Month: August 2023

Tweet of note: Wie geht’s, Mo?

Red Wings forward Lucas Raymond and defenseman Moritz Seider visited the Detroit Lions’ training camp in Allen Park recently, and the Red Wings caught a conversation Seider had with…Amon-Ra St. Brown, who speaks German:

THN’s Proteau: Alex DeBrincat’s on the Red Wings’ ‘hot seat’

The Hockey News’s Adam Proteau has been examining who might be on “the hot seat” for various NHL teams, and today, he discusses the Red Wings player and GM facing the most pressure to perform well this upcoming season:

Red Wings’ Hot Seat: Alex DeBrincat, LW/RW: DeBrincat got his wish and worked his way out of Ottawa this summer, but don’t fool yourself – as a hometown hero in Detroit and a player with a salary cap hit of $7.875 million, DeBrincat will get a ton of the spotlight and the attendant pressure.

The 25-year-old winger is entering his prime, and for his salary, he’s got to do more on offense than he did last season with the Senators, when he posted 27 goals – a drop-off of 14 goals from his 2021-22 campaign – in 82 games. DeBrincat will be a fixture on Detroit’s top forward line, but he has to justify that move, and his salary, with drastically-increased production. The Red Wings are under pressure to get back into the playoffs in 2023-24, and if they fail to do so, and DeBrincat doesn’t generate enough offense, he’ll hear the heckles of frustrated Wings fans.

DeBrincat is signed for the next eight seasons, so we don’t see a trade happening anytime soon, but fans can quickly sour on a player if the doesn’t deliver what they want out of them. DeBrincat should tread lightly now that he’s got the employer he wanted, because now that they’ve paid him like an elite player, they expect him to perform like one.

Continued; there’s no doubt in my mind that DeBrincat faces a ton of pressure to perform, but I’d suggest that Proteau’s “Warm Seat” member, one GM Steve Yzerman, is the person in the Red Wings’ organization facing the most pivotal season during 2023-2024.

Allen: DeBrincat’s new agent is Dave Gagner

Red Wings forward Alex DeBrincat’s agent, Jeff Jackson, recently became the CEO of the Edmonton Oilers, which means that DeBrincat needed to find a new agent. Detroit Hockey Now’s Kevin Allen reports that DeBrincat stayed with his hockey agency, Wasserman Hockey, and he’s now represented by former NHL’er Dave Gagner:

Oddly enough, DeBrincat’s new agent also holds a connection to a recent Detroit player. The high-scoring forward in now represented by Dave Gagner.

A longtime NHL forward himself, Dave is the father of forward Sam Gagner. Sam was a popular Detroit player from 2020-22. He skated last season with the Winnipeg Jets and is currently an unrestricted free agent. Oddly enough, Gagner isn’t represented by his father. His agent is Judd Moldaver, who like Dave Gagner, is with Wasserman Hockey.

That doesn’t mean that Dave hasn’t proven to be a major influence on Sam’s life and hockey career.

“I think we talk a little differently to each other now,” Sam Gagner explained. “I’ve got three kids of my own now so you kind of have a different perspective. I understand that I probably at times when you’re leaning on your parents it’s a lot to handle for parents, too. And I see that as a father myself now.

Continued

Tweets of note: Lucas Raymond, Moritz Seider visit Lions training camp

Red Wings forward Lucas Raymond and defenseman Moritz Seider visited Allen Park on Saturday afternoon:

A profile of USA Hockey NTDP director of player personnel Rod Braceful

The Detroit News’s MacKenzie Thompson has posted a profile of USA Hockey’s director of player personnel for the National Team Development Program, Rod Braceful. Braceful is a Detroit native, and his godmother, Judy Richardson, is the reason why he became a hockey player, coach, and now, an important executive for the U.S.’s developmental hockey pipeline:

Rod Braceful’s first on-ice hockey experience was at Jack Adams Arena in Detroit after his godmother secretly stepped in and signed him up for learn-to-play lessons at four years old.

Barbara Yancy-Braceful, Braceful’s mother and longtime school educator, didn’t think that he was serious about wanting to play hockey, so she didn’t sign him up.

In true fairy godmother nature, Judy Richardson stepped in, signed him up, and requested that his mother just let him try it out. Now, more than 30 years later, Braceful has made USA Hockey history.

Last month, the 35-year-old Braceful became the first African-American to be named the director of player personnel for USA Hockey’s National Team Development Program, which has produced more than 200 players in the National Hockey League during the organization’s 27 years based in Ann Arbor and now Plymouth.

“If you’re good to the game, it’s good to you,” said Braceful, who left his job as an amateur and pro scout with the Chicago Blackhawks to take the prestigious USA Hockey position. “I’m just fortunate that the game has still been giving back to me all these years.”

Continued (paywall); if you can read the story, it’s worth your time.

FloHockey’s Peters on Anton Johansson and ‘ASP’

FloHockey’s Chris Peters weighed in this evening with articles discussing the best performers from Team USA‘s two squads at the World Junior Summer Showcase, as well as Teams Sweden and Finland, and he offers the following takes on two promising Red Wings Swedes:

Anton Johansson, D (Detroit Red Wings): Johansson likely wrote his name in ink on Sweden’s [World Junior Championship] roster with his performance. He has the right mix of size and skill to be a threat at both ends of the ice. His puck skills and footwork have vastly improved, which makes him a more credible offensive threat. He had three points in the event over the three games he played and was noticeable every single time out.

Axel Sandin-Pellikka, D (Detroit Red Wings): Highly skilled and mobile, Sandin-Pellikka had one quiet game of the three he played in, but his last two were fairly solid. He’s strong despite his lack of size and his offensive instincts are high-end. He played a good two-way game and scored one of the better goals of the event, cutting through defenders before snapping a quick shot off. As a returning player, he’ll likely be in a big role at the tournament.

Continued; as I noted in tonight’s impressions from Friday at the World Junior Summer Showcase, Johansson sat out Friday’s 5-4 loss to USA Blue, but he’s a prime example of how far a player can come in a developmental year;

As far as Sandin Pellikka is concerned, he’s working on putting his game together while playing against men on a full-time basis this year with Skelleftea AIK, and his skill set is truly elite. It’s a matter of finding a toolbox for all those fine wrenches and hammers and saws.

Via DHN’s Duff: Dmitri Buchenlikov doing Buchelnikov things in Sochi

Per Detroit Hockey Now’s Bob Duff, Red Wings prospect Dmitri Buchelnikov dazzled at the “Sochi Open,” playing for Russia’s Under-23 team:

The Sochi tournament in the premier event of the KHL preseason and it’s also becoming the personal playground of Detroit Red Wings draft pick Dmitri Buchelnikov.

Last year, he won the voting as the top forward participating in the tournmaent. This year, it was also Buchelnikov’s unique skill set that was earning him another prize.

Friday, they held the shootout competition at the event. Similar to the NHL All-Star Game shootout competition, the value is as much in the delivery and creativity as it is in the outcome.

In the former sense, Buchelnikov won going away. The player chosen 52nd overall by the Red Wings in the 2022 NHL entry draft put on a clinic of unique shootout moves.

Continued; here’s the clip from Hockey News Hub:

Impressions from Day 9 at the World Junior Summer Showcase

The World Junior Summer Showcase concluded on Friday with a pair of games played at USA Hockey Arena in Plymouth, MI:

Sweden lost a bit of a heartbreaker to USA Blue, dropping a 4-1 lead and losing 5-4 with only 1.8 seconds left in the 1 PM game;

And Finland delivered a heartbreaker to USA White as well, rallying from a 3-2 deficit to win 4-3 in an incredibly physical 4 PM game that sent the fans home unsatisfied.

That’s it for this event; the Swedes and Finns will fly back to their respective countries, with Sweden having been here since July 20th, and Team USA’s players will disperse to their college and major junior teams.

Sweden’s going home tomorrow night, and they’ve been in the U.S. since July 20th, so it’s been two weeks and a day for them already. They’ll go right into the season of “ice premieres” (i.e. first on-ice practices for SHL and J20 teams), friendly exhibition games and

This evening’s assessments of the Red Wings’ prospects participating in the WJSS build upon my impressions from last Thursday, Friday and Saturday, as well as Monday and Wednesday’s games…

But it’s always important to remind you that I’m watching players at a competitive exhibition hockey tournament in early August, and that these young gentlemen are still at early points in their respective journeys toward professional hockey.

Continue reading Impressions from Day 9 at the World Junior Summer Showcase

Red Wings’ Husso helps team open Esports facility in Detroit

DetroitRedWings.com’s Jonathan Mills reports that Red Wings goaltender Ville Husso took part in a charitable venture recently in Detroit:

While several of the Detroit Red Wings players and their families departed for the summer after the 2022-23 season ended, Ville Husso and his fiancé, Hayley, decided to plant their roots in metro Detroit year-round.

By staying close to downtown, Husso said he can frequently utilize Little Caesars Arena’s BELFOR Training Center. But working out is not all that Husso has done this offseason, as the 28-year-old goalie is also immersing himself into the community which he now calls home.

On Friday morning, Husso visited the Boys & Girls Clubs of Southeastern Michigan’s (BGCSM) Fauver-Martin Club, in Highland Park, to help unveil a state-of-the-art Esports Lounge as part of the Detroit Red Wings Learn, Play, Score program, specifically the Esports + Hockey extension in partnership with The Children’s Foundation. Husso then played floor hockey in the club’s gymnasium and enjoyed a Little Caesars pizza party with the youth of metro Detroit.

“Playing in the NHL, you can give so much to other people,” Husso told DetroitRedWings.com on Friday. “I really enjoy doing this stuff and seeing how happy little kids are, so helping other people is a nice thing to do. It is a lot of fun.”

Continued

Talking Sabres and Red Wings’ rebuilds–and rivalries

The Buffalo News’s Mike Harrington is examining the Sabres’ Atlantic Division rivals this week, and today, he discusses the “rebuilding” Red Wings, Senators and Candiens. Harrington has this to say about the comparisons and contrasts between Buffalo and Detroit’s respective rebuilds have gone along thus far:

If you’re looking for [Buffalo Sabres GM] Kevyn Adams’ biggest rival in the Atlantic Division, you could easily make the case that it’s Steve Yzerman.

The Sabres are building through drafting and development and have carefully chosen players in the trade and free agent market who were willing to come to Buffalo to be part of the solution in the post-Jack Eichel era. The playoff drought is at an NHL-record 12 years and simply has to end in the spring of 2024.

Yzerman has gone a vastly different route as the GM in Detroit. The Red Wings legend came back from Tampa Bay and has made head-first dives into trades and free agency in an effort to end seven consecutive years out of the postseason, which ties the franchise record. This year’s big additions are Alex DeBrincat (trade from Ottawa) and former Sabres prospect J.T. Compher (free-agent signee from Colorado).

Which method will win? That’s going to play out in the 2023-24 season. If a new team from the Atlantic Division is going to crack the playoff mix, it stands to reason that it will be either the Sabres or the Red Wings. The Sabres finished 11 points ahead of the Wings last season, and outscored them, 26-16, in winning all four meetings.

Here’s what Harrington has to say about the Wings’ summertime roster machinations:

Continue reading Talking Sabres and Red Wings’ rebuilds–and rivalries