Month: July 2025

A bit more about Jesse Kiiskinen

The Detroit News’s Ted Kulfan profiles Red Wings prospect and HPK Hameenlinna forward Jesse Kiiskinen today, noting that Kiiskinen had a very good season on a very mediocre team in the Finnish Liiga this past year:

Kiiskinen had 44 points (14 goals, 30 assists) in 46 games with HPK Hameenlinna in Finland last season, despite missing 14 games with injuries. For a 19-year-old playing against established competition in Finland’s best pro league, it was an impressive showing.

“My playing was way better all the time after the tough start,” Kiiskinen said at the Wings development camp this month. “We started to play together better with my line, and then my own game just got better. “

Kiiskinen, 19, has one season left on his contract with HPK Hameenlinna. The timeline for Kiiskinen at this point is to complete the season, then come over to North America to a Wings organization searching for young offensive talent.

“He had good year in Finland,” said Dan Cleary, the Wings’ director of player development. “He came (to Detroit, before development camp) over 10 days prior to hang out with a couple of the other prospects and became friends, and became a little more familiar (with surroundings). He’s a character. He had a good season in HPK, and we expect him to have another strong season; then we’ll see him in North America next year.”

At 6-foot-2, 197 pounds, Kiiskinen has good size, and he’s effective around the net, able to make plays in tight places. Scouts like his forechecking ability, and Kiiskinen enjoys the physical aspects of the game. Kiiskinen has scored as many as 20 goals in junior hockey, and possesses a hard, accurate shot.

“I’m still like a scorer, like a shoot-first player,” Kiiskinen said. “Maybe the stats don’t show that because I had a lot of assists and more than goals, but I like to still make plays and make a goal. I still love scoring and have loved that like all my life.”

Continued; again, I was very puzzled when the Red Wings sent rugged defenseman Andrew Gibson to Nashville for Kiiskinen and a 2nd round pick (which was used in the Jake Walman trade)…

But Kiiskinen is a net-driving presence who has a real edge to his game, and he fills a need for the Wings as he’s something of a pesky forward who enjoys going to the net. All in all, the Red Wings may have ended up with the better player.

HSJ in the morning: on Carter Mazur’s injury-marred development

Red Wings prospect Carter Mazur spoke with DetroitRedWings.com’s Jonathan Mills recently. This morning, the Free Press’s Helene St. James wonders aloud whether Mazur’s best chance to make the Wings’ roster might have passed by due to a sustained set of injuries:

The 23-year-old third-round draft pick from 2021 projects to be a lower-six forward, a grinder-type who provides energy and is the type of player a coach loves to throw on the ice after an opponent scores a goal to settle things down.

His first shot at helping the Wings ended so quickly, it was easy to miss. On March 6, 2025, he was in the lineup for the first time – and as it turned out, last time time in the 2024-25 season. He suffered an elbow injury that took months to heal and required Dan Cleary, the team’s director of player development, to have a heart-to-heart with Mazur.

“He’s a great kid, good player,” Cleary said earlier this month. “He’s had some tough-luck injuries over the course of his pro life, which is unfortunate. I tell him, you have to start over – dig in, you’ve got to rehab, you’ve got to keep going because he was in such a good place last year. He’s just had some bad luck.”

Mazur’s dislocated elbow derailed the plans the Wings had for him down the stretch this past spring, which were to audition the 6 foot, 172 pound, right shot forward to see where he would fit into the rebuild.

Continued at length (paywall); as St. James notes, Mazur has been banged-up at both the AHL level on a repeated basis…

But he’s a 23-year-old who told Mills that he’s put on 15 pounds over the course of the summer, and Mazur’s grit and snarl are the kinds of elements that the Red Wings want to add to the bottom half of their lineup.

I’m expecting that Mazur will be afforded every chance to make the Red Wings’ roster come September, and, for lack of a better term, his time is now.

Even more Rust and Rakell trade talk

Sportsnet’s Sonny Sachdeva examines 5 potential destinations for Pittsburgh Penguins forwards Bryan Rust and/or Rickard Rakell, and he includes the Detroit Red Wings on his list:

Detroit Red Wings

The Red Wings’ need for offensive help is so pressing, it’s seemingly begun to cause friction within the organization. At his end-of-season availability, captain Dylan Larkin lamented the fact that his club didn’t add any pieces at the trade deadline, sending a message to GM Steve Yzerman about what’s expected from the group before 2025-26 rolls around.

“We didn’t gain any momentum from the trade deadline, and guys were kind of down about it,” Larkin had said. “So, it’d be nice to add something and bring a little bit of a spark on the ice, and a morale boost as well.”

Yzerman has brought in a couple additions up front, signing veteran James van Riemsdyk and former Winnipeg Jets forward Mason Appleton. But both are depth pieces who don’t figure to significantly alter the club’s approach. A 30-goal threat would do more to move the needle — Rust, a product of Pontiac, Mich., seems a natural fit, and such a homecoming might be easier to stomach for both the winger and the Penguins fanbase. Financially, there would be no issue here, as the Red Wings still have more than $12 million in cap space to work with.

Continued; we’ve talked quite a bit about the Rust/Rakell rumors and the players’ perceived trade values, and I’m iffy on the concept of dropping a top prospect and a first-round pick for guys in their early 30’s (Rust is 33, Rakell 32) with two years remaining on their contracts (Rust earns $5.125 million, Rakell $5 million), but the Red Wings do need to add offense, and there aren’t many established scorers on the marketplace other than free agent Jack Roslovic.

If the Red Wings do anything this summer, they’re going to have to pony up and pay a price for whoever they add on offense and/or defense.

Red Wings hope they’ve landed a quality stopper in Michal Postava

The Red Wings signed 23-year-old goaltender Michal Postava to compete for starts with Sebastian Cossa in Grand Rapids. As the Detroit News’s Ted Kulfan notes, the Wings are hoping that the Kometa Brno backstop and Czech League Champion this past spring will bolster the team’s goaltending depth:

Postava (6-foot-2, 205 pounds) quickly drew the interest of NHL teams. Several Western Conference teams were in discussions with Postava, before he had a lengthy meeting in Czechia with Jiri Fischer, the former Wings defenseman and current associate director of player personnel, who apparently convinced Postava to sign with Detroit.

The Wings had been searching for a goaltender to fill a spot in Grand Rapids, where Postava will compete for playing time with Sebastian Cossa, while also capable of making NHL starts if injuries confront John Gibson or Cam Talbot.

“It’s maybe because there are many Czech players before, like Jiri Fischer,” said Postava, about signing with the Wings. “Detroit is a big club, big (original) six. It’s a big opportunity for me. I’m proud to be in this organization.”

Postava had a 23-18-0 record in 42 games, with three shutouts a 2.39 GAA and .920 SVS for Kometa Brno during the regular season.

“The confidence was No. 1,” Postava said of what he gained most last season. “Be calm (for the) full game and focus to be the best and win all games.”

Red Wings GM Steve Yzerman believes that Postava can thrive in the AHL:

“It’s very realistic he can play in the AHL next year,” Yzerman said. “I haven’t seen him do it, so that’s the only question mark. He had an outstanding year. One of our scouts in Europe, who lives in the Czech Republic, has watched Kometa all year and really pushed hard for him. He’s watched him climb through every league, and the next step for him after a really good year is to go to the American League.”

Continued

Tweet of note: Dylan Larkin turns 29 today

Red Wings captain Dylan Larkin turns 29 today.

A fine postscript to Kasper’s ‘Michigan’ goal

As previously noted, Marco Kasper scored a “Michigan” goal while playing summer hockey in Austria’s the “Sunshine Hockey League”…

And Detroit Hockey Now’s Bob Duff posted a really nice postscript to Kasper’s goal:

Continue reading A fine postscript to Kasper’s ‘Michigan’ goal

Tweet of note via WWP: Red Wings prospect Rudy Guimond commits to Harvard University

MLive’s Ansar Khan posted an article about Red Wings prospect and Moncton Wildcats goaltender Rudy Guimond today, noting that Guimond was headed back to the QMJHL as an “over-ager” in part because he couldn’t afford to head to Yale University. Tonight, the Winged Wheel Podcast on Twitter directs us to the following Tweet from College Hockey NXT:

Guimond confirms on Instagram that he’s committed to play NCAA Division 1 hockey for Harvard this upcoming season.

The 20-year-old goaltender went 16-and-0 in the regular season for Moncton after joining the QMJHL team from the USHL’s Cedar Rapids RoughRiders mid-season, and he went 8-and-1 in the playoffs as well. He stands at 6’4″ and a skinny 175 pounds.

Roughly translated: Moritz Seider to take part in Kevin Fiala’s charity hockey game in Zurich on August 8th

From Blick.ch’s Carlo Steiner and Christian Muller:

Ex-soccer goalie comes to Zurich for Fiala’s benefit game

Kevin Fiala will host a renowned player for his charity game in Zurich. Ex-soccer goalie Petr Cech will be present at the Swiss Life Arena.

On the 8th of August, a special game will take place at the Swiss Life Arena in Zurich. A team of international NHL stars will compete against the ZSC Lions for good cause. The charity game is organized by NHL star Kevin Fiala, 28. The proceeds of the event will go to the children’s hospital in St. Gallen, as well as to the youth departments of the ice hockey clubs ZSC Lions and EHC Uzwil, Fiala’s youth team.

The NHL selections are now showing significant growth. Petr Cech, 43, who won the Champions League with Chelsea in 2012, will serve the goal in the charity game. The Czech ended his soccer career in 2019 and changed his sport. From the 2019-20 season, he played in the third, then in the second-highest British ice hockey league. In his last season before the second career ended, he even made an attempt to play for the Belfast Giants of the Elite Ice Hockey League, the top league of Great Britain.

In addition to Cech, Andres Ambühl is coming for a mini comeback. The famous international player has finished his career after winning the World Championship medal in May.

Also included are Nico Hischier, Timo Meier, Jonas Siegenthaler (all New Jersey Devils), Nino Niederreiter (Winnipeg Jets), Pius Suter (St. Louis Blues), Janis Moser (Tampa Bay Lightning), Mats Zuccarello, Marco Rossi (both Minnesota Wild), Lucas Raymond, Moritz Seider (both Detroit Red Wings) and Tim Stützle (Ottawa Senators). Other participants will follow.

Twitter video via Red Wings Prospects: Max Plante is interviewed at the World Junior Summer Showcase

Via Red Wings Prospects on Twitter…

Red Wings prospect Max Plante, who isn’t skating but is participating at the World Junior Summer Showcase in Minneapolis this week, spoke with Scott from Ice Time Hockey West for Ice Time College Hockey West in a 6-minute interview: