Author: George Malik

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!

Red Wings Tweets from Wednesday’s practice, ‘first group’ version: it’s an ‘NHL group’ today

Updated at 12:24 PM: The Red Wings practiced at Little Caesars Arena the morning after the “non game-day players” won a 2-1 decision over the Pittsburgh Penguins, and it appears that the Wings had some media appearances to take care of before practice began:

The Red Wings close the exhibition season by hosting the Toronto Maple Leafs on Thursday, the Ottawa Senators on Friday, and then the team will travel to Toronto for an exhibition rematch on Saturday night.

It’s highly likely that one of the next two home games will basically be a “dress rehearsal,” in which coach Derek Lalonde will dress a near-NHL-quality lineup as a warm-up game for the regular season.

Traditionally speaking, that last game is used to give the AHL’ers, try-outs and prospects one final chance to impress (so as to prevent injuries to the NHL group), and then on Sunday or Monday, the Wings will make cuts and send players down to Grand Rapids and Toledo.

Anyway, the Red Wings’ “first group” hit the ice at 11:30 AM…

And it looks like the Wings might be gearing up for that dress rehearsal tomorrow night:

About time for this one…

Meanwhile, in Grand Rapids…

Continue reading Red Wings Tweets from Wednesday’s practice, ‘first group’ version: it’s an ‘NHL group’ today

Regarding Danielson, Kasper and Mazur

The Athletic’s Max Bultman discusses his observations related to the impacts of the Red Wings’ young forwards who are vying for a job on the Wings’ roster, or at least an early and substantial call-up from Grand Rapids–Nate Danielson, Marco Kasper and Carter Mazur.

Bultman begins by discussing Danielson’s game-winning goal during last night’s 2-1 victory over Pittsburgh as something of a break-out moment:

A preseason goal only counts for so much. Danielson still, in all likelihood, looks headed for Grand Rapids to start the season — where he can play the kind of big-minute, offensive role that will help him down the line for the Red Wings.

But the goal still mattered because, for all of the impressive details in Danielson’s game, he will at some point be expected to produce offense. And while a breakaway goal in an exhibition won’t change any narratives about his potential to do so, it still was an example of the skill in his game that can at times be overlooked.

And while it was Danielson’s night on Tuesday, he’s really just one of a handful of young forwards who have made their marks on this preseason through five of Detroit’s eight exhibition games.

At the top of that list is Marco Kasper, who has arguably raised his stock (publicly, at least), as much as any Red Wing this preseason. He’s been consistently noticeable in all of his exhibition action, whether it’s been for his effectiveness on the penalty kill, making some skilled plays of his own or for his skating and puck-transporting ability.

Then there’s Carter Mazur, who coming off a successful playoff run in the AHL last Spring arrived at camp with some much-needed mass added onto his frame, and has spent the preseason showing his willingness to go to hard parts of the ice and challenge for pucks. Add in Danielson, and the Red Wings have a nice collection of near-term prospects on their hands.

“Very impressed with all three of them,” head coach Derek Lalonde said. “They’ve kind of played into my optimistic vision of them. I like all three, I think I’ve stated that quite a bit over the last year, year and a half, and they’ve done nothing to disappoint.”

Continued (paywall); as Bultman suggests, all three forwards play a similar game in terms of their defensive awareness and responsible natures, but they’re all a little different in that Danielson’s the most dynamic of the three, Kasper is the real ball-buster in terms of his ability to play as a feisty two-way center, and Mazur’s the net-front pest and gritty grinder who will serve as an inspirational force at some point soon.

The Athletic discusses the University of Michigan women’s hockey team’s uphill climb for recognition

This isn’t Red Wings-related, but it’s very good and quite important in my belief. The Athletic’s Hailey Salivan wrote an article which discusses the uphill climb which the University of Michigan women’s hockey team is making as it attempts to earn varsity sport status:

The women’s club team will be in its 30th year when the puck drops for the 2024-25 season on Wednesday. And the appetite for women’s hockey in the State was apparent when a Professional Women’s Hockey League game at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit drew a record crowd for a game back in March.

“Part of our mission statement at the University of Michigan says ‘to serve the people of Michigan.’ And right now, the people of Michigan are not being served. There is a demand for women’s hockey at (Michigan),” [University of Michigan regent Denise] Ilitch said during the meeting. “Women belong on the same ice as men. The University of Michigan must show that on our ice, we support varsity women’s hockey. That’s leadership. Hockey is for everyone, and we are ‘HockeyTown.‘”

Michigan president Santa Ono said he would look into launching a feasibility study with athletic director Warde Manuel.

The athletic department launched the study in May; it is expected to be completed sometime in the fall.

The study is a significant step toward a potential future for elite women’s hockey at one of the biggest schools in college athletics. It’s the first real look at adding the sport in decades. This time, though, the push for women’s hockey comes at a historic moment for the sport, with a new professional league and more eyes on the game than ever before.

“It almost feels like we’ve got this perfect storm,” said Jenna Trubiano, the club team’s head coach. “I personally would have wished it happened many years ago. We can’t change the past but you can focus on the future.”

Continued (paywall)

HSJ in the morning: Justin Holl expects to rebound from a difficult 23-24 campaign

The Free Press’s Helene St. James discusses Red Wings defenseman Justin Holl this morning. The 32-year-old with 2 years remaining on his $3.4 million contract believes that he can push the reset button after a frustrating season spent going in and out of the Wings’ lineup last year:

“I can just maintain a narrow focus,” Holl said Tuesday. “That’s kind of all I can do. As a player, you learn to control what you can. For me, that’s just trying to perform as well as I can — every practice, every game, and let the chips fall where they may.

“I think every year you have to continue to prove yourself. So from the mental standpoint, not much changes. But it’s definitely something where I’m highly motivated. I obviously want to be a big part of the team and I know I can be. That’s the main focus for me.”

Yzerman signed Holl on July 1, 2023. A month and a half later, Yzerman traded for Jeff Petry, another right-shot defenseman. Holl played fairly regularly early on, but then ended up a healthy scratch game after game as the Wings enjoyed a season with almost no injuries to their defense corps.

“Nobody likes that feeling,” Holl said. “Everybody wants to be in the lineup every night. I’ve tasted that feeling and I’ve known what it’s like to be a big part of a team. Nothing else will do once you’ve tasted that. That’s where I want to be.”

Management has disagreed with Holl’s lack of usage but ultimately has let the decision be that of the coaching staff. So far at camp, it’s a crowded field again: Petry, Moritz Seider, Ben Chiarot and Simon Edvinsson project to be in the top four, and Olli Määttä and Erik Gustaffson to make up the third pairing. That would seem to leave Holl and Albert Johansson, a draft pick from 2019, as reserves, but there are still games to be played in the exhibition season.

Coach Derek Lalonde said he has “full confidence in Justin. It was just last year, we were in a situation where we were very healthy all year on the back end. So just bring your game, do the things you’re good at, defend, be hard to play against, and we’ll see where it goes from there.”

Continued (paywall) with an embedded video:

Update: Here’s more from the Hockey News’s Connor Eargood:

Continue reading HSJ in the morning: Justin Holl expects to rebound from a difficult 23-24 campaign

Red Wings-Penguins rematch wrap-up: underdog-done good

Despite their unremarkable lineup, the Detroit Red Wings’ “non-game-day” players defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins’ “mostly NHL’ers” team 2-1 on Tuesday night, affording the Wings a 3-1-and-1 record (despite two losses in Monday night’s “split squad” games).

The game was far from elegant, but the “B Team” committed itself to defensive play, Ville Husso was tremendous in stopping 43 of 44 shot against (though he did receive some help from a couple of goalposts), Amadeus Lombardi scored an elegant deke-and-dangle goal in the slot 2:48 into the 2nd, Nate Danielson scored a breakaway goal at 17:11 of the 3rd, and the Wings killed 5 Penguins power plays, all en route to that 2-1 victory.

The Wings open the 2024-2025 season against Pittsburgh on Thursday, October 10th, and I’m certain that Pittsburgh will remember this game going into the Wings’ home opener. The only question is whether the Wings’ “A Team” will be fully ready to put in the kind of blue-collar effort in checking the Penguins’ stars that earned them (with a lot of help from Husso) a hard-fought victory.

Anyway, the Red Wings’ press corps didn’t travel to Pittsburgh, so what we’re going to get tonight is a lot of summaries, and a few quips and quotes.

MLive’s Ansar Khan kept his recap short and sweet…

Continue reading Red Wings-Penguins rematch wrap-up: underdog-done good

Red Wings-Penguins quick take, back-to-back version: Husso, underdog Wings pull off the upset

The Detroit Red Wings sent a particularly patchwork-y lineup to Pittsburgh to battle a Penguins team stocked with NHL stars on Tuesday night.

The Wings dropped a pair of games on Monday–with their “A Team” losing to an under-powered-but-loose Penguins team 5-1, and the “Wiffins” dropping a 4-3 overtime decision to Buffalo.

On Tuesday evening, the Penguins and Red Wings took to the ice at PPG Paints Arena on a “Bring Your Dog to the Game” game, and the underdogs ended up taking the win.

Surprisingly, Ville Husso made a tremendous 43 stops (and he received help from a couple of goalposts), Detroit killed 5 Penguins power plays, and the Wings received goals from Amadeus Lombardi on a gorgeous deke-and-dangle via Hunter Johannes to tie the game at 1 in the 2nd, and late in the 3rd, Michael Brandsegg-Nygard found Nate Danielson at the Pens’ blueline off a terrible Pittsburgh change, and Danielson roared in and scored a breakaway marker at 17:11 to make it 2-1.

The Wings held on through a late Pittsburgh power play, and the “non-game-day players” ended up leaving the fans (and dogs) in attendance booing and howling as they emerged victorious.

Continue reading Red Wings-Penguins quick take, back-to-back version: Husso, underdog Wings pull off the upset

John Buccigross goes golfing with Brady Cleveland

Red Wings prospect and Colorado College transfer Brady Cleveland went golfing with ESPN’s John Buccigross (and teammate Ty Gallagher) recently:

Tweet of note: It’s time for the Red Wings donut (really)

Per the Detroit Red Wings:

Proceeds usually go to charity…

Justin Holl presses the ‘reset’ button

The Detroit News’s Ted Kulfan posted a notebook article whose main thrust is a discussion of Carter Mazur’s status as an up-and-coming prospect, but he offers this regarding Justin Holl as well…

Last season didn’t go as planned for defenseman Justin Holl. Signed to a three-year contract, Holl wound up playing on 38 games as he fell out of the playing rotation, combined with a defensive unit that was mostly healthy kept Holl pinned as a healthy scratch. Holl appears to be in a tight battle for playing time this season, too.

“I can just maintain a narrow focus, that’s all I can do,” Holl said. “As a player you learn control what you can. For me, that’s trying to perform as well as I can every practice and game and let the chips fall as they may.”

Holl is viewing this season as a “clean slate,” a fresh start after last season’s disappointment.

“That’s common theme in the NHL, it’s the best league in the world and every year you have to continue to prove yourself,” Holl said. “I’m definitely highly motivated and want to be a big part of this team, and I know I can be. That’s the focus for me.”

And there are a few more notes of interest from Kulfan:

… Lalonde would like to, and feels it’s likely, the Wings will have a close to an NHL lineup in either of the home games Thursday or Friday.

The Red Wings traditionally have an NHL lineup against the Leafs for their Friday home game, before giving their AHL’ers and prospects one last chance to impress on Saturday night…

… Lalonde has made this one of the more challenging training camps in recent years, and there’s both a physical and mental aspect to it.

“Part of this harder camp, if you will, has been asking the group for a little bit more,” Lalonde said. “We want to push a little more physically, and hopefully it turns into a little more mentally, too.”

Regarding Joe Veleno’s position–and positioning–on the Wings’ roster

The Hockey News’s Sam Stockton wonders aloud where Joe Veleno fits into the Red Wings’ lineup, and he receives a succinct answer from Red Wings coach Derek Lalonde…

“I foresee him starting as our [fourth] center there,” coach Derek Lalonde told The Hockey News, when asked about Veleno’s current place in his lineup. “And he’s given us some good games at center. I think he’s a very valuable, versatile player. I like him at the wing at times too. He can play just a little bit North-South, create a little bit on the forecheck. If you recall last year, he had a little run with Larkin and Raymond, and it game them a huge boost because of his legs. He’s gonna start as a center, but he’s one of those versatile guys that can play both center and wing.” Lalonde added that there is a balance to strike between optimizing each individual player’s role with the overall health and effectiveness of the team, saying “It’s all connected. You’re playing to win every night, but you wanna do that to make your team successful [and put] guys [in a role] where they’re at their best.”

But Veleno himself sees room for growth:

When asked for his opinion on the next steps for his career, Veleno replied, “I wanna up my game in every situation.  Every opportunity that I’m given, I wanna take advantage of that, keep striding in the right direction, being more consistent every night, just bringing that energy night in and night out…I wanna be a part of what’s going on here.  I wanna be part of this trend moving forward, and I think we got something good going on.”

He went on to explain that he doesn’t see a dissonance between pushing for more offense and playing a reliable two-way game.  Instead, for Veleno, the former follows from the latter.  “I think it’s all about anticipation and reading the play and knowing when to be above guys and when to get those opportunities offensively,” he explained.  “I’ve always been taught that if you’re well positioned defensively [and] don’t cheat the game, offense will come to you.  If you’re always in the right spot, somehow you’ll be open and guys will find you.  So I think just always being in the right spot defensively, it will lead to good offense.  Sometimes it will even surprise you.  You’re in a good spot defensively, and the next thing you know, a couple seconds later, you’re getting a Grade A chance in front of the net.”

Continued; really good stuff from Stockton here.