The Detroit Red Wings’ prospects took part in a spirited 50-minute morning skate today at Centre ICE Arena, working on:
Breakouts, playing the puck through the middle of the ice instead of along the boards (a major sticking point for coach Ben Simon), warming up their goalies (I think Jan Bednar will get the nod tonight vs. Dallas) and generally working on producing more screens in front of opposing goaltenders, as well as more speed on the rush.
Tonight’s 6 PM opponent, the Dallas Stars’ prospects, are coming off a 6-2 loss to Toronto on Thursday, and they skated just before the Red Wings on Saturday as tonight’s game is the only game on the schedule at Centre ICE Arena on a college football Saturday, so it’s going to be packed, and hopefully well-watched on the Red Wings’ social media channels.
In terms of player assessments, there’s a very short turnaround between now and the game, so I’m going to keep my assessments short:
Forwards:
#56 Pasquale Zito: The 19-year-old Zito had a quiet practice the morning after a strong game for the Red Wings. In game situations, he’s a doggedly hard worker, playing on a line with Drew Worrad and Riley Piercey, and the 6,’ 176-pound Niagara IceDogs center is perfectly suited to playing a more physical game on the wing to create space for his linemates. I was really impressed with his jam and resolve on Friday, and now he needs to repeat the performance.
#58 Riley Piercey*: Coming off a dream performance (4 goals in Friday night’s win over Columbus), the 6’3,” 212-pound winger from the Flint Firebirds seemed to continue both his confidence and upbeat demeanor over the course of Saturday’s morning skate. He was happy, cheerful and endlessly willing to go to the front of the net to jab shots home and hack rebounds toward his goaltenders. Perhaps best suited for in-game situations, he’s physical, too.
#61 Jake Uberti*: The 6’2,” 200-pound free agent invite from Mississauga hasn’t been able to play yet. He’s 20 and still draft-eligible due to the pandemic, but he’s missing crucial time, so he must be injured.
#62 Drew Worrad**: I was incredibly impressed by Worrad’s performance (1 goal and 2 assists for 3 points), and as a 25-year-old graduate of Western Michigan University, the 6,’ 178-pound forward should be dominant among his peers, and as a Grand Rapids Griffins-contracted player centering the Wings’ second line, he needs to produce. Produce he did on Friday, and he busted his butt working hard on Saturday, too.
#72 Trenton Bliss**: Also a Griffins-contracted player, Bliss made his practice debut on Saturday, and I’m hoping that the 24-year-old graduate of Michigan Tech can stabilize the Red Wings’ fourth line. At 6’1″ and 195 pounds, having posted 40 points in 36 NCAA games this past season, he can place his best foot forward now.
#74 Cross Hanas: Hanas established himself as someone who wants to build upon a 60-assist season with the WHL’s Portland Winterhawks last night, and the Hanas-Lombardi-Soderblom line had a ton of “almosts” in addition to Hanas’ two assists on Friday night. I’ve watched Hanas develop from a player who needed to work on his skating and needed to work on his defensive game to a player who plays a balanced, somewhat ornery game, and while the 20-year-old isn’t big at 6′ and 174 pounds, he holds his own in physical altercations…
#78 Amadeus Lombardi: As does the Red Wings’ surprising 1st line center, 18-year-old and 2022 draft pick Amadeus Lombardi. Lombardi is only 5’10” and 160 pounds, but the competitive little bugger gives up no space to anyone at any time, and gives his opponents no quarter thanks to an incredibly competitive spirit. Lombardi finished at -1 with 2 shots last night, but he was also the “glue guy” who facilitated some of the chemistry between Hanas and Soderblom. For someone so young, he looked incredibly comfortable playing at the level he’s playing at.
#79 Kirill Tyutyayev**: Tantalizing. Tyutyayev has a ridiculous amount of skill and he makes silly dekes and dangles while skating bowlegged and widely-stanced, making the opposition defense look like mincemeat…But he has yet to actually score off all the beautiful plays he makes. Probably closer to EliteProspects’ 5’10” and 170 pounds than his Red Wings-listed 5’9″ and 146, the little bugger needs to bear down upon his scoring chances more regularly.
#83 Marcus Limpar-Lantz*: MLL had a very good debut considering that he was coming from the Swedish J20 league to nearly AHL-level play on Friday night, all en route to the perennial contenders that are the OHL’s Erie Otters. The 20-year-old wins draws, skates well, and plays a very solid game thanks to superb skating and good shooting and passing skills.
#84 Julien Anctil*: Anctil is more of a work in progress. He centered the Wings’ fourth line, and the 6’2,” 177-pound Sherbrooke Phoenix center is 21, but he looked like an 18-year-old playing at a level of hockey he’d never experienced before on Friday night. He’s good in practice situations, but he’s just so skinny and under-developed physically!
#85 Elmer Soderblom: At the other end of the physical spectrum, the 6’8,” 249-pound Soderblom had a fairly good second round of a North American debut, not earning the -2 which accompanied his power play assist. Big Soderblom spent Saturday morning tipping pucks, tipping pucks and tipping more pucks on goal, and learning that, in North American hockey, you can’t play from the perimeter and expect to generate scoring chances, like you can in Europe. That was a big message for everyone on Saturday, including the good-skating Soderblom–play in the middle of the ice and go directly to the front of the net. Do not pass “GO,” do not collect $200, play with more pace, urgency, and speed.
Here’s hoping that Soderblom listened, because he possesses immense potential.
#86 Ivan Ivan*: I don’t recall seeing Ivan on Saturday morning. The Red Wings want the 5’11,” 171-pound free agent try-out to play, because he’s got offensive promise despite being under-powered physically. Like a poor man’s Kirill Tyutyayev, there are flashes of skill throughout his game, but he needs to apply himself on a more consistent basis.
#87 Jacob Mathieu*: The 5’10,” 168-pound 18-year-old was a bit out of his element on Friday, and here’s hoping that the undersized forward manages to find his sea legs on Saturday, because the Wings aren’t likely to gain many reinforcements as the prospect tournament continues. A free agent try-out, he’s got a long way to go to impress.
#94 Mitchell Martin*: Martin was the best player on the Wings’ fourth line, and the 6’3,” 177-pound Kitchener Rangers forward at least brought a physical presence to said fourth line. He was tough most of the time and not overpowered most of the time, which were all good signs given the circumstances in which he was playing as a 19-year-old free agent invite.
Defensemen:
#3 Simon Edvinsson: I’m very interested to see what Edvinsson does tonight. As I said in my “impressions” from last night’s game, Edvinsson was up and down over the course of his first North American near-pro game, and the 6’6,” 207-pound defenseman plays an elegantly-skilled game, from his skating, passing and shooting skills to his ability to gap up on opponents almost seamlessly, but he needs to apply that immense skill with a little more consistency, determination, and “finish.”
#20 Albert Johansson: The 21-year-old from Farjestads BK of the SHL had another up-and-down game, sometimes utilizing his 6,’ 176-pound frame to generate a lot of leverage over bigger and stronger opponents, and sometimes getting over-powered in one-on-one battles for the puck, but his skill level is very high and very evidently high, as is his skating, because he can make lateral skating and edge work absolutely dismantle opponents without even trying.
#44 Donovan Sebrango: The 6’1,” 194-pound Sebrango stayed out very late after practice ended, making a couple of scribes wonder if he’s injured. Sebrango had a solid game playing mostly with Simon Edvinsson, and the spare, simple AHL veteran is just a fine Bob Rouse-style player with an edge to him.
#49 Seth Barton: Barton practiced on Saturday, and the 23-year-old may or may not make his debut on Saturday night. At 6’3″ and 196 pounds, the Griffins veteran would give the Wings a little more physical “oomph” on defense if he is able to play.
#51 Eemil Viro: Viro, like Johansson, had an up-and-down game on Friday, but the 6,’ 176-pound defenseman did a very good job working with Jeremie Biakabutuka to form a tremendously solid third pair on defense. I love Viro’s stick checks and stick work, legally and illegally speaking, and he’s just a fun little bugger to watch work.
#63 Jeremie Biakabutuka*: Biakabutuka is coming off a 2-assist game, and the 6’4,” 203-pound Charlottetown Islanders defenseman has every opportunity to impress as the 20-year-old continues to play (here’s hoping that he stays in the lineup) as a surprisingly-skilled free agent try-out.
#77 Oscar Plandowski: Again, Plandowski has amazing skating skills, and a lot of tools, but very little in the way of a toolbox, and that makes him a frustrating player to watch, because the disparate parts of his game have yet to come together. The 6,’ 190-pound 19-year-old from the QMJHL had a superb game on Friday, however, and here’s hoping that all of those tools continue to come together.
#95 Tnias Mathurin: Another 2022 draft pick, Mathurin has not played or practiced with the Wings as of yet, and the 6’3,” 200-pound defender from North Bay of the OHL may not be ready to return from his injury until training camp.
Goaltenders:
#31 Andrew Oke*: Oke had a very good split game with Sebastian Cossa on Friday, and on Saturday morning, he was a little “floppy” in the net. 6’2″ and 198 pounds, the Saginaw Spirit goaltender deserves a second chance after having a rough 18-year-old year, and there is a lot of poise and very little fear in his game.
#33 Sebastian Cossa: Cossa had some bad habits–reacting first and dropping to his knees before the shooter made his move–pop up over the course of Saturday’s practice, but I’m not too concerned about him. The 6’6,” 215-pound goaltender also displayed more patience and poise than he’s previously possessed, and when he was “on” during the morning skate, he was nearly unbeatable. The 19-year-old will try to wiggle into the Wings’ depth chart as the prospect tournament and training camp progress.
#60 Jan Bednar: I *think* that the 6’4,” 196-pound goaltender may start tonight, and Bednar is coming off his first really good season anywhere with Acadie-Bathurst of the QMJHL, so the 19-year-old needs a game to show that his World Juniors flop was an aberration as opposed to the rule.
*=Free agent invite, **=Grand Rapids Griffins contract
As you know, I’m trying damn hard to cover my hotel bill, so I’m asking for donations.
If you’re are willing to lend an assist toward those ends, 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).
