Month: August 2022

Detroit Hockey Now’s Bob Duff spotted an article in which Red Wings prospect and Czechia goaltender Jan Bednar spoke with iSport.cz’s Michal Kosturik, and Duff offers a translation of said article, in which Bednar discusses whether he’s going to remain with the QMJHL’s Acadie-Bathurst Titan, or whether he expects to earn an NHL contract:

“I can stay in the junior, which is also a great option,” Bednar said. “I have everything there that I need for my development.”

Just 19 and with a year of junior eligibility remaining, the 6-foot-4, 196-pound Bednar isn’t of the opinion that he needs to take a step up in competition in order to further his progress as a puckstopper.

“I do not think so,” Bednar said. “A lot of people say: ‘Why would you go back there, when you can play senior hockey somewhere?’ I’m happy where I am and I don’t want to rush anything. I consider my step to leave Vary to go overseas to be 100% correct. I don’t regret it.

“From a personal point of view, the (2021-22) season was not bad at all,” Bednar said. “I stayed in the better waters of statistics. As a goalkeeper, I have progressed a lot.”

Duff continues…And, put bluntly, it’s not Duff’s fault that Kosturik is trying to stir up controversy.

The whole premise of the Czech article is that Bednar, whose Czech hockey rights belong to HC Energie Karlovy Vary, would surely be better-served (emphasis mine) playing “senior hockey” in the Czech Extraliga instead of playing in some tiny backwater city in faraway Quebec, playing junior hockey.

Bednar’s response, basically, is that he likes Acadie-Bathurst, he likes his billet family, and he likes the QMJHL, where he earned the majority of the starts in Acadie-Bathurst after the New Year.

It’s a less-than-nuanced premise given that Bednar is 19, and would probably be playing in the Czech Under-20 league for Karlovy Vary if he’d stayed home.

Also: Kudos to Duff for finding this one. It took me ten minutes to find this article, and I knew where to look. It was hidden not in the hockey section, but in the general sports section instead.

Red Wings prospect Simon Edvinsson did not take part in Team Sweden’s 4-2 win over Germany on Monday at the World Junior Championship, and reports about Edvinsson’s status circulated throughout the TSN broadcast and on Twitter, etc.

Everything from Edvinsson being “banged up” from blocking shots to having food poisoning to being so injured that he wouldn’t be available until Saturday’s WJC Final.

So let’s hit upon several of these topics, via HockeySverige.se and HockeyNews.se.

HockeySvergie.se’s editor, Rasmus Kagstrom, reported the following, which is, of course, roughly translated from Swedish:

Continue reading Two (translated) reports about Simon Edvinsson, who Tomas Monten says was ‘not fit to play’ on Monday

When you put together a bunch of international journalists in order to allow them to cover an international hockey tournament, you, the internet viewer, occasionally find that the conglomerate of international journalists and an international hockey event yields interviews that you never thought would happen.

As it turns out, Red Wings forward and Team Sweden forward Theodor Niederbach has a connection to Czechia, and, as it turns out, Hokej.cz’s Daniel Kratky asked Niederbach about said connection over the course of an interview that was published on Monday night, in Czech.

What follows is good stuff, roughly translated from Czech:

Continue reading Roughly translated: Theodor Niederbach speaks with Hokej.cz

The Red Wings’ prospects at the World Junior Championship will be playing in the following games on Wednesday, first reported by The Mayor of Mayor’s Manor, an LA Kings website:

Rumored schedule for #WorldJuniors quarterfinals on Wednesday…

9am – Finland v SWE/GER
1230p – SWE/GER v Latvia
4p – Canada v Swiss
730p – USA v Czechia— John Hoven | The Mayor (@mayorNHL) August 16, 2022

And confirmed by FloHockey’s Chris Peters:

QF schedule for Wednesday per TSN:

Finland vs. Germany 10 a.m. MT
Sweden vs. Latvia 1:30 p.m. MT
Canada vs. Switzerland 5 p.m. MT
USA vs. Czechia at 8:30 p.m. MT— Chris Peters (@chrismpeters) August 16, 2022

Long story long, the schedule is as follows in terms of Eastern Daylight Time:

Finland (Eemil Viro) vs. Germany at 12 PM EDT

Sweden (Simon Edvinsson, Theodor Niederbach, William Wallinder) vs. Latvia at 3:30 PM EDT

Canada (Donvan Sebrango, Sebastian Cossa) vs. Switzerland at 7 PM EDT

Team USA (Carter Mazur, Red Savage) vs. Czechia (Jan Bednar) at 10:30 PM EDT.

Your #WorldJuniors quarter-finals matchups:@leijonat vs @deb_teams @Trekronorse vs @lhf_lv @HockeyCanada vs @SwissIceHockey @usahockey vs @narodnitym pic.twitter.com/aFxUXJFbLp— IIHF (@IIHFHockey) August 16, 2022

The final game of the World Junior Championship’s round robin play was consequential: Sweden had to beat Germany to finish second in Group B, which would afford them the opportunity of battling Latvia in Wednesday’s Quarterfinal.

If the Swedes lost, they would actually finish below Germany in the standings, and face Finland in the Quarterfinal.

For the Red Wings’ prospects participating in the game–Theodor Niederbach and William Wallinder (Simon Edvinsson was OUT for the game)–Monday night’s game also represented an opportunity to rebound from Sunday night’s 3-2 loss to Team USA, and to build momentum in terms of both team and individual play.

Sweden won the game 4-2, with Niederbach earning an assist on the 4-1 goal for Sweden, but it wasn’t as easy as you might think. The Germans took a 1-0 lead 4:00 into the 1st period, and until the Swedes both tied the game 1:52 later, and earned a lead at 12:29…It felt like Germany was going to upset the lackadaisical Swedes.

That’s not what happened, however, and while the Swedes’ level of attention to detail was a bit ugly at times, the Germans couldn’t beat back-up goaltender Calle Clang again until Luca Munzenberger got a BIZARRE goal with 7.1 seconds remaining in regulation, so Sweden punched its ticket to a match-up with Latvia.

In terms of Red Wings prospects playing in the game…

Continue reading Red Wings at the WJC: Sweden wins 4-2 over Germany: Edvinsson sits, Niederbach 1A, Wallinder plays 15:27

Red Wings prospect and Team Canada defenseman Donovan Sebrango gave a 1:16 interview to TSN’ Tessa Bonhomme after Canada’s 6-3 win over Finland at the World Junior Championship on Monday night.

I can’t embed the video, but here’s the summary:

‘Everyone wants that gold’: Sebrango says Canada will do anything possible to win

Donovan Sebrango talks to TSN’s Tessa Bonhomme following Canada’s victory over Finland and says he’s willing to do anything possible to capture gold with his Canadian teammates.

Sebrango says that the Canadians can’t be too mad having held off the Finns, and that they’re willing to put their bodies on the line in order to win Gold, so that’s not a surprise. He also says that the Canadians are seeing different and new faces take the spotlight, and the whole team working together, as a balanced lineup.

Updated 2x at 10:06 PM: A bit of a shock hit the Red Wings Twitter world when the Tre Kronor, a.k.a. the Swedish national team, announced on Twitter that their lineup for Monday night’s game vs. Germany at the World Junior Championship would not include Simon Edvinsson.

Här är laget! 😍

Förbundskapten Tomas Montén ställer följande formationer på isen när Juniorkronorna möter Tyskland. Nedsläpp strax efter kl 4. Du ser matchen i TV6/Viaplay.

Heja Sverige! 🙌🇸🇪#worldjuniors @IIHFHockey pic.twitter.com/rDHAqxesOa— Tre Kronor (@Trekronorse) August 16, 2022

Edvinsson played 22:46 during Sunday night’s 3-2 loss to Team USA, so it’s possible, if not probable, that Edvinsson is nursing some sort of minor injury, but going into Wednesday’s Quarterfinal round, I do not expect coach Tomas Monten to clarify his status.

Update: Via the Detroit News’s Gregg Krupa on Twitter:

Simon Edvinsson spelar inte den avslutande gruppspelsmatchen mot Tyskland. Lär vara en ren försiktighetsåtgärd. #Juniorkronorna— Rasmus Kågström (@rasmuskagstrom) August 16, 2022

Simon Edvinsson does not play the final group stage match against Germany. Supposed to be a mere precaution.

Update #2: From me:

TSN’s Bob McKenzie says that there is speculation that Edvinsson is either 1) banged up or 2) got food poisoning.

I’m hoping for the food poisoning?— George Malik (@georgemalik) August 16, 2022

Team Canada and Team Finland squared off in a battle for supremacy in Group A at the World Junior Championship on Monday night, with the 3-and-0 Canadians looking to finish round robin play at 4-and-0, and the Finns looking to improve upon their similar (2 regulation wins and 1 overtime win) record.

As TSN’s James Duthie said before the game, the winner of the Canada-Finland game would face Switzerland in Wednesday’s Quarterfinal, while the loser would battle the loser of tonight’s 10 PM EDT-starting game between Sweden and Germany.

Two underrated Red Wings prospects would battle in Canadian defenseman Dominic Sebrango and Finland’s Eemil Viro, also a defenseman.

As Sebastian Cossa was set to back up Dylan Garand in goal, Monday night’s game involved players that “you don’t really notice” as Sebrango plays a spare, steady and physical game on Canada’s top defensive pair, and Viro quietly embodies a similar (albeit less physical) role the Finns’ second defensive pair.

This was a unique game! Canada dominated the first period, absolutely blew Finland away in the 2nd period, and then got into penalty trouble in the 3rd, and was really worked over by the Finns, who almost pulled off an improbable rally.

The score was 6-3 Canada, but Canada, who will face Switzerland in the Quarterfinal on Wednesday, had to bust its butt to play in the 3rd.

In terms of Red Wings prospects playing in the game:

Donovan Sebrango was his steady self, finishing at +1 in 21:01 played, earning lots of PK time, taking one untimely penalty, and blocking shots;

Eemil Viro had perhaps his best game of the tournament thus far, moving the puck up ice with pace and aplomb while avoiding hits and using his short stick to break up plays in the defensive zone, ultimately finishing at +1 with 1 shot in 16:43 played.

In terms of the game’s narrative…

Continue reading Red Wings at the WJC: Canada wins 6-3 over Finland, will face Swiss in QF; Sebrango 21:01 played, Viro 16:43

Detroit Hockey Now’s Kevin Allen ponders the reasons why several former Red Wings players, including forward Sam Gagner, have not been able to find gainful employment in the NHL over the course of the free agency period thus far:

Veteran Detroit Red Wings forward Sam Gagner made the joking observation at the end of last season that some of his younger teammates “are a little closer to my kids’ age.”

But the 33-year-old Gagner is far from over the hill. His 13-goal, 31-point production in 2022-23 represented his best season since 2017-18. Gagner is a penalty-killer, polished defensive forward and a natural leader.  If the Red Wings were trying to win a Stanley Cup, instead of rebuilding, they may have re-signed Gagner.

That’s why it’s mildly surprising that Gagner is still available in the free agent marketplace.

….

It still seems likely that he will sign with a good team. He’s been linked to both the Edmonton Oilers and Toronto Maple Leafs. He could be a valuable role player on a contender.

“I try to have the same mindset every night,” he said at the end of the season. “It’s not always going to go the way you want but for the most part I’ve felt pretty good about where my game has been at most of the year.”

Allen Continues, and, yesterday, the Edmonton Journal’s Kurt Leavins reported the following:

Continue reading A bit about Sam Gagner’s future from DHN and the Edmonton Journal