Month: July 2022

Just a reminder that, in Europe, at least, teams’ training camps are about to get underway by the end of the first week of August: Mannheimer Morgen, the main newspaper in Moritz Seider’s off-season home, let us know that his German Eishockey Liga “parent club,” the Adler Mannheim, took part in their annual charity golf tournament today:

Sankt Leon-Rot. This year, the Adler Mannheim once again traditionally swapped out their ice hockey sticks for golf clubs at the start of their preparations. At the “Eagles’ Cup,” the golf tournament where they collect money for the association “Adler Helfen Menschen” (Adler Helps People), prominent visitors were also in attendance. The two former Eagles and current NHL players Moritz Seider and Tim Stuetzle also hit the golf ball over the perfectly-manicured greens. For the Adler/Eagles, meanwhile, their first on-ice training session is on Tuesday, before the team presents itself for the first time to its fans on Saturday at the “Boys Are Back in Town” party.

Detroit Hockey Now’s audit of the Red Wings’ prospect system brings us to a prospect whose ceiling is still a little difficult to discern in 2022 draft pick Tnias Mathurin, a defenseman.

When I watched the 6’3,” 201-pound defenseman take part in the Wings’ summer development camp, I had no doubt that the Wings drafted a “support player,” but whether the North Bay Battalion blueliner is simply a third-pair guy or something more was hard to tell.

Red Wings director of amateur scouting Kris Draper spoke with Detroit Hockey Now’s Bob Duff about the big defender:

“Big D-man out of North Bay,” was how Red Wings director of amateur scouting Kris Draper began his assessment of the rearguard for the Ontario Hockey League’s North Bay Batallion. “I was able to see him quite a bit in the playoffs. We like his size. He moves well for a big man and is a pretty athletic defenseman.”

While defense is his forte, Mathurin does display some offensive instincts. Interestingly, his 15 points last season as an OHL rookie weren’t far off the 19 points he gathered the previous season with the Ajax/Pickering Raiders AAA U16 squad. Mathurin was captain of that club. Mathurin was also +17, an impressive number for an OHL rookie. In 13 playoff games, he dished out four assists.

He displays vision in the offensive zone, and makes an astute first pass. Mathurin shows some zip in his shot and displays a knack for getting into shooting lanes.

“He’s got a good stick, and he’s pretty mobile defender,” Draper said.

Continued; the Wings will invite Mathurin to the prospect tournament this September, and he’ll have an opportunity to establish himself in a more-defined role.

The Free Press’s Mick McCabe penned an early-morning article which discusses new Red Wings forward Andrew Copp’s ability to play baseball, football and soccer (for a time) as a young man, which helped the 28-year-old blossom into the professional athlete he is today:

Copp is adamant that playing football has made him a better hockey player.

“Being able to take a hit to make a play, understanding how to accept contact and be able to concentrate on the throw when someone is bearing down on you has some similarity to hockey,” he said. “How to accept contact and knowing where people are coming from so you are able to protect yourself a little bit because hockey is a very violent game just like football.”

There are guys who years ago specialized in hockey and Copp thought were better than him back then. But they have been out of the sport for years now while his career continues to flourish.

“You see a lot of kids that are the best at their age when they’re 12, 13, 14 and they get burnt out by the time they’re 18, 19, 20,” he said. “I was very lucky not to feel that way about hockey. I think that’s a big part of why I still feel like I have parts of my hockey game that I can get better and continue to improve and I feel like I’m still trending upward instead of plateauing or being on the decline at 28, 29.

“I think a lot of it is not specializing in one sport.”

Hope this sinks in.

Continued (paywall)

Red Wings summer development camp invite Connor Murphy spoke with the Daily Gazette a couple of weeks ago regarding his lessons learned at the Wings’ development camp. This evening, the 23-year-old goaltender from Hudson Falls, New York spoke with the Glenns Falls Post-Star’s Pete Tobey about taking part in the Wings’ camp as well:

Connor Murphy may not know exactly what he wants to do with his eventual degree in economics, but he definitely knows what he wants after Union College: a shot at playing professional hockey.

Earlier this month, the incoming senior goalie got a sneak peek at pro hockey when he was invited to the Detroit Red Wings’ development camp in Detroit. On top of improving his goaltending skills, Murphy said he learned a lot about how pro athletes take care of their bodies before and after games and workouts.

“It was obviously a big honor just to be invited to the camp,”  Murphy, a 23-year-old Hudson Falls native, said in a phone interview Friday. “It was a really big learning experience. I learned how to do the things professional players do to prepare, recover and eat right. That was the big takeaway for me, and how I can incorporate that into my game now.”

At 6-foot-4 and 200 pounds, Murphy presents an imposing figure in goal. Last season — his first at Union after transferring from Northeastern University — he racked up a 14-18-3 record, with a 2.66 goals-against average and a .919 save percentage. His 1,060 saves set a Dutchmen single-season record.

One area Murphy said he’s working on is reading how plays are developing in front of him, and keeping an awareness of where he is in the crease.

“I’m working on controlling my depth — when a play is coming in, I tend to get a little bit aggressive and I get out too far in the crease,” he said. “I’m learning to sit back a little more and control where I can get across if there’s a pass. I’m learning to read the play better, get my eyes on the puck first and see where they’re going, turning my head quicker — little details to tune up. As long as I can get those things dialed in, I’ll be pretty good, but there’s always things to work on.”

Continued; I’m not sure whether the big goaltender will have pro aspirations unless he delivers a superb senior season at Union College, but he’s massive at 6’4″ and 201 pounds, and he may have had the best fundamentals of any of the goaltenders who was in camp–he was just a little slow and lumbering.

If he takes the lessons that Wings goalie coach Phil Osaer and the coaching staff imparted upon him, and executes them successfully, he may yet impress a professional team.

Now I have a story to tell, and I’m gonna tell it after this note from the New York Post’s Larry Brooks:

So maybe the Red Wings will never erect a statue of Sergei Fedorov outside their arena, but have not the statute of limitations run out on the transcendent center’s 1998 perceived offer sheet transgression with Carolina? 

It is surely past time for Detroit to retire Fedorov’s No. 91. 

Brooks continues; and here’s the story that I have been told (and it’s late July, so you get this one, but I do NOT like to tread in this kind of talk of, “Lies, rumors and innuendo” any more):

Continue reading A bit of Fedorov scuttlebutt for your Saturday evening reading

Detroit Hockey Now’s hockey writers have ventured to the periphery of the Red Wings’ prospect system over the past couple of days, and today’s entry from Kevin Allen is no different: he scouts center Owen Mehlenbacher, who the Red Wings selected 201st overall in the 2022 draft.

Mehlenbacher was essentially scouted in the Wings’ backyard, posting 17 goals, 25 assists and 42 points in 52 games for the USHL’s Muskegon Lumberjacks, and he’s headed to the University of Wisconsin this upcoming season.

The 6’2,” 190-pound Mehlenbacher took part in the Wings’ summer development camp, and while his excellent reach stood out, he, 212th overall pick Brennan Ali and 137th overall pick Tnias Mathurin all looked incredibly raw and all of 18 years old.

Mehlenbacher (Wisconsin) and Ali (Notre Dame) can’t participate in the prospect tournament due to their NCAA eligibility being on the line, so, as Allen notes, the Red Wings made an educated decision in picking the big center:

Continue reading DHN’s Allen scouts big Owen Mehlenbacher

Of general hockey-related note on a sunny Saturday afternoon in late July:

1. The Toledo Walleye’s recently re-signed coach, Dan Watson, and newly re-signed stalwart defenseman, Simon Denis, said, “Hello” from a Toledo Mud Hens game:

1️⃣4️⃣ weeks until you’re back where you belong. pic.twitter.com/NQhBBJUn2Q— Toledo Walleye (@ToledoWalleye) July 30, 2022

2. The Grand Rapids Griffins’ “Put a Lid on It” campaign is about putting bike helmets on as many young kids as possible, so they held a “Bike Rodeo” today at Van Andel Arena:

Thank you to everyone that came out to the Bike Rodeo today! #GoGRG pic.twitter.com/Z4xEGM41Lh— Grand Rapids Griffins (@griffinshockey) July 30, 2022

3. And also in the charitable news vein, Red Wings prospect Sebastian Cossa took part in a blood drive for Hockey Gives Blood this past season, raising $3,723:

I would like to thank the group of medical professionals in Edmonton who helped me fundraise this past season for @hkygivesblood and @CanadasLifeline; a non-profit and charity that I am proud to be a part of. #EverySaveCounts @EdmOilKings @TheWHL @CHLHockey pic.twitter.com/r1ivkA1Wf9— Sebastian Cossa (@SebastianCossa) July 30, 2022

Cossa’s in Edmonton preparing for the summertime version of the 2022 World Junior Championship, which will take place at Rogers Place from August 9th to August 20th.

Via Paul Kukla of Abel to Yzerman comes this out-of-left-field suggestion from the Boston Globe’s Kevin Dupont regarding one Patrick Kane:

It increasingly looks and sounds as if the Blackhawks will move longtime franchise pieces Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane, each about to enter the final year of their megadeals that carry $10.5M cap hits. Of the two, the 33-year-old Kane remains the most vital and productive (92 points last season), and maybe a team like Detroit (young stars evolving) or Anaheim (winters a touch warmer than both Detroit and Chicago) would entertain the idea of offering a two- or three-year extension at a decent dollar.

Continued; Kane has a full no-movement clause, so he’s able to turn down or approve every potential trade, and while his cap hit is $10.5 million U.S. this upcoming season, he’s making $6.9 million in real-world dollars, per CapFriendly.

He’s still an elite goal-scorer and play-maker with a good five years left on his odometer, so I would see Kane more likely to head back home to Buffalo than Detroit, and I’m not certain that the Red Wings would be willing to pay the haul of prospects and picks that Chicago would logically demand for Kane.

Stranger things have happened, but a Kadri signing on a short-term contract makes more sense to me than a Kane trade.

NHL.com posted a TikTok video on Twitter, and it’s a really remarkable piece of art crafted from a set of molds made from old Nike Zoom skates, combined with Sergei Fedorov in his Nike gear:

Just wait for it… 🤯

(🎥 TikTok/typcollection) pic.twitter.com/xM7NgJEQi7— NHL (@NHL) July 30, 2022

Nice timing here: