Month: September 2022

CBS Sports ranks the NHL’s top defensemen, and Moritz Seider comes in at #10

CBS Sports’ Chris Bengel posted a ranking of the NHL’s top 10 defensemen, and you’ve heard of #10:

10. Moritz Seider, Red Wings: It may be crazy to already include Seider among the league’s top defensemen, but the Red Wings blue-liner has accomplished a ton in just one season. He proved to be an asset on both ends of the ice and cemented that fact by winning the Calder Trophy as the league’s top rookie. At 21, he provides a physical presence and laid his fair share of big hits throughout his rookie campaign. And then there’s his puck-handling ability, which allows Seider to dish those sensational passes that we saw on several occasions last season. The sky is the limit for Seider.

Continued; here’s hoping he reaches that sky-high limit.

Tweet of note: Ken Daniels, Scott Oake appear on the Bob McCown podcast

FYI:

Play next: Co-founder, Ken Daniels, was a guest on the @mccownpodcast. Ken shares with hosts @FadooBobcat and @JShannonhl how he’s managed the grief of losing Jamie, helped those in recovery, and worked to reduce the stigma associated with SUD. Listen: https://t.co/Ah0f8yKQyG— Jamie Daniels Foundation (@JDanielsFund) September 16, 2022

DHN’s Brown discusses the Wings’ better prospect depth

The Detroit Red Wings’ prospects will begin their 2022 Prospect Tournament journey in earnest today as they host Kent Johnson and the Columbus Blue Jackets today at 3 PM EDT (to be streamed by the Red Wings) up here in Traverse City.

As such, Detroit Hockey Now’s Nate Brown posted an article discussing the excitement surrounding the prospect tournament:

On one side you have the towering forward Elmer Soderblom, who very well could be a steal in the sixth round of the 2020 Draft. Patrolling the blue line will be six-foot-four Simon Edvinsson, a giant in his own right. Sure, he’s trying to be the third first-round pick in consecutive years to be on the opening roster following training camp and the preseason.

Edvinsson will be player many fans and analysts are watching closely. But it goes beyond him. In fact, the Red Wings are sitting in one of their best spots in over half a decade. No longer will the prospects signal the future. Many of them could be “right now” if they continue the trajectory they’re on.

But the biggest difference: the angst over whether they’ll make it or not has been replaced with more of “when they’re ready.”

The patience it turns out is more organic now.

Continued; we’ll see what happens today…

DHN’s Allen profiles Amadeus Lombardi

Detroit Hockey Now’s Kevin Allen posted a profile of Red Wings prospect Amadeus Lombardi, who stands at 5’10” and 165 pounds, but packs a lot of punch (in addition to a hell of a name):

A unique name fits Amadeus Lombardi because he is not a run-of-the-mill player. There’s something about him that sticks with you.  His playing style has an “it’ factor. Lombardi brings an energy that serves his team and makes him memorable.

“He is hungry to get the puck,” [Flint Firebirds coach and GM Ted] Dent said.

Dent said Lombardi isn’t overly physical, but is a relentless forechecker, with a knack for stripping pucks away from opponents.

Dent is a highly experienced coach. He spent six seasons coaching the Rockford IceHogs in the American Hockey League. Lombardi grew exponentially as a player under his command. By the time the Firebirds reached the Ontario Hockey League playoffs, Lombardi was a more polished performer.

Lombardi has always been an undervalued player. The Aurora, Ont. native was a 13th round selection in the 2018 OHL Priority draft.

“He likes to prove people wrong,” [Dent] said. “He has a swagger to him.”

Continued

The Athletic’s ‘Player Tiers’ yield ‘team tiers’ as well

The Athletic ranked its top 100 players in the NHL via “player tiers” yesterday, and if you recall, they ranked Moritz Seider in the third tier and Dylan Larkin in the fourth tier. This morning, they rank the NHL’s teams by tiers as well, deeming the Red Wings to be a “bottom-feeder”:

The teams at the bottom aren’t all that surprising. The Blackhawks are in the process of stripping their roster down, and two of their core players remain in Patrick Kane and Seth Jones. Kane resides in 3B thanks to his elite playmaking abilities, despite some of his flaws. Jones was a bit tougher to place because his last two seasons have been so disappointing. The combination of the two is 4.9 points, which is tied for Bottom Feeders’ lead with Detroit. Technically, both teams qualify for the tier above[, the Bubble Teams], but the two feel more at home here.

The Red Wings may be tied with Chicago in points, but have a lot more hope thanks to depth behind Dylan Larkin (4A) and Moritz Seider (3B). There’s also a legitimate possibility for those two to move up, plus newcomers like Lucas Raymond to crack the list in the future.

Continued; for better or worse, it’s going to take wins and star power for the Red Wings to regain respect around the NHL, and the Wings are in the process of adding both to the mix…

But the team had to spend its summer adding capable depth players, too.

A bit more about the Red Wings Alumni’s Saturday night game against the ‘Yoopers United’

The Marquette Mining Journal’s Steve Brownlee wrote an article about the Red Wings Alumni’s game against the “Yoopers United,” which is scheduled for tomorrow night in Marquette, MI:

The eagerly anticipated charity hockey game involving the Detroit Red Wings Alumni to be played in Marquette is coming Saturday night. That’s according to a number of Facebook postings and United Way of Marquette County Executive Director Andrew Rickauer.

He said doors open at the Berry Events Center at 5 p.m., special events begin at 6 p.m. and the featured game will be ready for opening puck drop at 7 p.m.

Rickauer said among the special events will be a sled hockey exhibition, and between periods during the featured game, under-8 and under-10 youth hockey teams will play exhibitions. Throughout the event, 50-50 and bucket raffles, chuck-a-puck and sales of team merchandise will be available.

…

This weekend’s exhibition pits former players from one of the NHL’s most storied teams against Yooper United, a collection of local hockey talent.

The event is a fundraiser for the United Way of Marquette County’s Community Investment Fund with tickets costing $20 per person. Tickets may still be purchased online at https://nmu.universitytickets.com or by calling 906-227-1032, or in person at the BEC even on Saturday as long as tickets are still available.

Continued, with speculation as to what lineup the Wings’ alumni might bring…

Walleye re-sign John Albert

This one slipped through the cracks as I was heading up to Traverse City. The Toledo Blade’s Mark Monroe has another player announcement from the Toledo Walleye:

The Walleye have re-signed forward John Albert, a veteran who posted 48 points in 51 games for the team last season.

Albert, a Cleveland native, collected 24 goals and 24 assists during the 2021-22 regular season.

The 33-year-old has appeared in nine NHL games, 339 games in the American Hockey League, and 125 in the ECHL.

The Ohio State University graduate also averaged nearly a point-per-game during Toledo’s playoff run to the Kelly Cup Finals last season, finishing with 17 points (7 G, 10 A) in 21 contests.

Continued

NHL.com’s Cotsonika previews the Red Wings

NHL.com’s cycling through a set of season previews ahead of the start of the 2022-2023 regular season, and Nicholas J. Cotsonika previews the Red Wings this evening. Here are his “3 Keys” for the Red Wings to improve this upcoming NHL year:

1. Jell into a team: The Red Wings have a new coach and several new players, including goalie Ville Husso, defensemen Ben Chiarot and Olli Maatta, and forwards Andrew Copp and David Perron. The good news is they have a clean slate and internal competition for jobs. That should provide a jolt from the start. But they must learn a new system, develop an identity, and determine the forward lines, defense pairings, goalie rotation and special teams. General manager Steve Yzerman said it could take a time to sort out everything and jell into a team.

2. Improve the defense: It was the biggest of many issues last season. Detroit ranked 31st in goals against (310) and 32nd on the penalty kill (73.8 percent). At his introductory press conference July 1, Lalonde said the Red Wings need to improve the risk in their game, stressing details and habits that lead to winning no matter the personnel, such as staying on top of plays. But the personnel should help too. Copp and Perron are strong defensive forwards. Chiarot (6-foot-3, 234 pounds) and Maatta (6-2, 210) each adds size and a defense-first approach. 

3. Develop young players: For the Red Wings to return to Stanley Cup contention in the long term, they need their top prospects to turn into difference-makers and other young players to emerge as bona fide NHLers. Defenseman Moritz Seider, the No. 6 pick in the 2019 NHL Draft, won the Calder Trophy as the NHL rookie of the year last season. Forward Lucas Raymond, the No. 4 pick in the 2020 NHL Draft, finished fourth in voting by the Professional Hockey Writers Association. What do they do for an encore? Who else is ready to not only make the roster, but make an impact?

Continued with a “roster rundown” and a projected lineup;

The Red Wings’ “today” prospects might underwhelm in terms of star power given that they’re defensemen and Swedes–as Cotsonika notes, Jonathan Berggren, Elmer Soderblom, Simon Edvinsson, Albert Johansson and free agent signing Pontus Andreasson might be the closest to NHL-ready, but the Wings spent so much cap space on depth this offseason that it’s going to be hard for the Swedish Quintet to make the NHL team.

Tweet of note: Daniella Bruce answers your question about the Red Wings’ streaming of prospect tournament games

There are a LOT of people still asking me where they will be able to find the Red Wings’ three prospect tournament games, which take place Friday at 3 PM vs. Columbus, Saturday at 6 PM vs. Dallas, and Monday at 11 AM vs. Toronto.

Thankfully, DetroitRedWings.com’s Daniella Bruce answered a Tweet question with the definitive “here you go”:

I’ll be on all Red Wings games with @KenKalDRW. All games will be streamed to the Red Wings website starting tomorrow at 3pm!!— Daniella Bruce (@daniellabruce_) September 15, 2022

The Wings usually put the games on YouTube and Facebook as well, but when in doubt, go to https://www.nhl.com/redwings/. I do not believe that the streams will be Geo-blocked, so you should be okay in Canada and abroad.

Both Daniella and Ken were getting prepared already on Thursday by taking in the Wings’ practice and Thursday’s games (Columbus beat St. Louis 7-1, and Toronto won 6-2 over Dallas).

As for the scoreboard, schedule and stats for the players, goalies, and Red Wings players, click on the links and that will take you to PointStreak.com’s prospect tournament page. If you go to the scoreboard page during games, you will find a live box score.