Month: December 2021

Red Wings legend Gordie Howe used to “work on Christmas day,” and, in an article discussing the NHL’s long history of Christmas Day games, Stubbs speaks with one Marty Howe regarding his dad’s scoring exploits:

Gordie Howe was more than Mr. Hockey.

He also was Mr. Christmas.

It’s been 50 years since the NHL last played games on Christmas Day and it’s highly unlikely that teams ever will skate again Dec. 25. So lock up Howe’s half-century-old records for most career Christmas goals (12) and points (24), eight points ahead of the 16 (10 goals, six assists) Frank Mahovlich scored in 12 games.

The NHL played 124 games on Christmas between the 1920-21 and 1971-72 seasons, with Howe playing an NHL-record 21 times on Dec. 25. But the League has not dropped a puck that day since 1971, by agreement between the NHL and NHL Players’ Association.

…

Howe and his wife, Colleen, loved everything about the holiday, Mr. Hockey taking pride in the elaborate light displays he designed on their home. Then he’d string more lights over the rink he built on the front lawn for children Marty and Mark, with whom he’d play in the World Hockey Association and NHL, and Murray and Cathy.

“Gordie played so well on Christmas probably because he behaved himself pretty well, he never really overindulged,” Marty said. “He’d be social, have a couple with his teammates, then excuse himself, probably to see what Mark and I were going to do next.”

Continued, with quite a bit of information about the NHL’s Christmas Day games…And some of Howe’s records.

IIHF.com’s Chapin Landvogt posted a list of players to watch from each of the teams participating at the World Junior Championship in Edmonton, and several Red Wings prospects made his list:

Sebastian Cossa, G, [Canada], 19:: One of the best and most successful starters in the WHL, Cossa has done a lot of winning the past three years. It’s basically all he does. Uncertain whether he’ll even be Canada’s starter, if Cossa gets the call, he brings a whole heck of a lot to the table for a nation that has racked up a lot of medals the past 30 years.

…

Jan Bednar, G, [Czechia], 19: This Detroit Red Wings draft pick is a starter in the QMJHL and has been an up-n-comer for several years now. He’s now looking to man the pipes for a Czech team that has all the makings of not only being a playoff contestant, but perhaps even go for a medal. His performance may be what makes it possible.

…

Simon Edvinsson, D, [Sweden], 18: A high draft pick in last summer’s NHL draft, the towering Edvinsson has been a workhorse and revelation for Swedish powerhouse Frolunda, not only taking a regular shift, but racking up 12 points in 24 games to date. Capable of it all in all three zones, Edvinsson has what it takes to take over a short tournament of this nature and will his team to victory. You won’t be able to miss him.

Continued; I’m not expecting Cossa to start for Canada as Dylan Garand has the experience at the WJC as a 19-year-old, but Cossa should gain good experience as a back-up;

Bednar is a wild card because he’s so spectacular and spectacularly inconsistent at the same time, surrendering “softies” at the same rate that he makes tremendous saves;

And Edvinsson’s going to be fun to watch because he, like Moritz Seider before him, is one of those players who’s a rink rat and a hard worker who challenges himself to improve every time he takes to the ice.

Good idea here:

SCHEDULE UPDATE: @NHL delays return to game play by a day; games on Dec. 27 postponed.https://t.co/UX99dQ0tp1 pic.twitter.com/zZRrGjpt7L— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) December 24, 2021

I’m writing this entry from a parking lot in South Lyon, waiting for Chinese food for Christmas Eve dinner.

I know that “the holidays” and “the holiday season” are in fact very difficult for many people, and I very sincerely hope that most of you are sitting more than just “surviving” these days…

But I know that many of you are just surviving, and there’s no shame in that. I know that Aunt Annie and I have struggled to find “the reason for the season” ourselves, and we only hit our stride yesterday.

It’s not easy to deal with the loss of a loved one, the stress of this stupid pandemic and our financial uncertainty (yay, TMR readers!) at the same time. I’m sure that many of you are facing your own challenges this year, and goodness knows that, sometimes, family can make the situation worse.

But we’re in this together, and we’re going to get through these holidays, even if you’re feeling particularly grinch-y on what’s little more than just a Friday evening in December.

I still wish you and your families as much happiness and health as possible, I hope that you’re able to find some joy in Christmas, Festivus, Kwanzaa, a belated Hannukah, or just the plain old weekend.

Please be well, stay safe and know that you matter. Survive and thrive as you can, and let’s all hope that a year from now, we’re healthier and happier than we are today.

The animated avatars of Lucas Raymond, Dylan Larkin, Alex Nedeljkovic, Moritz Seider, Danny DeKeyser and Michael Rasmussen wish you all Happy Holidays:

Sending love and happiness to the greatest fans in hockey this holiday season. ❤️

See you soon, Hockeytown! pic.twitter.com/3LF8M5mTBm— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) December 24, 2021

Red Wings prospect and Acadie-Bathurst Titan goaltender Jan Bednar will play for Czechia during the World Junior Championship, having made the official Czechia roster named 45 minutes ago:

?Takto vypadá finální nominace #U20CZE pro #WorldJuniors. Na českou soupisku se nakonec nedostali obránce Matěj Pinkas a útočníci Jaroslav Chmelař se Stanislavem Vrhelem. #narodnitym #jakolev pic.twitter.com/0zSaOcYxU6— Hokejový nároďák (@narodnitym) December 24, 2021

The Detroit News’s Ted Kulfan filed a notebook article which profiles Red Wings prospect and Team Sweden World Junior Championship defenseman Simon Edvinsson:

Edvinsson has 12 points (11 of them assists) in 24 games, with a plus-4 rating, while playing top-four minutes as an 18-year-old for the powerhouse organization.

Fredrik Sjostrom, the Frolunda general manager, has felt Edvinsson’s potential has been an intriguing ingredient for scouts evaluating Edvinsson. 

“Simon has tremendous upside,” Sjostrom said. “When you have that size and reach and skate as well as he does, you’re going to go early in the draft. In today’s game, you need speed and ability. He’ll definitely be a top-pair defenseman in the NHL.”

…

“He’s a big, rangy D that can really skate,” Yzerman said. “He’s got good puck skills. We just see his potential to be a defenseman that can log a lot of minutes, (and) can be a solid defender that can add some offense to the game as well. We like his skating ability, his size, his reach and we’re hoping he can become a big-minute defenseman for us.”

Sjostrom, the Frolunda GM, played against Nicklas Lidstrom in the NHL and believes there are characteristics in Edvinsson’s game that compare favorably with Lidstrom.

“He (Lidstrom) was one of the best defensive defenseman not because he was physical but because he was smart,” Sjostrom said. “Simon doesn’t get enough credit for his defensive game. He’s a very good defender and moves really well for his size. He just needs time to grow into his body, to build strength the right way.”

Continued

The Tampa Bay Times’ Eduardo A. Encina posted an article explaining how NHL players tend to reach out to each other after hits and scraps, including one Tampa Bay Lightning forward Mathieu Joseph, who had a dust-up with Dylan Larkin (resulting in Larkin being suspended) this year:

On the ice, the game moves fast, and when Lightning forward Mathieu Joseph and Detroit’s Dylan Larkin pursued a loose puck near the side boards earlier this season, Joseph didn’t expect what happened next.

As the puck skipped past Larkin’s stick, the Red Wings captain turned toward the boards to collect it. Coming with speed from a different angle, Joseph was caught in a tough spot and ended up hitting Larkin into the boards head-first.

Larkin, who spent eight weeks in a surgical collar last April after being cross-checked by Dallas’ Jamie Benn, jumped to his skates and sucker-punched Joseph in the face, knocking him to the ice.

A few days later, cooler heads prevailed. Joseph saw on social media that Larkin was visiting a specialist for his neck. He didn’t know about Larkin’s injury history, and after replaying the hit over and over on video and in his mind, Joseph reached out to apologize.

“I thought my hit wasn’t great, but at the same time, it was really hard for me to stop,” Joseph said. “… Someone told me … about some of the bad injuries that he had last year. … And knowing that I was the guy after his first game coming back doing this back to him — even if, with a sucker punch, his reaction was probably not the way to do it after — but obviously I just wanted to know that he was all right with the hit.”

Continued; here’s the scrap:

Red Wings captain Dylan Larkin did not appreciate this hit by Lightning forward Mathieu Joseph and let him know immediately. #LGRW pic.twitter.com/iu8KlirWOy

— Bally Sports Detroit (@BallySportsDET) October 15, 2021

Detroit Hockey Now’s Kevin Allen reports sad news from the “people behind the scenes” department today:

Former Philadelphia Flyers and Vancouver Canucks coach Bob McCammon, 80, died. Energetic McCammon was one of the game’s most colorful characters.

McCammon had also worked for the Detroit Red Wings as a pro scout. He launched his coaching career in Michigan when he coached the Port Huron Flags in 1973-74.  He had played for the Flags prior to coaching them.

The Vancouver Province’s Patrick Johnston penned McCammon’s obituary, highlighting the unique way McCammon prepared his players for a playoff game.

Bob McCammon was quick-witted, full of energy. Everyone in the hockey world knew him well. He was outgoing,  always ready to talk hockey.

Continued

Aunt Annie and I haven’t had the cheeriest of Christmastimes this year. It’s been a bit dark around the house, between a little bit of depression for the both of us, the reality of spending our second year and third Christmas without my mom, and the seasonal grind that is living life in a still-in-a-pandmic world as an immune-compromised person and her caregiver…

But we are tremendously grateful this morning. I asked the TMR community to step up and help us take care of AA’s property taxes as we really had nowhere else to go but the whole concept that this is a reader-supported blog, and this afternoon, I’m dropping off the final check that will pay off our taxes for the year.

It’s hard to ask for help. And it’s really hard for me to learn how to say, “Hey, there are no commercials here, no paywalls, but I pour my heart and soul into this blog, etc. etc.”

That’s probably the worst part of the job, in all honesty, but when you’re essentially a non-profit business, you still need to pay the bills. And the bill is paid.

It wouldn’t be so without the reason that I do this–you.

Now I still need to raise funds as the screen on my cell phone literally peeling off my phone like a bad wrapper off a sardine can, and it’s gonna cost about $500 to replace that phone because my credit score is a fraction (hello, student loans). But I need the phone for work as much as anything else (hey, you’ve seen what I use the computer for!), and so I’m going to keep asking that you consider lending a hand to help me break even.

But I can’t do that without expressing my profound, sincere and immense gratitude for your remarkable kindness in helping my aunt and I stay here.

Just like every Traverse City trip, just like Moonshot, a.k.a. my laptop, and just like so many other hoped-for dreams and possibilities, it happened because I work for a community.

That’s pretty cool. And very Christmassy.

If you’re willing to lend a hand, 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 you can contact me via email if you want to send me a paper check.