Month: September 2022

MLive’s Ansar Khan and Detroit Hockey Now’s Kevin Allen have both weighed in on Simon Edvinsson’s comments made after practice at training camp today, and the Detroit News’s John Niyo makes it a trio, discussing Edvinsson’s attempts to make the Wings’ roster as a 19-year-old rookie:

So, then, here we are, with Edvinsson, fresh off a busy summer that included heavy minutes for Sweden’s bronze-medal team at the 2022 IIHF World Junior Championship, auditioning for his dream job during his first extended visit to the U.S.

“Yeah, there’s a lot of different things here in America, but it’s starting to feel like I have a home here,” he admitted with a laugh Friday, while also crowning himself the team’s best putt-putt golfer after a recent outing in Traverse City. “And I started to dream in English, actually. So that’s weird, too.”

Still, Edvinsson turns serious when addressing the prospect of making an NHL roster. He knows the expectations that have traveled with him ever since Detroit selected him No. 6 overall in the 2021 entry draft. And he’s well aware of just how high the bar was raised here last year when Moritz Seider stepped into the Red Wings’ lineup as a 20-year-old defenseman and skated away with the Calder Trophy as the NHL’s top rookie.

Seider, of course, already had a year of pro hockey in North America under his belt with the Wings’ AHL affiliate in Grand Rapids before spending a year dominating in the Swedish Hockey League. But for Edvinsson, who had a strong showing as an 18-year-old playing for Frolunda in the SHL last winter, understands the challenge is the same.

“You need to earn your spot, and that’s what they told me,” he said. “That’s what I want to do: I want to earn my spot. I don’t want to have it given just because of some hype that I get. I want to really feel that I can play my game in this league and against these players.”

Continued; I really enjoyed this one from Niyo. Good stuff and a wise perspective as always.

Detroit Hockey Now’s Kevin Allen is the second Red Wings columnist to weigh in on one Simon Edvinsson’s comments from training camp today, and Allen suggests that Edvinsson might be as quick a learner in terms of mastering the North American game as those who are optimistic about his potential are hoping he is:

It would be a dream-come-true for the Red Wings if Edvinsson showed he’s ready to play in the NHL on opening night. That’s 21 days away. Everyone seems to be trying to encourage, maybe even push, 19-year-old Edvinsson to go all in to make the Detroit roster.

“(Coaches) put expectations on me,” Edvinsson said. “I feel like they communicate good with me. They want me to be better every day.”

Edvinsson is heeding the advice that Yzerman gave him.“He said play your game of hockey,” Edvinsson said. “That’s why you’re here. Listen to the guys who have been in the league and try to learn from them. That’s what I’ve done. I’ve worked hard,”

As a Swede, Edvinsson has grown up on the wider European playing surface There’s less room to skate on an NHL rink and less time to make plays. Fellow Swedes Nicklas Lidstrom and Niklas Kronwall, now both working under Yzerman, have warned Edvinsson the adjustment to the ice and the league is challenging.

“They said I played good but I don’t think I played that good,” Edvinsson said. “I feel like I have higher expectations on myself. We talked a lot about this training camp and how to play in different kind of areas.”

Continued

Rasmussen spoke with John Keating for about 90 seconds today:

MLive’s Ansar Khan posted an article based upon the 20 minutes‘ worth of comments made by Red Wings prospect Simon Edvinsson at training camp today. Edvinsson made it clear that he feels he can be a better defenseman and a better overall player:

“The guys are on me, (Dylan) Larkin especially, to be harder, win my one-on-ones,” Edvinsson said. “I have a pretty big body, pretty long reach. In Sweden you kind of time everything. It’s different kind of one-on-one duels along the boards. Here you need to be more aggressive and that’s what I need to be better on. If I work on that and feel comfortable with that the game is going to step up and I’ll build my confidence.”

Edvinsson has an ideal role model in Moritz Seider, who is nearly as big (6-4, 205) and showed last season how tough he is to play against on the way to winning the Calder Trophy as rookie of the year.

“He’s playing the kind of hard game I want to develop,” Edvinsson said. “I try to see the practices when he’s on, how he plays. We have a different kind of play style but a lot of things he does I can do as well, to play hard and play the puck.

“He’s one of the best defensemen in the league. I need to earn my spot. I try to look at him as much as possible to develop my game from there and maybe reach that level some time.”

Edvinsson, the sixth pick in 2021, is trying to earn a spot on the NHL roster after flourishing with Frolunda in the Swedish Hockey League. His strengths are his skating and puck-moving ability. But even the smaller Lucas Raymond, Edvinsson’s former Frolunda teammate, showed him how to compete in drills.

“He likes to battle. It’s fun. It gets everyone else going,” Edvinsson said. “One thing I really learned is you need to be so aggressive and harder on the player.”

Continued; it’s good that Simon is interested in playing defense, because he’s an effortless offensive player, but he must apply himself to succeed in stopping opponents.

From Bally Sports Detroit’s John Keating:

Appreciate the time to chat with a couple of Wolverines, ⁦@Dylanlarkin39⁩ and @copp94. Captains to each now. Great interview and terrific backdrop here. pic.twitter.com/kR8WqzSFBr— John Keating (@JohnKeatingBSD) September 23, 2022

Of Red Wings prospect-related note:

In the Finnish Liiga, Antti Tuomisto finished even with 1 shot in 19:19 as TPS Turku won 3-2 over Koo Koo;

In the Swedish Allsvenskan, via Red Wings Prospects on Twitter, Albin Grewe scored a goal, finishing at +2 with 2 shots and 2 penalty minutes taken in Mora IK’s 3-0 win over Vita Hasten;

Albin Grewe 🚨 #Hockeyallsvenskan #MIK #LGRW
🎥 C More pic.twitter.com/n0P25yIpkT— SwehockeyGIFs (@swehockeygifs) September 23, 2022

In the Swedish J20 league, Anton Johansson finished at +2 with 25 minutes in penalties because he got in a fight at the very end of Leksands IF’s 10-1 win over MoDo;

In the USHL, via Red Wings Prospects on Twitter, Brennan Ali had an assist, finishing at +1 with 2 shots in the Lincoln Stars’ 6-0 win over Green Bay.

And Owen Melenbacher had 3 shots but finished at -2 in the Muskegon Lumberjacks’ 6-4 loss to Tri-City.

A 1:46 interview:

Which flannel will Mickey wear on Opening Night? 🤔@JohnKeatingBSD gets that answer and more from Ken Daniels at @DetroitRedWings training camp in Traverse City. #LGRW pic.twitter.com/Hozu6Qd67g— Bally Sports Detroit (@BallySportsDET) September 23, 2022

Red Wings prospect Simon Edvinsson gave a hell of an interview today…

And here’s coach Lalonde:

I appeared on the Michigan Sports Network’s “X’s and Bros” show this morning, and if you want to hear my conversation with Anthony Bellino, you may do so here:

Red Wings forwards Jakub Vrana and Michael Rasmussen spoke with the media on the second day of training camp: