Month: August 2023

CBC North’s Celina Wapachee posted a profile of Red Wings free agent try-out Israel Mianscum, who was both invited to the Wings’ Summer Development Camp, and now Detroit’s fall prospect tournament:

A hockey hopeful from the Cree community of Mistissini in northern Quebec has been invited to the NHL Prospect Tournament and, for a second time, to a development camp with the Detroit Red Wings. 

Israel Mianscum, 20, is currently playing in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) with the Sherbrooke Phoenix. Last year, he had a 61-point season in 65 games, with 30 goals and 31 assists. In July, he attended his first development camp with the Red Wings organization. 

“It was very fun, I had a good experience. I saw how others played and that pushed me to play harder. I saw where I needed to be to make it [in the NHL],” said Mianscum in Cree.  “There were people that encouraged and helped me, like the coaches and scouts telling me what I need to work on.”

Now Mianscum has been invited back for the NHL Prospect Tournament, which the Detroit Red Wings team is hosting from Sept. 14 to 17 in Traverse City, Mich.

“Six teams of prospects play against each other, about two or three games. That is where you can showcase how you can play,” Mianscum said.

Continued, with comments from now-Grand Rapids Griffins coach Stephane Julien, as well as Mianscum’s parents…

If you’re interested, former Red Wings forward Filip Zadina gave an in-depth interview to Hockeysverige.se’s Uffe Bodin tonight. Zadina doesn’t have anything bad to say about the Red Wings or his time there, simply stating the following to Bodin:

“I had been there for almost five years, and things didn’t go as I had hoped,” says Filip Zadina, when he explains why it ended as it did in Detroit.

“I have been injured a lot and didn’t feel well. Sometimes it’s best to try and leave the old behind, move on, and focus on the future. Sometimes it’s better than staying in the same place and just hoping things turn around. Hope can be good, but it’s not something I want to sit and wait for. I felt it was time for something different, and I think it will help me, especially mentally, to get a fresh start, forget what happened in Detroit and find the joy in hockey again.”

You still gave up a lot of money to do that, and you don’t see players doing that very often.

“If I had been 31 or so on, I might have thought differently. But I’m only 23 now, and I think the best case scenario for me is to play hockey for less money and get a chance to play regularly instead of going in and out of the lineup. Sometimes you have to sacrifice something to get something more out of life. I am still young, and I will be able to earn the money later.”

It has been argued that Zadina’s development was harmed because he entered professional hockey too early, before he was ripe for the task in the NHL. He himself believes that there may have been some truth in that, but that he did not think along those lines at the time.

“It’s tough for a young rookie to come to a team under rebuilding like Detroit was then. Such a team didn’t have as strong a core as other teams have. I was happy and lucky that I got the chance in the NHL so early, which I probably wouldn’t have gotten with many other teams.”

“I tried my best at the time, but if you’re not a McDavid or a Matthews, it’s difficult to make that kind of difference. I couldn’t do it and that’s okay. These are unique players who we’re talking about. You don’t get five or six players in the draft every year who play for the same team for 20 years, and can make such a big difference.”

The interview continues, and you can read a Google translation of the interview here.

Per CapFriendly on Twitter, via A Winning Habit’s Ken MacMillan:

Detroit #RedWings have signed UFA forward Cameron Hillis to a professional try out. https://t.co/FIUsEfTEZp

— CapFriendly (@CapFriendly) August 28, 2023

Hillis, 23, was a 2018 3rd round pick of the Montreal Canadiens, and he posted 50 points in 45 games with the ECHL’s Indy Fuel this past season. EliteProspects lists him at 5’9″ and 174 pounds, so the 2000-born center from Oshawa, Ontario is likely going to end up signing with the ECHL’s Toledo Walleye or the AHL’s Grand Rapids Griffins.

Joe Veleno didn’t have any arbitration rights this summer, so he signed a “prove it” contract with the Red Wings, inking a 1-year, $825,000 contract last week.

At 23 years of age, Veleno’s future with the organization is “up in the air” to some extent, and the Hockey News’s Sam Stockon wonders what a successful 2023-2024 campaign will constitute for Veleno:

Earlier this summer, Steve Yzerman praised Veleno for adding different layers to his game to the ones he showed in junior.  “I think [Veleno] in junior was considered a power play net-front guy,” Yzerman said.”He’s learning how to check. He’s learning how to win face-offs. He’s killing penalties. That is earning him ice-time, and the offensive part [of his game] is growing.”  In that sentiment, Yzerman summated the challenge for Veleno moving forward.  

Detroit’s top six continues to grow more crowded with off-season additions like J.T. Compher and Alex DeBrincat, while youngsters like Jonatan Berggren or Marco Kasper continue to push closer to claiming their own places in the Wings’ top six.  

As such, it’s even less likely than ever that Veleno will blossom into a top-of-the-lineup scorer, which changes the nature of his mandate.  Instead, Veleno needs to show that he is a player whose ability as a checker and penalty killer makes him valuable in the bottom six, while still flashing some of the skill that once made him an exceptional prospect.

At 23, Veleno is in something of a liminal space: no longer a prospect but still a player you would hope will continue to add new layers to his game.  One year at under a million dollars is the epitome of the “prove-it” contract, so what exactly does Veleno need to prove?

Veleno needs to show that on a team pushing toward the post-season (if not quite making it there) that he makes sense in a bottom six role.  It’s where he’s played for the bulk of his pro career, but the stakes (for him and for his team) are different now.

This season’s Red Wings will be the deepest group Veleno has been a part of, so even after avoiding a stint in the minors a year ago, it will be more difficult than ever to crack the lineup.  The ’23-24 Wings also carry loftier ambitions than any of the three Red Wing teams Veleno has played for to date.

Continued; wherever Veleno lands in the lineup, he has to excel in his terms of his positional duties, or he’s going to be squeezed out. Plain and simple.

According to DBusiness Magazine’s Jim Stickford, former Red Wings defenseman Danny DeKeyser has chosen his post-hockey career path:

After a 10-year career with the Detroit Red Wings, professional hockey player Danny DeKeyser has joined Saros Real Estate, a brokerage firm in Grosse Pointe, as an associate.

Saros Real Estate stated DeKeyser’s local ties, network, work ethic, and extensive knowledge of the area should provide clients with a unique advantage when navigating the real estate landscape.

“Danny DeKeyser’s decision to jump right into his next chapter so fresh into retirement is a testament to his commitment to excellence both on and off the ice,” says Jimmy Saros, president and CEO of Saros Real Estate. “We are thrilled to have an individual of his caliber who is so accomplished at such a young age to play an integral part of our team. His dedication to serving the community aligns perfectly with our values, and we know his work ethic will propel him to great success in the real estate industry.”

….

DeKeyser remains active with the Red Wings organization in multiple facets and as well as running DeKeyser Training Institute, a hockey advising, consulting, and training group which offers a wide variety of services from youth hockey camps, private sessions, and full team practices. As he embarks on his new journey with Saros Real Estate, he looks forward to helping families accomplish their real estate goals and making a difference in the community that has rooted for him over his decade long NHL career.

Red Wings coach Derek Lalonde appeared on the “Stoney and Jansen Show” on 97.1 the Ticket this morning, speaking with Jim Costa and Steve Jansen for about 11 minutes, and you can listen to the interview here.

Last week, the NHLPA released the following presser stating that Red Wings prospects Marco Kasper and Sebastian Cossa will be taking part in the annual NHLPA Rookie Showcase at the Washington Capitals’ practice facility in Arlington, Virginia:

MEDIA ADVISORY: 2023 NHLPA ROOKIE SHOWCASE TO BE HOSTED BY NHLPA & UPPER DECK ON SEPT. 5

…Connor Bedard, Leo Carlsson, Adam Fantilli and Matthew Knies are among group of 35 prospects and rookies scheduled to attend event with sports collectibles leader Upper Deck at MedStar Capitals Iceplex

TORONTO (Aug. 25, 2023) – The National Hockey League Players’ Association and Upper Deck will host its 13^th annual NHLPA Rookie Showcase on Tuesday, Sept. 5 at MedStar Capitals Iceplex in Arlington, Virginia, with 35 NHL® prospects and rookies scheduled to attend. This unique event provides Upper Deck – the official trading card partner of the NHLPA and the NHL – with an opportunity to capture photographs and videos of many of the game’s top young prospects and rookies in their official NHL team uniforms. The content collected will be used by Upper Deck to create the players’ first NHL and NHLPA licensed rookie trading cards, as well as additional promotional materials throughout the season and beyond.

Red Wings prospect Marco Kasper attended last weekend’s EC-KAC exhibition game in his hometown of Klagfurt, Austria, and he engaged in a lengthy, 6-and-a-half minute interview with EC-KAC’s YouTube channel, but it’s in German:

The fundraising for TMR’s server renewal on August 31st has gone…So-so. We’ve been able to pay off Jetpack’s $99 fee, but we’re about three hundred dollars short of covering Bluehost’s fees.

If there’s any way that you can help me raise that $300 before August 31st, when I absolutely have to pay the server bill, I would greatly appreciate your help…

And yes, there’s the matter of trying to squeeze out nearly $3,000 for the Traverse City trip, but you can’t have a Traverse City trip with no website.

So:

If you’re are willing or able to lend a fundraising 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” (an old nickname).

Thank you.

DetroitRedWings.com’s Jonathan Mills “wraps up” Dylan Larkin’s 2022-2023 season this morning, concluding with Larkin’s expectations for the 2023-2024 season:

This season, Larkin wants the Red Wings to “be faster” and “score more in transition.”

“That’s how I see where the league is going in general, just more off the rush,” Larkin said. “It’s not making crazy plays, it’s the defense getting the pucks up to us quick and trying to create odd-man rushes.”

And for Larkin, who signed an eight-year contract extension with Detroit in March, helping lead the Red Wings back into the playoffs as soon as possible remains his primary focus.

“I’d like to make the playoffs next year,” Larkin said. “And have the last nine or 10 (years) of my career to be kind of a different story.”

Continued