Month: July 2022

Red Wings prospects won several championships at the developmental hockey level this past season, including NCAA Division I hockey (Shai Buium, Carter Mazur and Antti Tuomisto at Denver), the WHL (Sebastian Cossa in Edmonton), the Champions Hockey League (Marco Kasper and William Wallinder with Rogle), the SHL (Albert Johansson with Farjestad) and USHL (Dylan James with Sioux City).

This morning, Detroit Hockey Now’s Bob Duff discusses said championships, as well as what “winning” means in terms of prospect development:

It’s been six long seasons without playoff action for the Detroit Red Wings. However, several top prospects in the Detroit organization are sensing that championship feeling.

Numerous players climbing the ladder of the Red Wings chain won titles in their respective leagues last season. It might not be the Stanley Cup playoffs but it’s a title, and that’s a big deal at any level of the game. Making a long playoff run in whatever the league in which they are playing is an important step in the development of a player.

“I just think it’s great for their confidence, great for development, playing in playoff series, or college hockey winner go home sudden-death games,” Red Wings GM Steve Yzerman said. “I think they’re tremendous experiences. You build up your nerve, you build up your resolve.”

…

Yzerman believes whether players win or lose in a championship round, just surviving the grind and getting there is a benefit in itself.

“There’s a lot to be learned from winning and losing,” Yzerman said. “We’re very happy that some of these kids got a chance to go deep into their playoffs, or even win a national championship, or a championship in some cases.

“I think it’s great for their confidence as hockey players but also in their development, to be thrown into these situations and have to perform. Win or lose, you’re getting a lot out of it.”

Continued; the Wings prefer that the Grand Rapids Griffins and Toledo Walleye make the playoffs, too, to earn playoff experience at the professional level.

Daily Faceoff’s Matt Larkin attempts to discern which non-playoff teams might make the post-season during the 2022-2023 season, and he includes the Red Wings in his column:

Detroit Red Wings: Detroit only spiked its points percentage from .429 in 2020-21 to a modest .451 this past season, but it was still improvement, and what made it particularly promising were the specific players contributing to the rise. Moritz Seider was already one of the league’s best all-round defensemen in his rookie season and won the Calder Trophy in a walk. Slick-mitted Lucas Raymond flashed excellent scoring touch and two-way intelligence. Top-line center Dylan Larkin had one of the best seasons of his career.

And GM Steve Yzerman evidently decided he saw enough promise to reward his young core with some veteran help. In a flurry of early-offseason activity, he traded for goaltender Ville Husso to form a tandem with Alex Nedeljkovic; signed forwards David Perron, Andrew Copp and Dominik Kubalik, and added defenseman Ben Chiarot. It remains to be seen if these were the right players to target for long-term contention but, in the short term, the Wings are undoubtedly better now than they were a year ago – while almost every other Atlantic Division team has gotten worse on paper this summer.

Continued

I have little time for “thought experiments,” and, this morning, two columnists offer just that.

2. First, the Free Press’s Mason Young ponders which 2022 draft pick (of the Red Wings, Tigers, Pistons or Lions) may eventually become the “next big thing in Detroit sports,” and Young makes it sound like he only includes Marco Kasper–and the Red Wings–because he has to:

Marco Kasper: Kasper probably won’t be a Red Wing for at least one more season while further honing his craft in Sweden, giving [Aidan] Hutchison, [Jameson] Williams, [Jaden] Ivey and [Jalen] Duren a huge jump start. But, as is the case is for Duren, the 18-year-old Kasper’s youth could be helpful.

Yet, Dylan Larkin is the beloved captain and leading scorer for the Red Wings, and a Waterford Mott High and Michigan Wolverines alum. One day, Larkin’s mantle may be Kasper’s to accept, but will he surpass Calder Trophy winner Mortiz Seider or talented 2020 pick Lucas Raymond to match Yzerman and Gordie Howe among the franchise’s greatest of all time? And if the Wings don’t start winning again, will anyone notice?

Ho hum, who cares about the Red Wings?

Oy. Vey. Don’t bother mentioning them if you’re not even interested in the team.

Anyway, I’m not sure that Kasper will be better than Seider or Raymond, but Marco (who confirmed to the Kleine Zeitung that, yes, he’s heading back to Sweden this upcoming season) is sharp, composed and self-confident about his excellent-and-improving skill set in a similar vein to Seider and Raymond…

2. And the Toronto Star’s Damien Cox suggests that the Maple Leafs ought to add to their stable of superstars by somehow adding another star to the mix, and he includes the Red Wings’ captain on his list simply because one Dylan Larkin will be 26 this July 30th:

Continue reading Grumpy George grouses about two ‘thought experiment’ columns

MLive’s Ansar Khan projected the Red Wings’ forward lines yesterday, and, this morning, Khan examines the probable pairings on defense and examines the hierarchy (or lack thereof) in goal:

Defense pairs (left-right)

First pair: Ben Chiarot-Moritz Seider: This has the potential to be a big, abrasive, hard-to-play against top pairing.

Seider did it all as a rookie on his way to becoming the Red Wings’ first Calder Trophy winner since 1965. He was strong defensively, provided offense (seven goals, team-leading 43 assists), played the point on the top power-play unit and killed penalties. He averaged a team-high 23:02. Expect more of the same from the 21-year-old.

The Red Wings might have overpaid for Chiarot (four years at an average annual value of $4.75 million), but the free-agent market for defensemen was thin and he checks several boxes (big, physical, experienced, left-shooting). He scored nine goals (along with a career-high 26 points) last season between Montreal and Florida and in 2019-20 with the Canadiens, but he was brought in to defend and move the puck out of the zone, so the Red Wings don’t spend as much time in their own end.

Continued

Pro Hockey Talk’s Adam Gretz posted a list of “power rankings” among his top 20 unrestricted free agency signings, and Gretz believes that the Red Wings received solid value in both the signings of David Perron and Andrew Copp:

5. David Perron, Detroit Red Wings (two years, $9.5 million). Perron is getting older, but this is a really strong deal for a Red Wings team making to take a big leap forward. He is a legit top-line winger and the Red Wings have almost no risk on a two-year contract.

6. Andrew Copp, Detroit Red Wings (five years, $28.25 million). This deal reminds me a lot of the Philip Danault signing in Los Angeles a year ago. Similar term, player, cap hit, and team situation. I like Copp over somebody like, say, Vincent Trocheck because he is a year younger, better defensively, and has a term that is two years shorter.

Continued; the Perron deal isn’t without risk, but it’s incredibly solid, and I think that Gretz’s comparison with what Copp brings to the table to that of gritty two-way center Philip Danault is quite accurate.

The Red Wings have something of a “wild card” in prospect Kirill Tyutyayev, who’s all of 5’10” and 176 pounds.

The 21-year-old Grand Rapids Griffins-contracted prospect missed the majority of the 2021-2022 season with what Detroit Hockey Now’s Kevin Allen reveals was a shoulder injury. However, as Allen notes in today’s prospect profile, Tyutyayev made such an impact at last fall’s prospect tournament that people still believe in his potential to–if he keeps on defying expectations–become a game-breaker:

Tyutyayev is not your traditional seventh-round draft pick. There is something about him that makes you want to see more. There’s something special about his relationship with the puck.

He was a novelty when drafted because he didn’t weigh 150 pounds. But he’s now listed as 5-foot-10, 178 pounds. He might be over 180 now. Grand Rapids teammate Jared McIsaac notes Tyutyayev protects the puck well for an undersized player. He is still only 21.

The odds are against Tyutyayev. The Red Wings haven’t signed him. He’s playing on a minor league contract. But he is still on Detroit’s radar.

But scouts saw him score 47 goals in 31 games when he was playing in a Russia junior league. In 2020-21, he registered 32 points in the Belarus League. He added 10 more points in the playoffs.

People find themselves rooting for Tyutyayev. Lucas Raymond called him “a beauty” at last fall’s prospect camp.

“He’s a smart player,” Raymond said. “He’s a bit unpredictable and I can imagine hard to play against.”

Continued; I don’t know whether Tyutyayev will earn an NHL contract, never mind crack the Red Wings’ roster, but his skill level is elite, and his work ethic is elite.

The question is whether his physical development, his mental development and his hockey development will converge at the same time.

Red Wings forward Michael Rasmussen and defenseman Jordan Oesterle took part in the Wings’ Street Hockey Summer Showcase,” as helmed by Wings ambassador Jason McCrimmon, at Detroit’s Farwell Recreation Center today.

DetroitRedWings.com’s Jonathan Mills chronicled the scene…

As part of the Red Wings’ groundbreaking Learn, Play, Score platform, the seven-week clinic series is providing more than 300 metro Detroit youth aged 6-14 with an opportunity to learn the basics of hockey, along with fundamental life skills, in a fun, laid-back outdoor atmosphere at eight Detroit Parks & Recreations locations across the city.

“It’s always fun,” Oesterle said. “I always try to give back. Obviously being from Michigan and being able to give back to the community that gave me so much means a lot.”

Oesterle added that working with the city’s youth is a humbling experience.

“They don’t necessarily care about you,” Oesterle said. “Good or bad, they think it’s cool that a professional athlete is coming to hang out with them. They all enjoyed it, they all had a great time and had a lot of smiles on their faces.”

Rasmussen agreed with Oesterle about how rewarding it feels to make a difference in the community.

“It’s nice to be part of the community and help out,” Rasmussen said. “Just seeing kids outside and playing sports, especially hockey, is pretty cool.”

Continued

From WDIV Local 4: Red Wings players Jordan Oesterle and Michael Rasmussen played supporting roles as Red Wings Youth Hockey Ambassador Jason McCrimmon helped teach youngsters in Detroit to play street hockey via the Street Hockey in the D Summer Series:

I love this. I learned how to play hockey on the street, and I wasn’t a kid of “means,” so I love to see the financial roadblocks to participating in hockey be dismantled.

Former Red Wings grinder, Grinder band leader, amateur wrestler, cannabis entrepreneur and sports talk radio host Darren McCarty spoke about the state of the Red Wings in terms of the team’s draft and free agency moves on today’s “Big D Energy” show on the Woodward Sports Network:

Of Red Wings-related note this evening:

1. The Detroit News’s Ted Kulfan offered assessments of each and every one of the NHL’s 32 teams‘ free agency doings (or the lack thereof), and here’s what he has to say about the home team:

► Detroit: GM Steve Yzerman addressed every need the Wings had, and the lineup is significantly deeper than it was a few weeks ago. Trading for goaltender Ville Husso also looks like a shrewd move right now. 

2. The Hockey News’s Stan Fischler made a slate of observations regarding the free agency moves around the NHL, and those preceding July 13th, and here are his Red Wings-related takes:

Department of So-Nice: Jeff Blashill winding up on his feet behind the Bolts bench as Jon Cooper’s aide is a case of justice triumphs.

…

If the Red Wings make the playoffs for a change it’ll be because of the goaltending; specifically Ville Husso; no more, no less.

Another reason to just love Red Wings rookie coach Derek Lalonde. He comes from Brasher Falls, N.Y.

Brasher Falls — as far north as you can get in New York State — is so small that at the last census, its population soared to 669!

Finally, the Toronto Star’s Chris Johnston reminds us that a key member of the Red Wings’ leadership corps this past season is still an unrestricted free agent:

Sam Gagner, Detroit Red Wings

Centre

Age: 32

2021-22 cap hit: $850,000

2021 stats: 13 goals, 18 assists, 31 points in 81 games

The veteran forward is just 33 games from reaching 1,000 in his career. He’s a fourth-line option nowadays, but comes with intangibles in the manner Darren Helm and Andrew Cogliano provided during the Avalanche’s championship run this spring.

I don’t know if there’s room on the Wings’ roster for Gagner unless he’s willing to take a part-time role.