Per InGoal Magazine’s Kevin Woodley:
Breakaway tips — from depth decisions, to push path on a deke and glove position in tight (+ yes, windmills) — are the focus of our latest Pro Reads with @alexned_ … don’t miss it, there’s a reason he’s a fan favourite in these video review sessions: https://t.co/NEgX7nV83H pic.twitter.com/aR199FozKY— InGoal Magazine (@InGoalMedia) September 13, 2022
Per the Toledo Walleye:
Continue reading Toledo Walleye re-sign Brett Boeing🚨 PLAYER ANNOUNCEMENT 🚨
Forward Brett Boeing lands in Toledo for another season. ✈️
👉 https://t.co/32xiX2ZM7y pic.twitter.com/7Iadq1buG1— Toledo Walleye (@ToledoWalleye) September 13, 2022
Former Red Wings goaltender Thomas Greiss is acclimating himself to his new NHL home in St. Louis, and Griess had this to say to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch’s Jim Thomas about his time with the Wings:
As for Detroit, “It’s a really good organization,” Greiss said. “I got treated really well. They were very professional, but losing is never fun for the whole organization and definitely tough to go through. But I think they’re in a good (place) and could take a big step this year.”
Continued; Greiss admits to Thomas that he signed a 1-year, $1.25 million contract with the Blues to “chase a Cup.” Good luck to him.
I was awakened by a friend-of-a-friend’s text blast at 7:15 AM, and I’m too nervous to go back to sleep before what is scheduled to be a very busy day. I’m getting a haircut, picking up dry cleaning, picking up a prescription, and then packing up for Traverse City…
Even though I’m about $600 short of paying the first half of the hotel bill (yeah, stupid grocery shopping was $100 over budget, stupid inflation), which I hope I can fundraise by tomorrow night. The fundraising over the past couple of days has been very uneven, and I really don’t know whether we’re going to hit the goal or not.
So, if you’re are willing to lend an assist, 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.” Still trying to figure that out, but it’s another option if you need it.
Two items from The Athletic’s Max Bultman hit the internet wires this morning:
Detroit Red Wings
How improved is the defense? This was the biggest question entering the Red Wings’ offseason, and it will remain so until we see some live action. Detroit certainly invested in fixing its defensive issues, filling holes not only in net and on the blue line but also up front — adding players such as Andrew Copp and David Perron who can help improve the defense from the forward position. For that reason, Detroit should certainly be better at keeping the puck out of its net. But after allowing the second-most goals in the league last season, there’s a lot of work to be done just to get to the point of respectability. Allowing 50 fewer goals last season still would not have gotten them even into the league’s upper half defensively. Expect that to be a major emphasis for new head coach Derek Lalonde from the outset of camp. — Max Bultman
Continued; for me, it’s wondering how long it will take for the team to gel given that there are so many new faces, from the coach on down;
2. And Bultman also listed “5 storylines” that he’ll be monitoring during the Red Wings’ prospect tournament. His second “question” is the one that intrigues me the most:
Can Kirill Tyutyayev steal the show again? Last season, the big headliner coming into the prospect tournament was Lucas Raymond, with Detroit fans eager to get their first look at the 2020 No. 4 pick. And Raymond ended up having a strong showing, with three goals in two games. But at least on night one, the show was briefly stolen by a little-known seventh-round pick from 2019.
Kirill Tyutyayev scored twice and added an assist in Detroit’s first two periods of the tournament, quickly announcing himself as a prospect to pay attention to. And while those were his only points of the tournament, he continued to be noticeable the rest of the way — generating a lot of excitement for his arrival in the AHL.
Unfortunately for Tyutyayev and the Griffins, the excitement could hardly get off the ground after that. He was injured early in Grand Rapids — believed to have been a shoulder injury — and ended up playing just nine games, in which he had no goals and three assists.
Now, Tyutyayev is back, with another chance to impress in Traverse City. It’s going to be hard to top what he did last fall, but he’s a skilled, smart player who should play a significant role in Detroit’s prospect contingent.
Continued (paywall); Tyutyayev did have a shoulder issue, and he didn’t return after those initial nine games, but my goodness, what skill he possesses in tha 5’10,” 176-pound frame.
ESPN’s Victoria Mataiash discusses fantasy hockey draft strategies for picking up the best offensive defensemen one can in one’s fantasy hockey league, and she mentions one Red Wings defenseman–an obvious one–as a top-tier defender to snag off the bat in your fantasy draft:
Moritz Seider, Detroit Red Wings (No. 4 defenseman)
I can’t wait to see what this Sophomore does for an encore following his Calder-winning rookie season. Averaging 23 minutes/game, the sixth-overall draft selection (2019) potted 50 points on 187 shots, while blocking another 161 and throwing 151 hits through all of 82 games. Seider also led the Red Wings in power-play points (21) in anchoring a top unit that will be better this round, now that Lucas Raymond is more seasoned, and former Blues forward David Perron joins the special teams fray. Again, can’t wait.
As excited as I am to head up to Traverse City for the Red Wings’ prospect tournament and training camp, I’m always cautious regarding projections suggesting that the Red Wings’ players have somehow established themselves as bona-fide NHL’ers, or have wrecked their NHL careers, based upon the 3 prospect tournament games in which they play.
That’s all-or-nothing thinking in a nutshell, and the more prospect tournaments I attend, the more I realize that the tournament is a big stepping stone that’s part of a larger preseason progression through training camp and the exhibition season.
All of that being said, there’s no doubt that, as Detroit Hockey Now’s Kevin Allen suggests, a strong prospect tournament can serve as the first step upon a big lily pad across the NHL-career-starting pond:
This weekend, a new group of promising draft picks, led by defenseman Simon Edvinsson (sixth overall, 2021) and 6-foot-8 forward Elmer Soderblom (159th overall, 2019), will be competing in the NHL Prospect Tournament trying to persuade Yzerman they are ready for the show. Edvinsson was a finalist for Swedish Hockey League Rookie of the year and Soderblom netted 21 goals in the SHL.
The tournament features the top prospects from the Red Wings, Columbus Blue Jackets, Toronto Maple Leafs, St. Louis Blues and Dallas Stars. Because the teams will play an unbalanced schedule, the teams will not crown a champion this year.
This tournament is important for 2021 Red Wings’ first-round pick Sebastian Cossa (20th overall) because Yzerman will have to make a decision on where to send him this season. Will he end up back in the Western Hockey League or in the American Hockey League?
Defenseman Albert Johansson will be playing his first pro games in North America in this tournament. He is considered one of Detroit’s best prospects.
Yzerman doesn’t set aside roster spots for youngsters. He wants them to earn spots. Yzerman likes them to do what Raymond did, start off their fall by playing well at the NHL Prospect Tournament and continue playing well. Edvinsson is expected to make the team, but Yzerman isn’t setting aside a roster spot for him.
“I’d like them to push somebody out as opposed to throw them in there and if they’re not ready then what do you do?,” Yzerman said.
Continued; I definitely look toward the prospect tournament as a first step toward what is hopefully consistent performances over the course of training camp and the exhibition season.
Last year, there’s no doubt that, as Allen notes, Lucas Raymond and Moritz Seider took their first steps toward NHL duty with strong prospect tournament performances, but the fact that they stepped up and continued to play well once the NHL’ers came to town was the key.
Okay, I wanted to let all of you know where we stand in terms of fundraising:
I’ve got about $740 of the $1,200 I need to pay for the hotel and get up to Traverse City in my Paypal account…
And another $283 in my Venmo account to pay for groceries and about $90 on dry cleaning (my aunt won’t let me leave on a business trip without dry cleaning my clothing, I did use a coupon at least).
So I leave on Wednesday, and I still need to raise about $500 to get out of the driveway and up to Traverse City.
It’s going to take another $1,000 to finish off the $1,980 hotel bill, I’ll need grocery and gas money for the two weeks I’m actually up in TC, and I can’t pay my bills unless we fundraise for the $348.30 that I spent out of my State of Michigan paycheck to fix the Pacifica’s headlight wiring.
Long story long, even when we hit the halfway mark, it’ll be “halfway,” but we’re close and we’re in progress.
If you’re are willing to lend an assist, 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.
Sportsnet’s Rory Boylen posted “one thing to remember” about each and every one of the NHL’s 32 teams as training camps approach, and he offers this tidbit about the Red Wings:
Detroit Red Wings: The rebuilding team that made some winning moves
Entering Year 4 of the Steve Yzerman rebuild, the Red Wings made some surprising veteran additions over the summer. It’s not that this collection of players (Andrew Copp, David Perron, Ben Chiarot, Dominik Kubalik, Olli Maatta) will necessarily be playing leading roles when the Wings emerge, but together add a significant veteran presence and many complementary skills to the young core already in place. The Wings should be harder to play against this season than they have been in a while.
Continued; let’s hope.
With Carley Johnston:
