Month: December 2021

ESPN’s Wyshynski discusses NHL award races, including the Calder Trophy

ESPN’s Greg Wyshynski evaluates the NHL’s award races this morning, so you know that Lucas Raymond and Moritz Seider are mentioned in his Calder Trophy discussion:

Calder Trophy (top rookie)

Leader: Lucas Raymond, LW, Detroit Red Wings
Finalists: Moritz Seider, D, Detroit Red Wings; Trevor Zegras, C, Anaheim Ducks

The Calder Trophy race has been a wild one already. Preseason favorite Cole Caufield of the Montreal Canadiens was demoted to the AHL and has a goal and an assist in six games since returning. Bowen Byram, who was in the top three here last month, saw his season interrupted after an upper-body injury. He returned to the team on Nov. 27.

Leading the pack is Raymond, the 19-year-old standout for the Wings who has 22 points in his first 24 NHL games. He was the rookie of the year choice for 60% of the voters we surveyed, playing a top-line role with top-line minutes (17:11 per game) for Detroit.

His teammate Seider is the clear second choice, getting the nod on 30% of the ballots. He has 16 points in 24 games and is playing the most minutes on average (22:20) of any rookie skater — and the Red Wings aren’t protecting him in the least, like other rookie blueliners were in their breakout seasons. A very viable candidate for the Calder, especially if Raymond’s top line with Dylan Larkin and Tyler Bertuzzi cools down.

Zegras was the only other player to appear on the ballots. He was tied with Michael Bunting of the Leafs with 17 points, second overall behind Raymond. But two things that Bunting doesn’t have: He’s six years younger and has started hitting the highlight reel with McDavid-like frequency thanks to his innovative playmaking. And in some years, that can be all you need in the Calder race.

Two other rookies who were mentioned but not put at the top of voters’ ballots: Forward Dawson Mercer of the New Jersey Devils and Red Wings goalie Alex Nedeljkovic, the latter of whom is trying to become a Calder finalist for the second straight season, which would be quite a quirky thing indeed.

Continued (paywall)

Prospect Round-up North America: Bednar loses in the Q, Zito scores in Windsor loss

Of prospect-related note in North America on Thursday:

In the QMJHL, Jan Bednar stopped 18 of 22 shots as the Acadie-Bathurst Titan lost 4-3 to Cape Breton;

In the OHL, Pasquale Zito scored a goal on 3 shots, winning 11 of 21 faceoffs, but he finished at -3 in the Windsor Spitfires’ 5-4 OT loss to Erie.

Kevin Allen on Hockeybuzz regarding the Wings’ rookie trio

Detroit Hockey Now’s Kevin Allen also posts a daily column on Hockeybuzz.com, and he discusses the Red Wings’ rookies among his “Thursday Thoughts“:

Everyone is correct in their assessment that rookies are helping the Detroit Red Wings be an improved team. But everyone is wrong about how many rookies are contributing.

The belief is two rookies, defenseman Moritz Seider and left wing Lucas Raymond, are carrying the Red Wings. But it’s actually been three rookies carrying the load. People forget goalie Alex Nedeljkovic is still technically a rookie. And he is contributing as much as Seider and Raymond.

“It’s been a great confidence boost to know that he’s gonna be there every night,” Red Wings captain Dylan Larkin said.

Seider was Rookie of the Month in October and Raymond won for last month. But you could have easily picked Nedejkovic for November. He was 6-2-1, with a 2.24 GAA and .934 save percentage. Nedeljkovic was a finalist for Rookie of the Year last season when he played for the Carolina Hurricanes. But he still meets the criteria to be considered a rookie this season.

Continued; we know in Detroit…

Non-hockey story of note: Montreal-based Nicholas Craven shares a song called ‘Yzerman’

From Complex Magazine’s Jordan Rose comes a decidedly non-hockey story:

Montreal-based producer Nicholas Craven enlists one of Griselda’s finest, Boldy James, to assist him on his latest track. Premiering above, “Yzerman” acts as the first single for Nicholas’ upcoming album Craven N 3, which will mark the conclusion of his Craven N trilogy.

The menacing production put together by Craven is neatly paired with Boldy James’ baritone, giving the song a Sopranos-type feel. “Yzerman” almost sounds like the cold winters of Canada and Buffalo coming to dance together, making for an impressive offering that’s likely a nod to legendary hockey player Steve Yzerman.

When talking about the single and his forthcoming project, Craven said that after hearing Boldy’s The Price of Tea in China project with the Alchemist, he knew he needed a collaboration.

“For the last album in my Craven N series, I wanted a lineup consisting of the hardest MCs that weren’t on any previous installments,” Craven told Complex. “Of all the names that ended up making the cut, Boldy was the first that came to mind. I’ve been a fan of his since My 1st Chemistry Set but after The Price of Tea in China dropped, he solidified himself as one of the most important figures in the game and I knew that I had to work with him.”

Enjoy:

Prospect Round-up Europe: Johansson scores for Farjestad; Edvinsson plays 23:57 in Frolunda HC loss

Of Red Wings prospect-related note in Europe on Thursday:

In the Finnish Liiga, Eemil Viro finished at +1 with 4 shots in 18:32 played as TPS Turku won 4-3 over Karpat;

In the SHL, William Wallinder is one of 7 defensemen skating for Rogle BK right now, but Wallinder finished even with 2 shots in 16:52 played during Rogle BK’s 5-2 win over Brynas;

Albert Johansson scored a goal, finishing at -1 with 2 shots on goal in 22:46 played during Farjestads BK’s 6-3 loss to Skelleftea AIK. Gustav Berglund never left the bench, playing no minutes as the team’s seventh defenseman.

Per IceHockeyGifs on Twitter:

And, in Frolunda HC’s 3-2 shootout loss to Lulea:

Simon Edvinsson finished at -1 with 1 shot in 23:57 played;

Theodor Niederbach finished at -1 in 10:01 played;

And Elmer Soderblom played on the same line as Niederbach, finishing at -1 with 3 shots taken in 15:58 played.

TSN’s Insider Trading: Wings don’t have to pay Bertuzzi during COVID absence

Red Wings forward Tyler Bertuzzi, who is unvaccinated against COVID-19, happens to have the illness right now, and Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill said that Bertuzzi will miss at least 10 days and at least 5 games while he’s in COVID protocols. According to TSN’s Insider Trading, the Wings don’t have to pay Bertuzzi while he’s out because he chose to decline the vaccine:

Players testing positive for COVID-19 has become an almost daily occurrence for the NHL over the last few weeks. But was there something different about the news Wednesday?

[Chris] Johnston: There was. That’s because Tyler Bertuzzi of the Detroit Red Wings is the lone unvaccinated NHL player. And based on the rules that were written up and agreed to between the NHL and NHLPA before the season, if you’re unvaccinated and you do test positive, your team is under no obligation to pay you during that period. In the case of Tyler Bertuzzi, that would be forfeiting a little bit more than $20,000 per day in salary. He is expected to be out at least 10 days while in COVID-19 protocol. And this isn’t entirely new for him. He hasn’t been able to travel into Canada with the Red Wings this year and on those days that the Wings have been in Canada he’s been suspended without pay and not getting paid those days.

Continued; actions have consequences.

Sportsnet’s power rankings: Bounce-back Larkin

Sportsnet’s Emily Sadler posted a set of power rankings in which she discusses “bounce-back players” from the NHL’s 32 teams. The Red Wings’ captain is an obvious choice:

21. Detroit Red Wings (12-9-3)
After seeing his numbers dip slightly in two straight seasons, Dylan Larkin – he of 10 goals and 19 points in 19 games – is on pace to exceed his 32-goal, 73-point career highs of 2018-19.

Continued; Mickey Redmond calls Larkin the Red Wings’ “Diesel Engine” for a reason!

Duff examines the Wings’ records vs. expansion teams–every record!

Detroit Hockey Now’s Bob Duff is a heck of a hockey historian, so his off-day Red Wings notebook discusses the Wings’ all-time records in their first games vs. the NHL’s many expansion teams:

October 8, 1993: Red Wings 7 at Mighty Ducks of Anaheim 2: The Wings provided the opposition in the first game in Ducks history. Keith Primeau scored twice and Bob Probert fought Stu Grimson. While sitting out a penalty, Probert began grabbing pucks with the Ducks’ first game logo on them out of the timekeeper’s bucket and down his hockey pants. Probie was figuring they’d probably be worth money someday.

February 16, 1994: Florida Panthers 3 at Detroit 7: Steve Chiasson and Ray Sheppard each scored twice for the Wings. Steve Yzerman contributed three assists.

October 21,1998: Nashville Predators 2 at Detroit 5: Darren McCarty was leading the cause, scoring twice. Yzerman and Larry Murphy each dished out a pair of assists.

October 7, 1999: Red Wings 7 at Atlanta Thrashers 1: Seven different Detroit players shared in the goal scoring against former Wings netminder Norm Maracle. Fedorov and Tomas Holmstrom each tallied a goal and two assists. Yzerman collected three assists.

Continued

HSJ’s notebook: On the Wings’ 4-game winning streak

The Free Press’s Helene St. James posted a subscriber-only notebook discussing the Red Wings’ current four-game winning streak as a product of good personnel decisions:

The Detroit Red Wings are riding their rookies and their resilience into a winning streak that shows just how much growth the team has undergone.

They’ve won four consecutive games for the first time since spring 2019, days before Steve Yzerman was named general manager. Two of the players he drafted — Lucas Raymond and Moritz Seider — are key reasons the Wings feel good about themselves as they prepare to take on the New York Islanders on Saturday at Little Caesars Arena.

“We have a great group in there,” Raymond said. “There’s a lot of leaders that step up and take responsibility to get the team back on track. I feel especially since we had that tough road games, we got back, hit the reset button, and now we’re going again. It’s a lot of different things, but it comes from the locker room.”

Tyler Bertuzzi, the NHL’s only unvaccinated player, won’t be available for the next four games. Coach Jeff Blashill said Wednesday that Bertuzzi’s COVID-19 protocol would be a 10-day period. The Wings won without Bertuzzi on Wednesday, thanks, in no small part, to Raymond and Seider, another rookie. Raymond scored his 10th goal of the season and Seider had two assists to help push the Wings past the Seattle Kraken, 4-3, a day after grinding out a 2-1 victory at Boston.

Yzerman drafted Raymond at No. 4 in 2020. Seider, the No. 6 pick in 2019, already has established himself as the team’s go-to blue liner, and leads the Wings with 14 assists. Raymond, 19, has three goals in the past four games.

“I’m trying to find my game and I’m still learning every day, trying to get better at areas that are my weaknesses,” Raymond said. “I’m just trying to be an offensive forward that you can count on defensively who plays hard every night. Still working and going to find my identity as it goes on. My main thing is just to skate hard every night.”

Continued (paywall)

Tweet of note: An infamous day in Red Wings history

The Red Wings recall an incident which caused their route to four Stanley Cup Championships in 11 years to be exponentially harder than it could have been (and I was on a bus driving back from Houghton, MI, listening to the game on the radio when it happened):