Month: July 2023

Just for the record:

Zadina and Andreoff clear. Zadina will go through the process of picking his next NHL team. Believe Andreoff is headed overseas

— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) July 7, 2023

Detroit Hockey Now’s Kevin Allen posted a profile of Red Wings prospect and University of North Dakota forward Dylan James this morning:

James said [his freshman] season went “pretty well.”  He wished he could have had a better start. James acknowledges it was difficult to get accustomed to a higher level, new coach and different system.

“I thought he had a good season,” [Red Wings director of player development Dan] Cleary said, “the opposite of what he thinks.”

This is what Cleary saw from James: “He came in and had to find his way.  He made some freshman mistakes and had to sit but that’s all part of it. At the end of the day I always look at where you are at the end of the season. At the end of the season, he was trending upwards. Out there in the last minute. I was in Omaha watching and he scored a great goal shorthanded. He’s playing in the regionals as an important player. That’s what I look at. ”

The fact that James wished he could have done more this past season may highlight how badly he wants to keep improving.

James finished with eight goals and 16 points in 32 games as a freshman at North Dakota. He looked strong at the Red Wings Development camp, particularly visible in the 3 v 3 tournament.

“He’s a legit rink rat,” Cleary said. “He doesn’t leave. Everybody might have been gone by 1 or 2. He was here until 4:30. Asked him: “What are you doing here? He said looking at sticks, messing around. He just doesn’t like to leave. I liked him a lot.”

Continued

DetroitRedWings.com’s Jonathan Mills took note of Dan Cleary and Kris Draper’s comments regarding the importance of the off-ice portions of this past week’s 2023 Summer Development Camp:

Cleary said that Lisa McDowell, the Red Wings’ Performance Dietitian and Director of Nutrition & Lifestyle Medicine, is one of many support staff members who help prospects become more well-rounded.

“A lot of these kids don’t know how to cook or grocery shop,” Cleary said. “They think what they’re eating is good. But Lisa is great on educating these kids, giving them different recipes that they can cook and learn.”

Kris Draper, who was promoted to Red Wings assistant general manager and director of amateur scouting on Wednesday, also had nothing but praise for “the best development staff in the league.”

“From the training staff – (head athletic trainer) Piet VanZant, (physical therapist) Russ (Baumann) – to (assistant equipment managers) J.R. (John Remejes) and Brady (Munger) and everything that they do,” Draper said. “Even to see how some of us interact with our former trainers and medical guys, I think, is really important. We want to carry ourselves to a high standard. We want these young prospects to not take anything for granted and see how important everybody is in the Red Wings organization.”

Continued

Looks like a drone was at work during development camp. It was actually a very long stick cam:

Bird's-eye view. 🔥#DRWDC pic.twitter.com/CVlBjcWB4H

— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) July 7, 2023

Red Wings 2021 draft pick Liam Dower Nilsson and his brother, 2023 draft pick Noah, took part in this week’s 2023 Summer Development Camp, and the brothers spoke with NHL.com/sv’s Peter Ekholm about last week and this week’s adventures, as well as their respective focuses in terms of their future hockey plans:

Continue reading Roughly translated: The Dower Nilsson brothers discuss their hockey present and future

The Red Wings selected forward Kevin Bicker with the 147th overall pick in last week’s NHL Draft, taking a flyer on a German-born forward who will try to “make the jump” from the German under-20 league to the DEL this upcoming season.

As a result, the Lowen Frankfurt asked Bicker to chronicle his 5 days spent at this week’s 2023 Summer Development Camp, and here’s a rough translation thereof:

Continue reading Roughly translated: Kevin Bicker discusses his development camp experiences

There was a weird moment during Red Wings first round draft pick Nate Danielson’s press conference a couple days ago, where a discussion of Connor Bedard’s praise for Danielson’s competitiveness turned into a praise-fest for Bedard.

Detroit Hockey Now’s Bob Duff duly noted the point of the exchange in Detroit Hockey Now’s morning “Daily”:

Center Nate Danielson, the top draft pick of the Detroit Red Wings, is fast friends with Connor Bedard. That’s interesting, because Bedard, the first overall selection of the recent NHL entry draft by the Chicago Blackhawks, is listing Danielson among his toughest opponents in the WHL.

“Me and Connor have got to be pretty good buddies over the last couple of years,” Danielson said. “Just having someone as good as him say something like that is cool to hear. When I go up against him I’m not really trying to key on him. I kind of try to play my own game but yeah, it’s obviously nice to hear that from him.”

Danielson is anticipating that for all the hype that is surrounding Bedard’s arrival to the NHL, he’s expecting his buddy to outdo those lofty expectations.

“He’s an unbelievable player,” Danielson said. “I expect him to have another good year next year. He’s sort of been someone who’s dealt with high expectations his whole life and has always found a way to exceed them.”

Continued

The Athletic offers free agency grades for each and every one of the NHL’s 32 teams, and, as you might expect, the Red Wings earn a middling mark:

Detroit Red Wings: B-

The Red Wings got deeper, addressed their needs and were able to do so in most cases without extending significant term, so that’s all well and good. But it’s impossible to ignore the fact that they still haven’t picked up a big-time scorer. Maybe it’s not fair to dock their free agency grade for that, as any such scorer would likely be acquired via trade — the free agent options weren’t all that exciting — but it’s just hard to get especially excited about their moves. The B- reflects a clear effort to improve, and they’ve had some success in doing so, but they’re still lacking that important missing piece. — Max Bultman

Continued (paywall);

The same is true for the Wings’ goaltending moves, per Harman Dayal and Jesse Granger:

Continue reading Fair-to-middling

The Red Wings brought in Saginaw Spirit winger Dean Loukus, a native of Calumet, MI, as a free agent invite for this past week’s summer development camp. MLive’s Ansar Khan spoke with Loukus about his experience:

It’s a lot of work, it’s a job for sure, but it’s been fun,” Loukus said. “I’ve had a blast. There’s a lot that comes in. You try to be a sponge and soak it in. They do a whole deep dive into what you should eat, how you should sleep and different things like that. Try to implement that into your normal day and normal training. It’s pretty cool stuff. Growing up watching the Red Wings, it’s just a far-off dream for a kid from a small town.”

Loukus, 20, hails from Calumet, a town of 700 in the upper reaches of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. He capped an outstanding four-year career at Calumet High School in 2021 by winning the state’s Mr. Hockey Award, leading the Copper Kings to the Division 3 championship game, where they lost to Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook-Kingswood.

Loukus watched the Red Wings play in the 2019 Kraft Hockeyville exhibition at the Calumet Colosseum, the oldest continuous-use indoor ice arena in the world (since 1913). The only other time he saw them in person was some 10 years ago during a game at Joe Louis Arena. This past week was his first trip to LCA.

“It’s pretty special,” Loukus said. “Every room is pretty high tech. Some of the weight room stuff is pretty cool, the technology. Thee dining room is nice, has a restaurant-type vibe.”

Continued

The Detroit News’s Ted Kulfan took note of the fact that Red Wings prospect Sebastian Cossa hopes to make the jump from the ECHL to the AHL as coach Dan Watson completes his transition from ECHL to AHL coaching as well:

“Pretty cool,” Cossa said of his reaction to Watson going to Grand Rapids. “I liked him a lot as a coach, and person as well. I’m excited for him. He’s definitely earned it. I’m looking forward to hopefully being there with him next year.

“He’s definitely a players’ coach. Really personable. Everyone there is willing to run a through wall for him. The guys like him a lot. Halfway through the season and the playoffs, we had one of the best penalty kills and power plays in the league.”

Cossa, in his first pro season, had an impressive second half and playoffs for Toledo, as the Walleye reached the conference finals.

It’s expected Cossa will be promoted to Grand Rapids next season.

“Hopefully, yes,” Cossa said of joining the Griffins. “If I put the work in and show what I can do, hopefully I’m there.”