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.
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Why he will become a star: He has established himself as a top-two line center in the NHL, and has been a go-to guy for the U.S. at two World Championships. He plays in all situations, makes good decisions with the puck and shows creativity. He’s a great skater, and has a high internal drive to be an elite player.
Why he won’t become a star: Can he continue to find ways to produce more?
The list continues, and Filip Zadina, Michael Rasmussen and Tyler Bertuzzi also make appearances for the Wings…
Riehl hopes to continue to showcase his film through as many channels as possible. With streaming, premium channels, and the ability to host films on websites, including Youtube, Riehl said there are more opportunities to release movies than just in megaplexes across the country. “There are lots of tools now to distribute. The sky’s the limit.”
Golfers at Ubly Heights Golf & Country Club, along with the public, will get the chance to find out about his comedy, as Darren McCarty’s Slapstick Comedy Tour will be coming to the Ubly Heights Golf & Country Club Men’s Invitational on Aug. 4.
“This came together with a little bit of help from the Men’s Invitational committee,” [Ubly Heights PGA Professional Dave] Hanson said. “It’s actually going to be the entertainment part of the Ubly Heights Men’s Invitational this year. We always do some sort of card game, or comedians or magicians. We did a Vegas night one year, so we try to mix it up and we decided to go with the comedians again this year.”
Hanson added: “When we called, they said that we could have some comedians or we could have Darren McCarty, who had an open weekend. So we jumped on it.”
The show will feature not only McCarty, but also a variety of other Michigan comedians, including Jason Douglas, who has opened for the likes of Dennis Miller, Ron White, Jim Gaffigan, Carrot Top and Weird Al.
“Darren has become quite the good comedian on this tour,” said Douglas. “Darren and I had a mutual friend and I said to a buddy of mine, that I thought Darren could host a comedy show and we could bring in a lot of hockey fans. He could tell some stories and we could have some pro comedians on it. Next thing you know Darren went on stage, we booked the first show and he was super funny. Since then we’ve sat down with some other comics and we do writing sessions.”
3. And finally, Dennis Cholowski engaged in a game of “This or That” during the Wings’ summer development camp:
Western Michigan Hockey alums Steve Abbott and Danny DeKeyser are set to be inducted into the WMU Hockey Ring of Honor on Saturday, July 28 as part of the annual Friends and Alumni Golf Outing at The Moors.
The ceremony begins at 12:30 p.m., following registration and lunch for the golf outing. Spots are still available and fans and alumni can register by going to www.wmugolfoutings.com.
The Detroit Red Wings have one more important piece of business to take care of before training camp – sign Dylan Larkin.
They’re not concerned about it because they anticipate no problems getting it done, whether it’s finalized shortly or next month.
The Red Wings, a source said, have been pushing for five years. Larkin and his representatives are seeking six years. Chances are it’ll be in the $6 million-a-year range.
The Red Wings are comfortable locking up Larkin to a long-term deal at age 22 (on July 30) because he is more proven than other young forwards they signed to two-year bridge deals earlier this month (Anthony Mantha and Andreas Athanasiou).
According to the Grand Rapids Griffins, one of Michael Rasmussen’s teammates from the WHL’s Tri-City Americans will earn a chance to turn pro with the Griffins or Walleye this upcoming season:
GRIFFINS SIGN JORDAN TOPPING
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – The Grand Rapids Griffins on Friday signed forward Jordan Topping to a one-year contract.
Topping, 21, spent the last four seasons as a member of the Tri-City Americans of the Western Hockey League and compiled 218 points (109-109—218) and 202 penalty minutes in 243 regular season games. He totaled 17 points (6-11—17) and 20 PIM in 22 playoff contests while competing in the 2015, 2017 and 2018 postseasons. Topping was a teammate of Michael Rasmussen, the Detroit Red Wings’ first-round selection in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft, for three full seasons (2015-18).
The 6-foot-1, 200-pound winger posted career highs in points (80), goals (38) and assists (42) in 72 appearances during the 2017-18 campaign. Topping scored a team-high 38 goals – the second time in his WHL tenure he surpassed the 30-goal plateau – and tied for 20th on the circuit. He placed second on the club in points while also ranking among the team’s leaders in shots (246, T1st), power play goals (12, 2nd), assists (3rd) and power play assists (19, T3rd). Topping added 14 points (4-10—14), a plus-nine rating and 10 PIM in 14 postseason contests as Tri-City fell in six games in the conference finals.
A native of Salt Spring Island, British Columbia, Topping also spent one season with the Cowichan Valley Capitals of the British Columbia Hockey League in 2013-14, tallying 15 points (10-5—15) and 39 PIM in 51 games.
With the release of the Griffins’ 2018-19 schedule, group tickets for all home dates at Van Andel Arena are now on sale, along with 2018-19 season ticket packages. Single-game tickets will go on sale to the public on Sept. 14. Fans can secure their full-season, select-season or group ticket packages by calling (616) 774-4585 ext. 2 or visit griffinshockey.com for more information.
2. The Toledo Walleye’s offseason moves have been…chaotic…and I’ve tried to keep you up to date with the bigger moves, but I haven’t given them blanket coverage. The Red Wings’ ECHL affiliate has a roster tracker up, should you want to know the nitty gritty details:
Stay up-to-date on all of our latest player signings for the 2018-19 season.
“It’s coming together. Maybe something pretty soon,” Larkin told The Athletic. “It goes back and forth. I’ve learned the business part of it. Between free agency and the draft and everything, it’s tough to get time to talk for my agent and Kenny. That’s part of summer and part of how it goes.”
His conclusion?
“I don’t think it’ll go anywhere near September,” he said, with a pause. “But that’s coming soon.”
The extension will likely be in the five- or six-year range, which would make him a rarity among Red Wings players — guys who will be under contract to start the 2021 season. The Red Wings are in the process of burning through their questionable contracts and this season marks a bit of a breakthrough on that front. For the first time during the rebuild, the Red Wings should have a ton of cap flexibility next offseason.
The Grand Rapids Griffins posted a video interview with goaltender Kaden Fulcher, who spoke with the Griffins during the Wings’ summer development camp:
Zadina’s 82 points (44-38–82) placed him seventh in QMJHL scoring this past season while Veleno, who had a mid-season change of scenery in a trade from Saint John to Drummondville, came in at 10th with 79 points (22-57–79).
“He is a good guy, so if we play together, it will be awesome,” Zadina said of his new teammate Veleno. “He is a good centre, so we could play well together. If he will pass me the puck so I can score the goals, it would be awesome.”
While Zadina and Veleno look to help Detroit offensively, Jared McIsaac was added to the depth chart at 36th overall to try and improve things on the back end. The 18-year-old from Truro, Nova Scotia put up 47 points (9-38–47) in 65 games alongside Zadina in Halifax last season and has an extensive international resume with Hockey Canada.
“Obviously Filip’s a generational talent,” McIsaac said of his teammate. “There’s not many goal scorers like him. I’m very happy to see him go and very happy to be drafted by the same team.”
While Zadina was the star in Halifax this past season, McIsaac is a known QMJHL commodity, being selected second overall in the 2016 QMJHL Draft before earning a reputation as one of the CHL’s top two-way defenders.
After two seasons with Almtuna, in Sweden’s second-highest league, Lindstrom is joining Frolunda, a premier program in the Swedish Elite League which featured Rasmus Dahlin, the top pick in this year’s draft.
“They have improved a lot of players,” Lindstrom said. “It’s long days at the rink, with hard training, on ice and off ice. That’s a good place to be.”
Jiri Fischer, Detroit’s director of player evaluation, said of Frolunda: “They’re known for developing players the right way — playing faster, moving the puck quick, not getting rid of the puck.”
Fischer said Lindstrom “definitely has a good future ahead of him.”
“This is going to be a big year,” Fischer said. “He needs to get really established at the elite level in men’s hockey in Sweden, and potentially at the end of the year start knocking on the door of the big national team when they bring extra players for the World Championship.”
Khan continues, and he posted a video of Lindstrom speaking with the media as well:
