Month: September 2022

The Detroit Red Wings’ prospects lost a 5-4 decision to the Dallas Stars on Saturday evening, but it was still an entertaining affair:

After the Red Wings’ prospects dropped a 5-4 decision to the Dallas Stars on Saturday night, Amadeus Lombardi spoke with the media…

As did coach Ben Simon:

The Detroit Red Wings’ prospects lost a 5-4 decision to the Dallas Stars at the 2022 Prospect Tournament.

Elmer Soderblom, Trenton Bliss, Kirill Tyutyayev and Cross Hanas scored for Detroit, but Dallas scored 3 of the final 5 goals and Jan Bednar’s 18-save first half shutout was not equaled by Andrew Oke, who gave up 5 goals on 17 shots.

Here were the game highlights:

Detroit Hockey Now’s Bob Duff posted an article regarding one Elmer Soderblom. He may not be a physical presence, but the 6’8,” 249-pound forward certainly offers a unique skill set as a gigantic, superbly-talented forward:

Historically as he’s moving up the hockey ladder, Soderblom hits his stride in his second season at that level. It shouldn’t be concerning then, if he should originally be struggling through his North American transition.

“I think everything’s quicker,” Soderblom said of the game on the smaller ice. “You gotta do everything a little more quicker and it’s a little more physical I think. You’ve got to be able to take a hit and give a hit as well.

“Just be quick in your mind and your feet and your hands. Pretty much just do everything a little bit quicker.”

How rapidly he can be making this transition will got a long way in determining where Soderblom is playing during his first North American pro season.

“It’s going to be a little bit different for him,” Simon said. “Whether he’s in Detroit or Grand Rapids, it’s going to be a different culture, it’s going to be a different rink size. So a lot of first-time experiences for him. He’s got to get some traction and play consistently well. We’ve seen that before with other players who’ve come over. There is an acclimation period. And the shorter that acclimation period can be to get comfortable in North America, I think the quicker he’s gonna have success.”

Continued; I’m fairly certain that Soderblom will star the season in Grand Rapids, but you never know.

Detroit Hockey Now’s Kevin Allen posted an article which discusses Jeremie Biakabutuka’s perhaps somewhat surprising journey toward playing Major Junior hockey for the QMJHL’s Charlottetown Islanders:

Jeremie Biakabutuka’s [youth] football career was over quickly. He thinks he was nine or 10 when he decided to concentrate on hockey. But he certainly has memories.

“I was a quarterback and a safety and a kicker,” he said. “I was everything. My dad was the coach, too. It was pretty funny.”

But today, he is all hockey. He is a 6-foot-4, 210-pound defenseman for the Charlottetown Islanders in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. He has gone undrafted, meaning he would be an overage player if he returns to junior hockey.

He’s playing in this tournament with the hope of signing with the Red Wings or getting noticed by other NHL teams. He didn’t get invited until a week before the tournament started.

The Red Wings have a collection of skilled young defensemen already in the pipeline, but they must see potential in him or he wouldn’t be here.

“I’m a big defenseman with good mobility an speed,” he said. “So obviously they want to see me play good defensively, see me finishing my check, be physical. Using my speed to join the rush. I have a good shot, too, so take shots on the net. I consider myself a two-way defenseman, so doing all that and not creating a turnover every shift. Just be hard to play against and join the rush when I have a chance to.”

Continued

Per the Red Wings’ YouTube channel, here’s the streaming link for tonight’s game between the Red Wings prospects and the Dallas Stars. The game starts at 6 PM and Daniella Bruce and Ken Kal will have the call:

If the embed code doesn’t work, head over to YouTube for the direct link.

Hoo boy:

“A floppy disk? Never heard of it.”#DRWPT pic.twitter.com/YjpFU0my4W— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) September 17, 2022

From the Red Wings comes this list of players participating in tonight’s game between Detroit and Dallas (6 PM EDT on the Wings’ social media channels):

DobberHockey’s Peter Harling posted a list of potential Hobey Baker Award candidates prior to the start of the 2022-2023 NCAA season, and he included Red Wings prospect and University of North Dakota freshman Dylan James on his list:

Dylan James – Forward, University of North Dakota (Detroit Red Wings)

Dylan James had himself an exceptional rookie season with the Sioux City Musketeers and was an integral part of their Clark Cup winning team after he compiled 61 points in 62 regular season games. The USHL rookie of the year was an effective player at both ends of the ice, using his size well along the boards in puck battles and to force his way past the opposition with the puck. He has soft hands and a large frame that enable him to out-muscle the opposition and afford him some extra time on the puck to make a play. He may not be as offensively inclined as some of the other names on this list but his defensive contributions as a forward should not be discounted and his effort and ability to break up passes and close down players on the point go a long way to helping his team out and making him an asset to his team. He can produce offense as well as work hard to shut down the opposition on defense and that versatility could earn him a nod on the shortlist at the end of the season.

Continued

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:

Continue reading Quick impressions from Saturday’s game-day skate at the Red Wings’ prospect tournament