Month: July 2022

This story comes to us via a Tweet from The Athletic’s Max Bultman: colleague and Tampa Bay Lightning correspondent Joe Smith penned an article in which he discusses Red Wings coach Derek Lalonde’s connection to his late mother:

When Derek Lalonde got his dream job as @DetroitRedWings coach, there was one person he wished he could have called: his late mother. How Donna, a hairdresser from Brasher Falls, shaped Lalonde’s rise. On Sunday, they celebrated her life in North Country https://t.co/lPgLGDbFbf pic.twitter.com/9rGZVJSQwc— Joe Smith (@JoeSmithTB) July 11, 2022

Here’s the introduction to Smith’s story:

Continue reading Via Bultman Tweet: The Athletic’s Joe Smith tells a great Derek Lalonde story

The Red Wings drafted University of Denver forward Carter Mazur last summer hoping that the 6,’ 173-pound center would be a solid 4th line forward with bite. Instead, en route to an NCAA championship, Mazur posted 14 goals and 24 assists for 38 points in 41 regular season and playoff games, and served notice that he possesses top-six potential.

Detroit Hockey Now’s Kevin Allen took note of Wings assistant director of player development Dan Cleary’s remarks regarding Mazur’s maturity:

The Detroit Red Wings Development camp is in Day 2 today. Monday, Red Wings Director of Player Development Dan Cleary told a story about how he knew Carter Mazur wants to be a player last November.

“He reaches out on his own without me saying anything,” Cleary said. “I’ve already seen him play twice. Then we do video. Then, he calls you after video and says, ‘Hey can you send me samples of scoring stuff. I feel like I’m having trouble finding the net.’”

The Red Wings have an entire library of that kind of information.

“You send him some clips of maybe getting his shot off quicker, finding areas in the zone,” Cleary said. “It was like a five-minute video. After that, however it clicked in his mind, he went on an absolute tear. He just felt so much more confident and it just took off. Was it the five-minute video or was it some psychological thing where he just had to see it. But he took on a huge role in Denver. He’s bigger, thicker. He’s gonna have a really important role next year in Denver.”

Continued

Per DetroitRedWings.com’s Daniella Bruce:

Good morning @DetroitRedWings fans!! We’ll have live coverage of development camp today from 1-2pm. Tune in on Red Wings YouTube, Facebook, & website. #LGRW— Daniella Bruce (@daniellabruce_) July 11, 2022

Detroit Hockey Now’s Bob Duff posted a subscriber-only article this morning which discusses Ville Husso and Alex Nedeljkovic’s similar situation’s as somewhat unproven goaltenders looking to prove something in the Red Wings’ crease this upcoming season. Duff notes that both goalies need to find a more consistent game:

Both Husso and Nedeljkovic have established beyond a shadow of a doubt that when on top of their game, they can perform on par with the elite of NHL netminders. The next step for both goalies is to prove they’re capable of doing it on a night to night basis.

Last season, Nedeljkovic was turning in a 46-save shutout against the Hurricanes and a 43-save shutout at Vancouver. However, the season also saw him enduring a stretch from Dec. 7-March 19 in which he went 8-16-3. In 14 of those games, Nedeljkovic was posting a save percentage below .900. Five of the games saw his save percentage dip below .800.

From Nedeljkovic’s point of view, his job as a netminder is to keep his team in the game, no matter the level of the play taking place in front of him.

“For me it’s finding ways to bail us out on nights that we’re not ready to play, we’re not feeling it as good as we can,” Nedeljkovic said. “It’s my job to stop the puck, it’s my job to keep us in games and help us win games every single night. I understand that.

“If you want to be a great goalie in this league, you have to do that every single night. You can’t allow those kind of games to happen.”

Continued (paywall)

97.1 the Ticket’s Will Burchfield and Pat Caputo took part in Sunday night’s “Sportsworks” round-table segment on Fox 2 Detroit yesterday night, speaking with sportscaster Woody Woodriffe.

At the 5:20 mark of the 14-minute clip, Burchfield and Caputo discuss the Red Wings’ 2022 draft haul, the acquisition of Ville Husso and the Wings’ free agency outlook:

MLive’s Ansar Khan posted his customary morning column today, and in his morning missive, Khan discusses the reasons why the Red Wings are holding their first summer development camp since 2019:

Development camp for Detroit Red Wings prospects is akin to summer school on ice. It’s about educating young players, not evaluating them.

Close to 40 prospects – mostly draft picks from the past two years and undrafted free agents – took the ice Sunday at the Belfor Training Center inside Little Caesars Arena for the start of the five-day camp.

They will learn all aspects of the Red Wings way

“We talk about how we want the culture of this team to be, the work ethic, the character, how we treat each other,” Daniel Cleary, the team’s assistant director of player development, said. “In terms of the education purposes, they work out with Rob (head strength coach Campbell). They see how to work out, proper technique, what our pros are doing. We’re going to have our skills guys here, our skating coaches here.

“We also teach them about all the recovery things we have. This is a good time where you should rest, or this is a good time where you need to go cold and hot. Whatever the recovery calls for. Lisa McDowell (team nutritionist) is really important. These kids are only starting to learn what to eat, how to eat, how to cook, when to eat it. That’s an important aspect. We have one of our sports psychologists here talking to the kids. The mental side of it is huge. Some of these kids didn’t play hockey last year (due to the pandemic). That takes a grind on you. So, it’s all interesting information. Try to give them as much as you can and even if they just take a little bit here, a little bit there, that’s what this camp’s for.”

Continued

Recently acquired Red Wings goaltender Ville Husso spoke with the Wings’ media corps yesterday afternoon, and the Free Press’s Helene St. James posted a second early-morning column which discusses Husso’s “fit” with his new team:

Ville Husso was vacationing in Florida when he turned on the NHL draft. Then his phone rang and he found out he had been traded.

“I’m very happy to join the Detroit Red Wings — historic team, 11 Stanley Cups, I think that tells a lot,” Husso said Sunday following the trade. “I kind of knew that I would not stay in St. Louis. I was ready for it and excited, and am really happy right now.”

General manager Steve Yzerman sent the Wings’ third-round pick in the ’22 draft to the Blues, and then signed the goalie for three years and $14.25 million. The trade addressed the need for a partner for Alex Nedeljkovic, and did so before what is expected to be a very competitive goaltending market opens when NHL free agency begins Wednesday.

New head coach Derek Lalonde sounded excited, telling the Free Press: “It feels like Ville is going this way with his development and I think we’re going to get him at a really good time,” Lalonde said. “Those two will share the net. It will be good experience for both of them.”

Continued (paywall)

The Free Press’s Helene St. James posted two morning columns today. In her first column, St. James spoke with new Red Wings coach Derek Lalonde regarding a necessary reset for Filip Zadina:

When a player with high expectations underachieves, common thinking is that a change of scenery may offer a chance to reboot.

In Filip Zadina’s case, the change of scenery isn’t location but elocution: It’ll be the voice of new Detroit Red Wings head coach Derek Lalonde who tries to find out if there’s more to Zadina than he has shown in three disappointing seasons.

“Each kid has a different ‘why,’ what makes them tick,” Lalonde told the Free Press. “The beauty of a coaching change is, it’s a new voice and a fresh start. No matter what, everyone will have a fresh start. Sometimes just a reset is healthy for a guy like that.”

…

“A reset will be start for him, and then it will be my job to get the most out of him,” Lalonde said. “It starts with building some trust, ad then to try to get the most out of him.”

…

Lalonde, hired June 30, hasn’t had much time to study video yet, but the 2021 pandemic-impacted schedule meant he has seen a great deal of Zadina while an assistant coach with the Tampa Bay Lightning. Zadina has been at his most productive against Lalonde’s former team: In 14 career games against the Lightning, Zadina has a goal and eight assists. (He’s played 12 times against the Columbus Blue Jackets and only has one point, and has four points in 12 games against the Florida Panthers). 

“I’ve seen him play a ton, but I haven’t done enough on video yet, and that’s on my to-do list,” Lalonde said. “I want to get a little better feel for all the players.”

Continued (paywall)

The Detroit Red Wings’ first summer development camp since 2019–some three summers later–got underway at Little Caesars Arena’s BELFOR Training Center today, July 10th, 2022.

While assistant director of player development Dan Cleary is right in suggesting that this is not an evaluation camp–that’s what the prospect tournament is for…

I can tell you that Red Wings GM Steve Yzerman, assistant GM Shawn Horcoff, Cleary, who’s an assistant director of player development, associate director of player personnel Jiri Fischer and members of the Red Wings’ coaching and scouting staffs were closely watching the players engage in skating tests from the executive suite which overlooks the ice at BELFOR.

The executives are all here. pic.twitter.com/uwfH4c5Sed— George Malik (@georgemalik) July 10, 2022

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

It’s hard to get reliable news out of Russia these days, hockey stuff included, but the rumors have been circulating that one Pavel Datsyuk is going to retire from professional hockey later this summer.

Buffalo Hockey Beat’s Bill Hoppe ended up getting a scoop as to the former Red Wings forward’s next career move while Hoppe spoke with Buffalo Sabres director of amateur scouting Jerry Forton regarding Sabres prospect and 74th overall draft pick Viktor Neuchev.

Neuchev played for Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg, Datsyuk’s hometown KHL team, this past season:

Forton said Neuchev’s organization also appealed to the Sabres. He said Detroit Red Wings legend Pavel Datsyuk, who retired in June after ending his career in Russia, will be taking over as Yekaterinburg’s head of development.

“(He) has already had his hands on some of these players, so that’s very appealing to us,” Forton said. “We think he’s in a very good development spot right now.”

Continued; Datsyuk has always enjoyed coaching kids, so this career move would make a lot of sense for him.