Year: 2021

Training camp, Day 5: post-practice media availabilities

From the Athletic’s Max Bultman comes the new “upper-body injury” and “lower-body injury” term for this season:

Svechnikov gets the “unfit to practice” designation — which, again, covers injury and illness. Certainly, we all saw him come off the ice with an apparent injury, but it sounds like that’s the only designation we’re going to get out of the team for anyone missing practice.— Max Bultman (@m_bultman) January 7, 2021

Jeff Blashill says he prefers Filip Hronek on the left flank of the power play, which makes a lot of sense with Hronek’s one-timer ability. That certainly explains why it’s been DeKeyser up top on the Mantha/Larkin power-play unit. We’ll see if that sticks, though— Max Bultman (@m_bultman) January 7, 2021

Jeff Blashill had no update on Red Wings F Evgeny Svechnikov (looked like injured R arm in scrimmage). Said he’s “unfit,” per what NHL wants teams to say.— Helene St. James (@HeleneStJames) January 7, 2021

Jeff Blashill said his wallet is heavier after USA gold medal victory at #IIHFWorldJuniors Thanked Kris Draper for contribution.— Helene St. James (@HeleneStJames) January 7, 2021

Here’s Fox Sports Detroit’s pre-season teaser, too:

Continue reading Training camp, Day 5: post-practice media availabilities

Training camp Day 5, second group: Bultman reports that Elson is skating, but Svechnikov is not

Not the greatest news from Tuesday’s scrimmage as the Red Wings’ “second group” of players practices at the BELFOR Training Center:

Turner Elson, who left the Red Wings first scrimmage early, is on the ice with Detroit’s second camp group.

Evgeny Svechnikov is not. Will ask for an update when they are off the ice.— Max Bultman (@m_bultman) January 7, 2021

97.1 the Ticket reports Wyshynski as ranking Wings least-watchable team in the NHL

Per 97.1 the Ticket:

For the fifth year in a row, the Red Wings enter the season without legitimate playoff aspirations. For the third year in a row — since the retirement of Henrik Zetterberg — they enter the season without any legitimate stars. These are the realities of a rebuild.

For fans close to the team, the Wings remain mildly intriguing. They have a core of young players worth watching, with more on the way. From a national perspective, they’re as bland as it gets.

Which is why in a ranking of the NHL’s most watchable teams this season, ESPN’s Greg Wyshynski slotted the Red Wings last. 31 out of 31.

Wyshynski rated each team on a scale of 1-10 in five categories: star power, secondary plot lines, controversy quotient, fun factor and aesthetics. The Red Wings got a 5 or lower in every category except aesthetics (8), including a 2 in star power. No other team was lower than 4 in that department.

Wyshynski’s article is an ESPN+ piece, so here’s what he had to say:

Detroit Red Wings

Star power: 2
Secondary plot lines: 4
Controversy quotient: 2
Fun factor: 4
Aesthetics: 8
Overall watchability rating: 20

The Red Wings’ rebuild will continue as morale improves. Due respect to Dylan Larkin, but this remains a franchise in search of a focal point player. Are we interested in seeing how Filip Zadina develops and how Bobby Ryan continues on his journey? Sure. Are we interested in seeing the Red Wings on most nights of a truncated season? No. Great jerseys, though.

Here’s hoping that the Red Wings are at least marginally more watchable this season.

Training camp, day 5, first group: Helm still unfit to play; Wings shake up defensive pairs

Per MLive’s Ansar Khan…

Continue reading Training camp, day 5, first group: Helm still unfit to play; Wings shake up defensive pairs

Griffins’ coach Ben Simon preparing for unique challenges this season

Grand Rapids Griffins coach Ben Simon spoke with the Detroit and Grand Rapids media corps for over 16 minutes on Wednesday afternoon…

And MLive’s Steve Kaminski reports that Simon noted that this year’s AHL season, which will only constitute 28 games for the Griffins, will present unique challenges:

Simon said there are plenty of challenges ahead as the Griffins get back to work. He added that those challenges will be much different than the ones teams across the league have faced in the past.

“The biggest thing is just being smart with your decisions,” Simon said. “I don’t know when the vaccine is going to be available for the guys in Grand Rapids and the staff. Assuming that we don’t, you have to be as smart as you can and not put yourself in a bad spot so not to be exposed to this virus as much as possible.

“As far as other things, there are a lot of firsts. It’s a first for having a taxi squad and all the testing and different protocols. I think getting a little bit acclimated to how we are going to work with all of that, and we are going to be doing less road trips. We are going to be transitioning into a newer model schedule this year. The players are going to have to change their routines and practice routines a little bit.”

Continued

Quick note: a bit of praise for Elmer Soderblom and Filip Zadina

Of very brief Red Wings-related note this morning:

  1. Red Wings prospect Elmer Soderblom received praise from ESPN’s Chris Peters as a prospect who “leveled up” during the World Junior Championship…

Elmer Soderblom, LW, Sweden/Detroit Red Wings: A favorite of mine since his draft year of 2019, the 6-foot-7 Soderblom was one of Sweden’s most reliable forwards and a menace at the net front. Despite that big size, Soderblom moves well and has excellent hands. He had just three points, but seemed to be involved in everything for Sweden.

2. And Filip Zadina is listed among The Athletic’s Scott Cullen’s top 10 “fantasy hockey sleepers“:

Filip Zadina, RW, Detroit: Just about anyone on the Red Wings this side of Dylan Larkin could be a sleeper because they were just awful last season. Maybe lurking a little further down, Zadina was the sixth overall pick in 2018 and had 15 points in 28 games for the Red Wings last season. The opportunity is there for him to play a top-six role and get some power play time and that still may not be enough to be fantasy relevant but if Zadina is scoring, he should have some upward mobility in the lineup.

A quick note about Carter Gylander’s playing situation

For the prospect hounds: Red Wings draft pick and prospect goalie Carter Gylander is taking part in his freshman season at Colgate, and USCHO.com’s Nate Owen wrote about the fact that Gylander is part of a netminding triumvirate:

Finding a good goalie can be a challenge for many hockey teams, but it shouldn’t be difficult for Colgate this season.

The Raiders have juniors Andrew Farrier and Mitch Benson, a goaltending duo whose strong play helped Colgate host a home series in the first round of the league playoffs last year. Colgate also added freshman Carter Gylander, a Detroit draft pick who was named the AJHL’s top goalie last season.

That trio should give the Raiders plenty of options in net this season.

“We’re really excited about where we are [with our goaltending],” Colgate coach Don Vaughan said.

But the Raiders’ success this season rests on improving an offense that ranked 52nd in the country in scoring last season and lost its top two scorers to graduation.

“When you only give up two goals a game, you’ve got to find a way to score more than two goals,” Vaughan said. “If we can find a way to [average] two and a half or three goals a game, we can pile up the Ws.”

Continued, with various college hockey notes; Colgate plays next on Saturday, when they face Saint Lawrence.

Monroe: Walleye hockey market strong, should rebound from hockey-less 20-21 season

The Toledo Blade’s Mark Monroe spoke with hockey historian Dan Saevig regarding the high probability that the Red Wings’ ECHL affiliate will likely recover from a 2020-2021 season not played due to financial concerns:

“Toledo has shown that absence makes the heart grow fonder [for hockey],” Saevig said. “While this is disappointing for everyone, the good news is that it’s just a one-year blip on the hockey radar screen. Unlike the previous instances in Toledo when hockey wasn’t played, it isn’t because of controllable variables like poor ticket sales, bad marketing, or a sub-par win-loss record. This is simply because of a horrible pandemic. What makes this hiatus different from all previous shutdowns is that the hockey product and the business operations of the Walleye are in great shape.”

The Walleye annually rank among the top two teams in the ECHL in attendance. The team now routinely sells out its home games. Last season, the team set a single-season record with 7,448 fans per game and had 24 sellouts before the season was cut short on March 14. The organization now enjoys a season-ticket holder fan base of 2,850. The franchise set a Toledo record when 8,538 fans jammed into the downtown arena for Game 5 of the Kelly Cup Finals in 2019.

Saevig said given those “great metrics” the Walleye enjoyed up until the pandemic, he expects that success to continue.

“The strength of the organization on and off the ice [indicate that] the overwhelming majority of people will be back because they will be starved for entertainment,” Saevig said. “We know that the Walleye will be back later this year.”

Neil Neukam, the Walleye’s executive vice president and general manager, struggled to put the disappointment over the announcement into words on Tuesday. But he said the organization already has its eyes on a big return next season.

“We had anticipated another exciting season for our fans, in spite of the challenges,” Neukam said. “We remain committed to our fans … and we look forward to celebrating T-Town hockey in October.”

Continued

A bit about Jon Merrill

Flint’s MyCity Magazine‘s Mark Spezia spoke with Red Wings defenseman and Grand Blanc, MI native Jon Merrill regarding his decision to sign with his hometown Red Wings earlier this past fall:

The easiest decision of Merrill’s life was signing a one-year, $950,000 deal with Detroit. “I had thought about and dreamed about that moment for so long that I really could not sign fast enough,” he says. “My wife was equally excited and this is what’s best for our family. My parents and all the family we have in Michigan were elated.”

Calls, texts and messages began flooding Merrill’s phone and the family’s social media accounts. “I heard from so many people. Guys I played with ten years ago said they were happy to see me return home,” he says. “It was really touching, actually.”

One of the first to contact Merrill was Detroit forward Luke Glendening, his former Wolverines teammate. “I have been fortunate to be good friends with Luke and have him show me around and introduce me to the guys,” he says. “That has gone very well and they are a great group of teammates. He also introduced me to the coaching staff and front office people. They have been very welcoming.”

Continued