Month: October 2024

A bit of praise for Trey Augustine as ‘one to watch’

Daily Faceoff’s Steven Ellis posted an un-ranked list of the Top 20 NHL Prospects to watch over the course of the NCAA Division 1 hockey season, and one Red Wings prospect made the list:

Trey Augustine, G, Michigan State (Detroit Red Wings)

After posting a near-perfect record in 2022-23, Augustine secured gold at the 2024 World Juniors and won the Big Ten championship while earning tournament MVP honors. Add in a few really good appearances at the World Championship and Augustine is truly on the top of his game. He isn’t huge at just 6-foot-1, but he has a winning pedigree, a great glove hand and an outstanding foundation to build on. Augustine is one of the best goaltending prospects based on just pure skill right now and was a big reason why Michigan State was a threat every time they hit the ice.

Continued

HSJ in the (mid) morning: The Wings’ three goalies on the three-goalie system

The Free Press’s Helene St. James posted a game-day article ahead of tonight’s Home Opener against the Pittsburgh Penguins (8 PM EDT on Bally Sports Detroit/Sportsnet Pittsburgh/WWJ 950) which discusses the Red Wings’ three-goaltender system, which has Ville Husso as the tip of the spear tonight:

“I’m feeling better than ever, I would say,” Husso said. “Everything — I feel good on the ice, feel good off the ice, body feels good. Just everything feels good right now. It’s fun to play again.”

Lyon, 31, was part of a triumvirate last season that also included James Reimer. Lyon, at that time a career minor leaguer, entered 2023-24 as a distant No. 3 on the depth chart, but when Husso’s paternity leave segued into an injury, and Reimer struggled, Lyon rose to the top of the depth chart — and thrived. He knows he has to always be ready.

“I’m very familiar with the situation,” Lyon said. “I have some experience to draw on and know to be ready when the opportunity arises. I plan to take full advantage. That’s my mindset.”

Talbot, 37, was brought in during the summer as insurance because there was lingering concern about Husso’s long-term health. He’s a journeyman NHL’er with nearly 500 games to his credit, and understood the situation when he signed.

“If a guy is getting hot, you have to do what is best for the team,” Talbot said. “Whenever that situation arises, you just have to be OK with it, be a good teammate, work hard in practice and be ready when the next opportunity comes along. 

“Three goalies definitely can be a strength. It’s a long season. Guys have nagging injuries sometimes that they play through, but in situations like this, maybe you take that extra day or two and heal up to get to 100%. You know the other two guys have been there before and can provide the stability in net, and the team can have confidence in all three of them, which is the best part.”

Continued

Tweet of note: WXYZ’s Galli posts 8-minute interview with Patrick Kane

Excellent work by WXYZ’s Brad Galli here:

Red Wings-Penguins morning skate Tweets: Husso starts, Wings to face challenge vs. Pittsburgh

The Detroit Red Wings will open their 2024-2025 season tonight at 8 PM EDT against the Pittsburgh Penguins, and tonight’s game isn’t going to be simple or easy:

Pittsburgh lost their home opener 6-0 to the New York Rangers last night, so they’re going to be in a spoiler’s position this evening.

Tonight’s game has been moved from its original 7 PM start to 8 PM EDT (on Bally Sports Detroit/Sportsnet-Pittsburgh/WWJ Newsradio 950) to accommodate today’s Tigers playoff game, which starts at 6 PM EDT at Comerica Park…

But parking is going to be an expensive nightmare downtown, so even if you’re planning on heading to Little Caesars Arena for the pregame party that starts at 4:30 PM, plan ahead for a real cluster-you-know-what downtown.

Tonight’s game kicks off a stretch of 3 games to be played over the course of the next 5 nights, against the Pens this evening, the Predators on Saturday, and in Manhattan against the Rangers on Monday, so the Wings better be wearing their figurative “work boots” starting tonight.

Per Red Wings play-by-play announcer Ken Kal, the referees for tonight’s game are Chris Rooney and Pierre Lambert, with Derek Nansen and Tommy Hughes working the lines:

Also of Red Wings Twitter-related note this morning:

I’ll try to post the Lalonde interview when it pops up on WJR.com.

DetroitRedWings.com’s Jonathan Mills posted a game preview as well:

Nothing creates anticipation and excitement like the beginning of a new NHL campaign, and Lucas Raymond said the Red Wings are eager to get going.

“You’ve been waiting all summer, especially how last year ended,” said Raymond, who re-signed an eight-year contract extension with Detroit last month. “I think everyone is a little extra excited to get out there Thursday.”

Detroit finished last season fifth in the Atlantic Division with a 41-32-9 (91 points) record, an 11-point improvement from its 2022-23 campaign. The Red Wings battled for a Stanley Cup Playoffs spot late last season but fell just short, as the Washington Capitals earned the Eastern Conference’s second wild-card spot because of the regulation wins tiebreaker (32-27).

Michael Rasmussen said he learned a lot from that playoff push.

“I haven’t really experienced that kind of hockey,” Rasmussen said. “For me, and other guys feel this way too, that’s something you’re yearning for and wanting. There’s nothing worse than playing meaningless hockey. We’ve been in those spots in years past, and last year was the most fun hockey I’d probably say a lot of us have played.”

Several players from last season are back and aiming to contribute even more this season, but there are some new faces in the fold. This summer, the Red Wings added defenseman Erik Gustafsson, forwards Tyler Motte and Vladimir Tarasenko, and goalie Cam Talbot.

Anyway, the Red Wings hit the ice at Little Caesars Arena around 10:30 AM this morning…

Tweet of note: Red Wings post tribute to Ferris Bueller in ‘Take the Day Off’

Very cute:

Wings prospect Max Plante out 4-6 weeks with an upper-body injury

Red Wings prospect Max Plante made his University of Minnesota-Duluth debut this past weekend, registering 2 assists while playing alongside his brother Zam on the Bulldogs’ second line…

But the Duluth News-Tribune’s Matt Wellens reports that Plante was injured during the game, and that he will miss significant time:

After initially saying Sunday that freshman wing Max Plante would be out “a while” with an upper body injury, Minnesota Duluth men’s coach Scott Sandelin tossed out a more precise — but still vague — timeline on Wednesday during his weekly press conference at Amsoil Arena.

Plante, a 2024 second-round NHL draft pick of the Detroit Red Wings, is estimated to miss the next 4-6 weeks with an upper body injury after being shoved into the end wall Saturday in a 4-3 overtime loss to Bemidji State at Amsoil Arena. The Bulldogs were on a power play with 4:40 remaining in regulation when the legal hit occurred. Plante left the game and briefly came back for a shift in overtime before returning to the bench.

Based on the timeline Sandelin provided Wednesday, Max Plante could return for the second week of NCHC play — a road series at Miami — or not until UMD is at Arizona State in December.

“We’ll see, we’ll see,” Sandelin said.

Continued; rough news for Plante.

Sniffly update

My apologies for the lack of posts today. Both Aunt Annie and I are suffering from a flu bug that’s causing us extreme fatigue, fever and significant body aches.

At this point I have decided to let myself rest until game day in order to maximize recovery time. We’ll see how well this plays out as there are two very sick people in my home and we both need to recover ASAP.