My name is George Malik, and I'm the Malik Report's editor/blogger/poster. I have been blogging about the Red Wings since 2006, and have worked with MLive and Kukla's Korner.
Thank you for reading!
“With the history of the organization, the direction they want to go, with Steve coming in. I just think it’s a team that really wants to do the right thing.”
The Detroit Red Wings engaged in a spirited set of drills during the second day of training camp, and after their on-ice workouts, the Red Wings made the following players available to the media:
Taro Hirose spoke with the press regarding his attempts to earn a spot on the Wings’ roster, his desire to impress during his first training camp and more:
Moritz Seider spoke with the press and was his confident, direct self, discussing what it would take to stick in North America, his desire to become both a “better player and a better person” under the guidance of the Wings’ leaders, and what he brings to the table as a player:
Luke Glendening addressed the addition of an alternate captain’s “A” to his jersey, he talked about how he can help lead the team on and off the ice, his busy summer (he got married) and what Mike Barwis can bring to the team as their director of sports science:
Patrik Nemeth was a refreshingly positive fellow who believes that the Red Wings are closer to turning their team around than most anyone else suggests, with Nemeth suggesting that the Wings can in fact build from the defensive foundation that he will help establish on out:
Coach Blashill spoke for 10 minutes, addressing the aforementioned players, whether Hirose, Seider or Filip Zadina might make the team out of training camp, his take on the Red vs. White game to come and his status as playing in tonight’s “Celebrity and Alumni Game”:
The Red Wings have had back-to-back sixth overall picks in the NHL Entry Draft and have rounded out their roster with a ton of young prospects looking to get their shot at the National Hockey league.
They selected forward Filip Zadina in 2018 and bolstered their defensive prospects with Moritz Seider on June 21. Zadina, 19, and Seider, 18, join a stable of prospects that the Red Wings have been developing over the past three years.
Forward Givani Smith and defenseman Filip Hronek, who were both second-round picks in 2016, have developed into NHL-caliber players in their time with the organization. Hronek played 46 games for the Red Wings in 2018-19 and Smith spent the season with the Grand Rapids Griffins. Joe Veleno, a first round pick in 2018 and the top scoring forward in this year’s NHL Prospect Tournament, spent the summer working on his defense and becoming a 200-foot player. Dennis Cholowski, the top pick for the Red Wings in 2016, spent a little time with the parent club last season and is one of many young guys who have a shot at making the 2019-20 roster.
“They definitely have a chance, there are spots on the roster and ice time available,” Yzerman said of his prospects’ shot at making the NHL roster. “The younger players are pushing to make the team and there are several of them who can make it.”
Many analysts are predicting another long season, and another spring without the playoffs for the Red Wings. Tyler Bertuzzi is using that as fuel to prove those people wrong.
The Wings have missed the playoffs three consecutive seasons, but Bertuzzi said this team expects more.
“Everyone has us not making the playoffs again, and just the same path we’ve been on the last few years,” Bertuzzi said. “We want to change that. Just kind of our ending last year, we were playing real well at the end of the season. We got a couple of new guys, and just more experience from guys, and we have our older guys leading the way.”
“This is year two of three where we’re pegged to be a bottom five team in the NHL,” Larkin said. “To me that stings a little bit. We believe in our group. For me, I want our team to come out of this camp healthy. Last year was a tough start. We can’t start like that this year. For us to come out of this camp healthy as a full team and hit the ground running, hopefully we can turn a lot of heads and shock people.”
As for Yzerman, he is thinking big picture when it comes to assessing the team.
“If you’re not competitive you’re not going to play in the NHL. That’s the reality,” Yzerman said. “You have to be competitive on the ice, off the ice. That’s the inner drive that they have. You have to do that to play in the league. For the team, our ultimate goal is to win a Stanley Cup at some point. We want to show improvement in our record. Every year you’re trying to improve.
“But as we sit here in September, we’ll watch the team in October and throughout the entire season, I’m looking at that as we got players that are going to be 20 years old, 19 years old, we got guys that are 35. 36, all at different stages. Are they helping us? Are they making us a better team? Ultimately, part of being a good player is being real competitive.”
The Detroit Red Wings opened training camp at Centre ICE Arena in Traverse City today, splitting their 67-man roster into three “teams” which practiced for the better part of six hours today.
Today’s practices were particularly up-tempo by training camp standards, and when coach Blashill didn’t like the pace thereof, he made each of the first two teams do some laps from one side of the rink to the other to ensure that his message was sent.
That message? Haul ass and execute while hauling said asses.
“We need more (prospects), but I’m encouraged – there’s a good group of young players that have potential,” Yzerman said Friday as he met with the media at camp, after the day’s workouts had been completed. “We’re going to try to add to that group. But with that group, we’re trying to create an environment that allows them to go from prospects to good NHL players, and that’s a big step.”
It was only four games, but the Wings fielded one of the younger teams in the Prospects Tournament and Yzerman was encouraged by the competitiveness of his team.
Defenseman Moritz Seider, and forwards Joe Veleno, Filip Zadina, Givani Smith, Chase Pearson, Ryan Kuffner and Taro Hirose were among some of the recent draft picks or undrafted college free agents who were impressive, according to Yzerman.
“You like to win – it’s better to win than to lose,” Yzerman said. “Most importantly, the kids competed real hard. They learned from it. Some of those kids are only 18 years old and playing against some 23- and 24-year-olds. They had good week’s and it’s preparing them for next week and a good buildup for them moving forward. It looks like we have a good group of prospects here and we’re hoping they continue to improve and eventually become NHLers.”