Month: September 2023

MLive’s Ansar Khan took note of the remarks made by coach Derek Lalonde and captain Dylan Larkin on the first day of the Red Wings’ 2023 training camp:

The Detroit Red Wings overhauled more than one-third of their roster, resulting in a deeper team with high hopes. The optimism translated to energy Thursday when this new-look group took the ice for the first day of training camp in Traverse City.

“Players are no different than coaches and fans, you add some pieces, it gets guys excited,” Derek Lalonde, entering his second season as coach, said. “I think there’s a little energy going into camp with what we added in the offseason and I think everyone was anxious to get to work today. I think it showed in a pretty up-tempo Day One.”

Alex DeBrincat, the most significant addition, skated with Dylan Larkin and Lucas Raymond, though Lalonde said he won’t necessarily play his top three offensive players together in games.

“We’ll see a lot of different combinations,” Lalonde said. “We wanted to give them a day together and they did some very good things, especially on some entries and some rush things. All three play very fast. I don’t think we’re married to any lines at all. … I think we’ll have all kinds of different looks throughout camp and early into the exhibition, especially with the added depth.”

…

As Larkin enters his ninth season, his fourth as captain, there is more optimism about this team than at any time since its most recent playoff appearance in 2015-16.

“Going into this season, I know Steve (general manager Yzerman) and Newsie have not really set an expectation,” Larkin said. “The guys in the room, we talked about it last year, we want more. There’s guys coming in that have been on teams that have been locks for the playoffs. There’s veteran players, guys going into contract years. I like the dynamic of everyone’s situation and we’re going to rely on each other to keep pushing and to get off to a great start and remain consistent. I’m excited to see how it unfolds.”

Continued

The Traverse City 9&10 News’s Kennedy Broadwell filed a 2:30 report from today’s training camp activities at Centre ICE Arena.

68 Red Wings-affiliated players hit the ice on Thursday at Centre Ice Arena for five days of training camp. Red Wings GM Steve Yzerman expects this camp to be the most competitive camp in a while, as the Red Wings have accumulated added depth in the offseason.

“It’s just natural competition and it pushes you in it. It’s what you want on a team and in an organization as well,” Red Wings captain Dylan Larkin said.

The Red Wings brought 39 forwards, 21 defensemen and eight goaltenders to Traverse City for camp.

Most notably, they brought along their 2023 free agent signees, many of them already NHL veterans, bringing experience to the young team.

July 10th, the Red Wings made a huge trade with the Ottawa Senators for forward Alex DeBrincat. They then signed him to a four-year extension. Thursday at Centre Ice, he was frequently found on a line with Larkin and 2020 4th overall NHL draft pick Lucas Raymond.

“I’ve always played with Lucas, and I think he looks great coming into this camp. I know he’s done the work he needed to this summer and I’m excited for him and as well as Alex,” Larkin said. “So, it would be pretty cool a couple of righties. So, I’d be looking at a lot of one-time options, and they both like to shoot the puck and then I like to shoot it as well. But we can all skate and think so I think it would be a fun line to play on.”

Continued (with video)

Of Red Wings prospect-related note in the SHL today:

In Skelleftea AIK’s 4-1 win over Timra IK, Axel Sandin Pellikka scored a goal on 3 shots, finishing at +1 in 17:07 played:

🚨Axel Sandin Pellikka🚨#LGRW pic.twitter.com/PjbuB5Uclo

— IcehockeyGifs (@IcehockeyG) September 21, 2023

Anton Johansson finished at +1 in 15:19 played as Leksands IF won 4-1 over Rogle BK;

And Theodor Niederbach had an assist, finishing at -1 with 2 shots in 18:56 played as Modo Ornskoldsvik won 7-4 over Linkoping.

Theo Niederbach gets an assist on the 5-on-3 PP as Modo makes it 1-0 #LGRW pic.twitter.com/N4vfZQWE5L

— IcehockeyGifs (@IcehockeyG) September 21, 2023

Daily Faceoff’s Mike Gould hits the nail on the head when he lists underrated players for the Atlantic Division’s 8 teams, including the Red Wings:

Detroit Red Wings: Michael Rasmussen

Michael Rasmussen is a mountain of a man who appears to be finally finding his groove as a full-time NHLer. The 6’6″, 210-pound center scored at an impressive pace with the Red Wings last season and could slide up the lineup this year despite being pencilled in to start as the team’s No. 4 center.

Rasmussen managed a career-high 29 points with the Red Wings in 2022–23 before suffering a season-ending knee injury shortly before the trade deadline. The Red Wings were a 28–21–8 team when Rasmussen went down; after his injury (which was coupled with the team selling the likes of Tyler Bertuzzi, Filip Hronek, and Oskar Sundqvist at the deadline), Detroit went 7–16–2.

Correlation doesn’t equal causation, but there’s little doubt that Rasmussen made the Red Wings a significantly better team when he was in the lineup last year. Even in the midst of a poor 5-on-5 season, the Red Wings managed to play their opponents to a draw with Rasmussen on the ice. Although he may never live up to his billing as the No. 9 overall pick in 2017 (taken one pick after Mittelstadt), Rasmussen provided legitimate value at both ends of the ice with the 2022–23 Red Wings. All but one of his 29 points came at even-strength, and he scored at a 42-point pace over a full season.

The Red Wings were one of the NHL’s busiest teams over the summer, bringing in Alex DeBrincat, J.T. Compher, Daniel Sprong, Klim Kostin and Christian Fischer to round out their forward group. With more mouths to feed, Rasmussen’s production might go down. But don’t be fooled — he’s a highly valuable (and underrated) player.

Continued

The Red Wings began training camp with a line consisting of Alex DeBrincat, Dylan Larkin and Lucas Raymond. While coach Derek Lalonde insisted that the lines were far from finished products, and that the lines will change, the possibility of a DeBrincat-Larkin pairing is tantalizing for the parties involved, as the Detroit News’s Ted Kulfan noted:

“He just scores,” Larkin said on the first day of camp. “I’ve known him for a while, skated a lot with him in the summer. I’ve watched him — everyone has watched him — and we all know what he brings and what he can do. His hockey sense is very underrated. His ability and puck skill and to catch the worst passes and turn them into great shots. Those are the things I know he has and I’ve seen it on the ice the past couple of weeks, skating with him in Detroit.”

DeBrincat twice scored more than 40 goals in Chicago before being traded to Ottawa before last season. DeBrincat informed the Senators he was going to test unrestricted free agency this summer, and rather than potentially losing him for nothing, the Senators worked out a trade with the Wings.

“He’s just a good hockey player,” Larkin said. “Everyone knows what he’s done and what he can do.”

Given all the offseason additions by the Wings, the playoffs seem a distinct possibility, given the fact some teams in the Atlantic Division could be slipping. But Larkin isn’t thinking about the playoffs just yet.

Continued

As the Free Press’s Helene St. James notes, Red Wings captain Dylan Larkin is optimistic as to whether his team might make the post-season cut 82 games from now:

“Our record right now is zero, zero and zero,” Dylan Larkin said. “We have to show up and play together, be committed, which are all things we’ve been talking about with Newsy’s opening meeting.”

Yzerman said earlier this week that “playoffs or bust” does not apply, but to players like Larkin, who hasn’t experienced playing past the regular season since the Wings last advanced in 2016, it’s not too early to talk about the possibility.

“Going into this season, I know Steve and Newsy have not really set an expectation,” Larkin said. “The guys in the room, we talked about it last year — we want more. There’s a good attitude. There’s guys that have come in that have been on teams that have been locks for the playoffs. There’s veteran players, guys going into contract years. I like the dynamic of everyone on our team and we’re going to rely on each other to keep pushing and get off to a great start and remain consistent.”

Lines are likely to change from day to day, but Larkin started camp on a line with Lucas Raymond and newcomer Alex DeBrincat. J.T. Compher and Daniel Sprong, also new to the team, were on a line with Robby Fabbri. With Copp potentially on a line with Michael Rasmussen and David Perron, the Wings project to have three lines that can score.

“I think it’s great to have that competition,” Larkin said. “You saw it last year with DP coming in and he’s an offensive guy. And now Alex and J.T., Daniel Sprong is another guy that had a really good year last year. So it’s just going to keep pushing us. We need to score more goals and we know that and we have a group that I believe can do it.”

Continued

Per the Red Wings, here’s Moritz Seider’s first-day-of-training-camp interview…

And here’s coach Derek Lalonde:

Red Wings captain Dylan Larkin spoke with the assembled media on the first day of training camp at Centre ICE Arena:

Per the Toledo Walleye:

(Toledo, OH) – The Toledo Walleye and forward Chase Gresock (GREE-sock) have agreed to terms for the 2023-2024 season.

The Powell, Ohio native joins the Walleye after spending the last two years in the state playing college hockey at Bowling Green (2022-2023) and Miami of Ohio (2021-2022). Gresock appeared in 36 games last season for the Falcons, picking up 11 goals with 20 assists for 31 points with 12 penalty minutes and a plus-4 rating. His 20 helpers and 31 points were both career-bests. The year prior he skated in 21 games with 19 points (9G, 10A) for the RedHawks.

The 25-year-old started his college career by appearing in three seasons with Merrimack College that included two seasons as team captain (2019-2021). In total, Gresock collected 104 points (46G, 58A) in 135 games over five collegiate seasons. He did make his pro-debut at the end of the last season by skating in two games with the San Jose Barracuda of the AHL with no points.

Per ESPN’s Greg Wyshynski’s “Bold Predictions” for all 32 teams:

Detroit Red Wings

Lucas Raymond has his breakout

How many times have we seen this with a great young offensive player: solid rookie season, slight step back statistically and then BOOM in Year 3? Raymond had 23 goals and 57 points in 82 games as a 19-year-old rookie but saw those numbers fall to 17 and 45, respectively, as a second-year player, with his ice time dipping as well. A lower-body injury was a factor, but so was the sophomore slump.

Dylan Larkin said Raymond had “a chip on his shoulder” after last season, and the young winger had a strong summer of training to add muscle to his frame. To put in Detroit terms: I like the engine in this year’s model.

Continued (paywall)