Month: September 2023

Kulfan on Michael Rasmussen’s position change

The Detroit News’s Ted Kulfan discusses the Red Wings’ first-day-of-training-camp lines this morning, and he mentions a player who has become critical to the Wings establishing a physical presence in one Michael Rasmussen:

[Coach Derek] Lalonde was also pleased seeing forward Michael Rasmussen on the ice Thursday. Rasmussen missed the final six weeks last season after taking a slap shot to his left knee.

Rasmussen was taken off injured reserve earlier in the week and was skating well in the opening practice.

“Before that injury, he was one of our top players,” Lalonde said. “I know people can point to the dip in our season to what we lost at the (trade) deadline, but what we lost in the deadline in addition to the timing of his injury really hurt us. I was really happy to see where he was at (Thursday).”

Lalonde likes the idea of reuniting Rasmussen (on a wing), Andrew Copp and David Perron, a tough line that had success last season.

“Ras was a completely different player on a wing,” said Lalonde, noting the Wings believe Rasmussen can be an effective center as well. “He drove some offense when he was on the wing. He seems a lot more productive and can drive lines a little bit. He’s a versatile player.”

Continued; I really like the idea of Rasmussen as a big winger, cruising up and down the ice looking to generate offensive opportunities and to establish a physical forecheck.

There have been many centers on the Wings who have gotten preoccupied with their defensive responsibilities at center, and have become better, more effective wingers as a result. Hopefully the positional change helps Rasmussen really blossom this year.

Duff on looking out for #3

Detroit Hockey Now’s Bob Duff posted a behind-the-paywall article regarding Alex Lyon’s status as a potential “ace in the hole” goaltender for the Red Wings. Here’s a bit of what Duff has to say:

Florida was the team vanquished by Vegas in the Cup final series. At the outset of last spring’s postseason, Lyon was the go-to goalie for the Panthers. At the outset of last season, he was filling the same spot on Florida’s depth chart that Lyon is likely to find himself located in Detroit – No. 3.

That doesn’t mean that at some point during the upcoming campaign, the Red Wings will find themselves calling upon Lyon and counting on him to come through for them. And the outcome of those games might even prove the difference in whether or not the Red Wings will be playing postseason hockey this spring.

“I don’t know why, but the goaltenders seem to be getting hurt more,” [Red Wings GM Steve] Yzerman said. “They’re in better condition, they’re working harder than ever and it probably goes for all players. We’re seeing more injuries than we ever have.

“You need depth and Alex definitely provides that based on certainly what he did last year and what he’s done to this point in his career.”

Continued (paywall)

HSJ in the morning: Regarding the Wings’ lines, including DeBrincat-Larkin-Raymond

The Free Press’s Helene St. James has written her customary early-morning-posted article focuses on the Red Wings’ first-day-of-training-camp lineup, including that promising line of Alex DeBrincat, Dylan Larkin and Lucas Raymond:

“He just scores,” Larkin said. “I’ve known him for a while. I’ve watched him. We all kind of know what he brings. I think his hockey sense is very underrated. He’s just a really good hockey player. I saw it last year playing against Ottawa, he’s challenging guys to fight — I don’t think we want to do that too much, but he’s got an edge and it’s good. He’s just a good hockey player, and everyone knows what he has done and can do.”

DeBrincat has two 40-goal seasons on his résumé. Both he and Raymond shoot right. Even if the line isn’t a regular feature, it is one that the Wings can assemble when needed.

“It would be really exciting,” Larkin said. “I’ve always played with Lucas and I think he looks great coming into this camp. I’m excited for him as well as Alex. It would be pretty cool, a couple righties, so I’d be looking at a lot of one-timer options, and they both like to shoot the puck, and I like to shoot it as well. We can all skate and think, so I think it would be a fun line to play on.”

Ultimately, [coach Derek] Lalonde and his staff (and inevitable injuries) may decide to put DeBrincat and Raymond (whose listed weight of 188 pounds is 12 more than last year) on different lines, but that can always change within a game, depending on the situation. What stokes excitement is that the Wings appear to have the depth for three lines that can all put the puck in the net.

Continued; I’m with Larkin and Lalonde. What you realize about DeBrincat when you see him is that he’s far more of a complete player than you thought he might be. He’s not just a sniper–he moves the puck up the ice well, he’s got a bit of an edge to him, and he can make plays, too.

Mills discusses the Red Wings’ comfort level

As DetroitRedWings.com’s Jonathan Mills notes, Red Wings coach Derek Lalonde suggested that the comfort level for both himself, his coaching staff and the Wings’ players were all higher today, as the Wings’ second training camp under coach “Newsy” began:

“I think guys did their work this summer,” said Lalonde, who is overseeing his second camp with Detroit. “I really liked the pace and tempo of practice today. Players are no different than coaches and fans. You add some pieces, it gets guys excited. There’s a little energy going into camp with what we added in the offseason. I think everyone was anxious to get to work today.”

The Red Wings’ dressing room added an influx of new faces this offseason, so for Lalonde, one of his main focuses before the 2023-24 season begins is building team chemistry. Fortunately, Lalonde said he already notices an added level of comfortability between the players.

“They’ve already done some work on the inclusion part of things,” Lalonde said. “They’ve done some team things off the ice, even back in Detroit. A lot of these new faces felt a lot more comfortable in Day 1. I think it helped for a positive start in camp.”

For Lalonde and his coaching staff, the five-day camp and eight-game preseason schedule are opportunities to experiment with different line combinations. On Thursday, there was plenty of intrigue around the top-line trio of Alex DeBrincat, captain Dylan Larkin and Lucas Raymond.

Lalonde said while he is not “married to” that combination of forwards, their potential is exciting.

“This is the first look of camp,” Lalonde said. “Obviously, three very talented players. We wanted to get them together for Day 1 and they did some very good things, especially on some entries and rush things.”

Continued

Bultman on DeBrincat’s ‘debut’

The Athletic’s Max Bultman focuses on Alex DeBrincat’s Red Wings debut in his training camp notebook:

Ever since the DeBrincat trade broke, the question of how Detroit would deploy him and Raymond has been a source of fascination. Would they try to split the two up to spread out the skill across their lineup? Could they play together, loading up the offensive ability around Larkin?

Head coach Derek Lalonde, for what it’s worth, made clear Thursday’s line combinations were just a first look — “I don’t know if we’re married to it, we’ll see a lot of different combinations,” he said — but the high-powered trio did make an impression right out of the gate.

“They did some very good things, especially on some entries and some rush things,” Lalonde said. “They all three play very fast.”

On one rush drill, Raymond worked the puck to DeBrincat down low, who then found Raymond coming downhill on the back side for a pretty goal that gave a glimpse into what the three could look like together. In reality, much of the day was spent installing coverages and systems, but there were enough rush looks to generate some excitement.

Larkin has of course played plenty with Raymond over the last two years, but DeBrincat would be the most accomplished pure scorer he’s played with since Henrik Zetterberg retired. And the idea of playing with both at the same time this season certainly intrigues Detroit’s captain.

“It would be pretty cool, a couple righties so I’d be looking at a lot of one-time options, and they book like to shoot the puck, and I like to shoot it as well,” Larkin said. “But we can all skate and think, so I think it would be a fun line to play on.”

Continued (paywall)

Allen’s notebook: on Rasmussen, Fabbri and Edvinsson

Among Detroit Hockey Now’s Kevin Allen’s training camp notes is this regarding Red Wings forwards Michael Rasmussen and Robby Fabbri, as well as defenseman Simon Edvinsson:

Michael Rasmussen and Robby Fabbri are recovered from their injuries. “It’s obviously been a hard journey for both Robby and Michael. I think they’ve done a lot of work to be where they are right now. It’s looking great. They’re looking sharp and speedy, they’re looking explosive.”

Nothing has been settled, but the Red Wings seem to be planning to use Rasmussen on the wing. He looked more dangerous offensively when they tried him there.

“We still trust him at center,” Lalonde said. “Obviously with the addition of (JT) Compher, and hopefully Joe Veleno takes another step, we might see Ras on the wing. Completely different player on the wing last year. In the underlying numbers, he drove some offense. When he’s on the wing, he seems a lot more productive and can drive some lines a little bit. Versatile player… I think being on the wing frees him up a little more to maybe establish a forecheck, to play a little more north-south game, which I thought suited him.”

All eyes are on Simon Edvinsson, coming off shoulder surgery. Last season, he played nine games with the Red Wings. He didn’t look out of place.

“He was good, maybe a little rusty there,” Lalonde said. “It’s tough not being able to get those reps. It does look like he did some work staying in shape. Sometimes some of his skill just shows up, to be that big and have hands like that. He scored a nice goal in practice today and did some nice things in tight areas. It’s going to take him a little bit of time to get some of that rust off.”

Continued