Of Red Wings-related note this afternoon:
- The Free Press’s Helene St. James reports that the Wings’ players enjoyed the return of scrimmaging hockey…
The difference was noticeable on the first day, as coach Todd McLellan furthered his imprint on the Detroit Red Wings.
Divided into two main squads, NHL regulars and prospects scrimmaged for more than an hour on Thursday, Sept. 18, at Centre Ice Arena; one squad had a 45-minute practice beforehand, and the other, afterwards. It made for a change from the practice-heavy schedule run by former coach Derek Lalonde, and players loved it.
“I really enjoyed the format – it’s new to me, the scrimmaging every day,” captain Dylan Larkin said. “It was good to be back competing. There were some nerves early but guys settled in and I thought it went well.”
The Wings have three days here, followed by a Red-White game on Sept. 21 in Grand Rapids – and then it’s back home to Detroit to start an eight-game exhibition slate on Tuesday, Sept. 23. But first things first: After being hired at Christmas, this is McLellan’s opportunity to really mold the Wings.
“I think anytime a new coach comes in, regardless of having me the time with the group last year, I think you do have their attention right off the bat,” he said. “The jury will be out Day 3, 4, 5, when it becomes work. Right now they’re really excited and they should be. I thought the effort was really good, the attention to detail was there. A little ragged with passing but that happens – it’s early. And then the scrimmage was really competitive. I think we got a lot out of the day, at least what we targeted. We’ll work every day to build our game.”
With James van Riemsdyk excused to attend to his growing family, the biggest guy on the Detroit Red Wings got a huge opportunity.
Elmer Söderblom, 6 feet 8 without skates on, and entering his second NHL season, practiced on a line with Dylan Larkin and Lucas Raymond during the first day of camp on Thursday, Sept. 18, at Centre Ice Arena.
“That’s a try-out spot,” coach Todd McLellan said. “But I mentioned to Elmer today, ‘if I’m coming to camp and coach drops me in there, I’m not giving that spot back one bit.’ So we’ll give him a chance. We’ll work different people through there.”
Van Riemsdyk, a veteran of 1,082 games, is certain to get a look there when he’s available to the team.
“He has a family thing that he’s dealing with, and it’s probably a pretty good thing actually, we’re all really happy for him,” McLellan said. “I hope that he can be [here], but we’re going to give him a whole bunch of time with his wife and kids.”
3. The Detroit News’s Ted Kulfan also filed a first-day-of-camp notebook:
“Like I said, a new format from what I’ve been used to,” Larkin said. “Talking to Kaner (Patrick Kane), he had this in Chicago where they scrimmaged. For a Day One scrimmage, it was very tight checking and intense, and Todd set the tone with that.”
Lucas Raymond felt the scrimmage did a good job getting players acclimated to camp, and took skating from the summer scrimmages a level up.
“You kind of get into game shape pretty quick,” Raymond said. “You bump into each other, and the speed, and the scrimmage really helped.”
McLellan was as vocal as usual, with the Wings.
“Very intense, like normally he is,” Larkin said. “A lot of attention to detail, which should be no surprise to one. He stopped it (practice) and corrected it, and taught. I really feel like we went out there and did what we wanted to accomplish in practice.”
McLellan’s reasoning for the intense live action was the fact the Wings turn around quicky and open the exhibition season Tuesday at Little Caesars Arena against Chicago.
With little or no fast-paced skating and hitting, how would a player be ready for an actual game against a rival opponent?
“Maybe I’m selfish, but if I’m playing and I have to go against Chicago on Tuesday, and I haven’t scrimmaged or been involved in any full ice five-on-five where there is actual contact and some competitiveness, I don’t think I’m ready to play that game,” McLellan said. “We’re also evaluating them on how they can play. Everybody here will get one scrimmage as long as health allows it, and it takes away any excuse in exhibition game No. 1. They’ve played against competitive players. They should be ready to go.”
4. The Detroit News’s David Guralnick also posted his massive first-day-of-camp photo gallery. It’s a treat!
