Author: George Malik

Red Wings prospect Jonatan Berggren isn’t big at a listed 5’11” and 183 pounds, but the waterbug forward is recovering from a back injury, and he hopes to crack Skelleftea AIK’s men’s team’s lineup on a permanent basis this season. MLive’s Ansar Khan profiled Berggren today:

Berggren hasn’t had many opportunities to display his talent since being drafted. He suffered a season-ended stress fracture in his back (no surgery required) after 16 games with Skelleftea, in his first season in Sweden’s top league.

After sitting out the first day of Red Wings development camp as a precaution, he took part in drills and scrimmages the final four days and impressed with his skills.

He had skated lightly a few times before the camp. This was the first true test since his injury.

“Before my injury, the season was good, but I only play 16 games,” Berggren said. “It was tough, but I got time to spend in the gym and get stronger.

“I have some time to build up myself and I’ve never been so strong, so I think I will be ready for the next season.”

Continued

The Hockey News’s Jared Clinton wondered aloud which players might fill the vacant captancies around the NHL, and there is only one correct answer as far as the Red Wings are concerned:

It’s Dylan Larkin. It has to be. As it stands, he is the future of the franchise, and it only helps matters that he’s a local boy who grew up idolizing the Red Wings. It’s a perfect fit. And, frankly, the timing is right to name him the captain this summer.

Though he has been mentioned in connection with the captaincy in the past, even as early as his sophomore season, Larkin has proven over the past two seasons that he can be a game-changer for Detroit and shoulder the load that comes along with being the No. 1 guy for the franchise. He had some lamp-lighting difficulties in his third season in the NHL, but responded with a stellar 32-goal, 73-point season in 2018-19, a campaign that also saw him draw some consideration for the Selke Trophy. He’s the total package, and that package seems likely to be sealed with a ‘C’ at some point soon.

Continued

Of Red Wings goaltending prospect-related note this morning:

1. DetroitRedWings.com’s Dana Wakiji looked back at Quinnipiac goaltender Keith Petruzzelli’s 2018-2019 season “By the Numbers,” and Red Wings goalie coach Brian Mahoney-Wilson weighs in on Petruzzelli’s development:

Quotable: “Keith in two years’ time has matured immensely, and that’s both on the ice and off the ice personality-wise, with the coaching staff, both his coaching staff at Quinnipiac and with myself and (Wings goaltending coach) Jeff Salajko, being able to interact and discuss things pertaining to goaltending and life in general. He’s come a long way in the strength department, still has a long way to go. This is a big year for Keith in the sense that it’s his net to run with at Quinnipiac as Andrew Shortridge signed with San Jose. We love his athletic ability, his ability to ad lib in plays. It’s just a matter of cleaning up his structure and skating and that has a little bit to do with strength. Once that strength kicks in and he adds muscle mass, his core strength picks up and the same thing with his leg strength, I think he’ll be a little bit more stable in the technical department and also the skating department.”

Continued…

2. And 2019 draft pick Carter Gylander spoke with “Inside the Crusaders'” Tyler Yaremchuk regarding being drafted by the Red Wings and his goals for the upcoming season, all over the course of an 11-minute podcast.

Here’s an FYI from the Windsor Star’s Mary Caton:

The Windsor International Film Festival is celebrating its status as the biggest volunteer-run film festival in Canada with a free movie screening.

WIFF, in partnership with the LiUNA! Bluesfest Windsor, will show last year’s People’s Choice Award Winner from the 2018 festival, The Russian Five, directed by Joshua Riehl.

The free screening will be on Tuesday, July 9, at the Windsor Riverfront Festival Plaza.

Gates open at 5 p.m. and the screening will begin at 7 p.m. All ages are welcome. The event will feature food and beverage vendors and will have a licensed area. Chairs and blankets are encouraged. Coolers will not be permitted. Patrons are asked to register for the free event via Eventbrite.

Red Wings summer development camp try-out Owen Robinson spoke with the Sudbury Star’s Ben Leeson regarding his experiences at last week’s development camp in Detroit. The Sudbury Wolves forward tried to “be a sponge” as he learned from the Wings’ skill development coaches:

“I went in there with the mind set of just learning everything, to just be there, be prepared and be ready to go whenever,” Robinson said. “I honestly didn’t go in there with any expectations, just wanted to go in there and work my hardest and hopefully, good things would happen, and they did.

“My off-ice training has been going really well so far, I have been skating a little bit, and I think it was just good timing. I’m in the best shape that I have ever been in. Going into camp, I was a little nervous, but I felt confident enough and once the first day was over, it was just nice.”

While he has yet to hear if he’ll be invited to rookie camp, feedback on his camp performance has been positive.

“They said, ‘You have something the game is looking for right now,’ which is my skating, and it’s something that I have to keep improving. They said I have a ton of potential, I just have to keep getting stronger, so that’s what I’m going to keep doing, just keep getting stronger, keep improving my skills and, hopefully, I can make that jump to the next level.”

Continued

DetroitRedWings.com’s Arthur J. Regner visited the Larkin Hockey School to speak with the Larkin family regarding their summertime instruction:

Episode 118 of The Red and White Authority is a special Fourth of July holiday edition as we catch up with The Larkins: Colin, Adam, Dylan, and Ryan from the Larkin Hockey School at the Lakeland Ice Arena in Waterford, MI.

?: https://t.co/wEHCNOACKn pic.twitter.com/q9rAQzbciv— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) July 4, 2019

The Associated Press’s Larry Lage posted a story in which several restricted free agent players and player agents discuss what the ramifications of the Sebastian Aho offer sheet might be. A certain Steve Yzerman weighs in as well:

“The way the system is set up with offer sheets, it’s too punitive because of the draft picks you have to give up,” said sports agent Kurt Overhardt, who represents Trouba. “The record has shown it doesn’t make sense for a lot of teams. Montreal took a chance, forcing a notoriously frugal owner to make a decision and he matched. But as long as you have the cap space, you have to match.”

If Carolina chose not to match the offer for Aho, the Canadiens would have given up a draft pick in the first, second and third rounds. If Montreal offered a little more money on the offer sheet, it risked losing an additional first-round selection. And if the franchise offered Aho an average of at least $10,568,590 over the course of the contract, it would have lost four first-round picks if the Hurricanes refused to pay Aho that much.

Agents of restricted free agents attempt to use the possibility of offer sheets in negotiations. Teams, meanwhile, know offer sheets are extremely uncommon and they seem to have the power in talks. That is true particularly when players don’t have arbitration rights.

“As an RFA you just want to be paid what you feel your value is and the offer sheet is one of a few points of leverage you can use,” Winnipeg Jets center Andrew Copp said. “It’s more important to have arbitration rights, but you only have so many options as a restricted player so it can be frustrating not being able to use one of your options.”

Detroit Red Wings general manager Steve Yzerman said it’s tough to predict if Montreal’s move would be made by another team this summer.

“There’s obviously several very high-profile, very good, young players out there,” Yzerman said. “If this is a trend, I really don’t know. I’m curious to see how it plays out.”

Continued

The Detroit News’s Ted Kulfan has issued a list of 2019 NHL offseason “Winners and Losers,” and he includes a third category which includes the home town Red Wings–teams for whom the offseason has been a “mixed bag”:

► Detroit Red Wings: GM Steve Yzerman wasn’t going to make a high-profile signing just for the sake of making one. Forward Valtteri Filppula, defenseman Patrik Nemeth and goaltender Calvin Pickard addressed needs in the organization. What hurts the Wings these days is the continued strength of the Atlantic Division. It’s not going to be easy to move upward anytime soon.

Kulfan continues, and I’m still a little confused as to who the Red Wings could have attracted to more “sexily” bolster the roster given their situation. Right now, the Red Wings are about as appealing as Gorgonzola cheese…

I keep on seeing this little blurb in the Oakland Press’s events pages, and on a “slow day” in July, I may as well post it:

On sale 10 a.m. July 5

• The Jamie Daniels Celebrity Roast of Mickey Redmond: Sept. 7 Sound Board @ MotorCity Casino, Detroit, $153+.

Long story long, Mickey Redmond is going to be “roasted” on September 7th at the MotorCity Casino’s Sound Board venue, and the proceeds will benefit the Jamie Daniels Foundation.

It took joining a website’s free article service in German to find this one, but Moritz Seider spoke with Mannheim Morgen today to discuss his draft and development camp experiences, and here’s his conversation with Jan Kotulla, roughly translated from German:

Moritz Seider: “I only hoped that I wouldn’t trip”

Mortiz Seider will never forget the moment whe nhe received his Red Wings jersey from Detroit general manager Steve Yzerman at the draft.

Mannheim. On Monday, Moritz Seider returned from Detroit and is back in Mannheim–and what is the 18-year-old hockey whiz kid going to do? He’s planning on spending his summer training on the ice. This past weekend was one highlight after another for the defenseman of Adler Mannheim.