Month: December 2021

The Detroit News’s Ted Kulfan filed a subscriber-only article on Wednesday which profiles the Red Wings’ 8 World Junior Championship-participating players:

Carter Mazur, forward, USA: A 2021 third-round pick (70th overall), the Jackson native has been a pleasant surprise playing for the University of Denver. Mazur, 20, is averaging more than a point a game (nine goals, eight assists, 17 points) in 16 games with a plus-12 rating.

Mazur (6-foot, 170 pounds) still needs to get bigger physically. But the way he has produced offensively in the USHL last season, and kept developing in Division 1 hockey this winter, is a good sign.

Red Savage, forward, USA: The 2021 fourth-round pick (114th overall) had an impressive summer and training camp for Team USA and stands to be one of the interesting players to watch in this tournament.

Savage is only 18, and has seven points (one goal, six assists) with a minus-4 rating as a freshman this season at Miami (Ohio). He isn’t big physically, but Savage is effective down low, he’s a clever passer, and has a good wrist shot.

Continued (paywall)

Detroit Hockey Now’s Kevin Allen posted something of a profile of Red Wings prospect Jan Bednar, who will take part in the World Junior Championship for the Czechs:

Sebastian Cossa is the Detroit Red Wings’ top goaltending prospect. He will play for Canada at the upcoming World Junior Championships. But the Red Wings will have a second goalie at the tournament: Jan Bednar will play for the Czech team.

IDNES.cz’s Jakub Hromada reports that the current plan is for Bednar to be part of a goalie rotation for the Czechs.

“I want to show the coaches that I can be the number one goalkeeper, the decision is up to them,” Jan Bednář said in an online interview.

Bednar, 19, said he’s not worried about COVID-19’s impact on the WJC.

“We want to go from match to match and not deal with the more distant future,” Bednar said. “It will be important to play every match 100 percent and if it works out, it will work out and if not, bread will not be cheaper. But we will do everything we can to get as far as possible in the tournament.”

Continued

Detroit Hockey Now’s Kevin Allen filed a notebook article discussing the World Junior Championship as it applies to the Red Wings’ participating prospects, including one Donovan Sebrango:

Detroit Red Wings prospect Donovan Sebrango is not going to dazzle you with his offensive flair or impress you with his point totals. But he could end up being the dependable defense-first defenseman that every successful team needs.

Sebrango has three assists in 20 games for the American League’s Grand Rapids Griffins. He’s also +6 on a Griffins teams with a few too many minus players.

What the Red Wings like is that he’s 19 and already has played 51 games in the American League. Plus, Canada selected him to play in the World Junior Championships. Red Wings prospect goalie Sebastian Cossa is also on the team. The Canadians cut the 2020 53rd pick Sebrango before last season’s tournament.

He is currently projected to play on Canada’s third pairing, maybe with Minnesota Wild first rounder Carson Lambos. Donovan Sebrango is a more well-rounded player than he was when he showed up in Grand Rapids..

“All-around consistency is what I’ve improved the most on,” Sebrango said in a recent interview.

Continued; here’s the Tweet that Allen references:

“She's my rock. She's my everything. I owe the world to her and owe her this tournament to come out on top."

Donovan Sebrango on sharing the news of making Team Canada with his mom: https://t.co/0ek4k06SnF#TSNHockey | #WorldJuniors pic.twitter.com/brLeFPBlFg

— TSN Hockey (@TSNHockey) December 22, 2021

Enjoy:

#RedWings Team Dietitian, Lisa McDowell joins us on an all new episode of the Red and White Authority Podcast.

Listen/subscribe: https://t.co/G8WxyzVcfs
SoundCloud: https://t.co/ZKfwmRCOuO pic.twitter.com/X57miHBlfp

— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) December 23, 2021

The Grand Rapids Griffins had a difficult outing on Wednesday evening, dropping a 2-1 overtime decision to the Milwaukee Admirals. The Griffins’ website posted a recap:

Milwaukee Admirals 2 at GRAND RAPIDS GRIFFINS 1 (OT)

Dec. 22, 2021

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – The Grand Rapids Griffins fell in overtime to the Milwaukee Admirals 2-1 on Wednesday at Van Andel Arena in their first game since Dec. 11.

Despite the loss, Turner Elson pushed his goal streak to four games, which is now a career high and the team’s longest goal streak during this year’s campaign. Calvin Pickard made his 12th straight start, the most in his career. Kyle Criscuolo extended his point streak (7-8—15) to eight games with an assist in the contest.

In the opening frame both teams had two power play chances, but neither was able to convert. Milwaukee had the best opportunity during a five-on-three, but Grand Rapids only allowed just one shot in 27 seconds with a two-man disadvantage.

After a scoreless first period, the Griffins got on the board at 13:05 in the middle frame. Criscuolo waited at the left circle and found Elson at the goal crease. Elson then sent a one-timer past the right leg of netminder Devin Cooley, giving Grand Rapids a 1-0 advantage. Elson’s tally was his ninth of the season, tying Criscuolo for the most on the roster.

Early in the third period, the Admirals converted on a power play after a Grand Rapids double-minor penalty. Cole Smith connected with Egor Afanasyev who skated toward goal and put the puck through the legs of Pickard with 12:12 remaining, tying the contest at one.

With time running out in regulation, the game was sent to overtime. A Griffins’ penalty put Milwaukee on the man advantage with a perfect shot to win the game. At 2:03, Rocco Grimaldi took a slapshot from the slot that zipped past Pickard and into the right corner, giving the Admirals a 2-1 overtime victory.

The Griffins also posted a highlight clip and a photo gallery:

Bummer. No AHL All-Star game for the people of Laval, Quebec:

Update regarding the 2022 AHL All-Star Classic

? https://t.co/NhIiQ4Yohr pic.twitter.com/2scD3VAiFf— Rocket de Laval (@RocketLaval) December 22, 2021

You have to feel for the fans of Laval having this event postponed twice And all fans, really, because it draws people from all over the league.

It’s always a well-done event, and with a facility and a fan base like that, you know Laval will be a great host.— PATRICK WILLIAMS (@pwilliamsAHL) December 22, 2021

Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the 2022 #AHLAllStar Classic, scheduled for Feb. 6-7 in Laval, will not be held.

En raison de la pandémie de COVID-19, la Classique des étoiles 2022, prévue à Laval les 6 et 7 février, ne pourra avoir lieu.

?: https://t.co/rrIhElqPT2 pic.twitter.com/FjnjYo3YfA— AHL Communications (@AHLPR) December 22, 2021

ESPN’s Kristen Shilton and Greg Wyshynski posted a list of possible non-NHL Olympic participants for the 2022 Olympics in Beijing, and they wonder aloud whether the Swedes might be bold enough to add a star-in-the-making who’s Red Wings property;

Simon Edvinsson, D. The sixth overall pick in the 2021 draft by the Detroit Red Wings, he has 12 points in 21 games with Frölunda HC. But will the Tre Kronor add an 18-year-old?

Continued; if you missed it, SVT posted a great Swedish-language video profile of Edvinsson earlier today.

This is the right, but difficult, thing to do:

NHL announces that there will not be an Olympic break, NHL Players will not be able to participate in 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing.

Full release: https://t.co/GkHDkNgZSo pic.twitter.com/ysBmWctzjw— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) December 22, 2021

Update: Here’s the PA’s release:

STATEMENT FROM NHLPA EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR DON FEHR ON OLYMPICS

TORONTO (Dec. 22, 2021) – National Hockey League Players’ Association (NHLPA) Executive Director Don Fehr issued the following statement today regarding the Olympics:

“Since the CBA extension was reached 17 months ago, NHL players have looked forward with great anticipation to once again participating in the Winter Olympics. Until very recently, we seemed to be on a clear path to go to Beijing. COVID-19 has unfortunately intervened, forcing dozens of games to be postponed this month alone. No matter how much we wish it were not the case, we need to utilize the Olympic period to reschedule these games.

“Certainly, the players and hockey fans are quite disappointed. But playing a full 82-game season this year, something the pandemic has prevented us from doing since the 2018-19 season, is very important. We expect that NHL players will return to the Olympics in 2026.​”

NHL schedule-maker will ask all 32 clubs for updated building dates, particularly for that three-week gap in February. Some buildings had gone ahead and booked non-NHL events like concerts for that period but there’s still some dates to work with. 1/2— Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) December 22, 2021

And it’s not just about re-scheduling postponed games in that three-week period but also moving other games around from teams that actually were not affected yet by cancellations so that those teams have games to play as well during that February period. 2/2— Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) December 22, 2021

The aunt and I are doing as best as we can, gloom and doom of yet another pandemic Christmas in the offing, this morning. Neither she nor I are feeling particularly festive at this special time of year, but we are trying to be grateful and count our blessings, and the vast majority of our gratefulness comes from the fact that so many of you have stepped up to help us pay off AA’s tax bill so that we can keep living in the blog cave.

The bill is only partially paid, though the majority thereof has been submitted, and I still need to raise funds for a new phone–as well as a broken headlight and broken tail light on the Pacifica–so we’re going to keep fundraising for at least a couple more weeks.

I’d love to not do this at all to you, especially during a year when I know that we’re all feeling our budgetary squeezes, but this is the NPR of hockey blogs, and so you’re going to get some requests to keep TMR up and running on a fairly regular basis. I may not like doing this, but it’s a necessary part of the job.

All of that being said, the aunt and I are incredibly grateful for your help, and it might be the thing that gets us through a tough Christmas of not seeing the family and dealing with the second year and third Christmas without mom. I’m not sure if we’re going to have a “Wonderful Christmastime,” but we’re trying.

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.

The Athletic’s Max Bultman filed an article this morning discussing the expectations placed upon the Red Wings’ eight World Junior Championship-participating prospects–Jan Bednar (Czechia), Red Savage and Carter Mazur (USA), Sebastian Cossa and Donovan Sebrango (Canada), Eemil Viro (Finland) and Simon Edvinsson and Theodor Niederbach (Sweden):

Of course, having the most talent in the tournament does not guarantee anything. Especially in a single-elimination tournament, a team is only as good as its goaltender when it counts. And for Canada, there’s a very real chance that goaltender will be Detroit’s other 2021 first-round pick, Sebastian Cossa. Cossa will have to earn the net over Dylan Garand and Brett Brochu first, but if he does, it’s going to be a big opportunity for the Red Wings’ goalie of the future.

Where to set expectations for Cossa is a trick question. Panthers first-round pick Spencer Knight was 2-2 with a .913 save percentage in his draft-plus-one tournament. Predators first-rounder Yaroslav Askarov went 3-3 with a .914. Those seem like the most relevant comps, but both were 18 at the time of those tournaments, whereas Cossa is 19 — meaning despite this being his first World Juniors, it’s also his last. Asking Cossa to be as good as Knight was in his dominant 2021 tournament (when he had a .940 save percentage in six games) would be unfair. But if he’s Canada’s starter, the pressure will nonetheless be real to help the tournament’s best team get the job done.

Continued (paywall)