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 draft Michal Pradel 75th overall, trade 76th pick to Columbus

The Detroit Red Wings selected X with the 75th overall pick in the 2025 NHL Draft…

And then…

From EliteProspects:

Continue reading Red Wings draft Michal Pradel 75th overall, trade 76th pick to Columbus

Red Wings select Eddie Genborg 44th overall in the 2025 NHL Draft

The Detroit Red Wigs have selected forward Eddie Genborg with the 44th overall pick in the 2025 NHL Draft.

Update: Daily Faceoff’s Anthony Trudeau:

Continue reading Red Wings select Eddie Genborg 44th overall in the 2025 NHL Draft

Red Wings acquire John Gibson from Anaheim for Petr Mrazek, draft picks

Per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman…

Continue reading Red Wings acquire John Gibson from Anaheim for Petr Mrazek, draft picks

Even young players have injury histories

MLive’s Ansar Khan spoke with Red Wings GM Steve Yzerman about Wings draft pick Carter Bear’s recovery from a partially torn Achilles tendon, and Yzerman offered a surprising comment regarding the injury histories of draft-eligible players:

“You find something wrong with everybody,” Yzerman said. “They’ve been playing for a long time and most of them have (had) something.

“Some things will scare you more than others. I’ll just use a torn ACL as an example. Thirty years ago, most of us would have been really hesitant to take a player. Now, the techniques that doctors have and the training, physiotherapy … the time they’re out isn’t really a concern.

“So, injuries are a part of it and there is some risk involved with drafting any player. Even the healthy ones could get hurt. So, you cross your fingers and there’s a little bit of luck involved in staying healthy. But for the most part, everybody’s dealing with something now, it seems.”

Continued; it’s true, everybody’s somewhat “banged-up” long-term at 18 years of age. Hockey is a punishing sport, so it’s to be expected.

Roughly translated: Anton Johansson will stay with Leksands IF for one more season

Hockeysverige.se’s Martin Jansson reports that Red Wings prospect Anton Johansson will remain in the SHL with Leksands IF for this upcoming season. Here’s a rough translation of his report:

The Dream Message–stays with Leksand: “Incredibly good for me”

Anton Johansson will remain with Leksands IF for the upcoming season. The Dala team confirms that the talented player will be loaned out by the Detroit Red Wings.

“Anno made a strong impression in Grand Rapids in the last part of their season, and we’ve had very open and honest discussion with Detroit and Steve Yzerman,” said Leksands GM Thomas Johansson.

It’s been unclear for a long time whether Anton Johansson will play with Leksands IF of the SHL next season. The defenseman signed an NHL contract with Detroit, and also finished the season in North America. Since then, discussions have been going on about where he will play next season.

Now, Leksands IF GM Thomas Johansson confirms that Anton will play his game in Dalarna this coming season.

“Anton is undergoing strong development and has his strengths in his physical game, his mobility and game sense. He can play all the forms of play and is a bit mean out on the ice. We see that his development lies in building muscle, and it feels extremely good that we get to keep Anton for another year. Anton made a strong impression in Grand Rapids during the last part of their season, and we’ve had very open and honest discussions with Detroit and Steve Yzerman, who’s shown great confidence with us in Leksands IF to continue to develop Anton, said “Tjomme” in a press release.

Anton Johansson stays with Leksands IF

Since Anton Johansson took the step up to the A-team in Leksand, he’s developed rapidly. Two seasons ago, he starred on the World Junior Championship team. In the past season, he also established himself as one of the team’s best defensemen.

Therefore, of course, there’s something of a dream message for Leksand. Last season he posted 10 points in 46 SHL games.

“It was an incredibly fun and educational experience for me to finish away in the United States. Being able to carry all the experience I got there with me will be of great use for the upcoming season. I think it will be incredibly fun and educational to develop even more with Leksand, this is where my journey took off, and I know that it will be incredibly good for me next season to continue to develop in Leksand and build even more experience in the SHL.

Morning news: On the process and the product which led the Red Wings to draft Carter Bear

Of Red Wings and mostly Carter Bear-related note this morning:

Bear spoke in a composed manner while discussing the “getting to know you” process that was the NHL Draft Combine in Buffalo, as Detroit Hockey Now’s Bob Duff noted…

“Just very down to earth,” [Red Wings GM Steve] Yzerman said. “Just very nice young man committed to playing hockey. We go to the (NHL scouting) combine in Buffalo, we get to spend a half hour or so with them, but we pretty much kind of know what to expect going in. And you can imagine being 17, 18 years old going into an interview with a bunch of older guys that for these kids, it can be intimidating. As we spent time, he opened up a little bit with us.”

From Bear’s point of view, that’s the only person he knows how to be.

“This whole draft process, kind of probably being myself,” Bear said of the perspective he’s put into the past year of being poked, probed and prodded by hockey people. “Just being myself in those meetings.

“At the start of the year, you get a little nervous, for sure. But I gotta learn to just be myself. Just be yourself, because that’s what teams want when they interview you, for sure. And I guess that’s what you guys want me in these interviews, just to be myself. So I think that’s what I learned for myself.”

The Athletic’s Max Bultman also spoke with both Bear, Yzerman, and Red Wings assistant GM/director of amateur scouting Kris Draper about Bear’s positives…

Continue reading Morning news: On the process and the product which led the Red Wings to draft Carter Bear

Late-night Carter Bear talk from Yzerman and Draper

The Detroit News’s Ted Kulfan filed a late-night article which discusses the Red Wings’ drafting of Carter Bear with the 13th overall pick in the 2025 NHL Draft, and he offers perspectives on Bear from both GM Steve Yzerman and assistant GM/director of amateur scouting Kris Draper:

“We had a couple of teams call us as our pick was coming near, to see if we would move back,” Yzerman said. “As long as Carter was on the board, we stayed there. There were a couple other players as well that we would have been comfortable in selecting. (Wings fans) are getting a very intelligent player, extremely competitive, he can really score at the junior level, and we think all of his game translates to the NHL.”

Bear scored 40 goals before suffering an Achilles injury in March that ended his season. Bear is expected to be ready for training camp.

“We were aware of that, examined it fully and we expect it to heal,” Yzerman said. “He didn’t tear it but had a cut with a skate and partial tear that our doctors feel will heal 100 percent. It wasn’t a concern for us at all.”

…

Draper was impressed with Bear’s tenacity, competitiveness and offensive skills while scouting Bear’s Everett team in the WHL. Draper was thrilled Bear was available when the Wings picked 13th.

“Very skilled, very tenacious, we like the way he thinks the game,” Draper said. “He’s a player that played in all situations. He can play up and down the lineup. He’s the type of player when you go watch him play, you walk out of the rink and really appreciate the effort he gave. We added a real big piece to our prospect pool.”

Draper also told Kulfan that the 2nd through 7th rounds, in which the Red Wings have 8 picks later today during the second day of the 2025 NHL Draft (12 PM EDT start on the NHL Network and Sportsnet), should provide some value:

“There’s some good hockey players that’ll come out of this draft,” Draper said. “You saw a lot of forwards, a lot of centermen who got drafted early. This is a really good group. There are some names, certainly in our second-round pick (Saturday), we’re excited to have an opportunity to draft them but like tonight, we have to wait. We go down our list and make our decision from there. It’s wait and see.”

For better or worse, the Red Wings are doggedly faithful to their list of players to target, so we’ll see some “off the board” picks for sure on Saturday afternoon, but that’s to be expected.

Also: the Wings posted a late-night montage of Bear’s better goals from the 2024-2025 season, in which he played for the WHL’s Everett Silvertips:

A trio of draft experts weigh in on the Wings’ drafting of Carter Bear

I readily admit that I’m not a draft expert. Between watching Red Wings games, other NHL games, cooking shows, and the whole “being a caregiver to an 83-year-old aunt” thing, I don’t really get the time to head out to local rinks and scout players.

That’s unfortunate given the wealth of competitive hockey around the Metro Detroit area, but it is what it is–I can’t take Aunt Annie and her two titanium hips to every rink–so I defer to the experts in this instance.

So: three draft experts, two from The Athletic and one from FloHockey.tv, have weighed in on the Red Wings’ decision to draft Carter Bear with the 13th overall pick in the 2025 NHL Draft, and here’s what they had to say:

First, Corey Pronman offers this assessment of the Bear pick:

13. Detroit Red Wings: Carter Bear, LW, Everett Silvertips (WHL)

November 4, 2006 | 6′ 0″ | 179 pounds

Tier: Bubble top and middle of the lineup player

Player comparable: Troy Terry

Analysis: Bear was a leading player on a top team in the WHL this season before a recent injury knocked him out for the remainder of the year. He’s a very skilled forward with the quick twitch hands and high-end creativity to create offense at the NHL level. He makes a lot of plays through defenders and to his teammates. Bear’s skill stands out, but the way he creates offense should likely translate to higher levels. He gets to the net to generate chances, plays fast and is a good enough skater. He’s also a highly physical winger who creates a lot of chances in traffic. He projects as a top-six winger who coaches will feel comfortable using in any situation.

Pick grade: B

The Athletic’s Scott Wheeler also weighed in, deeming the Red Wings an “overtime winner” in his draft-winners-and-losers column:

Continue reading A trio of draft experts weigh in on the Wings’ drafting of Carter Bear