Month: August 2024

Wings prospect Brady Cleveland takes a chance on himself

Red Wings 2023 draft pick Brady Cleveland is a hulking defenseman at 6’5″ and 209 pounds, but Cleveland has a lot of rough edges to his game, in no small part because he only played in a limited role in 16 of the University of Wisconsin Badgers’ 36 games last season.

Cleveland had an option to kick-start his college career via the NCAA transfer portal, and he chose to make the jump to the Colorado College Tigers, where Cleveland believes he’ll play more regularly under CC’s coach, Peter Mannino, as he told DetroitRedWings.com’s Jonathan Mills…

“Entering the portal, I formerly had a relationship with (Colorado College assistant coach) Peter Mannino so I had some contact with him,” Cleveland said during the Red Wings’ 2024 Development Camp last month. “After talking to him, there’s not really much you can’t like about what they have going on out there. Brand new facilities recently built. Over the last four years since (Mannino) got there, they’ve been on the up climb and I think that’ll continue when I get there.”

Cleveland, who appeared in 17 games at Wisconsin last season, said he believes he can elevate his game through more ice time.

“Just getting out there every game and playing more minutes is what I would like to do,” Cleveland said. “Just helping my team win and being better offensively, I know I can work on that. But also defensively cleaning up some things and being a good first pass, shutdown defenseman.”

Cleveland felt he was more self-aware entering his second Development Camp since being selected by the Red Wings in the second round (No. 47) of the 2023 NHL Entry Draft.

“Previously what I learned from Wisconsin is there’s things you need to work on that you don’t know before,” Cleveland said. “Different coaches have different assessments of every player. Just coming back here with that information now, (Development Camp) is a really different experience for me. Obviously I knew some things that I wanted to work on before coming into last year. Now it’s kind of building off what I’ve already been working on and adding some new things.”

Continued; if Cleveland develops his skating skills and overall strength, he’s got the chance to develop into a big, mean shut-down defenseman, but he needs to play first and foremost.

Time for the fundraising rubber to meet the road

Okay, folks, it’s time for the rubber to meet the road in the fundraising department.

We’re four full weeks from the point at which my 82-year-old Aunt Annie and I are supposed to head up to Traverse City in a rented car, and stay in a heavily-discounted handicapped-accessible hotel room, so that I can be in place to bring you reports regarding the Red Wings’ truncated prospect tournament and training camp.

We also need to fund the web server by the 31st of this month, and at present, we’ve got $276.77 in my Venmo account (where I’m keeping my server and TC money) and $10 in the GoFundMe.

Those are not ideal numbers for a $4,500-5,000 trip. And yes, I know it costs a ton to accommodate my 82-year-old, who’s a couple months out from double hip replacement surgery. I don’t really have a choice–Aunt Annie has to come up with me, because I’m her only caregiving option.

I understand that many of you have been enjoying your summertime activities and not following the offseason on a day-to-day basis, which is okay, but if you’re thinking about donating to our efforts to head up to Traverse City, now’s the time.

Regardless of whether your donation is big or small, we take ’em all, and now’s the time to really hit the fundraising drum here, because right now, it doesn’t look like we’re going.

If you’re willing to lend a hand, have an official GoFundMe fundraiser page at https://gofund.me/c08de120; we have a PayPal option at https://paypal.me/TheMalikReport; there’s Venmo at https://venmo.com/george-malik-2; if you’re into the, “I don’t want to use any of those pages” option, here’s always the Giftly option by using my email, rtxg@yahoo.com, at https://www.giftly.com…

And in the banking options, you can contact me via email if you want to send me a paper check, or “Zelle” me via my email, rtxg@yahoo.com. I’m also on Cash App under “georgeums.”

As always, thank you for your readership and your time.

Bultman discusses expectations for eight top Red Wings prospects

The Athletic’s Max Bultman discusses realistic expectations for 8 of the Red Wings’ top prospects today, and we’ll examine his take regarding the potential performance of Marco Kasper:

Marco Kasper

Expected level: AHL, with some NHL time

Analysis: Kasper finished strong in his first AHL season — particularly in the playoffs, where his hard-nosed game translated to seven points in nine playoff games. And while he has an outside shot at making the NHL roster right away with a big camp, the best bet is on him starting in Grand Rapids again, looking to pick up where he left off.

Point production is only one piece of the way Kasper will be evaluated, but certainly Detroit would take as much offense as it can get from the 2022 No. 8 pick, who put up 35 points in 71 games last season. Increasing that rate would be encouraging, and if he could creep up toward that same 0.7 or 0.8 points-per-game territory, that would be excellent — that’s the range where ace shutdown centers Anthony Cirelli (.73) and Lars Eller (.81) were in their draft-plus-three seasons in the AHL.

And of course, that comes with Kasper continuing to look like a strong defensive center who won’t be pushed around, and one who keeps possessions alive in the offensive zone — the bedrocks of his profile.

He has a good chance to work his way into becoming a call-up at some point this year.

Continued (paywall); Kasper will probably start the year in Grand Rapids, as Bultman suggests, and yes, adding more in the points category would be good.

I’m not certain whether we’re looking at a two-way center of the Lars Eller variety or a real defensive stalwart at center with Kasper, however–and I’m hoping for the former–so I’m going to measure his success by hearing and hopefully seeing reports of Kasper playing well defensively and playing with that trademark edge to his game.

The second year of North American hockey is normally where prospects’ stats bump up to the neighborhood of a realistic professional ceiling, but I’ve seen some prospects never really figure out the chaotic nature of the AHL game as compared to the NHL, so I’m not going to panic if Kasper continues to be a point-per-every-other-game guy at the AHL level.

It’s called ‘team defense’ for a reason

Bleacher Report’s Adam Gretz has posted an article declaring the “biggest losers of the 2024 NHL offseason,” and he bags on the Red Wings’ defense (or the lack thereof) pretty heavily:

Moritz Seider and the Red Wings Defense

The Detroit Red Wings had one thing they needed to improve this offseason. Their defense.

Not only in terms of adding more high-level talent on that unit, but also adding more depth.

They have one bonafide stud in Moritz Seider, and then a bunch of question marks and bad contracts surrounding him. The lack of depth forced Seider into playing some of the toughest minutes in the NHL during the 2023-24 season. He was constantly starting in the defensive zone, he was playing against every team’s best players, and he did not have anywhere near enough support on a team that finished the season as one of the worst defensive teams in the league.

What did the Red Wings do to help him this offseason?

They gave away one of the only other reliable defenders in the roster in Jake Walman in a salary dump trade and signed Erik Gustafsson, while also taking some significant defensive hits at forward with the re-signing of Patrick Kane and addition of Vladimir Tarasenko in place of David Perron.

That is not enough. It is not enough for the Red Wings’ playoff pursuit, and it is not enough to take some of the pressure of Seider.

They really need a young player like Simon Edvinsson to take a huge leap forward and become an immediate star to make a difference.

Continued; the Red Wings had to walk and chew gum at the same time.

They needed to assuage the losses of David Perron and Daniel Sprong, they needed to bolster the defense in terms of both Shayne Gostisbehere’s exit and yes, adding a shut-down defender to spell Moritz Seider, and they needed to reinforce their goaltending situation.

Oh, and the team needed the cap space to re-sign Lucas Raymond and Moritz Seider.

The team’s management at least adequately addressed its offensive issues by re-signing Patrick Kane and bringing in Vladimir Tarasenko; they tried very hard to bring in Erik Gustafsson to replace Gostisbehere; Cam Talbot will shore up the team’s goaltending, and they’ve got the cap space to ink Raymond and Seider (and Jonatan Berggren) to extensions.

They did not address the glaring need for a shut-down defenseman to spell Seider, that is true. It may take until the 2024-2025 trade deadline to address that issue fully (and Jacob Trouba was probably going to be “that guy” until the trade fell through).

As such, yes, Simon Edvinsson will have to take a step forward. But the team does not have two defensemen, it has eight. They are not elegant “studs” on the blueline, or the belles of the ball, but it’s up to Ben Chiarot, Justin Holl, Olli Maatta, Erik Gustafsson, Jeff Petry and Albert Johansson to step up and play better.

That’s what the team’s got, and you work with what you’ve got until you can bring in reinforcements. Again, not “sexy” names by any stretch of the imagination, but that’s what coach Lalonde and his assistants have to work with, and they have to make due with it.

The Wings’ forwards will have to chip in in terms of reducing the team’s goals-against average, too, as will the goaltenders.

It’s a team dynamic, not Seider’s job alone, though he’s definitely going to continue playing hard minutes for a bit yet. But all is not doom and gloom.

Two things: A belated birthday wish and a video of ‘first goals’

Of Red Wings-related note early on Monday morning:

  1. My apologies for the lateness of noting this Tweet from the Red Wings, who wished coach Derek Lalonde a happy 52nd birthday:

2. And Alex Wood on YouTube posted a 15-minute clip of Red Wings players scoring their first goal with the team in their first games with Detroit:

https://youtube.com/watch?v=JIYsDFXsAuk%3Fsi%3DdvuYdIecSvkaWvwu

Duff discusses Tarasenko and Kane’s motivations for signing with Detroit

Detroit Hockey Now’s Bob Duff posted an subscriber-only story discussing Patrick Kane and Vladimir Tarasenko’s motivations for choosing to stay with and sign with Detroit, respectively:

Tarasenko, fresh off a Stanley Cup win with the Florida Panthers, chose to turn down other teams and was in agreement on a two-year pact with the Red Wings. Likewise Kane, after joining Detroit last November, eschewed the chance to depart as a UFA.

Kane took a look around at the potential opportunities he could be finding elsewhere, and came to the determination his best opportunity was to stand pat and stay put.

“I think I was just kind of going over what happened last year and for the team and me personally, I thought it was a good fit, so looking forward to build off that for another year,” Kane said. “You know, obviously, it was a pretty crazy end to the year and (we) just missed the playoffs by a point, so it’ll be nice to kind of start building off that right from training camp. I’m excited about being a part of that and hopefully getting the chance to have a good regular season and playoff hockey again.”

Continued (paywall); Kane and Tarasenko obviously have healthy motivations as to why they’ve joined the Red Wings, and they’re really the first free agents without Michigan ties to suggest that Detroit is a destination for UFAs.

That’s a very good thing for the Red Wings, who’ve still been eschewed by a bunch of targets because they’re still in a rebuilding process.

Tweet of note: it’s a mid-August preseason game…but MBN rips a slapper goal for Skelleftea AIK

It’s just a preseason game in mid-August, but IceHockeyG posted a clip of Michael Brandsegg-Nygard scoring a nifty slap shot goal for Skelleftea AIK in their game vs. Bjorkloven IF today:

EP Rinkside ranks their top 100 NHL-affiliated skaters and top 15 goalies

EP Rinkside’s Mitch Brown, David St-Louis and J.D. Burke ranked their top 100 NHL-affiliated prospects for the 2024-2025 season today, with a heavy emphasis on Calder Trophy-eligible players and 2024 draft picks:

Michael Brandsegg-Nygard finished 35th…

With his speed, motor, and physical skills, Michael Brandsegg-Nygård pressures the opposition, retrieves pucks, and passes them to teammates. Once his line has established control, he hunts space to set up his catch-and-release and one-timer shots. He’s the type of forward who complements skilled playmakers very well, amplifying their effectiveness and pushing a contending team over the edge. The Detroit Red Wings like to take their time with their prospects, but Brandsegg-Nygård’s package of tools could put him on a faster-track to the NHL. 

Axel Sandin Pellikka finished 37th…

The NHL seems to be slowly moving away from defencemen of smaller size, but the best ones, like Axel Sandin Pellikka, will continue to find their place in the league. His defensive mechanics improved this season. More engaged and better capable of battling with opponents, he managed to stop the opposition’s offence earlier and get the play flowing offensively, where his game truly shines. With his deception and playmaking skills, he could inject creativity in Detroit’s offence. 

Marco Kasper finished 45th…

Continue reading EP Rinkside ranks their top 100 NHL-affiliated skaters and top 15 goalies

Tweet of note: Red Wings reveal numbers for free agent signings

Here we go:

So that’s #56 for Erik Gustafsson, #39 for Cam Talbot, #11 for Vladimir Tarasenko and #14 for Tyler Motte.

DetroitHockey.net’s Clark Rasmussen reveals the balance of players’ numbers:

Erik Gustafsson taking #56, Tyler Motte getting #14, Sheldon Dries going with #15, and Joe Snively picking #21 were all pretty obvious (and among my predictions) as well, as they were numbers the players had usually worn and were all available.  Similarly, Cam Talbot getting #39 was an obvious choice as he probably wasn’t going to get #33 from Sebastian Cossa.

William Lagesson taking #84 seemed likely to me but it’s an “out there” enough number that you never know what direction it’ll go.  That’s why I couldn’t predict Tory Dello taking #87; his usual numbers were out of the mix so I had no way of knowing which way he’d go with it.

I’d expected Jack Campbell to take either #31 or #32 and he took #32.  I’d mentioned in my Development Camp jersey number wrap up that I thought Carter Mazur might be switching from #32 to #43 this season and Campbell taking #32 solidifies that for me.

Speaking of Development Camp, Jakub Rychlovsky already wore #81 there so it’s not a surprise to see him listed with it here.