Updated at 5:52 PM: The Detroit Red Wings face the Philadelphia Flyers this evening (7 PM EST on FanDuel SportsNet Detroit/NBCSP/Sportsnet One/97.1 FM). Among today’s game-day notebooks:
- DetroitRedWings.com’s Jonathan Mills spoke with Wings coach Todd McLellan about the team’s outlook heading into tonight’s game:
“I know I sound like a broken record, but I’m not in there looking at the standings or the stats,” Detroit head coach Todd McLellan said. “I’m watching video to make sure that the team is trying to get better night after night. That’s the only way we’re going to get wins.”
The Red Wings are in the City of Brotherly Love vying to get back on track after getting swept in their weekend back-to-back set, which ended with a 4-1 loss to the Dallas Stars on Sunday. Detroit fell behind early in Dallas, allowing three goals before the 15-minute mark of the first period, and ultimately couldn’t recover.
“On this trip, we’ve been able to beat the Stanley Cup champs but the two other teams, in a weight class that’s maybe a little more elevated than ours, we haven’t had success,” McLellan said. “So that’s a little disappointing. We’ve had to fix some things. Do it via video, a little bit on ice and challenge a few players. Now, we’ll see what happens here tonight.”
One player that will be embracing the challenge on Tuesday is Elmer Sodberlom, who the Red Wings recalled from the American Hockey League’s Grand Rapids Griffins prior to morning skate at Wells Fargo Center.
According to McLellan, Soderblom “has earned the right to come up here.”
“The last two to three weeks, really starting to come into his own and we’re hoping he can do that here,” McLellan said about Soderblom. “Obviously, a different league but he’s experienced it before. Hoping that he provides a little injection of life into the group, too. I think that will come out as the game goes on.”
2. The Free Press’s Helene St. James also wrote an article about Soderblom’s recall…
Elmer Söderblom’s phone rang just as he was about to leave, and the name that popped up demanded answering the call.
It was Detroit Red Wings general manager Steve Yzerman, the man who presided over the draft when Söderblom became a part of the organization.
“Always when he calls you, you’re a little nervous and excited,” Söderblom said, smiling. “But it was fun to hear it.”
…
“It’s been a little frustrating [not playing in the NHL] but I just stayed patient and worked hard every day to get here,” Söderblom said. “I think I’ve improved in a lot of areas, but mostly my skating and my physicality, finishing some more checks and just being tough to play against.”
Söderblom has five goals and 12 assists in 38 games with the Grand Rapids Griffins this season. He was just about to board their bus headed to Chicago, to catch a flight to Winnipeg, Manitoba, where the Griffins play a pair of games later this week, when Yzerman called. While McLellan and new assistant coach Trent Yawney barely are a month into their jobs, McLellan’s conversation with Yzerman made it clear who should be called up.
“We communicate every day, sometimes multiple times during the day, so that’s a real good thing – it’s the only way that it works,” McLellan said. “We talked about making a change up front. Yawns and I are both brand new to the organization, we don’t really know what’s going on in Grand Rapids. We hear from people about how well certain guys are playing. This is a good reward for a young man that’s done really good things down there. For as much as we talk about the belief system, the reward system is also important in an organization, and he’s earned the right to come up here and we’re excited about seeing him play.”
And St. James included a video of Soderblom speaking with the media:
3. The Hockey News’s Sam Stockton posted an article about Soderblom as well…
McLellan said this morning that Soderblom’s game is not “one dimensional” in the way some of the league’s biggest players can be; instead, “I think Elmer has the other tools to go with it,” he said. Now, by his own telling Soderblom has made sure size and the incumbent physicality are among the arrows in his quiver.
“I think I’ve improved a lot of areas, but mostly my skating and my physicality—finishing some more checks and being tough to play against,” he said this morning, when asked how his game has grown since last he played in the NHL. “Skating more, being more physical, shooting more pucks,” he added. “I think that’s my game right now.”
There was no silver bullet to add a more physical dimension to his game; instead, Soderblom explained that doing so has “just been building the habits over the years, learning from the seasons that’s gone by.”
Meanwhile, McLellan stressed that he wanted Soderblom to enjoy tonight’s game against the Flyers, his season NHL debut if not his first ever game in the league. “This is a good reward for a young man that’s done good things down there,” the coach said.
Now, McLellan intends to “turn him loose and let him play, not inundate him with information, not overload him with some of the things that we’ve changed here.” “He’ll get a brief update on some of our language, but I hope that he just puts the equipment on and plays,” he continued. “If he makes mistakes, that’s fine. We’ll help him with them, but when he leaves tonight, I want him to leave happy and excited about playing again.”
4. And the Detroit News’s Ted Kulfan filed a game-day notebook which discussed both Soderblom’s recall and a number of other topics:
Goaltender Alex Lyon was scheduled to start against Philadelphia, marking Lyon’s second consecutive start on the road trip.
… The Wings had a bit more than a usual morning skate, a byproduct of so few practices in this condensed schedule.
“We were working on some things,” McLellan said. “When you don’t have practice time and you have a new staff, you have to take advantage of every little bit you can get. We might sacrifice some energy but maybe it’ll help us in the long run, and we need it.”
… McLellan reiterated he wants the Wings to be proactive, rather than the reactive state they’ve been in the last two losses.
“Anticipate,” McLellan said, explaining what he wants. “If I throw a ball over there, you have a pretty good idea where it’s going to land. So, start going to it, don’t wait for it to land. You’re smart, you can anticipate where plays are going to go. Get there and you don’t have to wait for it to happen and then go.”
Update: Here’s a bit more about Soderblom from Detroit Hockey Now’s Kevin Allen:
Soderblom is not the same player who played in Detroit two years ago. He uses his size more effectively. His game is more mature. Playing on a line with Austin Watson in Grand Rapids has helped Soderblom learn how to use his physical presence.
“I think I’ve improved a lot of areas,” Soderblom said, “but mostly my skating and my physicality, finishing some more checks and just being tougher to play against.”
When McLellan and Yzerman talked about making a change up front, Soderblom’s name came up because he has been playing well for two to three weeks.
“This is a good reward for a young man who’s done real good things down there,” McLellan said. “For as much as we talk about belief system, the reward system is also important in an organization and he’s earned the right to come up here and we’re excited to see him play.”
McLellan wants to see Soderblom seize this opportunity and make it count for the team and Soderblom.
“We needed to shake things up a little bit,” McLellan said. “We’ll see Elmer and what he can do with his size.”
