Month: December 2021

Kulfan’s notebook: Larkin on the Olympics

The Detroit News’s Ted Kulfan filed a meaty notebook article in which he discusses Dylan Larkin’s take on the NHL not going to the Olympics, among other topics:

“It would have been an honor to go and represent the U.S.,” Larkin said Monday after the Wings’ practice. “I would have absolutely jumped on that opportunity. Like everyone says, it’s disappointing. I haven’t had the chance to represent the United States in a best-on-best tournament, and it would have been one of the greatest honors of my career, so far.”

Larkin has represented the U.S at men’s and junior world championships, but not the Olympics. With 15 goals and 29 points in 27 games, Larkin is off to one of his best starts in his pro career. He was a favorite to land a Team USA roster spot.

This was expected to be one of the most talent-laden Olympic tournaments ever, with stars such as Connor McDavid, Auston Matthews, Nathan McKinnon, Sidney Crosby, Alex Ovechkin and Patrick Kane all either in their prime, or still playing at a high level. There is a sliver of hope these Winter Olympics may still be postponed until 2023, but the chances are remote and no one is certain COVID becomes a non-issue at that point.

Many players are touting having a best-against-best tournament, such as another World Cup, to grow the game and fill the void of these Olympics.

“Hopefully they can figure something out to get the best players in this game to play each other for their home countries in the near future,” Larkin said. “It would be great for the game.”

Continued

Red Wings’ first Taxi Squad consists of Riley Barber, Dan Renouf, Luke Witkowski and Victor Brattstrom

FYI:

Video: Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill speaks with the media after Monday’s practice; Dylan Larkin does, too

The Red Wings removed three players and two coaches from their COVID list and practiced with a “skeleton” lineup on Monday. As far as we know, they’re still going to play against the New York Islanders on Wednesday, but that’s subject to change.

After Monday’s practice, the Wings held Zoom availabilities. Well, coach Jeff Blashill did, anyway:

Update: Dylan Larkin spoke with the media as well:

Monday’s post-practice Tweets: It’s booster time

After removing three players and two coaches from COVID protocols, the Red Wings practiced at Little Caesars Arena’s Belfor Training Center with what The Athletic’s Max Bultman reported were 15 total skaters.

At present, they’re still scheduled to play against the New York Islanders on the road Wednesday, to host the Washington Capitals on New Year’s Eve, and to continue a game-every-other-night schedule until January 8th.

After practice, the Wings spoke with the media via Zoom calls:

Jeff Blashill said multiple Red Wings players took advantage of weeklong shutdown to get COVID-19 vaccine booster shot. Red Wings preparing to play NYI Wednesday.— Helene St. James (@HeleneStJames) December 27, 2021

Tweets from Monday’s practice: makeshift group of Wings skates

The Detroit Red Wings removed Carter Rowney, Givani Smith, Pius Suter, coach Jeff Blashill and assistant coach Alex Tanguay from COVID protocols before Monday’s practice, but that left 8 players in COVID protocols–Lucas Raymond, Nick Leddy, Jordan Oesterle, Sam Gagner, Alex Nedeljkovic, Filip Zadina, Joe Veleno and Adam Erne.

The Red Wings are still scheduled to play in Long Island against the New York Islanders on Wednesday (7:30 PM EST start) and host Washington on Saturday (7:30 PM EST start).

So the “skeleton crew” (using coach Jeff Blashill’s words from yesterday’s presser) hit the ice just after 12 PM for a skate at the Belfor Training Center attached to Little Caesars Arena:

Lightly attended Red Wings practice as expected today — by my count 15 skaters
Fabbri Larkin Bertuzzi
Namestnikov Rasmussen Barber
Smith Rowney Witkowski
DeKeyser Seider
Renouf Hronek
Staal Lindstrom pic.twitter.com/txJwD2AGgF— Max Bultman (@m_bultman) December 27, 2021

Tweet of note: Rowney, Smith, Suter, coach Blashill and assistant coach Tanguay removed from COVID protocol

From the Red Wings:

UPDATE: Forwards Carter Rowney, Givani Smith, Pius Suter, head coach Jeff Blashill, and assistant coach Alex Tanguay have been removed from the NHL’s COVID-19 protocol.— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) December 27, 2021

So the Wings are down to 8 players in COVID protocol:

Raymond
Leddy
Oesterle
Gagner
Nedeljkovic
Zadina
Veleno
Erne https://t.co/SViyCM3xMB— George Malik (@georgemalik) December 27, 2021

Griffins coach Ben Simon reflects upon his NHL call-up with TheAHL.com’s Williams

Via the Grand Rapids Griffins on Twitter, coach Ben Simon spoke with TheAHL.com’s Patrick Williams regarding his NHL coaching debut earlier this month with the Red Wings:

ON PREPARING TO GO TO DETROIT

“There’s a lot going on… a little anxiety, a little panic, a little excitement. But I knew it wouldn’t be very long-term, and knowing the people up in Detroit ― how prepared that Jeff Blashill is and his staff and what great people they are ― that it was going to be a fun experience, regardless. So those guys were fantastic welcoming [us] up, and it was a good experience.”

ON RECEIVING THE NEWS

“[As a coach] it’s different because you’re not expecting it. You know, that’s not your goal here. I mean, your goal is to always make it to the highest level. But as a coach, you’re really worried about your group and how you’re improving your group on a daily basis.

“So when you get that call, it’s not expected. But you get a little excited, and it’s kind of cool at the end of the day. Not a lot of guys can say they’ve stepped behind an NHL bench. And for me, whether it’s one game or turns into 1,000 games over the course of my life, it was a great experience, [and] to do it for Detroit was pretty cool.”

Continued