The Detroit Red Wings’ annual prospect tournament has gotten underway at Centre ICE Arena in Traverse City. The St. Louis Blues and Columbus Blue Jackets were the 3 PM game (Columbus won 7-1!), and Dallas and Toronto will play tonight at 6:30 PM.
You’ll note, of course, that the Red Wings’ prospects didn’t participate in a game today, choosing instead to play three games, on Friday vs. Columbus (3 PM, live streamed on the Red Wings’ social media channels), Saturday vs. Dallas (6 PM, also live streamed), and Monday vs. Toronto (11 AM, also live streamed).
Between the fact that it’s a 5-team tournament instead of an 8-team tourney, and given the fact that the Wings could afford to use a “getting to know you” day ahead of a busy three games in four nights, the Wings chose to play 3 round robin games instead of 4, and I believe that it’s the right call.
On Thursday, the Wings’ prospects hit the ice promptly at 11:30 AM, and Grand Rapids Griffins coach Ben Simon, assistant coaches Matt MacDonald, Mike Knuble, video coach Erich Junge and goalie coach Brian Mahoney-Wilson all put the prospects through their paces over the course of a spirited 72-minute practice.
A little panorama. pic.twitter.com/UGc1uUdGev— George Malik (@georgemalik) September 15, 2022
Coach Simon did a lot of teaching in terms of imparting the Red Wings’ systems of play to a set of players who mostly haven’t played together before, and he was emphatic, enthusiastic, and at times, more than willing to bark at the collective group in order to keep the pace of practice high.
Drills pic.twitter.com/RmGeuU6ULS— George Malik (@georgemalik) September 15, 2022
The Wings worked through sets of breakout drills, dump-and-recover drills, they spent a ton of time working on their power-play and penalty-kill, and the players also skated 5-on-5, all before wrapping things up with a little 3-on-3 “street hockey,” with the nets placed on each blueline.
Drills in progress. pic.twitter.com/khQwc1KKpB— George Malik (@georgemalik) September 15, 2022
Coaches Simon and Knuble worked the “white board” extensively (and briskly) in order to explain drills which were generally started by players who had familiarity with the coaching staff–that is to say members of the Grand Rapids Griffins–but the Wings’ prospects and the tournament try-outs soon followed, and everyone was held to a high standard without the coaches becoming punitive.
This was a “teaching day” for the coaches and players, who are all getting to know each other before a very intense period of three games in four “nights,” so both sides seemed intent upon maximizing their learning curves.
End of practice stretch. pic.twitter.com/SDiMXVzFzd— George Malik (@georgemalik) September 15, 2022
(Sorry there weren’t more pictures; I had to figure out how to Tweet pictures from my new phone, so there were…glitches)
Cossa. Red pads. pic.twitter.com/vwcft3m0Bv— George Malik (@georgemalik) September 15, 2022
Long story long, the Red Wings’ prospects did their best to prepare for a difficult tournament ahead, as well as what will be a new coach imparting similar systems of play during the five days’ worth of training camp, so Thursday’s practice session was designed to give the players a leg up on what’s to come.
In fact, Simon Edvinsson said that there was a lot of video to digest as well, making the day a smorgasbord of information, but the players had some fun, too, as you’ll see in the Wings’ video summary of the first day’s practice:
Game one tomorrow. 😃 #DRWPT pic.twitter.com/ibblAEpfMY— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) September 15, 2022
In terms of lines, the Red Wings’ prospects didn’t have all hands on deck today, so the Athletic’s Max Bultman offered his best guess…
Forward lines look like
— Max Bultman (@m_bultman) September 15, 2022
Söderblom Lombardi Hanas
Tyutyayev Limpar-Lantz Ivan
Piercey Worrad Zito
Mathieu Anctil Martin
Bliss rotating in on 4th
D are rolling 7 so it’s a little hard to tell
As far as I could tell, the forward lines looked like this:
Elmer Soderblom–Cross Hanas–Amadeus Lombardi
Kirill Tyutyayev–Marcus Limpar-Lantz–Ivan Ivan
Riley Piercey–Drew Worrad–Pasquale Zito
Mitchell Martin–Julien Anctil–Jacob Mathieu
The defensive pairs that I could see were:
Simon Edvinsson–Albert Johansson
Donovan Sebrango–Oscar Plandowski/Seth Barton
Eemil Viro–Jeremie Biakabatuka/Seth Barton
The goaltenders, of course, are:
Sebastian Cossa
Jan Bednar
and Andrew Oke
In terms of individual player assessments, here’s what I thought of each player, with my initial assessments of the roster for reference purposes:
Forwards:
#56 Pasquale Zito: Both the Red Wings and EliteProspects list the Niagara IceDogs center at 6′ and 179 pounds, and the 19-year-old is…Plucky. Very plucky. He posted 42 points in 49 games last season, after not playing, period due to the pandemic cancelling the OHL season, and as he attempts to make up for a lost developmental year, he’s speedy without being overly fast, he’s competitive as all snot get out, he wins puck battles and has a solid shot and good passing skills. It looks like he’s going to be playing on a line with the Grand Rapids Griffins-contracted center in Drew Worrad, which should afford him some time on what the Wings will hope to be a mature, composed unit.
#58 Riley Piercey*: Piercey attended the summer development camp as a 20-year-old from the Flint Firebirds, and the Wings list him at 6’3″ and 212 pounds. Having posted 58 points in 59 games, he the theory was that the free agent invite could be a “bonus draft pick,” but he didn’t impress too much when he was 10 pounds lighter, and on Thursday, what was impressive was his overall speed, especially given his size. He was able to keep up with his linemates and hustle up and down the ice as he blended in fairly well.
#61 Jake Uberti*: You won’t see Uberti listed in the lines above, and the 6’2,” 200-pound winger from Mississauga of the OHL posted a quite solid 35 points in 42 games split between Zito’s IceDogs and the Steelheads last season, but he’s got a “lost year of development” as well, and on Thursday, he wasn’t able to participate in practice.
#62 Drew Worrad**: Listed at 6’2″ and 200 pounds by EliteProspects and only 6′ and 178 pounds by the Red Wings, I think that it’s safe to say that Worrad has lost some weight, though I’m not sure what numbers we’ll get on Friday’s game sheet. AHL-contracted and older at 25 years of age, the Western Michigan University graduate posted 45 points in 39 senior season games, but here at the prospect tournament, I get the feeling that he’s going to be utilized more as a two-way center. He’s got some wheels and he moves the puck up ice and distributes it to his wingers.
#72 Trenton Bliss**: The 6’1,” 195-pound Bliss is another player who didn’t participate in Thursday’s practice. Another Griffins contract, the 24-year-old was sharp during the summer development camp, but the fall prospect tournament is another ball of wax.
#74 Cross Hanas: I’m still trying to figure out what exactly Hanas brings to the table. He’s centering the first line more or less by default, and the 6’1,” 174-pound center definitely blossomed at the WHL level last season, posting 60 assists and 86 points in only 63 games played. Sometimes he looks more like a sniper than a puck distributor to me, and while he’s slight, he’s fast and relatively tenacious on the puck. I’ve seen him improve in terms of his all-round game and especially his skating over the past couple of seasons. He used to be very heavy-footed, and he’s not that kind of player any more.
#78 Amadeus Lombardi: Lombardi may be skating on that “first line” because his summer development camp was so dang impressive. A 19-year-old 2022 draft pick, the Wings went with the overager despite his 5’10,” 165-pound size, mostly because he is an absolute dynamo of energy who skates speedily and loves to go to the net and jab pucks into the goal. He’s not overwhelmingly physical, but his enthusiasm and competitiveness are exciting to watch, and he’s just a booger out there.
#79 Kirill Tyutyayev**: Tyutyayev, Grand Rapids Griffins-contracted but re-setting at 22 years of age because he suffered a season-ending shoulder injury all of 8 games into his rookie AHL campaign, he’s put on a ton of weight without losing speed or maneuverability to stand at 5’10” and 176 pounds, the kid just dekes and dangles. He’s got immense puck skills in a slightly under-powered frame, and that tantalizing level of scoring and passing abilities offer great promise. He’s got to figure out how to take “promise” and turn it into “consistent scoring at the professional level.” What better a place to start down that path than at his second consecutive prospect tournament?
#83 Marcus Limpar-Lantz*: A free agent try-out who’s immigrating from Orebro Hockey’s Under-20 league team to the OHL’s Erie Otters, the 6,’ 190-pound center looked pretty good today. He posted 37 points in 40 J20 games last season, and in his “overage” year, the speedy puck distributor is going to try to land a pro contract. A right-shooting center, he’s a good passer and, at first glance (as in the first time I’ve seen him play was today), he seems to possess a strong skill level.
#84 Julien Anctil*: The 21-year-old Anctil played at a point-per-game level (68 points in 67 games) with the QMJHL’s Sherbrooke Phoenix this past season, but he had an up-and-down summer development camp, and now the 6’2,” 177-pound center will be called upon to play on what I informally call the, “Don’t get run over” line. The fourth line at the prospect tournament is in fact damn important, but it’s more important as a defensive unit than anything else, and it’s just not a very “big” line. Anctil, Mathieu and Martin will have to do their best to not get run over, and based on Thursday’s practice, they’ve got their work cut out for them :/
#85 Elmer Soderblom: Soderblom reminded us media types that he participated in a prospect tournament some two years ago, and now, the 6’8,” 249-pound forward comes over again as a 21-year-old who is ready to break into North American hockey. He posted 33 points in 52 games with Frolunda last year, dazzling with some highlight-reel goals at times, and he definitely went to the net-front and stayed there and shot some pucks into the net (once with his stick between his legs–as it turns out, when you’re 6’8,” you have to do some calisthenics sometimes just to hold onto your stick). He is not fast and he is just not physical, so if you’re expecting to see Tomas Holmstrom 2.0, we might not be witnessing the, “If you hit me, I will hit you back” phenomenon that was Homer, but geez, is he a big obstacle to look around, and he is capable away from the net-front. I want to see how he does on his second tour of duty on North American ice against his peers.
#86 Ivan Ivan*: Skinny at 5’11” and 171 pounds, the 20-year-old who can still be drafted has a lot to gain or a lot to lose trying to impress not only the Red Wings, but 31 other NHL teams’ scouts over the next four days. He posted a point-per-game in 65 games with Charlottetown of the QMJHL, and I like his stance, I like his ability to get open for passes to the slot, and I like his ability to lurk in dead zones on the ice, but all of that has yet to be proven in game situations at this level.
#87 Jacob Mathieu*: Listed at 5’10” and 179 pounds, the free agent invite from the Sherbrooke Phoenix is an 18-year-old who’s pretty darn…Young. Very young. Mathieu didn’t participate in the summer development camp, and he looked like he was absorbing a ton of information. Like Anctil, he possesses speed, but the “Don’t get run over” line also looks very, very small right now, and I’m worried about it.
#94 Mitchell Martin*: Martin may be the “heavy” that balances that line out. EliteProspects lists him at 6’4″ and 207 pounds, but the Wings have him at 6’3″ and 174, so we’ll inelegantly say that he’s probably somewhere in between, having lost some weight in order to play a little lighter. Another free agent invite, the Kitchener Rangers winger is 19 and he posted a solid-enough 40 points in 65 games this past season, again, after a “lost developmental year,” but he needs to leverage his frame a little better.
Defensemen:
#3 Simon Edvinsson: Where do I begin? How do I conclude? Despite watching the World Junior Championship closely, and having seen Edvinsson play with borrowed equipment twice at the summer development camp, there are a lot of unknowns about the Red Wings’ top prospect’s ceiling, and how long it’s going to take the incredibly-talented defenseman to reach it. 19 years old and 6’6″ and 207 pounds, the big defender is absolutely effortless in his skating, and I think that’s where there’s some “big man syndrome” lurking here.
He looks like he’s not trying sometimes because his play in terms of his passing, shooting and playmaking are made with such ease, and still, I would argue that he needs to be a little more urgent and a little more deliberate–kind of like Seider a year ago, but without that year of AHL seasoning under his belt. Edvinsson is confident, calm and composed, he’s got a superb shot that finds its way through traffic, a laser-eye pass, but sometimes he doesn’t know what he’s going to do with the puck until after it’s on his stick, or how he’s going to ride out the angle on a 2-on-1 until he’s in his own zone, and those kinds of anticipatory instincts may have to be honed in Grand Rapids.
We’re still talking about a top-pair guy in the making here. Just one with some rough edges.
#20 Albert Johansson: Johansson, on the other hand, is melted butter smooth. The 6,’ 176-pound Johansson is 21 years old and has been playing for Farjestads BK in the SHL for a couple of seasons now, and it shows. Nothing overwhelms when it comes to Johansson, but man, he’s a smooth skater, man, he’s got a slick pass, he’s got a sneaky little shot, he gaps up and controls his interactions with players he’s defending because his geometry is superb, and he walks the line almost as well as Edvinsson does to change the angle on his shots. I want to see him hold up in games against bigger, stronger players, but his first impression was an !!!
#44 Donovan Sebrango: At the other end of the spectrum when it comes to the role he plays, Sebrango is smooth and sharp as a 20-year-old shut-down defenseman. His technical skills are very good and his skating is surprisingly good, and he doesn’t look like he’s 6’1″ and 194 pounds, but he brings a bit of physicality and a sort of swashbuckling flair to his now-average-sized package. He should play better in his second prospect tournament.
#49 Seth Barton: I haven’t seen the 23-year-old before today, and I’m still not quite sure what to make of the 6’3,” 196-pound defender who turned pro with Grand Rapids last season. He skates well, he’s physical and hard and he does a good job of being both enthusiastic and just kind of…sound. We’ll see what havoc he and Sebrango can wreak.
#51 Eemil Viro: Viro probably projects as a 3rd-pair defender to Johansson’s #3 guy, but he’s put on weight at 6′ and 176 wiry pounds, the 20-year-old, turning-North-American-pro defenseman has an utterly fantastic stick in terms of his ability to use it to check, to pass and to shoot, he’s mobile and he’s played parts of three pro seasons with TPS Turku of the Finnish Liiga, which is no small feat. It looks like he’ll either be playing with Biakabutuka or Plandowski in a lefty-and-righty pairing, and as weird as this sounds, he’s going to be the “Don’t get run over” defenseman.
#63 Jeremie Biakabutuka*: The Red Wings added Biakabutuka to the mix just before the prospect tournament, and he’s massive at 6’4″ and 203 pounds, but the 20-year-old Charlottetown Islanders defenseman hasn’t “clicked” yet in terms of points produced, nor bodies lain out from checking, so he’s been passed over twice in the draft. He looked very good in my first viewing, but there was nothing that stood out. He’ll probably get at least one game in, and we’ll see what he does then.
And, as you might imagine, I’m not really fascinated by the fact that his uncle is an NFL alumnus. Just like Ivan Ivan, I want to see whether the player is interesting, not whether the name is catchy.
#77 Oscar Plandowski: The 19-year-old right-shooter stands at 6′ and 190 pounds, and he’s a teammate of Biakabutuka’s on Charlottetown’s blueline. I think that he’s more likely to end up with Viro on the 3rd pairing than Biakabutuka, and while he possesses impeccable skating technique and very good overall tools, as I’ve said before, he needs to put the disparate parts of his game–which are all solid to very good–together in a “toolbox” to play more consistently. I think this could be a pivotal prospect tournament for him.
#95 Tnias Mathurin: I was bummed out to see that Mathurin didn’t practice on Thursday. The 6’3,” 200-pound defenseman is a 2022 draft pick, like Lombardi, and there were some big ups and some downs from the massive North Bay Battalion defender during the summer development camp. 3rd pair guy? Stay-at-home defender? Something more? We’ll find out, assuming that he gets healthy.
Goaltenders:
#31 Andrew Oke*: The Red Wings don’t usually invite 18-year-olds to the prospect tournament, but the 6’2,” 198-pound Oke is a bit of an exception to the rule. He didn’t have a great year with Saginaw, but he busted his hump at the summer development camp improving his game, he continued to be a good worker bee as a back-up for Team USA at the World Juniors, and now a once-shaky netminder looks very solid technically. Good glove, great blocker, nice butterfly and toe saves, improving on the puck-handling.
#33 Sebastian Cossa: I guess the proof is in the pads for Cossa. He’s still eligible to return to the Edmonton Oil Kings if the Red Wings choose to not make room for him, but the 6’6,” 215-pound goaltender came to camp wearing red-and-white pads instead of the red, white and blue of the Oil Kings. Something of a subtle message that Cossa wants to turn pro at 19…
And while Cossa still has some glove issues from time to time when he tries to turn it over, and when he’s backed into his net, holes appear from time to time, the progression of Cossa from last year’s summer development camp and prospect tournament to this year’s summer development camp, and especially this post-World Junior Championship prospect tournament, is stark. He’s a lot less busy in the net, he’s out to the top of his crease, and those holes over the top of his shoulders in the butterfly and the five-hole have closed up (thus far, anyway). Cossa may be under the microscope even more than Edvinsson is during the prospect tournament, but I’m more curious to see how he performs as a whole over the course of the tournament, main camp and the exhibition season, and where he “ends up” as a result.
#60 Jan Bednar: Bednar also has a lot to gain and a lot to lose this season, and not necessarily based upon how he plays over the course of this tournament. He’s going to be Cossa’s back-up, and the 19-year-old has grown two inches (EliteProspects has him at 6’2″ and 202 pounds; the Wings have him standing 6’4″ and 196 pounds) had an up-and-down year, playing well in what was his first full season with the Acadie-Bathurst Titan of the QMJHL, and then struggling mightily with the Czechs at the World Junior Championship. Brian Mahoney-Wilson and Phil Osaer will work a lot with Oke and Bednar, and the more that he absorbs, the better. Especially if he isn’t able to play a game over the course of the prospect tournament.
All of that being said, the goal for Bednar may be to earn an exhibition game start more than anything else, and then to head back to Acadie-Bathurst and have a good campaign, but that’s where he’s at in terms of his development. In the interim, he’ll have to stand at the ready, should the team need him.
*=Free agent invite, **=Grand Rapids Griffins contract
That’s my take on the prospects after one viewing. I want to note one more thing here before I do my spiel: the Red Wings taped their own practice for the purpose of video scouting, and I thought that this particular “little detail” was even more interesting than finding out that Elmer Soderblom can play what is presumably a very large guitar.
This team is always about learning, growing, and instruction, and that fascinates me.
If you missed the Soderblom/Edvinsson post, here are the interviews…
And, as you know by now, I’m doing this for two reasons: first, because I love hockey and am incredibly grateful for the opportunity to come up here for two weeks and camp out in a hotel room to watch hockey, and also because I need to pay for the hotel room and groceries and so on.
We’re at the halfway point in fundraising ($2,000 down! $2,000 to go…erm…and the $348.30 that it cost to fix the Pacifica…sorry), and we’ve got about a week till that second thousand-dollar hotel bill comes due. I hope that you can lend a hand, but either way, I hope that you enjoy the stuff I’m putting out here. This is a real Gord-damn privilege.
If you’re are willing to lend an assist, you can use PayPal at https://paypal.me/TheMalikReport, Venmo at https://venmo.com/george-malik-2, Giftly by using my email, rtxg@yahoo.com, at https://www.giftly.com. And you can contact me via email if you want to send me a paper check. I’m also on Cash App under “georgeums” (an old nickname).
