Month: July 2022

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch’s Tom Timmerman offers the following take on the Red Wings’ acquisition of Ville Husso from the St. Louis Blues:

When Ville Husso signed with the Detroit Red Wings after the Blues had traded the impending free agent’s rights to them, the first person the goalie heard from was ex-teammate Robby Fabbri. Another ex-Blue, defenseman Jake Walman soon followed, as well as forward Oskar Sundqvist.

“It was nice to chat with them for a little bit,” Husso said on a conference call with Detroit writers.

Even though Husso won’t be the clear-cut No. 1 goalie in Detroit — he’ll be in a job share with Alex Nedeljkovic — he got some stability that he was unlikely to get in St. Louis.

“I wanted to sign for three years, settle things down,” he said. “I knew that I would not stay with St. Louis. The signing happened quick.”

The money won’t be bad either. Husso’s deal has an average annual value of $4.75 million, a big jump up from the $750,000 he made in 2021-22 with the Blues and also far more than the Blues, who are already paying Jordan Binnington an average of $6 million over the next five seasons, would have realistically been able to offer him.

Blues general manager Doug Armstrong was able to take advantage of a complicated market for goalies by allowing the Red Wings to negotiate with Husso before free agency began, thereby getting an asset, the 73rd pick in the NHL draft, which became Finnish defenseman Aleksanteri Kaskimaki. (Kaskimaki won’t be on the ice during this week’s prospects camp because of an injury.)

“It’s always nice to have a goalie partner with you,” Husso said. “Me and Binnington were pushing each other every day. I think that’s one thing I learned from him. With Alex, I want do the same thing and push each other every day, get better every day.”

Continued with Blues notes…

Former Red Wings enforcer and grind liner Darren McCarty spoke about the Wings’ 2022 NHL Draft picks on the Woodward Sports Network’s “Big D Energy” show, and here’s what McCarty thinks about Marco Kasper and the rest of the Wings’ picks:

WXYZ’s Brad Galli spoke with Red Wings 2022 draft pick Marco Kasper today, and Galli posted his 1-on-1 interview with Kasper on his YouTube channel:

If you want to watch the interview in Twitter form, here you go:

INTERVIEW: Red Wings first round pick Marco Kasper is in Detroit for development camp.

He got a text from former Swedish League teammate Moritz Seider on draft night, and told me he grew up admiring Henrik Zetterberg and Pavel Datsyuk. pic.twitter.com/7qoAg8UH8i— Brad Galli (@BradGalli) July 11, 2022

The Detroit Red Wings have yet to make their free agency moves, but fantasy hockey experts are already looking forward to next season, and a trio of scribes posted columns which include discussions about Red Wings players.

ESPN’s Victoria Matiash rounded up the 2022 NHL Draft’s trades and picks with assessments of both parties, and she offered this take on the Ville Husso trade as it applies to fantasy hockey poolies (and she’s not optimistic about Husso’s future exploits):

Ville Husso, G, Detroit Red Wings

Superb in subbing in for a sub-mediocre Jordan Binnington though much of 2021-22, Husso will have a rougher go of it with a Red Wings club, however promising, that’s not there yet. Plus, there’s that pesky Alex Nedeljkovic to battle for Detroit’s bulk of starts – and Ned will feel extra inspired to enjoy the best campaign possible in the final year of his current contract. There are about 25 other fantasy netminders I prefer to the former Blues goalie in his current environment. Unless GM Steve Yzerman’s squad comes together quicker than I anticipate, Husso will be in tough trying to replicate his 2.56 GAA and .919 SV% from this past season. Never mind the 25-7-6 record.

On the other hand, DobberHockey’s Tom Collins gave praise to “Gritty Rookie” (as opposed to “Rookie Gritty”) Moritz Seider:

Moritz Seider: The Calder Trophy winner is already on everyone’s radar thanks to his 50 points in 82 games, making him the third rookie defenseman to reach that mark since 1993-94. However, it’s his production in peripheral categories that should have fantasy hockey general managers salivating. Not only did he put up 187 shots, but he also had 34 PIM, 151 hits and 161 blocked shots. He was the only rookie to reach 30 PIM, 100 shots, 100 hits and 100 blocked shots and led all rookie defensemen in shots and blocked shots. Add in his value in other categories (21 power-play points and two shorthanded points) and Seider is someone who can contribute in almost every fantasy category. 

Finally, the Hockey News’s Jason Chen suggests that two Red Wings stalwarts might make good fantasy hockey picks as they go into their pre-unrestricted free agency contract seasons:

Tyler Bertuzzi, LW/RW, Detroit Red Wings (159.6): Bertuzzi’s vaccination status will likely be far less of a factor going forward after being banned from playing in Canada and he scored at a 75-point pace last season.

Dylan Larkin, C, Detroit Red Wings (176.7): Larkin was one of the best value picks last season and the Wings are on a major upswing with a projected $65 million (!) in available cap space for Larkin to take advantage of. Larkin’s easily a top-100 option this coming season.

Donovan Sebrango is an affable chap. The future Red Wings defenseman has already played two seasons for the AHL’s Grand Rapids Griffins despite the fact that he’s only 20, but he’s grounded and understands that he’s going to earn a professional paycheck by playing tough, physical hockey.

Sebrango spoke with the media today at the Red Wings’ summer development camp, and the Detroit News’s Ted Kulfan took note of Sebrango’s remarks:

Sebrango, 20, a 2020 third-round pick of the Wings, already has played two seasons in Grand Rapids, played 96 AHL games. When the pandemic hit, Sebrango had the option to play in the AHL and he’s taken advantage, making himself a legitimate NHL prospect.

“I’ve said it before, I came out on top of a bad situation going on in the world,” Sebrango said. “I was able to benefit from it, and I’m grateful for that. It’s still an unfortunate time going around in the world, but I was lucky enough to come to Grand Rapids.”

Because of his age, Sebrango feels he still fits nicely into this kind of camp.

“After a few minutes of being around the same age group, you kind of go back to the feeling you’re back in junior,” Sebrango said. “I feel like a veteran here, but I still feel like I’m pretty young. They’re the same age, you get a sense of bonding a little quicker.”

Continued; Sebrango’s actually going to take part in the World Junior Championship this August in Edmonton, playing for Canada, but his humility and poise while speaking with the media today were fantastic to see and hear. He’s really grounded and has a great support system.

Red Wings 2022 8th overall draft pick Marco Kasper met with the Red Wings’ media corps for the first time this afternoon, and Kasper struck me as particularly poised and sharp for an 18-year-old who’s still in high school. Kasper spoke about his experiences playing for Rogle of the SHL with the Detroit News’s Ted Kulfan…

A native of Austria, Kasper made the decision to learn Swedish before beginning his junior career there.

“Because I wanted to fit in,” Kasper said of his decision to learn the Swedish language. “I was going to school right away and I just talked to the guys in the locker room, and they helped me a lot. School helped.”

Kasper feels playing in the SHL will help him at this point, before he arrives in the NHL in the next year or two.

“It’s a really structured league,” Kasper said of the SHL. “A little bigger ice, and they’re real good players in that league. It’s hard to play because of the structure.” 

But Kasper also said that he felt very happy about the fact that three members of the Red Wings (including one who I believe was in attendance today) called or texted him to congratulate his status as a new member of the Red Wings’ family:

Continue reading First impressions with Marco Kasper

Of Twitter-related note from the Red Wings’ 2022 summer development camp, per the Red Wings:

First, the Wings posted a 33-second recap of Day 2 of development camp…

Day ✌️#drwdc pic.twitter.com/C4vrQoXETn— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) July 11, 2022

And this is just painful:

Do you feel old yet?#drwdc pic.twitter.com/ULt0D6Ek5k— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) July 11, 2022

Red Wings director of amateur scouting Kris Draper spoke with The Word on Woodward’s Daniella Bruce and Art Regner regarding the Red Wings’ prospects drafted this past weekend in Montreal, and he delved into the ESPN E:60 special as well over the course of a 57-minute conversation:

When the Red Wings re-signed Grand Rapids Griffins goaltender Victor Brattstrom to a 1-year extension and then signed Finnish World Championship MVP Jussi Olkinuora, Wings fans wondered aloud where Wings prospect Sebastian Cossa fit into the mix.

As Detroit Hockey Now’s Kevin Allen notes, it’s not certain yet whether Cossa, who spoke with the media today, will head back to the WHL’s Edmonton Oil Kings for one more season, play for Grand Rapids, or skate for the ECHL’s Toledo Walleye:

The Detroit Red Wings haven’t yet talked to prize goaltending prospect Sebastian Cossa about where he might be playing next season.

“I’m assuming that will probably happen in the next couple of weeks here,” Cossa said Monday on Day 2 of the Red Wings’ Development camp. “Looking forward to that.

It’s easy to presume the Red Wings will send him to Grand Rapids to let him starting the learning process against American Hockey League competition. But plenty of NHL goalies didn’t reach the AHL until the third season after they were drafted. That list includes Tampa Bay’s Andrei Vasilevskiy, Pittsburgh’s Tristan Jarry, Florida’s Spencer Knight and Philadelphia’s Carter Hart.

Jarry and Hart played two more seasons in the WHL after they were drafted before starting their pro career. Cossa has only played one WHL season since the Red Wings drafted him 15th overall in the 2021 draft. He will still be 19 when the 2022-23 season starts. Even Marty Brodeur was 20 when he started in the AHL.

“I want to play at the highest level of hockey I can,” Cossa said. “I think my game is going to do the speaking for me. The management obviously has that kind of say where I’m gonna be playing. I want to play at the highest level of hockey I can and compete at that level.”

Allen continues, and the Detroit News’s Richard Silva also posted a notebook article regarding the confident, composed Cossa:

Continue reading Cossa’s future playing spot yet uncertain, but his confidence and composure speak for themselves

An affable chap: