Month: July 2022

The Detroit News’s Nolan Bianchi spoke with University of Michigan Wolverines coach Mel Pearson and former coach Red Berenson regarding new Red Wings forward Andrew Copp, who chose to play college hockey over college football:

A moment of down luck would change his life forever. Copp suffered a broken collarbone that ended his [junior] season. He recovered, had a standout season playing for Compuware and the US National Team Development Program, and was offered the last scholarship Michigan hockey had to offer. Football was out of the picture.

“We really didn’t recruit Copp in the normal recruiting process, and I don’t know if he was playing another year of junior, or what he was going to do,” former Michigan hockey coach Red Berenson told The Detroit News.  “All of the information we got was just what you’re gonna get: He’s a hard-working kid; he trains hard.”

The first time he was eligible, before his freshman season, Copp was passed over completely in the NHL Entry Draft.  After a 38-game freshman campaign, in which he scored 21 points over 38 games, his life’s trajectory changed again.

He was taken by the Winnipeg Jets in the fourth round of the 2013 draft and given the ‘A’ in his second season with the Wolverines. His junior year, he was named captain, and his senior year never came. He’d shown enough to convince the Jets to sign him to an entry-level deal after his third season with Michigan.

“He can do a lot of things to help a team win. He knows what it takes to win, he knows what good leadership is, what teamwork is, what dedication is, he’ll be a good role model,” Berenson said. “I think, eventually, he’ll be part of the leadership group in Detroit.”‘

Going from an over-aged fourth-round pick to a top free-agent prize is a remarkably difficult task. A little bravado helps. Current Michigan hockey coach Mel Pearson, who helped recruit Copp while serving as an assistant on Berenson’s staff, said the first thing that stuck out to him was that Copp was “he was really confident in himself.”

“I know he wasn’t overly recruited and wasn’t maybe highly recruited like some of the players are, but he had an unwavering confidence in his ability. And how he could stack up and perform against other players,” Pearson told The Detroit News. 

Continued (paywall)

The Detroit News’s Nolan Bianchi offers a superb column analyzing the Red Wings’ free agency moves as viewed over the course of the next season and couple seasons’ worth of growth:

Ben Chiarot, David Perron and Andrew Copp all said that getting ready to become a contender was the next step in Detroit’s evolution. One can reasonably hope that the Wings will grow significantly from a team that half-heartedly stayed in the playoff race for the first half of the season before the bottom fell out.

It’s pretty clear that playoffs are the goal in 2022-23, and the growth they showed early last season, coupled with Wednesday’s signings and a new voice in Lalonde, I think that’s reasonable.

Let’s say, though, that doesn’t go according to plan. After all, the East is loaded. Ottawa made a massive overhaul this offseason, too, and the aging Bruins are really the only team that could fall off a cliff in the Atlantic. Buffalo is also on the rise, Carolina and the New York Rangers will likely remain atop the Metro, and the next three or four teams in that division all project to be somewhat competitive. 

Should the Red Wings remain on the outside looking in, they’ve maintained the ability to be flexible. Outside of Chiarot and Copp, all of the Red Wings’ signings on Wednesday were for two years or less at decent cap numbers. They’ll be movable.

The absolute worst possible thing for Detroit this upcoming season would be to enable an environment where Dylan Larkin is staring up into the rafters of Little Caesars Arena in the midst of a third seven-goal loss in two week’s time. Putting your best players through that ringer year after year starts to take a toll. I’m fairly certain that won’t be an issue in 2022-23, regardless of where Detroit finishes in the standings.

But make no mistake: The Red Wings are trying to make the playoffs next season. All things considered, I’d say their chances are likely somewhere between possible and probable. But if they don’t get in, they’ve built themselves a nice safety net in the process. 

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Going into tomorrow’s 2022 summer development camp finale–a set of 3-on-3 games which will be streamed on DetroitRedWings.com starting at 8 AM–the Detroit Red Wings’ prospects have focused on skill development, both on and off the ice.

Under the tutelage of skating coach Brodie Tutton, skill development coaches Dwayne Blais and Kevin Galerno, goaltending coach Phil Osaer and the balance of the Wings’ personnel in attendance (including assistant director of player development Dan Cleary, jack-of-many-trades Niklas Kronwall and Grand Rapids Griffins coach Ben Simon), the prospects’ on-ice focus during Day One, Day Two and Day Three squarely lay upon improving skating, puck-handling and overall on-ice skills.

Off the ice, the 37 participants (Simon Edvinsson was still absent as of Wednesday), the prospects have been working with director of sports science Mike Barwis to learn how to work out properly and rest and recover from exertion, team nutritionist Lisa McDowell to learn about nutrition, and the Wings’ prospects have engaged in courses to learn to deal with both the print media and social media, they’ve talked to a sports psychologist…

Continue reading Impressions from the fourth day of the Red Wings’ 2022 summer development camp

WXYZ’s Brad Galli reports on the Red Wings’ free agency moves, via a 3-minute video:

Here it is in Twitter form:

The Red Wings opened free agency addressing needs. Steve Yzerman didn’t waste time.

Detroit signed Andrew Copp, David Perron, and Dominik Kubalik to build legitimate scoring depth, and Ben Chiarot and Olli Maatta to bolster the blue line. Our coverage on @WXYZDetroit: pic.twitter.com/SqUx7A9gF7— Brad Galli (@BradGalli) July 14, 2022

Long-time Detroit hockey scribe and The Russian Five author Keith Gave made an astute observation via a Tweet-within-a-Tweet from one Darren Pang, who’s both Steve Yzerman’s childhood friend and the Bally Sports St. Louis hockey color commentator:

See you down the road @DP_57 It is always a pleasure hot-stoving, talking hockey or golf. Good luck with @DetroitRedWings and take good care of the fellas there. https://t.co/G7V2CaxsnH pic.twitter.com/quTq6dlPR7— Darren R Pang (@Panger40) July 13, 2022

Rest assured that Steve Yzerman did his due diligence on David Perron with a phone call to Darren Pang, his lifelong buddy. The two grew up together in Napean, Ontario and remain close friends. Which may explain why the Wings’ GM is importing so many players from St. Louis. https://t.co/M8bCOLeSoL— Keith Gave (@KeithGave) July 14, 2022

The Detroit News’s Ted Kulfan posted a notebook article this evening which discusses comments made by Andrew Copp, David Perron and Ben Chiarot during their initial appearances as members of the Detroit Red Wings, and this note about Chiarot surprised me:

Defenseman Ben Chiarot is returning closer to home. Chiarot grew up in Hamilton, Ontario and currently lives in Kitchener. He also has plenty of relatives in Windsor, just across the bridge. So, this was pretty much returning home.

“It’s good for me with a young family, there’s a number of factors that played into it,” Chiarot said. “I grew up in Hamilton and it was hard not to follow the Wings when they were winning a Stanley Cup every couple of years. There are a lot of Wings fans in my area, and good memories watching them back then.

“Once I knew Detroit was interested, and my agent and Steve were able to work out a deal, that was a pretty easy choice for me. A team that’s on the rise, built by Steve Yzerman, and then a place close to home for my family. It’s a great spot for me.”

Chiarot’s physical style could blend well with NHL rookie of the year Moritz Seider, who could be Chiarot’s defensive partner.

“An impressive young defenseman,” Chiarot said. “He does kind of everything real well. Plays a physical style which you don’t see a ton of anymore with young guys coming in, with an edge. Moritz doesn’t back down out there. He was a fun guy to watch this year and I’m looking forward to getting out there with him.”

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The Athletic’s Max Bultman wraps up a couple blog entries dedicated to the Red Wings media corps’ assessments of Detroit’s free agency moves with a thoughtful column regarding the direction of the team:

Make no mistake, even on a day the Red Wings signed five players in free agency — including at least three likely to play in the top half of their lineup — Yzerman didn’t abandon his first principles as Detroit continues to rebuild. But after signing Andrew Copp, David Perron, Ben Chiarot, Olli Määtä and Dominik Kubalik, it’s clear the Red Wings aren’t sitting around waiting, either. Detroit made big plays at free agency’s opening bell and now may actually have the pieces to turn a real corner under new head coach Derek Lalonde.

“It’s well known around the league that it’s a young, up-and-coming team,” Chiarot said Wednesday afternoon, explaining his interest in Detroit. “I think today, with all the additions that the team made, it just makes it an even more exciting team. Steve Yzerman builds good teams. I think everyone knows that.”

That wasn’t the only reference to Yzerman’s importance. Perron mentioned how getting a call from Yzerman “catches your attention right away.” After Yzerman’s storied career as a player, and more recently, success building the foundation for a back-to-back Stanley Cup champion in Tampa, it’s easy to understand why.

So far in Detroit, though, Yzerman’s team-building process has been rather slow and methodical. Even last summer, when Yzerman traded for Alex Nedeljkovic and Nick Leddy, the pushes have been incremental at best.

And make no mistake: Wednesday’s moves don’t make the Red Wings instant favorites for the playoffs next season. But this also wasn’t just adding at the margins.

Continued (paywall)

The Detroit News’s Ted Kulfan posted a summary of the Red Wings’ free agency moves today, July 13th, by discussing the comments made by Andrew Copp, David Perron and Ben Chiarot:

Wednesday’s haul excited the newcomers, who feel it’s a sign the Red Wings are done with rebuilding and looking to contend for the playoffs.

“The Red Wings are a team, with some of the signings that happened today, they’re ready to take the next step in their evolution, and I wanted to be part of that,” Perron said.

…

Copp said he saw similarities between teams he’s been on such as Winnipeg and the New York Rangers, young teams that took dramatic steps upward, and the current Wings roster.

“Definitely,” Copp said. “The year we went to the conference final in Winnipeg, we missed the playoffs by six games the year before, and all of a sudden, the next year, we’re kind of a powerhouse and had the second-best record in the league. That change can happen quickly.

“This year, with the Rangers, they went from a team projected not to be in the playoffs to being in the conference finals. You never know when that jump will be. But I have a lot of faith in the young talent that’s come through the last couple of years, and guys that have been here like Larks (Dylan Larkin) and (Tyler) Bertuzzi. We have a good group ready to take the next step.”

…

“As a player you always want your team to be adding pieces and trying to get better and Steve definitely tried to do that today,” Chiarot said. “Andrew Copp is a guy I played with in Winnipeg, a great forward and person, and Kubalik, there’s a lot of good players added to the team today. It’s an exciting day for myself and all the guys on the team when you have your team take steps forward like today.”

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Detroit Hockey Now’s Kevin Allen dishes a little bit of dirt regarding Red Wings GM Steve Yzerman’s decision to be aggressive over the course of the past five days, adding five significant unrestricted free agents and a goaltender acquired by trade:

Steve Yzerman doesn’t provide regular updates about how he feels about his hockey team. But in the second half of last season, the word around Little Caesars Arena was Yzerman livid about the team’s lack of competitiveness.

Yzerman has a long-term plan for rebuilding. But Wednesday Yzerman turned anger into action by signing five unrestricted free agents who should step immediately into the lineup. He used $19.9 million in cap space to sign center Andrew Copp ($5.65 million), wings David Perron ($4.75) and Dominik Kubalik ($2.5 million) and defensemen Ben Chiarot ($4.75 million) and Olli Maatta ($2.25 million).

“I think that’s a sign to the whole fanbase and to the team that the team is ready to take that next step,” said Chiarot who helped the Montreal Canadiens reach the Stanley Cup Final in 2021. He finished last season with the Florida Panthers.

With all of the changes Yzerman has made and Simon Edvinsson coming in, Perron is not ruling out anything for the Red Wings.

“After the experience I lived through in Vegas (in its first year), I’m not sure how long it takes to just turn a team around,” Perron said.

That expansion team advanced to the Stanley Cup Final. He thinks the experiences he learned with the Vegas Golden Knights can help the Red Wings. He thinks this team could come together and compete for the playoffs “who knows what could happen from there.”

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MLive’s Ansar Khan has posted his take on the Red Wings’ free agency moves thus far, which include signing Andrew Copp, Ben Chiarot, David Perron, Dominik Kubalik and Olli Maatta (and making a trade for Ville Husso last Friday):

The Red Wings are deeper and more skilled. The message from Yzerman is clear – last season’s fade (8-18-4 over the final 30 games), which included 9-2 and 11-2 losses and resulted in the team finishing second-to-last in goals against, must be reversed quickly. Now it’s up to new head coach Derek Lalonde and all the players to deliver.

Copp, Perron and Chiarot spoke with the media, and all said the same thing – this team is ready for the next step.

“It shows the belief (Yzerman) has in the group and the guys he’s adding,” Copp said. “I have a lot of faith in where this team is headed and the young talent that’s come up the last couple of years, and obviously the guys that have been here like Larks and (Tyler) Bertuzzi. I feel like we have a good group and we’re just ready to take the next step.”

Chiarot was asked if this day could be a turning point in a rebuild that has seen the Red Wings miss the playoffs six years in a row.

“Absolutely,” he said. “The young guys kind of getting into their mid-20s and then you add veteran guys like myself and Perron and Copp, I think that’s a sign to the whole fanbase and the team that the team is ready to take that next step.”

Perron said his experience during the Vegas Golden Knights’ surprising run to the Stanley Cup Final as an expansion club in 2018 tells him fast turnarounds are possible.

“The moment you get a call from Steve Yzerman, it gets your attention right away,” Perron said. “I think the Red Wings, with some of the signings that happened today, are ready to take the next step in the evolution of the team and I wanted to be part of that. I know I’m getting older, but I still have a lot to prove in my head.”

Continued