Month: July 2023

Audio: Red Wings 2nd round pick Brady Cleveland speaks with his hometown TV station’s sports podcast

Red Wings 2023 draft pick (47th overall) and US NTDP alumnus Brady Cleveland, an incoming freshman at the University of Wisconsin, spoke with his local TV station, Wausaw, Wisconsin’s WSAW-TV NewsChannel 7 for their “Hilight Zone” Podcast. Here’s his 11-minute interview with Noah Manderfeld:

Two of Nate Danielson’s youth hockey coaches discuss the Wings draft pick’s ascent

The Red Deer Advocate’s Ian Gustafson spoke with two of Red Wings 9th overall pick Nate Danielson’s youth hockey coaches regarding the talent and hard work involved in Danielson’s ascent to a top-10 pick in last month’s 2023 NHL Draft:

Danielson first started getting noticed when he suited up for the U15 AAA Red Deer Rebels.

Head coach of the Rebels Justin Jarmolicz said he was happy to see Danielson selected so high in the draft.

“To be in the top 10 in the draft is unreal,” he said. “To have a legend like Steve Yzerman call his name it was pretty fun to watch. Honestly, he’s just grown in leaps and bounds. He’s gotten so much bigger and stronger. His game hasn’t changed a whole bunch since Bantam… He’s always been so good at playing and understanding the game. He’s taking off and it’s pretty awesome to see.”

Danielson played for the U15 Rebels from 2017-2019 and really took a massive step statistically in his second year at the Bantam level. He potted 26 goals and 33 assists for 59 points in 29 games during the 2018-19 season as a 14-year-old.

“He always talks about being a really good 200-foot centreman that likes to meet the challenge of playing other team’s top players and he was like that when he was with us too,” Jarmolicz said. “He’s a really responsible player that has a lot of offensive gifts and vision. You’re starting to see that even when he was a first-year U15 player. Just the stuff he could create by making plays, not many other guys see especially at that age.”

Even with the talent on display as a youngster, Jarmolicz explained he never could have imagined Danielson as a top 10 NHL draft pick.

“That’s definitely a feather in his cap for the hard work he’s put in to get himself there and we’re all super proud of him,” he said.

Continued

DHN’s Duff: Wings’ offseason acquisitions still believe in Red Wings’ potential

This afternoon, Detroit Hockey Now’s Bob Duff discusses the reasons why the Red Wings’ free agent signings and offseason trade acquisitions chose to come to Detroit:

The team may have fallen on hard times in recent years, but the legacy that the Red Wings wove through most of the 1990s and though the first decade of the 2000s still carries gravitas with today’s players.

“I think there’s a lot that attracted me to being a Red Wing,” forward J.T. Compher said. “First off, playing in Michigan (for the Wolverines) and growing up in Chicago, both things helped me see the great legacy and tradition the Red Wings have. I have a lot of respect for the organization.

“I had some really good talks with Steve and the coaching staff on what they’re trying to build, how they’re trying to build it. In terms of this year and the future, it sounds like a great place to play hockey.”

It was that latter aspect the also ending up drawing defenseman Justin Holl to Detroit.

“One of the things that was appealing to me was what the roster looks like,” Holl said. “I know in terms of playing against them last year there’s a lot of good pieces and there’s a lot of promise in this group. I think we have a chance to do something special.”

Continued

DHN’s Allen profiles defenseman Kevin Gibson

This afternoon, Detroit Hockey Now’s Kevin Allen profiles Red Wings prospect (and Soo Greyhounds defenseman) Kevin Gibson, who was drafted 42nd overall by the team last month in Nashville:

At a time when the Red Wings are committed to getting bigger, stronger and harder to play against, drafting Gibson made too much sense [to pass him up].

“Big right-shot D man,” said Kris Draper who is an assistant general manager and director of amateur scouting. “He’s got good size. A puck-moving D. He’s got good hockey sense. Skates well, has a bit of an edge to his game.”

His shot from the point has plenty of sizzle.

The Red Wings liked the entire package, enough to view him as a second-round pick. The NHL’s Central Scouting had him ranked 31st among North American skaters. Craig Button slotted him 63rd. Red Line Report had him pegged at 73rd.

Gibson suffered a lower body injury that kept him out of lineup for several weeks, but he returned in time to make Canada’s U18 team for the World Championships.

“We were able to see him play obviously against some pretty high competition and in some pretty good situations,” Draper said.

Continued

Tweet of note: Reminder about tonight’s episode of ‘Inside Hockeytown’

Per DetroitRedWings.com’s Daniella Bruce:

Regarding the Red Wings’ competitive ‘window’

Daily Faceoff’s Matt Larkin estimates the “Stanley Cup Windows” of the NHL’s Eastern Conference teams this morning, and he has the following to say about the Red Wings:

Window Opening: Detroit Red Wings

A week ago, I would’ve placed Detroit in the Foggy Window section. Their rebuild under Steve Yzerman had progressed in the sense that they were amassing close to a critical mass of young talent to build around: Moritz Seider, Lucas Raymond, Simon Edvinsson, Sebastian Cossa, Marco Kasper, Nate Danielson, Axel Sandin-Pellikka and more. But the existing veteran group Yzerman was merging with them looked subpar outside of captain Dylan Larkin. The Wings have been busy the past two summers but have added a lot of middling and/or aging talent: Andrew Copp, David Perron, Ben Chiarot, J.T. Compher, Justin Holl, Klim Kostin, Shayne Gostisbehere, Daniel Sprong…but all that changed with the Alex DeBrincat acquisition and four-year extension, secured last weekend. Detroit finally added a legitimate front-line talent to take the pressure off its younger forwards, and as long as all the veteran depth additions over the past two seasons aren’t playing too high in the lineup, they can elevate Detroit’s floor. The Wings have improved their points percentage in three straight seasons. They still missed the playoffs by a dozen points in 2022-23, but they could cut that deficit to half a dozen this time around, and once you’re that close, anything can happen.

Continued

Tweet of note: Toledo Walleye officially name Pat Mikesch coach

Per the Toledo Walleye:

Here’s the Walleye’s press release:

Continue reading Tweet of note: Toledo Walleye officially name Pat Mikesch coach

Betting on Lucas Raymond’s resurgence

The Hockey News’s Colin Hayes posted a list of Eastern Conference breakout candidates, and here’s hoping that his candidate from the Detroit Red Wings finds his form:

Detroit Red Wings: Lucas Raymond, LW

Raymond had a good rookie season in 2021-22, but his production dipped in his sophomore year on an underachieving Red Wings team. He’s a prolific offensive talent who possesses a good shot and is great at creating space for himself on the ice. This year is a chance for him to prove last season was a sophomore slump and continue to develop into one of the NHL’s premier offensive players.

Continued; Raymond seemed to hit a bit of a wall at times during the middle of what was a long 2022-2023 season, but he’s likely to “bounce back” from his slight drop-off in production from his rookie campaign.