Month: September 2023

Tweets of note: First day of training camp

From, well, a lot of people:

Continue reading Tweets of note: First day of training camp

Anders Eriksson remembered in latest of Regner’s ‘How Swede It Is’ articles

DetroitRedWings.com’s Art Regner’s latest “How Swede It Is” article involves Anders “Bubba” Eriksson:

When asked to sum up his time in Detroit, the affable Eriksson became reflective.

“My name will always be on the Cup; it will always be in the Hall of Fame and that is the coolest thing. That is something I can show my kids and say, I’m on this,” Eriksson said. “The 25th anniversary was so much fun, to see everybody. You’re picking up where you left off. Even if it was 15-20 years ago. That’s what I love about (hockey) and that’s why I do what I do here now in Florida.

“When we won (the Cup) in Washington, my dad was there and met Slava (Fetisov). That was his favorite player. He didn’t really know what to say and do. He talks about it to this day. Those are things that are so incredible, I cherish them every time. He has all Red Wings stuff in his office. My dad is 80 now and he talks about it. ‘I remember when I talked to Slava Fetisov and he called me Big Papa.’ It is way beyond anything that my dad was part of it and saw that. That’s a huge thing for me.”

Continued

A preseason power ranking for your morning perusal

Bleacher Report’s Lyle Fitzsimmons offers a set of preseason power rankings, and the Red Wings end up about where you’d expect them to end up:

#22 DETROIT RED WINGS: Another year to gauge the Steve Yzerman plan. Alex DeBrincat is the headliner among a handful of notable additions, and the Red Wings hope his scoring boosts an offense that was 24th in 2022-23.

Continued; meh. It’s the first day of training camp for most teams. I’m not putting too much stock in power rankings. And the Red Wings finished below the playoff line, so they’re not going to be ranked highly.

Kulfan, St. James offer ‘questions’ and ‘storylines’ for training camp

Both the Detroit News’s Ted Kulfan and the Free Press’s Helene St. James offer training camp questions and/or storylines this morning, so we’re going to combine their articles into one entry.

Among Kulfan’s questions:

▶ 3. Will all the new faces mesh with the remaining players? That’s always a question as training camp arrives. But rarely has there been as dramatic of a roster shakeup as this one with the Wings, with so many new faces.

Given the experience level of most of the new players, there’s a good chance the jelling and getting comfortable with each other shouldn’t take that long.

But it’ll be a work in progress, for sure.

▶ 4. How does Alex DeBrincat fit in? The Wings finally have an elite, proven goal-scorer who returns home (DeBrincat is from Farmington Hills) who is expected to boost an offense that needs a spark.

DeBrincat has scored 41 goals twice in a season while in Chicago, and that type of production would go a long way toward the Wings inching closer to a playoff berth.

It’s exciting to think what DeBrincat and Dylan Larkin can be capable of if the two, as expected, play on the same line.

Kulfan continues (paywall)…I am curious to see how long it takes for the roster to “gel” given that 40% of it changed over the course of the summer…

And the Free Press’s Helene St. James offers five “storylines” to watch for as training camp begins:

Power play units: Expect there to be an emphasis on special teams during camp, so that the coaching staff can get a feel for which units should get the most looks during exhibition season. Alex DeBrincat, Jeff Petry and Shayne Gostisbehere headline the newcomer cast that should give the Wings an actual advantage when they have an extra skater, something that has been missing the last several years. The coaching staff will have choice selections in putting together the two units, with solid options for players to play in front of the net, along the wall, and on the point. A functional power play would go a long way towards making the playoffs.

Line combinations: With DeBrincat on the top line next to Dylan Larkin, the Wings suddenly look like they can field two real scoring lines, with either newcomer J.T. Compher or Andrew Copp centering the second line and David Perron and Lucas Raymond on the wings. With Copp and Michael Rasmussen showing chemistry before a February injury ended Rasmussen’s season, those two could end up on the third line, with Robby Fabbri. That’s a group with scoring potential, too, in addition to sound defense.

Continued; I’m very curious to see which prospects respond to the increased competition well, and which prospects and/or try-outs’ play falls off now that the NHL’ers are in town.

Duff: Theodor Niederbach’s ice time dinged by Modo’s signing of former Griffin Danny O’Regan

I had a bit of a laugh when I read that Modo Ornskoldsvik of the SHL signed former Grand Rapids Griffins forward Danny O’Regan. Between O’Regan signing with Modo and Luke Witkowski signing with Tappara of the Finnish Liiga, it’s been a busy 24 hours for former marquee names on the Griffins’ roster.

All is not well, though, according to Detroit Hockey Now’s Bob Duff, who reports that the signing of O’Regan hurts the cause of Wings prospect Theodor Niederbach:

Modo’s plan is to insert O’Regan, a right-shot center who’s also played on the wing, on the right side of their top line. That’s where Niederbach was performing in MoDo’s season opener.

In that game, a 2-1 overtime loss to fellow Red Wings draftee Axel Sandin Pellikka and Skelleftea, Niederbach was skating 18:49 of ice time, finishing even with one hit. It’s Niederbach’s third season in the SHL. He spent all of the 2021-22 campaign with Frolunda. Starting out last season with Rogle, Niederbach was dropping down to MoDo in the Allsvenskan (Swedish second division), helping the club regain promotion to the SHL.

Continued; as Duff notes, Niederbach’s rights expire on June 1st of 2024, so the Red Wings will have to make a decision as to whether to sign him before that date. At this point, I’d say that it’s 50/50 that the 5’11,” 172-pound 21-year-old Niederbach actually signs with Detroit. He’s got real playmaking skills, but he’s very inconsistent.

Tweet of note: a peek at the Red Wings’ giveaways from Bally Sports Detroit

Red Wings Vice-President of Marketing Ben Broder appeared on tonight’s Tigers Live broadcast on Bally Sports Detroit to discuss some of the giveaways that the Red Wings will have this upcoming season. And he talks about how you can buy ticket plans.

I figured that you’d want to see the “goodies,” so it offsets the free advertising:

Tweet of note: The best caddy?

The Red Wings’ players and coaching staff took part in their charity golf tournament in Traverse City today, and they were asked which player on the team would be the best golf caddy:

A bit more from Steve Yzerman’s presser, per Mills, regarding Joe Veleno and younger players in general

DetroitRedWings.com’s Jonathan Mills offers a few more quotes from Red Wings GM Steve Yzerman’s press conference held with the media on Tuesday, and Mills closes with an interesting set of comments made about the potential performance of one Joe Veleno, and young players in general:

Forward Joe Veleno is another player who Yzerman is counting on to contribute this season. Veleno is coming off his first full campaign in Detroit in 2022-23, and the 23-year-old forward re-signed a one-year contract with the club on Aug. 22.

“He had 20 points last year,” Yzerman said about Veleno. “I’d like him to improve upon that total. But saying that, I don’t want him focused on going out and scoring. He’s predominately a centerman but can play the wing.

“I’d like to see him potentially take on a bigger role on the penalty kill. He’ll have to earn that. Maybe find a spot on the power play somewhere, just play more minutes and a bigger role for us. Joe is a young guy. He works really hard, is very quiet and a respectful young man. I’m counting on him to take another step this year and just be a more impactful player.”

Player development is critical to future success for the Red Wings and their American Hockey League-affiliate Grand Rapids Griffins, according to Yzerman.

“We want our young players to play, even at the American-League level,” Yzerman said. “If they can’t keep up or help you win, they’re probably not ready to play at that level so you got to find somewhere else for them to play. As much as we can say, ‘Hey, just play the young guys,’ they got to be able to contribute a little bit. That’s why it’s important to have an affiliate in the East Coast League, or you send them back to juniors or Europe. But ideally, you have your young players play a significant role in the minors and improving as players.”

Continued