comfortable with a heavy workload, particularly after playing 19 of 23 games last season. The Oil Kings gave him practically every start so NHL scouts could get a good gauge on him.

“Last year, it was a big thing for me to be consistent and coming in this year, I want to have the same attitude,” Cossa said. “I’m just taking it day by day, game by game. Every two points is really important, so I just want to come in here every night, and just worrying about the new night regardless of how I played the game before. That’s going to help a lot.”

Continued

The Athletic’s Max Bultman posted a set of roster projections for the Red Wings coming out of the exhibition season–given their 3-and-1 record after 4 preseason games played–and here’s what he has to say about one Lucas Raymond:

[Dylan] Larkin made specific note of Raymond’s seam passes on the power play, saying, “A couple times I was waiting for them and he didn’t, and then, sure enough, right when I was open the most, he hit me.”

So while the caveats about the level of competition apply, the impression Raymond has made through two games has still been real.

Whether it leads to a roster spot is yet to be decided. Clearly, he’s not in the projection above, and that has everything to do with our recent look at where things stood. I have a hard time going away from that kind of evidence when making these projections.

But if Raymond continues to take strides in these preseason games, he’ll make it hard on the Red Wings not to keep him.

“He’s got confidence; he’s got a swagger to his game,” Larkin said. “He’s smart. He’s a smart, headsy hockey player. He waits and waits, and then it’s right on your tape. He’s going to be a special player, I think. And I think he’s got a great attitude about the game. He loves hockey, he loves making plays like that, and I think his game is very responsible where he’s going to earn the trust of any coach he plays for.”

Continued (paywall)

As the Free Press’s Helene St. James notes this evening, new Red Wings goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic hasn’t been lights-out great–or even very good–over the course of 2 preseason games, but Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill is not worried about Nedeljkovic’s ups and downs:

Nedeljkovic, brought in via trade in the offseason, has allowed six goals on 42 shots through 67:07 of ice time. On Sunday, Jeff Carter and Danton Heinen fired shots that went in off Nedeljkovic, and Kris Letang came out of the penalty box, up the middle, and ripped a shot for a goal.

“I like Ned, I think he’s going to be real good for us,” coach Jeff Blashill said. “He works his tail off, he pays attention to detail in practice. I think he had some squeak through him that he’d like to have back, but this is what preseason is for. I certainly don’t pass a whole lot of judgment on anybody in this short a period of time. He’s played two halves. I’m fully confident he’s going to give us really good goaltending through the season.”

Nedeljkovic was a finalist for the Calder Trophy (given to the league’s top rookie) last season; he posted a 1.90 goals-against average and .932 save percentage in 23 games with the Carolina Hurricanes last season. He signed a two-year, $6 million contract with the Wings immediately after the trade.

Continued

Detroit Hockey Now’s Bob Duff posted a slate of “Four Takeaways” from Sunday’s 5-1 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins, and among his observations is this note regarding defenseman Jordan Oesterle’s play:

Jordan Oesterle Shouldn’t Be Overlooked: Amidst the hullabaloo about the Red Wings’ offeseason addiditons and the ongoing debating about who should make the team, defenseman Jordan Oesterle’s name rarely enters the discussion.

He won’t be playing a starring role for the Red Wings but he can be an effective piece of the puzzle. Oesterle is a solid puck mover. Penciled into the club’s third defensive pairing, it should give the Wings a mobile pucker mover in each pairing. In today’s up-tempo NHL, that’s a vital quality for a team to possess.

In Sunday’s loss, he led all Red Wings defenseman in ice time, skating 20:22 minutes. He collected an assist on their power-play goal. Blashill believes that Oesterle is of the requisite skill level to run a power play.

“He’s a good skater who’s smart and can do a number of different things,” Blashill said. “He can play a little bit on your power play, can kill penalties. He’s been good in five-on-five situations. He jumps up in the play, gets the puck out of the zone. He’s not a real big guy but gives us some skating ability.”

Continued; Oesterle’s been solid, if unspectacular. I’ve been impressed by his no-frills, two-way play.

The Detroit Red Wings dropped a 5-1 decision to the Pittsburgh Penguins on Sunday, and MLive’s Ansar Khan provided a recap of said game:

Pius Suter’s first-period power-play goal was all the offense the Detroit Red Wings mustered Sunday in a 5-1 preseason loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins at PPG Paints Arena.

Detroit suffered its first exhibition defeat (3-1) after averaging 4.67 goals in its first three games.

Suter scored during a five-on-three advantage at 15:46, cutting the Penguins’ lead to 2-1. He converted a pass from Robby Fabbri. Vladislav Namestnikov also assisted.

Alex Nedeljkovic started in goal for the Red Wings and allowed four goals on 23 shots in 35:15. Victor Brattstrom played the rest of the way, yielding one goal on nine shots.

Kasperi Kapanen scored two goals for the Penguins (2-1). Danton Heinen had a goal and two assists while Jeff Carter and Kris Letang each scored a goal.

NHL.com posted a recap as well…

Continue reading Red Wings-Penguins wrap-up: an ‘off day’ for the Wings yields first preseason loss

From The Athletic’s Max Bultman:

Michael Rasmussen did not make the trip to Pittsburgh today for the Red Wings. Will pass along any updates when I can— Max Bultman (@m_bultman) October 3, 2021

Blashill says as of now Tyler Bertuzzi is not in for tomorrow— Max Bultman (@m_bultman) October 3, 2021

Blashill says Michael Rasmussen had “a little tweak.” Does not think it’s anything long-term, but Rasmussen not expected for the next few games.— Max Bultman (@m_bultman) October 3, 2021

The Detroit Red Wings iced a mixed lineup highlighted by the Fabbri-Suter line and a returning Jonatan Berggren against an NHL-heavy Penguins roster (minus COVID-positive Jake Guentzel) or today’s matinee game in Pittsburgh.

DetroitRedWings.com streamed the game, piggybacking off the Penguins’ broadcast–a radio broadcast superimposed over the Penguins’ in-arena video feed, and it was a painful affair to watch, as Detroit dropped a 5-1 decision. Pius Suter scored the Wings’ only goal, and Alex Nedeljkovic gave up 4 goals on 23 shots, while Victor Brattstrom gave up 1 goal on 9 shots.

On Sunday afternoon, in the 1st period, with Robby Fabbri, Sam Gagner and Marc Staal wearing the “A’s”:

The teams traded possession and chances early on in the 1s period, but Jeff Carter fired a seeing-eye shot off Alex Nedeljkovic’s goalie pants and it was suddenly 1-0 Pittsburgh:

Continue reading Preseason recap: Red Wings lose to the Pittsburgh Penguins 5-1

In the Swedish J20 league, Red Wings prospect Liam Dower Nilsson had a rough day from a team perspective as his Frolunda HC lost 5-1 to Linkoping. Nilsson finished at -1, per Red Wings Prospects on Twitter:

#SweU20
– Dower Nilsson 0+0, -1 in a 5-1 loss#LGRW— Red Wings Prospects (@DRWProspects) October 3, 2021

Per Mrs. Greiss on Twitter:

The ? is for the redwings.Military side is an operator out in the field w/Conan. (see below his story).Under him is @AmericasVetDogs (we sponsored a pup and adopted Rosie)They’re very close to our hearts and we support their mission.The line on the front is a racing stripe pic.twitter.com/0eWjg6Jxey— Brittney Greiss (@BrittneyGreiss1) October 3, 2021

The mask in the pays tribute to Mr. Sawchuk. The back of the helmet has Thomas homeland and autism awareness— Brittney Greiss (@BrittneyGreiss1) October 3, 2021