Month: July 2024

Turning on the screw

EP Rinkside’s Ryan Lambert is anything but a fan of the Detroit Red Wings, so his take on the direction of the Detroit Red Wings (in Lambert’s latest “Take Town” column) is not necessarily surprising:

I mostly like what the Red Wings did this summer, but the improvements are largely marginal. If they were trying to go from a wild-card team to top-three in the division, you could see the thinking. But the point is that they went from finishing lower than a rather bad Washington Capitals team that lucked into the playoffs, and it’s hard to see how they take a step back into the postseason with the changes they made so far this summer.

For instance, cleared a bunch of cap space and then kinda mostly didn’t use it. I would argue they made their blue line worse in giving away Jake Walman and letting Shayne Gostisbehere walk, and only replacing them with Erik Gustafsson (a player I quite like). They somewhat surprisingly brought back Patrick Kane and added Vladimir Tarasenko, which should juice the offence a bit. But the thing those signings are most likely to do is not necessarily juice the offence but rather make the offence slightly more sustainable.

Continue reading Turning on the screw

Tweet of note: Meet Gabriel Seger

The Grand Rapids Griffins signed Swedish collegian Gabriel Seger to a one-year AHL contract on June 11th, and they’ve posted a minute-and-a-half interview with the 24-year-old power forward:

Shai Buium’s on the professional learning curve

The Detroit News’s Ted Kulfan filed a varied afternoon notebook article which discusses the following topis: Dan Cleary’s impressions regarding the Red Wings’ Summer Development Camp; Axel Sandin Pellikka’s desire to continue improving his game while playing at home for Skelleftea AIK; and the experiences of one Shai Buium, who won his second NCAA Division 1 title while playing alongside his brother, Zeev, at the University of Denver:

“You never get tired of [winning],” said Buium, who signed a pro contract with the Wings last spring and will begin next season in Grand Rapids. “I just thought it was time to move on for another challenge in my life.”

Buium ironically won the 2022 NCAA championship at the University of Denver alongside current Grand Rapids teammates Carter Mazur (Jackson) and Antti Tuomisto.

Buium was a 2021 second-round pick (36th overall) of the Wings. He totaled a career-high 36 points (29 assists) with a plus-33 rating in 43 games at Denver last season. The 36 points ranked eighth among NCAA defensemen. Signing late last season, Buium (6-foot-3, 210 pounds) got into one regular-season game with the Griffins.

“I really liked the coaching staff, and it (Grand Rapids) is a great city,” Buium said. “I got to know the guys. It’ll be nice to get over there before the season and (get to know) the coaches, players and facilities. I’m excited at what’s to come.”

Buium felt he took a step forward defensively last season.

“Just learning things every year,” Buium said. “I like to be a sponge and kind of take it all in. With good defense, it just generates more offense for me.”

Continued

Duff on the Axel Sandin Pellikka’s ‘home-cooked’ development

Detroit Hockey Now’s Bob Duff posted a subscriber-only article in which he discusses the Red Wings’ decision to leave Axel Sandin Pellikka with Skellftea AIK of the SHL for one more year, instead of bringing him over to North America to develop with the Grand Rapids Griffins this season:

Sandin Pellikka was playing quite a bit last season, to put it lightly. As an SHL rookie, he would score 10 goals for Skelleftea, helping the club win the SHL title. His performance was earning Sandin Pellikka the Borje Salming Trophy as the top Swedish-born defenseman in the SHL.

On the international stage, he was earning the nod as the top defenseman at the World Juniors as Sweden won the silver medal. Not only was Sandin Pellikka drafted by the Red Wings, the club would be signing him to an entry-level contract.

“It’s been awesome,” Sandin Pellikka said of the 2023-24 campaign. “Not much to complain about, really. Our team back home had a really good run. Winning the Swedish championship is one of my lifelong dreams, so just getting to experience that, there’s not much to complain about this season.”

…

“We just don’t see the harm in it (staying in Sweden),” Cleary said. “No sense rushing him. We got a pretty good D in Grand Rapids. Got a couple D graduating, but we have some good players still down there. Not to say Axel couldn’t come over and play in Grand Rapids, no problem, but Skelleftea is a real good development place. It’s a good league, it’s a good city, well run. Axel will be back in Ottawa at the World Juniors again.”

Duff continues (paywall)

Khan talks prospects with Dan Cleary

MLive’s Ansar Khan asked Red Wings assistant director of player development Dan Cleary to elaborate upon the statuses of six top Red Wings prospects during Cleary’s press conference today, and Cleary obliged. Among his remarks are assessments of three prospects who will play for the Grand Rapids Griffins this upcoming season:

Shai Buium, D, 6-4, 210: After winning two NCAA Championships in three years at Denver, the 36th overall pick in 2021 is preparing for his first pro season at Grand Rapids.

“The game gets faster, guys are stronger,” Buium said. “Really just skating and building strength, I think they come together. When you have good strength and your edgework is getting better, it’ll come together and you’ll be a better skater, faster and stronger.”

Nate Danielson, C, 6-2, 188: The club’s top pick in 2023 (ninth overall) also is preparing for his first season in Grand Rapids after a productive final junior year and two playoff games with the Griffins.

“Nate had a tremendous season. (Portland coach) Mike Johnston can’t say enough good things about Nate,” Cleary said. “I thought he was great every day (in camp). Came in in terrific shape. He talks the talk and he walks it. He does everything right and really showed the way in his testing, his preparation, his professionalism, the way he handles himself, his maturity.”

Jakub Rychlovsky, LW, 5-10, 181: At 22, he was one of the older players in camp, an undrafted free agent signed this offseason after he led the Czech League in goals (26 in 51 games). He’ll transition to North America in Grand Rapids.

“Quiet, strong little guy,” Cleary said. “I was friends with someone who was coaching him in Czech. He thought it was a great signing for us. I haven’t seen him play live in a game, but just watching him skate, handle the puck, move it, he’s a driven young kid. Going from the Czech League to Grand Rapids is a bit of an adjustment. But I think he’s got a good, strong base.”

Continued

Tweets of note: I’ve got pictures on my mind

Of pictorial note this afternoon:

Continue reading Tweets of note: I’ve got pictures on my mind

Happy (short) summer, Mr. Kal!

Detroit Red Wings play by play announcer Ken Kal offers this end-of-the-Summer-Development-Camp wish for all Red Wings fans.

Personally speaking…

Continue reading Happy (short) summer, Mr. Kal!

Kris Draper to play pickleball to help kids with special needs on August 4th

The Detroit Jewish News’s Ashley Zlatopolsky reports that Red Wings assistant GM and director of player development Kris Draper will be taking part in a pickleball tournament on August 4th to benefit the Friendship Circle:

On Aug. 4, Pickleball for Friendship will return for its second year running. The pickleball fundraiser, which will be held at The Sports Club of West Bloomfield, will raise funds to support Friendship Circle, a Jewish nonprofit organization that offers programming and services for individuals with special needs.

Event organizer and longtime Friendship Circle volunteer Jennifer Lovy raised $17,000 at last year’s debut pickleball fundraiser. This year, her goal is to up that number to $20,000. Proceeds will be donated in full to Friendship Circle’s Walk4Friendship, an annual 5K walk that raises funds and community awareness for the organization.

…

Last year’s sold-out event saw 50 players and 30 spectators. Lovy hopes for an even bigger year. The Sunday morning fundraiser will allow pickleball fans to test their skills against local celebrities and ranked players for a $200 donation, while friends and family who simply want to cheer players on can attend for a $40 donation.

The 2024 fundraiser’s superstar pickleball players include former Detroit Red Wing Kris Draper, former Detroit Lion Scott Kowalkowski, local pickleball pro Nick Meyer and U.S. Open Gold Medalist Dee Geelhood, among others.

There is also an online auction with numerous prizes, including pickleball and tennis lessons, a sunset sail on Lake St. Clair and the chance to play pickleball with Draper. Anyone can bid in the online auction, and not just registered pickleball players.

Continued; on the auction page, there are two slots for the pickleball-with-Draper games, which start at $1,000(!), but there’s also a lunch with Mike “Stoney” Stone, which starts at $150, and a signed Dylan Larkin photo, which starts at only $40.