Month: August 2022

Red Wings prospect Carter Mazur and Red Savage faced off against fellow Wings prospect Jan Bednar as Team USA battled Czechia in the World Junior Championship’s Quarterfinal round, with a spot in Friday’s Semifinal round on the line.

Team USA imploded, to a large extent, in this game. They scored the 1-0 goal, gave up 3 straight goals, had to kill a major penalty, and did not score on their major power play. Though Carter Mazur scored the 3-2 marker, the Czechs scored an empty-netter and won 4-2.

The Americans were definitely the grittier, more hard-working team, but the Czechs had speed, star power, size, and, quite frankly, they took advantage of the fact that, in single-elimination hockey, anybody can be the best team for one night. For one night, Tomas Suchanek (the Czech goalie) and the Czechs out-worked, out-hustled and out-detailed the Americans, and that was enough to afford them advancement to Friday’s Semifinal round.

So Friday’s Semfinal games are:

Canada vs. Czechia at 4 PM EDT on TSN and the NHL Network;

And Sweden vs. Finland at 8 PM EDT on TSN and the NHL Network.— George Malik (@georgemalik) August 18, 2022

In terms of Red Wings prospects playing in the game…

Carter Mazur: Mazur played right wing on the Americans’ first line, alongside Landon Slaggert and Thomas Bordeleau. He was, arguably, the Americans’ best player this side of Luke Hughes, who played through a knee injury, scoring the Americans’ second goal and working his tail off to come back from nasty cross-checks and trips that the Czechs got away with…

But he finished at -4 with 7 shots in 15:50 of ice time. It was a rough game for him and for everybody else on the U.S. roster.

Red Savage: Savage played as the center on the Americans’ fourth line, between Sasha Pastujov and Riley Duran. Savage finished even with 1 shot in only 9:37 played as the Americans stacked their lines, and while his positioning was superb on a night when the Americans lost their defensive assignments, and he skated well, he was only utilized in a limited role.

Jan Bednar: The Czechs didn’t even dress Bednar, per FloHockey’s Chris Peters. He hasn’t been spectacularly good or terribly bad during the tournament, but to not even dress your would-be starter for the Quarterfinal game was a bit odd. Tomas Suchanek started, and Pavel Cajan was the back-up. Because Suchanek was so dominant, he’s obviously going to start on Friday.

Continue reading Red Wings at the WJC: USA loses 4-2 to Czechia; Mazur 1G, -4

Red Wings prospect and Dylan James was apparently as shocked as the rest of the hockey world when he found out that the Red Wings picked him 40th overall in this past summer’s NHL Draft, as he told the Calgary Booster Club’s Scott Cruickshank:

It is the morning of July 8. General managers, having made their first-round choices the previous evening, are barrelling into the remaining rounds of the NHL draft at the Bell Centre in Montreal. So James, at his family’s home in southeast Calgary, is predictably glued to the television, watching as teams declare their second-round picks.

He notices the Chicago Blackhawks, at No. 39, choose a centreman from the Kingston Frontenacs. Studio analysts dissect the decision, introducing the prospect to the viewing audience through a series of highlight clips. While this is going on, James thinks he catches his name in the background. “I look at my parents and go, ‘Did you guys hear that?’ And they’re like, ‘Yeah.’”

Right then, however, the screen offers no clue about the draft order, about whose turn it is. Stunned, James sits there, assuming his wildest childhood dreams have been realized. But where the heck is he going? What is his NHL destination? He has absolutely no idea. It feels like an eternity. In reality, “a nervous 30 seconds.”

Eventually, the broadcast crew updates the proceedings and James finally learns his fate — he is joining the Detroit Red Wings organization.

“It was pretty cool when I found out it,” said James. “Everything was a blur that next 10 minutes. I was kind of just starstruck. I couldn’t even think. I can’t remember who phoned me. Then a pretty crazy two hours after that.”

Continued (it’s a good read)

Sebastian Cossa, Donovan Sebrango and Team Canada battled Switzerland at the World Junior Championship in Wednesday’s Quarterfinal stage, with a berth in Friday’s Semifinal round on the line…

Canada won 6-3, though the game was a little closer than the score indicated, for most of the effort, anyway.

In terms of Red Wings prospects playing in today’s game…

Donovan Sebrango: Sebrango played on the top defensive pair with Olen Zellweger. He finished even with 1 shot in 20:12 played. Sebrango had some ups and downs; for most of the game, he and Zellweger generated offense, were astute defensively, and while Zellweger is the more offensively-inclined player on the pair, Sebrango was the “high man” while making some good passes and taking some shots of his own. Sebrango became more subdued after a centering pass from below his own goal line led to the third Swiss goal, but he regained his swagger by the end of the game–as did his team.

Continue reading Red Wings at the WJC: Canada advances, winning 6-3 over Switzerland

Simon Edvinsson, Theodor Niederbach, William Wallinder and Team Sweden battled the plucky Latvians in Wednesday’s Quarterfinal match-up, with a spot in Friday’s Semifinal round on the line.

Sweden won 2-1 in what was a ridiculously tight game, with Latvia almost pulling off a tremendous upset because the Swedes mostly sleepwalked through this one, earning a win based upon mostly a great talent disparity as opposed to a lot of heart, hard work and grit–qualities that the Latvians displayed in spades

In Terms of Red Wings prospects playing in today’s game…The good news is that they were among the best of a mediocre lot.

Simon Edvinsson: Edvinsson, who recovered from food poisoning, played on the first Swedish defensive unit with defensive partner Calle Clang. He played only 18:43, with 2 shots and an even plus-minus rating, mostly because he doesn’t play on the Swedish power play, and the Swedes had a 5-minute major. Edvinsson made some mistakes from time to time, so he was not perfect, but his tremendous skating and offensive instincts were complemented by good defense and a subtly physical edge. His skating and positioning shined.

Theodor Niederbach: Niederbach centered the Swedes’ second line, with Oskar Olausson and Daniel Torgersson as his linemates. Niederbach kept up his nearly 60% faceoff win percentage and was tenacious on the forecheck, good on the backcheck, but he was on the ice for the 1-1 goal, so he finished at -1 with 2 shots in 17:52 played. He’s gotten better and better over the years, and he’s efficient as the Swedes’ second-line center;

William Wallinder: Wallinder worked on the 3rd defensive pair with captain Emil Andrae. He had an assist on the game-winning goal, got away with an interference penalty late in the game, and generally played very efficiently and well over the course of 14:56 played, finishing even with 1 shot.

Continue reading Red Wings at the WJC: Sweden ‘escapes’ Latvia, wins 2-1 in a tight, tight game

Eemil Viro and Finland battled Germany at the World Junior Championship in Wednesday’s Quaterfinal stage, with a spot in Friday’s Semifinal round on the line.

Finland won 5-2, but the Germans made them sweat for long stretches of the 2nd and 3rd period. They couldn’t hold the Finns’ 4-for-6 power play off the board, but, at even strength, the Germans out-played Finland for a little less than half the game.

Long story long, it was a tight affair until the Finns broke the game open in the 3rd, and Finland earned its victory through hard work, sacrifice and better special teams play.

In terms of Red Wings prospects playing in the game…Viro played on the Finns’ second defensive pairing, alongside usual partner Aleksi Heimosalmi. Viro finished even with no shots and a minor penalty taken in 17:33 played, earning some PK time and just playing his solid, spare, smart puck-moving game.

Continue reading Red Wings at the WJC: Finland defeats Germany 5-2 to advance to Friday’s Semifinal; Viro plays 17:33

Future Considerations is a website which focuses exclusively on NHL prospects, and their Joseph Aleong has attended the World Junior Championship in Edmonton to scout NHL-drafted players. He “empties the notebook” today, and he offers Austin Broad’s take regarding Red Wings prospect defenseman Simon Edvinsson:

SIMON EDVINSSON | D | Sweden | August 10, 2022

Draft status: 1/6 (2021) | Detroit Red Wings

Scouting report by Austin Broad

Simon Edvinsson is a solid all-round defenseman who can excel at both ends of the ice because of his skating ability and hockey IQ. His skating and offensive upside is tremendous; he has great puck skills and has the potential to become and elite skater at the NHL level. Edvinsson can drive transition play from the back end, either by skating the puck end-to-end by himself or delivering excellent passes that stretch the ice for his team. He’s an effective player with the puck on his stick in the offensive zone — using his mobility to open up passing/shooting lanes and using his vision to constantly examine the ice and find his teammates with accurate passes. Defensively he can use his size and skating to eliminate the opposition’s time and space and force them away from the center lane, making their offensive chances less dangerous.

Continue reading A bit of praise for Simon Edvinsson from ‘Future Considerations’

In terms of fantasy hockey impact, the Red Wings’ free agency additions aren’t exactly overwhelming, and DobberHockey’s Peter Ryell gives the Red Wings a “C+” grade today:

Fantasy Outlook: Overall Detroit made solid additions to the roster by adding Perron and Copp who should provide a boost to a bottom six power-play and depth to the roster while Dylan Larkin and Tyler Bertuzzi continue to build off the excellent near point-per-game seasons the two of them produced last year. This along with a full season from Jakub Vrana and continued progress from Lucas Raymond and Filip Zadina should mean that Detroit is starting to put together a formidable top six.

The real story was the emergence of Moritz Seider who entered the league and put up 50 points in 82 games on his way to the Calder Trophy. His ascension has surely escalated the rebuild process and brought fantasy relevance and excitement back to Detroit. Along with Edvinsson and Wallinder knocking on the door, this is a team that will soon have an enviable defense corps.

In goal we have Husso taking the reins with Nedeljkovic all but certain to serve as the backup. This is on paper a good tandem to have and while Husso is likely to receive a steady workload, the team defense is lacking what he had in St. Louis. Expect to see a drop in his numbers.

Grade: C+ (last year was C)

Continued

Aftonbladet’s Matthias Karlsson reports that Red Wings prospect Simon Edvinsson should return to Team Sweden’s lineup for today’s World Junior Championship Quarterfinal match-up vs. Latvia (3:30 PM EDT start on TSN/NHL Network):

The dream message for the Junior Krona: star defenseman is back

Simon Edvinsson played with food poisoning against the U.S.A. and was missing against Germany.

Now the Swedish star defender will be ready to play in the WJC quarter-final against Latvia.

During Tuesday, the 19-year-old practiced fully with the Junior Crowns in Edmonton.

Simon was suddenly missing from the lineup in the last group stage game against Germany.

After the game, the national team captain, Tomas Monten, said that the defenseman was unavailable.

The uncertainty surrounding the important player was worrisome ahead of the playoffs, where Latvia awaits the WJC quarter-finals

Practiced on the ice

SVT’s seasoned reporter Dusan Umicevic was the first to report the reassuring news on Twitter: “Update on Simon Edvinsson. Played with food posioning against the USA and therefore couldn’t play against Germany. Ready for Latvia and the quarters.”

When the Junior Crowns practiced on Tuesday, Simon Edvinsson was also able tto participate seemingly unhindered on the ice.

The Junior Crowns lost the penultimate group stage game 3-2 against the USA and won the final group stage game against Germany 4-2.

Playing of the first defensive pair

Simon Edvinsson had a big breakthrough with Frolunda last season, and has signed a 3-year contract with the Detroit Red Wings.

Sportbladet’s ice hockey expert, Hans Abrahamsson, has ranked Simon Edvinsson as the WJC’s next biggest star after the newly-arrived 17-year-old Connor Bedard, the right-shooting center for Canada.

With the Junior Crowns, Simon Edvinsson has played on a defensive pair with right-handed shooter Helge Grans from the Ontario Reign of the AHL.

Sweden-Latvia will be played at 9:30 PM Swedish time on Wednesday evening.

TSN’s Travis Yost has been ranking NHL teams’ depth at various positions for the last couple of weeks, and today, he wraps up his series of articles with an examination of each and every team’s goaltending. According to Yost, the Red Wings are in the second tier in terms of goaltending depth, the “outperforming” category:

Detroit: The Red Wings went after Ville Husso and signed him to a three-year, $14-million dollar contract to shore up their goaltending position ahead of Alex Nedeljkovic. Husso was outstanding for St. Louis last year – in fact, only three goaltenders in the entire league (Igor Shesterkin, Ilya Sorokin [Fredrik] and Andersen) erased more goals versus expected on a per-game basis. It’s very promising, but it’s also true we have just 57 games of data on Husso as a player. Much like [Vitek] Vanecek in New Jersey, the range of outcomes here is quite high.

Continued; I’m not writing off Nedeljkovic yet, but it’s strange how most pundits have already decided that one mediocre season equals that he’s not a good NHL goaltender.

On a Wednesday in August, there’s over 12 hours of hockey for Red Wings fans to watch today as the 2022 World Junior Championship’s Quarterfinal stage will take place starting at 12 PM EDT.

Here’s today’s schedule:

Finland (Eemil Viro) vs. Germany at 12 PM EDT on TSN and the NHL Network;

Sweden (Simon Edvinsson, Theodor Niederbach, William Wallinder) vs. Latvia at 3:30 PM EDT on TSN and the NHL Network;

Canada (Donvan Sebrango, Sebastian Cossa) vs. Switzerland at 7 PM EDT on TSN and the NHL Network;

Team USA (Carter Mazur, Red Savage) vs. Czechia (Jan Bednar) at 10:30 PM EDT on TSN and the NHL Network.

Update: Here’s the TSN schedule:

#WorldJuniors QF GAME DAY:

Finland 🇫🇮 🆚 Germany 🇩🇪: Noon et on TSN 1/4/5

Sweden 🇸🇪 🆚 Latvia 🇱🇻: 3:30pm et on TSN 1/4

Canada 🇨🇦 🆚 Switzerland 🇨🇭: 7pm et on TSN 4/5

USA 🇺🇸 🆚 Czechia 🇨🇿: 10:30pm et on TSN4

Also LIVE on https://t.co/3PTSwVFR94 and the TSN App.#TSNHockey pic.twitter.com/qr6SQSPr9h— TSN Hockey (@TSNHockey) August 17, 2022