Month: September 2022

MLive’s Ansar Khan reports that there’s news on the Tyler Bertuzzi-playing-in-Canada front:

Canada is planning to drop its COVID-19 vaccination requirement at the border for entry into the country, according to the Toronto Globe and Mail. The change will take effect on Sept. 30, the paper reported.

[Tyler] Bertuzzi was the only NHL player last season who opted not to get vaccinated for COVID-19. It prevented him from traveling to Canada. The Red Wings went 2-7 in Canada without Bertuzzi, who finished as their second-leading goal-scorer (30) and point-producer (62) in 68 games.

Detroit plays 10 games in Canada this season, the first on Dec. 23 at Ottawa.

Here’s the Globe and Mail’s Eric Atkins and Robert Fife’s report, which indicates that it’s not as simple as one might think:

The federal government plans to drop the COVID-19 vaccine requirement for people who enter Canada by the end of September, the same day it ends random testing of arrivals and makes optional the ArriveCan app, The Globe and Mail has learned.

The changes, for arrivals at land, air and sea ports of entry, are planned for Sept. 30, but have yet to be finalized by cabinet, according to four sources The Globe is not naming because they are not authorized to speak publicly on the matter.

The mask requirement for people on trains and planes will remain in place, at the direction of Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos, according to two of the sources.

The aviation and travel industries have been pushing the government to relax the rules that cover international travel, saying they discourage visitors and are out of step with many other countries as the pandemic eases.

The United States requires all entrants to be vaccinated, and it is not known if the requirement will be lifted at the same time as Canada’s.

The Detroit News’s Ted Kulfan posted a list of “ten things to watch” as the Red Wings open training camp on Thursday. Among them:

► Contracts: It’s doubtful we’ll get a ton of clarity on the subject, but it’ll be interesting to see if there’s been any headway into contract extensions with Larkin and Bertuzzi. Both can be unrestricted free agents next summer, though it’s doubtful Larkin comes close to reaching that stage. But with Bertuzzi, there is a slight bit of uncertainty as to whether he’s a part of the nucleus going forward, or whether it would be beneficial to trade him, at age 27, and with his value possibly at his highest in terms of a trade.

► Rookies: The depth chart appears crowded, but young players such as defensemen Simon Edvinsson and Albert Johansson, goaltender Sebastian Cossa and forwards Elmer Soderblom and Cross Hanas impressed during the recent prospects tournament. Also, forward Jonathan Berggren impressed a season ago in Grand Rapids. Only Edvinsson and Berggren would likely be considered close to being NHL-ready, and odds are beginning to look slim they’ll be able to weave into the lineup. But it’ll be interesting to see how the other young players look like against the veterans.

► Logjam on defense: You can assume Seider, Chiarot, Maatta and Hronek are the top four, and Hagg is likely to make the final roster. Edvinsson may or may not make the roster. If Edvindsson does, and the Wings decide to keep 14 forwards, that means one of either Jordan Oesterle or Gustav Lindstrom may not be there opening night. And then you have injured defensemen like Pysyk and Jake Walman waiting in the wings at some point. There are a lot of defensemen who will be looking to carve out spots in the lineup.

► Logjam among forwards: Along with Veleno, specifically forwards Adam Erne and Givani Smith are two players who suddenly have some uncertainty surrounding them. If eight defensemen are kept, or maybe Veleno has a really good exhibition season and solidifies his roster spot, there may not be room on the final roster for both Smith and Erne. Smith, in particular, is an interesting case because he’s young and has shown flashes of playing a rugged and skilled game. But Smith simply hasn’t been nearly consistent enough.

Continued (paywall)

This is really interesting sports business news stuff from the New York Post’s Josh Kosman:

MLB, the NBA and the NHL may orchestrate a buyout of the nation’s dominant owner of regional sports TV networks, whose shaky finances pose an increasing threat to their teams, The Post has learned.

The trio of pro-sports leagues are expected to soon begin talks with Diamond Sports, which operates 21 regional Bally Sports networks that account for more than half the local broadcast markets around the country, sources close to the situation said.

A prospective deal is looming as Diamond — owned by Baltimore-based Sinclair Broadcast Group — has been hemorrhaging cash and could be headed for a possible bankruptcy filing if it doesn’t find a white knight in the coming months, the sources claimed.

Sinclair in early 2019 won an auction to buy Fox Sports Networks from 21st Century Fox for $10.6 billion, giving it exclusive rights to broadcast the games of 42 teams. These included 14 MLB teams like the St. Louis Cardinals and San Diego Padres; 16 NBA teams including the Miami Heat; and 12 NHL teams including the Detroit Red Wings.

Continued

This morning I watched the Red Wings’ prospects take part in a community event at Traverse City’s Traverse Heights Elementary School, and DetroitRedWings.com’s Jonathan Mills posted a write-up of the event as well:

After wrapping up the 2022 NHL Prospect Tournament, the Detroit Red Wings took some time to give back to the Traverse City community. All 25 members of Detroit’s Prospect Tournament roster stopped by Traverse Heights Elementary on Tuesday to run a hockey clinic in the school gym.

“Traverse City is our second home,” said Kevin Brown, director of community impact for Ilitch Sports + Entertainment. “We want to make sure whenever we are here, whether it’s for the NHL Prospect Tournament or Training Camp, we’re giving back to this community as well. Events like today, where the entire prospect team came together to spend a little time with the Traverse Heights kids, are important.”

Upon their arrival, the Red Wings prospects were greeted by students who were holding signs and chanting “Let’s Go Red Wings.”

“It was cool to show up and have all the kids lined up like that,” said Seth Barton, who was Detroit’s 81st overall pick in the 2018 NHL Entry Draft. “It’s special for us to come to a place like this where we have fans around us and supporting us.”

Continued

DetroitRedWings.com’s Daniella Bruce posted a Tweet from the Red Wings’ live stream of Monday’s prospect tournament game vs. Toronto, in which Red Wings director of amateur scouting Kris Draper spoke about Sebastian Cossa’s summertime work put in with the Red Wings’ players in Detroit:

ICYMI: I asked Kris Draper his thoughts on the @DetroitRedWings goaltending throughout the Prospect Tournament. Click the link for the full interview & game between the Red Wings and Maple Leafs. Next up: Training Camp!! #LGRW
🎥:https://t.co/ZdWK1T8hhC pic.twitter.com/BgJZNZDG8l

— Daniella Bruce (@daniellabruce_) September 20, 2022

Grand Rapids Griffins coach Ben Simon coached the Red Wings’ prospects through the 2022 Prospect Tournament in Traverse City, and he spoke with DetroitRedWings.com’s Arthur J. Regner for the latest episode of “The Red and White Authority” podcast:

Head coach of the Grand Rapids Griffins, Ben Simon, breaks down the 2022 NHL Prospect Tournament, where he coached several of Detroit's high-end prospects.

Listen/subscribe: https://t.co/oOBDrAUVXN pic.twitter.com/xAerHaCnzJ

— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) September 20, 2022

According to the Detroit News’s Tony Paul, the Red Wings’ general manager lent a hand to the Detroit Tigers’ search for their new general manager, Scott Harris:

One of the surprising names mentioned as part of the Tigers’ search committee: Steve Yzerman. Yzerman, the Red Wings’ legendary captain who now is vice president and general manager of the Red Wings, had multiple conversations with Harris during the process.

“It’s a unique opportunity to have two heads of operations under the same ownership group,” Harris said. “I’ll imagine I’ll be talking to him quite a bit for some advice.  I know I can learn a lot from him.”

This wasn’t the first time the two met, actually.

Once, during Harris’ time in the Cubs’ front office, Yzerman visited their suite at Wrigley Field.

“I remember being very impressed by him,” Harris said. “And I was even more impressed by him here.”

Continued

Sportsnet’s Rory Boylen posted an article in which he asks “one training camp-related question” for each and every one of the NHL’s 32 teams, and here’s what he’s curious about when it comes to the Red Wings:

Detroit Red Wings: How will newcomers Andrew Copp, David Perron and Dominik Kubalik shape the forward lines?

They may not be ready to run out of the rebuild yet, but GM Steve Yzerman at least set his team up to be harder to claim two points against. We’d expect returning players Dylan Larkin, Lucas Raymond, Tyler Bertuzzi and Jakub Vrana to be inside the top-six forwards (though Bertuzzi is still a trade candidate this season). So where do the new guys fit? Perron is a valuable leader with an underrated offensive game, Copp is coming off a career season which he ended by going on a tear with the Rangers, and Kubalik scored 30 goals two years ago — can that upside be reopened with better linemates?

Continued; the assumed depth chart in terms of the top three lines looks like this:

Raymond-Larkin-Bertuzzi

Vrana-Copp-Perron

Zadina-Suter-Kubalik

At least in theory!

The Red Wings’ prospects did something completely different on Tuesday.

On their one day off between the prospect tournament and training camp, the team headed to Traverse Heights Elementary School to hold a little hockey clinic with 4th and 5th graders in the school’s gym (the Wings’ prospects will skate together one last time on Wednesday before training camp begins on Thursday at Centre ICE Arena).

Red Wings setting up a youth hockey clinic at Traverse City’s Rose Elementary School. Fun to be had! pic.twitter.com/uJ5kzwMDgy— George Malik (@georgemalik) September 20, 2022

It was quite a bit of fun, if a little overwhelming, to “go back to elementary school” for a day for me–I had to check in at the office like any good visitor, and I was gob-smacked at the fact that the oldies station was playing the music of my own youth, but that’s 44 for you..

And it was just plain old cool to watch the players interact with the kids and slowly but surely warm up to the tasks at hand in terms of teaching the kids to shoot pucks, score on goaltenders, and engage in physical activity via a relay race.

It’s insane in here. 80 4th and 5th graders. And a bunch of Wings prospects. Fun stuff! pic.twitter.com/WLvsxmuxv7— George Malik (@georgemalik) September 20, 2022

Perhaps the funniest and best part of the two-and-a-half hour-long visit was when the Wings’ prospects held their own draft and picked sides for a spirited prospects vs. prospects scrimmage (in which nobody got hurt).

Continue reading The day the Red Wings’ prospects went back to (elementary) school

DetroitRedWings.com’s Jonathan Mills filed a notebook article in which he discusses Cross Hanas’ prospect tournament, as well as his attempts to earn a spot in Grand Rapids, if not Detroit:

As an aspiring professional hockey player, Cross Hanas doesn’t want to have a label affixed to him.

But if there’s one word the Detroit Red Wings forward prospect doesn’t mind being associated with, it’s “playmaker.”

“I like making plays and setting guys up,” said Hanas, who was Detroit’s 55th overall pick in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft. “That’s what I find joy in, and I’ve been like that my whole life.”

Last season, the 20-year-old showed he can generate offense by tallying 26 goals and 60 assists in 63 games with the Western Hockey League’s Portland Winterhawks.

“They (Portland coaching staff) had a lot of confidence in me being one of the older guys and being one of the scorers for the team,” Hanas said about his 2021-22 campaign. “I was in a lot of situations, which was really good for my game.”

Continued