The Detroit Red Wings wrapped up their 2023 Summer Development Camp with a set of 3-on-3 tournaments at Little Caesars Arena this morning.
Four teams–“Team Rihela” (named for guest instructor and Lloydminster Bobcats coach Brad Rihela), “Team Osaer” (named for Red Wings goaltending development coach Phil Osaer), “Team Lashoff” (named for Grand Rapids Griffins assistant coach Brian Lashoff) and “Team Bain” (named for Toledo Walleye assistant coach Brent Bain) played each and every one of the other teams, via a 6-game preliminary round of 8-minute, running-clock 3-on-3 affairs.
The four teams then advanced to single-elimination playoff games, with seed 1 facing seed 4, and seed 2 facing seed 3.
Finally, the top two teams–ultimately, Team Bain and Team Osaer–faced off for the 3-on-3 championship, and Team Osaer came out on top thanks to an overtime goal by free agent invite Liam McLinskey.
To some extent, the 3-on-3 tournament allowed the prospects (minus the Dower Nilsson brothers, who have upper-body issues, and William Wallinder, who missed camp with an undisclosed injury) to build upon the skating and skill development drills which dominated Sunday, Monday and Tuesday’s skill sessions.
At the same time, the 3-on-3 games afforded the prospects some time to simply let loose and play physical, competitive hockey for the first time over the course of five total days of activities (the first day, July 1st, consisted of on-ice and off-ice skill testing).
In all honesty, the final day of a Summer Development Camp is something of a mixed bag, even if there are bragging rights on the line.
To some extent, the participants are absolutely exhausted, having been bombarded with on-ice skill and skating instruction and off-ice presentations covering everything from nutrition, sleep, grocery shopping, financial planning to social and traditional media relations, and their few minutes of quiet time have been jam-packed with team activities like paintball and going to yesterday night’s Tigers game.
The players are also starting to think about heading back home after spending nearly a week in Detroit, some of them basically since the day they were drafted last week in Nashville.
But when there are bragging rights on the line, and there’s an opportunity to let loose and play some “real hockey,” professional athletes do what they tend to do: they perform. And that led to an exciting finish to the 2023 Summer Development Camp.
The Red Wings streamed the nearly two-and-a-half-hour-long 3-on-3 tournament in its entirety this morning…
And they also posted a highlight clip for those of us who don’t have 2:24 to spend:
In any case, you’re most likely here for the player observations, still bearing in mind that this is a development camp in July, when no jobs are on the line.
Here’s how the four teams broke down (and it’s worth noting that the goaltenders were split into 3 tandems, which rotated in and out of the teams’ lineups):
Game 1: Lashoff (1) vs. Rihela (0)
— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) July 5, 2023
Game 2: Osaer (1) vs. Bain (2)
Game 3: Osaer (1) vs. Rihela (2)
More #DRWDC action coming up!
Tune in » https://t.co/qcwTdt7mTP pic.twitter.com/1xyJUoUDJd
And here are my player observations:
TEAM OSAER:
Forwards:
#48 Liam McLinskey*: Sometimes you’re the hero, and Liam McLinskey managed to be the hero by scoring the game-winning overtime goal for Team Osaer on Wednesday.
At 22 years of age, McLinskey is still incredibly skinny at 6’3″ and 165 pounds, and while he’s a very good skater, he’s not “filled out” yet in terms of power or overall speed. A free agent invite, he was invited to development camp because he posted 23 goals in 40 games for Holy Cross, and he’s going to be a junior this upcoming year, so he has two more years of NCAA eligibility to fill out and build strength.
#56 Brennan Ali: At 19 years of age, Ali is coming off a strong, 43-points-in-57-games season for the USHL’s Lincoln Stars, and he’s going to play in his freshman season for the University of Notre Dame this upcoming season.
A stocky 6′ and 200 pounds, Ali is full of grit and hustle, and he’s got a fair set of hands on him, but it’s his speed and intensity that set him apart. Ali may be the most competitive American on the Red Wings’ Summer Development Camp roster not named Mazur or Savage.
There’s time for him to grow into his game and continue to build muscle, strength, and experience.
#61 Karsen Dorwart*: It was a little difficult to figure Dorwart out. At 21 years of age, the free agent invite from Michigan State University blossomed as a late-starting freshman, posting 27 points in 38 games, and he’s got three more years of development ahead at the NCAA level, but the 6’1,” 191-pound center did not stand out per se.
#78 Amadeus Lombardi: Lombardi earned media accolades over the course of development camp because the recently-turned-20-year-old earned each and every one of them.
Lombardi stands at 5’11” and 171 pounds on a good day, but the energetic forward is going to turn pro (per Dan Cleary) after a 45-goal, 102-point season with the OHL’s Flint Firebirds, and while Lombardi is “small” by today’s NHL’s standards…
He’s just ready. The young center possesses breakaway speed, a fourth-line forward’s work ethic, and he scores goals, he passes superbly, and puck-handles with poise. At this point, I would compare him to Jonatan Berggren, perhaps with more grit, and I fully expect him to snag a spot on the Grand Rapids Griffins this fall.
Headsy, ballsy and a little cocky, Lombardi is going places.
#88 Emmitt Finnie: Finnie sort of looked like a particularly young version of Lombardi despite being all of two years removed from his “elder.” At 6′ and 163 pounds, the left winger from Kamloops of the WHL posted a solid 35 points in 64 games as a sophomore player, and the 201st overall pick in last week’s draft will head back to British Columbia to develop after participating in the prospect tournament this fall. He’s speedy and pesky for sure, but whether there’s something more involved, I’m not certain yet.
Defensemen:
#22 Shai Buium: Buium is one of those “complete package” players. At 20 years of age, with two more years to go with the Denver Pioneers, the 6’3,” 220-pound defenseman has developed into a massive, speedy puck-lugger who can make things happen offensively thanks to excellent shooting, passing and playmaking skills, and his skating is so superb that he closes gaps and uses his stick and particularly physical style to separate opponents from the puck, all with seemingly little effort.
Buium looks like the kind of defenseman who will be able to do everything well, and he’s probably the Wings’ most exciting non-Swedish defensive prospect.
#73 Brady Cleveland: Cleveland was definitely “up and down” in terms of his overall performance over the course of four days’ worth of viewing, but the 47th overall pick in the 2023 draft most definitely looked completely comfortable in a 6’5,” 210-pound frame, and he was smart, spare, and physical, displaying poise and calmness as well as a good all-round skill set.
The USHL alumnus will be heading to the University of Wisconsin this upcoming season, and after registering 106 penalty minutes in 55 NTDP games, he’s ready for the jump.
#84 Axel Sandin Pellikka: ASP looked both very good and very raw as an 18-year-old playing in his first real “North American” game–albeit in a 3-on-3 format–on Wednesday. It’s easy to see how the 5’11,” 180-pound defenseman is going to be able to keep up with even NHL-level play, because the urgency with which he moves the puck up ice via passing and playmaking is there, his shot is hard and accurate, and he can keep up physically. But he does tend to “hot dog” it offensively at times, yielding scoring chances against, and he needs to fill out more than a little bit.
The Red Wings’ 17th overall pick in last week’s draft is going to try to make the jump to the SHL this upcoming season, and if he keeps working in the gym, he’s already got the skating skills to make his opponents look silly when he’s “thinking offense,” and now he just needs to work on being a little more patient defensively.
#95 Tnias Mathurin: The 19-year-old defenseman is a big man at 6’3″ and 205 pounds, and while I still see him to be a projected “third pair” defenseman, Mathurin did a great job of keeping up with the play in terms of both his skating skills and skill set.
Big and physical, he only played in 1 regular season game this past season due to shoulder and lower-body injuries, but Mathurin doesn’t look like he’s missed much developmental time, and that’s a very good thing to see. He’s heading back to North Bay for at least one more season, and if he continues to develop at a steady pace, he should turn pro in a year or two.
TEAM BAIN:
Forwards:
#29 Nate Danielson: Like Sandin Pellikka, Danielson is both incredibly poised and still somewhat raw at 18 years of age. The 9th overall pick in last year’s draft is a useful, mobile right-shooting center who stands at a very skinny 6’2″ and 186 pounds, and I’m not certain whether he’s done growing yet. He spent this past season with the WHL’s Brandon Wheat Kings, serving as the team’s captain, and he’s just an extraordinarily solid two-way center with offensive aplomb, good defensive chops, faceoff-winning abilities and smarts beyond his age.
He’ll participate in the prospect tournament and head back to the WHL, where he’ll try to improve upon a 33-goal, 78-point 2022-2023 season.
#42 Nick Granowicz*: A Macomb, MI native, Granowicz was solid enough over the course of four days’ worth of viewing, but you could also see why the 6’1,” 174-pound right winger is heading to UMass-Lowell after four full seasons at the University of Michigan. The 25-year-old needs another season of development, and sometimes players take longer to mature–even into their mid-20’s.
I don’t see any pro prospects for him right now, but one wants to play hockey for as long as one is able, and I can’t fault him for that.
#70 Theodor Niederbach: Better in motion, the incredibly inconsistent but promising Niederbach looked at his best during the 3-on-3 tournament, working mostly with Danielson. At 21 years of age, the 5’11,” 172-pound center is still a skinny fella, but he helped MoDo advance from the Allsvenskan to the SHL, Sweden’s top professional league, this past season, and his passing, shooting, playmaking and skating skills are all at a near-professional level. He needs to have a big season with MoDo and really establish himself as a two-way forward that can consistently compete with bigger and stronger men.
#72 Dylan James: James looked great during the 3-on-3 tournament. The Red Wings’ 40th overall pick in 2022 is all of 19 years of age, and he’s heading into his sophomore year at North Dakota.
He’s speedy, gritty and scrappy, a player who believes that he’s going to win every battle for the puck (and he usually backs that belief up), and while he didn’t display overwhelmingly great stats during his freshman season, James insisted to the press that he was gaining his coaching staff’s trust.
Going forward, James is a talented all-round forward whose 6,’ 180-pound frame belies strength and poise, and there’s a reason the Wings picked him so high a year ago–the kid’s got a motor on him.
#89 Kevin Bicker: It turns out that the Red Wings like Bicker for the same reasons that I do. The 147th overall pick last week in Nashville, the 6’1,” 176-pound left wing isn’t overly big, and he isn’t overly strong, but he is particularly competitive, and the speedy, sometimes slimy forward is a real pain in the ass.
He posted 21 points in 20 games for Mannheim’s under-20 team, and he’s moving to the Frankfurt Lowen of the DEL in order to see whether he can keep up with a men’s league game. I believe that Bicker’s more than a long-shot prospect already, having seen him grind for four days.
Defensemen:
#17 Finn Harding*: Harding may impress more if he’s brought to the fall prospect tournament. He was a free agent invite who was passed over in last week’s draft despite being a right-shooting defenseman who stands 6’1″ and 182 pounds. He posted 10 points in 63 OHL games with Mississauga this past season, and he was solid enough, but there were times that he got over-powered or out-competed in 1-on-1 battles.
#26 Andrew Gibson: Gibson continued to improve as he participated in the 3-on-3 tournament on Wednesday. The 6’3,” 200-pound defenseman from LaSalle, Ontario was an all-round steady contributor who never found himself out of position during the tournament, despite being all of 18 years of age. The 42nd overall pick this past week in Nashville, the Soo Greyhounds defenseman may not be a big point-producer, but he does everything well and everything with ease.
#38 Antti Tuomisto: Tuomisto simply looks like a player who’s ready to test the North American professional waters. After playing in 60 games for TPS Turku of the Finnish Liiga this past season, the 22-year-old defenseman with a right shot and a heavy, 6’5,” 205-pound frame is coming back to America after choosing to leave Denver for his professional development’s sake–and his gamble paid off.
Tuomisto has more offensive chops than I’d given him credit for, but the massive defender is honestly most useful as a two-way defenseman who uses his stick, positioning, and massive, physical body to grind down and stop his opponents.
Tuomisto will compete for a spot on a crowded Grand Rapids Griffins blueline, and he’s likely to earn a spot out of training camp.
#86 Larry Keenan: It’s hard to figure out exactly where the 2023 draft pick is going to fit in, but he’s all of 18 years of age. The 6’3,” 186-pound defenseman played at the Culver Military Academy this past season, and he’s going to the BCHL for a season before advancing to UMass in 2024-2025. He’s spare but smart and solid, and as a mid-round (117th overall) pick, he’ll show us over the course of the next couple of seasons whether he was worth taking a “flyer” on.
TEAM LASHOFF:
Forwards:
#46 Riley Sawchuk**: Sawchuk looked good during the 3-on-3 tournament, and he should do exactly that because he’s a 24-year-old with three years of Canadian USports league experience to his credit.
Not big at 5’11” and 181 pounds, the AHL-contracted Sawchuk will battle for a spot on the Griffins’ roster this fall as a speedy, gritty forward who can make plays and check, check, check.
He’s likely going to be brought to the prospect tournament to serve as a leader, and he may follow in the footsteps of Drew Worrad or Trenton Bliss, two NCAA-developed free agent signings who helped the Toledo Walleye and eventually the Griffins as mid-20’s players.
#58 Chase Bradley: Bradley doesn’t necessarily have the offensive ceiling of a Dylan James, but the 5’11,” 180-pound left wing is strong and stout as a 21-year-old going into his junior season at UConn. He posted 20 points in 35 games last season, which was solid, but again, we’re looking at a not-big-but-strong player who hopes to “overcome his size” to earn his paycheck as a gritty, grinding and fast forward whose skill set is good enough to keep up with the flashy guys.
#63 Sam Stange: Stange can be incredibly frustrating to watch because the 22-year-old incoming senior at the University of Wisconsin is 22 years of age, and he had an absolutely spectacular high school career in Wisconsin as a goal-scoring forward, but he hasn’t posted more than 6 goals in the 25-to-36 games that NCAA players play during the regular season.
Stange has the tools to score–and it’s evident that he’s got a great shot and smart offensive skills. He skates well, too, and he can check. But he just doesn’t put all the disparate pieces of his game together in a “toolbox,” and as a player who could become a Luke Glendening-type grinder, the 6’1,” 208-pound Stange hasn’t embraced his inner grinder, either. We’ll see where he goes over the course of his senior season.
#67 Redmond Savage: Savage is transferring from Miami of Ohio to Michigan State halfway through his NCAA career, and I believe that the 20-year-old center who stands at 5’11” and 185 pounds is doing so because he wants to establish himself as more than an NHL-bound fourth line forward.
There’s no doubt that Savage can already be projected onto a professional team’s roster after he graduates from college, because he busts his tail off out-working and gleefully out-competing his opponents in one-on-one battles for the puck, he wins draws, he skates superbly well, and he’s mean sometimes.
Something tells me that he wants to prove that he can score and pass and make plays as well, and he may earn that kind of opportunity under Adam Nightingale at State.
#92 Marco Kasper: Kasper didn’t score today, and he was pissed off about it!
At 19 years of age, the 6’1,” 183-pound graduate of Rogle BK of the SHL is more than ready to turn pro as a smart, plucky two-way center with an edge–a competitive edge, as well as a physical one.
Kasper skates with aplomb, his shot is superb, he makes plays and passes excellently, and he out-works and out-grinds his opponents while displaying ever-so-slight a glimmer of cockiness that involves wanting to aggravate and agitate. So, as a competitive person, when the heralded offensive star in the making doesn’t display the skill set he’s worked so hard to achieve, he gets pretty angry.
At 19, that’s acceptable.
#93 Nicholas Sima*: The Saginaw Spirit right wing was brought to development camp halfway through the process as an injury replacement, and the 6’2,” 185-pound forward was passed over in this past week’s NHL draft as an 18-year-old because he posted 16 points in 61 games split between North Bay and Saginaw.
He’s big, he’s agile, and his stick is always ready to take passes and either shoot them or redirect them, and his slightly under-powered skating stride doesn’t detract from the overall package that’s there.
He’ll most likely head to the prospect tournament in the fall as an invite, and hope to impress somebody enough to be drafted next summer, like now-Philadelphia Flyers prospect Cole Knuble.
#97 Michael Horth*: Horth plain old didn’t stand out, good, bad or indifferent. As a 19-year-old invite, the 6’1,” 185-pound left wing posted a very solid 45 points in 66 QMJHL games for Charlottetown this past season, and he seems to be on an upward trajectory points-wise, but his talent level bobbed along with those of his fellow free agent invites.
Defensemen:
#3 Connor Punnett*: Punnett did nothing to dissuade me from believing that he’s going to be invited to the fall prospect tournament as a physical defenseman. At 20 years of age, the free agent invite from the Barrie Colts stands at 6’2″ and 198 pounds, and his 48-point season is overshadowed by the 109 penalty minutes he posted in 66 games this past season.
Punnett is big, strong and sometimes a little nasty, and he kept up just fine in the 3-on-3 tournament, but that’s not necessarily where he’s going to shine.
#55 Sam Duerr*: A University of Maine junior, the 6’1,” 192-pound defenseman was a free agent invite who just didn’t stand out from the rest of his free agent try-out compatriots. Duerr was an excellent high school hockey point producer, but, like Sam Stange, he hasn’t found his form in college hockey.
TEAM RIHELA:
Forwards:
#15 Dean Loukus*: Loukus came on late to at least impress a little bit. A free agent invite from the Saginaw Spirit, the Calumet, MI native posted a very solid 56 points in 65 games this past season, and the 20-year-old is stocky at 5’10” and 175 pounds. He was a little plucky and speedy, but that’s what I saw from him over the course of four days. Perhaps he’ll be invited to the prospect tournament as a fill-out-the-roster guy.
#34 Kienan Draper: Better in motion, the inconsistent Draper looked much more solid during the 3-on-3 tournament. Draper still shanks shots and flubs passes from time to time, but the 21-year-old incoming Sophomore at the University of Michigan definitely possesses the skating skills and work ethic to at least become a speedy grinder at the professional level, but the late-blooming Draper still needs to get more consistent in terms of his overall game and in terms of his fit and finish.
#37 Alexandre Doucet: Doucet sure looks like he’s having fun developing into a scoring forward. The Red Wings inked the 21-year-old left wing as he scored 58 goals and 115 points between Val-d’Or and Halifax of the QMJHL this past season, and the stocky 21-year-old looks ready to turn pro, regardless of whether that’s with Grand Rapids or Toledo. He’s got a rocket of a sniper’s shot, he skates speedily, he can make plays and pass well, and there’s some utter joy to his game, but there are also rough edges, and he’s going to have to smooth those out to succeed as a pro.
He’ll have a big opportunity to impress over the course of the prospect tournament and his first training camp.
#43 Carter Mazur: Mazur sure has a lot of fun being a competitive asshole. Still lanky at 6′ and 172 pounds, the left wing is coming off of two very strong seasons at the University of Denver, most recently posting 22 goals and 37 points in 42 games (while wearing an alternate captain’s “A”). But Mazur is more than a fast skater who has a strong shot and is a superb passer; he’s a pain in the ass of a forward who competes his tail off every time he hops over the boards, and he genuinely enjoys aggravating his opponents.
There’s some physical and strength-related work for Mazur to do, but I think that he’s going to excel as a professional athlete.
#79 Owen Mehlenbacher: Perhaps at the other end of the developmental spectrum, the 19-year-old Mehlenbacher wrapped up his USHL career with 50 points split between the Muskegon Lumberjacks, with whom he wore the captain’s “C,” and the Fargo Force. At 6’2″ and 193 pounds, Mehlenbacher is an excellent skater and possesses all the tools to generate offense as he joins the University of Wisconsin Badgers as a freshman this season.
He, Brennan Ali and Dylan James are the next generation of Red Wings offensive prospects playing at the NCAA level.
#82 Israel Mianscum*: The 20-year-old left wing was brought in as a free agent invite from the QMJHL’s Sherbrooke Phoenix after a 61-points-in-65-games season, and he did get better as the summer development camp continued. At 6’1″ and 198 pounds, the 20-year-old Mianscum isn’t small, and while he’s been passed over in the draft twice, I’m fairly certain that he’ll be invited to the prospect tournament to strut his stuff. He has a connection to Grand Rapids Griffins assistant coach Stephane Julien, who was both the coach and GM in Sherbrooke, and sometimes those connections (and hard work!) pay off.
Defensemen:
#32 Cooper Moore: At 22 years of age, the University of North Dakota senior just hasn’t been able to put his game together yet. At 6’2″ and 188 pounds, Moore is a fairly big defenseman, and he skates excellently well, but he’s never been able to replicate his point-per-game high school performance, nor his 33-points-in-55-games performance with the BCHL’s Chilliwack Chiefs. He’s got a year (maybe two) to sort his game out and reestablish himself as an offensive defenseman.
52 Jackson DeSouza*: I enjoyed the self-assuredness with which the free agent invite from the WHL’s Kelowna Rockets conducted himself. He posted 20 points in 66 games as a 20-year-old, but at 6’4″ and 187 pounds, the lanky right-shooting defenseman possesses a rocket of a shot, he’s a good skater, and he’s got ever so subtly a hint of a snarl to him. Will he come to the prospect tournament? We’ll find out soon.
#87 Jack Phelan: A 2023 draft pick, 137th overall, the Red Wings selected the 19-year-old despite not posting particularly exciting stats for the USHL’s Sioux Falls Stampede, with whom the 6’2,” 171-pound defenseman will play for one more season before joining the Red Wings’ blossoming collective at the University of Wisconsin in 2024-2025. He’s got room to grow into his frame and room to grow into his game as a right-shot defender.
TEAM HASEK:
Goaltenders:
#33 Sebastian Cossa: Cossa is a work in progress who’s going to try and make the jump from the ECHL to the AHL after a 26-win season with Dan Watson’s Toledo Walleye this past season–as well as a 5-and-2 performance over a playoff run which he split with John Lethemon this past spring.
Massive at 6’6″ and 229 pounds, Cossa and Alex Lyon are likely to become fast friends as the affable but confident and composed netminder continues to improve his game.
Cossa has developed from an athletic, reflex-driven goaltender into a poised, patient netminder with a tremendous glove hand, great legs and toes, better stick-handling than before, and while his blocker hand and battling through screens to stop tipped shots both need work, I believe that he will continue to work hard to remedy any technical issues which prevent him from being more than just a goaltender who stops 99% of the first shots that he sees.
#68 Rudy Guimond: The Red Wings took a late flyer on Guimond last week in Nashville, selecting the 18-year-old with the 169th overall pick. At 6’2″ and 166 pounds, he’s not big, but the Taft School graduate is headed to the USHL’s Cedar Rapids Roughriders before joining Yale in 2024-2025, and he’ll take those soft, battle-scarred pads with him.
A goaltender with a wide, low butterfly, a baseball-style snagging catcher, a good blocker and strong rebound control, he’s going to be Red Wings property for up to five years, so there’s lot of time for Guimond to grow into his body and grow into his game.
TEAM OSGOOD:
Goaltenders:
#31 Carter Gylander: Gylander posted a strong 19-15-and-5 record with a middling Colgate Raiders team this past season, and the 22-year-old has reestablished himself as a Red Wings prospect after muddling his way through his freshman and sophomore seasons.
Big and wide at 6’5″ and 190 pounds, he plays a heavy game, utilizing his extremities to blocker, snag and toe pucks, and while he plays a puck-blocking game, he’s gotten under more and more control of himself over the years that I’ve seen him play.
He’s going to have to continue to grow over the course of his senior year with Colgate to earn a pro deal, but I’m not betting against him.
#80 Trey Augustine: The 18-year-old from South Lyon, Michigan was plucked with the 41st overall pick in last week’s draft because the 6’1,” 190-pound goaltender posted a tremendous, 29-1-and-2 record with the U.S. NTDP, proving that a “small goalie” in a world of Cossa-sized men can still get the job done.
Heading to Michigan State University in the fall, Augustine is a poised, steady goaltender who uses his blocker, glove, fast toes, smart stick and upright body to swallow up rebounds and smartly place rebounds away from trouble. When he does give out some juicy ones, he’s able to stabilize himself and reset quickly, and he’s just got a smart head on his shoulders.
TEAM SAWCHUK:
Goaltenders:
#36 Jan Bednar: Bednar has been hard to figure out, honestly speaking, over the course of the time that I’ve been able to watch him play. He’s reinvented himself as a calmer, steadier goaltender at 20 years of age, and after a forgettable and injury-marred season with the QMJHL’s Acadie-Bathurst Titan, the 6’4,” 196-pound goaltender is going to try to turn pro with the ECHL’s Toledo Walleye this upcoming season.
As I’ve said so many times, he used to be able to make spectacular stops, but was so inconsistent that he’d give up four, five or six “muffin” goals per game, and, over the course of the past two years, he’s completely refined his game to incorporate a narrow-but-steady stance with an excellent glove and blocker and a wide, fast butterfly. There are still times that he lets in squeakers by trying to be too perfect in the elegance and beauty of his saves, however, so I’m going to be interested to see what Wings developmental goaltending coach Phil Osaer can do to help Bednar fully realize his pro potential.
#60 Luke Pavicich*: The final free agent try-out, the 21-year-old from UMass will go back to NCAA hockey as a junior, hoping to improve upon an 8-10-and-4 record. 6’3″ and 190 pounds, Pavicich plays a smart butterfly style, really hearkening back to a mid-2010’s style in the ways in which he boots out pucks and plays neither a real butterfly nor stand-up style.
Sometimes he gets a little lost in his technique, and the four corners of the net are still a little bit of an issue for him, but Panicich has two more years to sort himself out.
NON-PARTICIPANTS:
Forwards:
#62 Liam Dower Nilsson: Dan Cleary told us that both Dower Nilsson brothers had to have some medical imaging done today to rule out upper-body issues.
Liam is the older one, a 20-year-old center who’s taking a step back to take a step forward. After struggling to earn time with Frolunda HC’s men’s team, he played for Vasteras of the Allsvenskan for half of this past season, posting 15 points in 32 games.
At 20 years of age, the 6,’ 172-pound center needs to establish himself at some sort of pro level, so he’s signed with IF Bjorkloven of the Allsvenskan, a slight step below the SHL, where the playmaking forward will attempt to put up more points and really be counted upon to become an offensive contributor on a regular basis.
#83 Noah Dower Nilsson: The Red Wings selected 18-year-old Noah with the 73rd overall pick because he is a sniper to his brother’s playmaking foil, and while Noah is as unrefined as his brother is sharp and steadily progressing toward professional levels…Liam posted 54 points in 37 games for Frolunda’s J20 team, and he’s likely to contend for a spot with Frolunda’s men’s team this upcoming season.
Noah is quieter, less certain in his English and downright shy at times, but on the ice, his game speaks for itself, and at 18, he’s got a lot of developmental runway to burn up yet.
Defenseman:
#54 William Wallinder: The left-shooting defenseman is arguably one of the Red Wings’ best prospects, so it was a bummer that the 20-year-old was unable to participate in the on-ice portions of development camp. The 6’4,” 190-pound 20-year-old from Rogle BK of the SHL posted 26 points in 50 games last season–the kind of point production that you see from forwards of the same age–and he won the European Hockey Clubs’ Young Player of the Year Award as a result.
Big at 6’4″ and 190 pounds, Wallinder is an excellent skater and playmaker with poise and patience, and he’s just effing smart and calm. We’ll see whether he develops into a top-pair guy, because his potential is high enough to possibly see that happen.
He’ll likely play in the prospect tournament and then head to Grand Rapids.
*=Free Agent Invite
**=Grand Rapids Griffins contract
As you know by now, am doing this in no small part to do more than “break even” financially, because I’m returning to the blog after a 9-month lay-off to take care of my aunt.
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We have a GoFundMe that goes right to Aunt Annie’s bank account; you can also 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” (an old nickname).
In any case, thank you so much for your readership over the course of the last week.
My aunt and I aren’t quite sure how we’re going to balance my status as a caregiver and my status as a blogger going forward, but we’re going to learn by doing now.
TMR is back!
