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!

Dylan Larkin speaks with WXYZ’s Galli

Red Wings forward Dylan Larkin spoke with WXYZ’s Brad Galli as Larkin’s hockey school in Waterford wrapped up on Thursday evening. Larkin didn’t wish to talk about contract negotiations with the Wings, but he did speak about the Wings’ young players, his goatee and his experiences playing at the World Championship:

 

Regner profiles Dylan Sadowy

DetroitRedWings.com’s Arthur J. Regner profiles Red Wings prospect Dylan Sadowy this morning. As Regner notes in his “By the Numbers” assessment of Sadowy’s 2017-18 season, Sadowy has yet to sort out his game:

Quotable: “I have seen enough of him, certainly this past season and he’s still a young hockey player. You think about these kids coming out of junior, they’re 20 years old, they’ve lived with billets and now you throw them out there on their own. The Red Wings do a great job through development camp, sort of teaching them the ropes of how to be a professional away from the arena, but some of these kids, it does take a little bit longer. So the maturity aspect is coming along, whether it’s through opportunity, whether it’s a guy who is a little bit slower in his development process. Everyone develops at different speeds.

For me in Toledo, he did make strides. The biggest thing for him is he was getting opportunities to score goals, he was touching the puck quite a bit, it was on his stick at our level. In the American League when you try and make that jump, the plays that you make in the ECHL, you’ve got to make them a little quicker now, otherwise the puck is turned over and you’re sitting on the end of the bench at times. I think it’s just the case of a slower developing player. As he improves, he could be an everyday AHL player.

The biggest message for Dylan heading into this summer is go home and have a phenomenal summer, get into the gym, get stronger. If you want those net-front minutes, if you want to be on the penalty kill – because he is willing to block shots – you do have to make sure your legs are stronger, your core is strong. Be ready to compete once training camp starts and obviously with the transition period with the Wings, Grand Rapids, Toledo, he does have an opportunity to potentially make an impact there in Grand Rapids. I like to see guys progress. I like to see guys go from Toledo up to Grand Rapids and obviously the major goal to get up to Detroit. For Dylan, his sole purpose is to come in and make sure he’s ready to compete to earn his spot and earn his job in Grand Rapids.” – Dan Watson, Toledo Walleye head coach

Continued

FYI: Little Caesars Arena team store to hold summer sale on July 28th

The Detroit Red Wings announced today that their team store at Little Caesars Arena, which sells both Red Wings and Pistons merchandise, will be holding a summer sale. If you’re interested…

LITTLE CAESARS ARENA TEAM STORE SUMMER SALE SET FOR SATURDAY, JULY 28
… Discounts Available on Red Wings, Pistons and Tigers Merchandise at Official Team Store Within Little Caesars Arena on July 28 from 9 a.m. – 6 p.m. …

DETROIT – The Little Caesars Arena Team Store (76 Henry St., Detroit) will hold its inaugural Summer Sale on Saturday, July 28 from 9:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m., it was announced today.

Detroit Red Wings, Pistons and Tigers fans can take advantage of discounts of up to 80 percent off clearance items and 25 percent off all full-priced merchandise. Merchandise available will feature all three franchises, including jerseys, hats, T-shirts, outerwear and more.

The sale will take place in the Little Caesars Arena Team Store and extend to the street-level Via concourse.

Offers are not valid for authentic merchandise and cannot be combined with other offers. All clearance item sales are final. Quantities are limited and available on a first-come, first-served basis.

Fans who have questions regarding the Summer Sale can call the Little Caesars Arena Team Store at 313-462-8418.

Gordie Howe earns the Free Press’s ‘Greatest of All Time’ fan vote win

The Detroit Free Press has been holding a fan vote for the last month, with fans pitting Detroit sports legends against each other in order to determine the greatest Detroit sports star of all time. Today, the Free Press’s Carlos Monarrez reports that fans picked the right “GOAT” for the job:

My faith has been restored.

You, the Detroit sports fans and Free Press readers, have restored my faith by voting Red Wings forward Gordie Howe over Tigers outfielder Ty Cobb as the best pro athlete in Detroit team history in Freep.com’s Tournament of G.O.A.T.

I’ll be honest. My faith was a little shaken for a while when I saw some upsets, and particularly 15th seed Matthew Stafford’s Cinderella run to the Lions bracket final against top seed Barry Sanders. Stafford over Joe Schmidt? Really, people?

I was worried there was going to be too much of a recency bias. I feared a Final Four of Stafford vs. Miguel Cabrera and Chauncey Billups vs. Pavel Datsyuk, with Stafford winning it all.

But our readers and voters got it right. They gave us a Final Four of Sanders vs. Cobb and Howe vs. Isiah Thomas. Cobb beat Sanders, 52.3 percent to 47.7 percent. Howe beat Thomas, 85.5 percent to 14.5 percent.

In the final, they got it right again. Mr. Hockey over the Georgia Peach in a route. The final vote total: 2,843 to 1,007, or 73.84 percent to 26.16 percent.

Monarrez continues, and I’d suggest that fans picked the right player.

Danny DeKeyser appears on ‘The Red and White Authority’

DetroitRedWings.com’s Arthur J. Regner sat down with Danny DeKeyser for an hour-long conversation today:

Mid-day Tweets of note

Of Twitter-related note this afternoon:

1. Regarding the Eastside Elite Hockey League, per Michigan Hockey’s Michael Caples:

2. Here’s an FYI from the Griffins:

3. If you were unaware that Red Wings training camp tickets go on sale on July 24th…

4. Alec Regula and Keith Petruzzelli have been assigned “teams” for the World Junior Summer Showcase:

5. And in the alumni department:

6. Also of note:

 

Chris Chelios leaves the Red Wings

This is a mild shock, per the Red Wings:

A STATEMENT FROM CHRIS CHELIOS

Detroit, MI…Chris Chelios, a legendary member of the Detroit Red Wings since 1999 as a player, advisor and ambassador for the team, announced today that he will be leaving the organization to return to his hometown of Chicago to be closer to family.

“I would like to thank everyone in the Red Wings organization, starting with the Ilitch family – Mrs. Ilitch, Chris Ilitch, and, of course, the late Mr. I.  There’s a reason the Red Wings are so revered around the National Hockey League and it starts at the top with ownership.  The Ilitch family’s dedication and passion for both the Red Wings and the city of Detroit is second-to-none.  I would also like to personally thank Ken Holland for everything he has done for me.  I’ve learned so much from him, both as a player and during my time on the management side.  Ken is a world-class general manager and he’s an even better friend and mentor.  I have no doubt the Red Wings will be Stanley Cup contenders again in the near future.

I’ve thoroughly enjoyed being a part of the Red Wings organization over the last 19 years.  Admittedly, I was skeptical about the 1999 trade that brought me to Detroit.  As a Chicago guy who was playing for the Blackhawks at the time, we despised those Detroit teams of the 1990’s.  After the trade, however, things changed quickly and I began to feel right at home.  What an unbelievable experience, playing on some of the greatest teams in league history, with some of the greatest players of all-time.  I consider myself extremely lucky to have been a part of it all.  The Cup-winning teams in 2002 and 2008 are the obvious highlights, but I’m grateful for every chance I had to put on a Red Wings sweater.

For me, this is an opportunity to move back to Chicago to be closer to family, and in particular my mother.  I began to seriously consider moving home last February after the passing of my father.  Now that my children have all graduated, it seems like the ideal time for my wife, Tracee, and I to make the move.

To the fans in Detroit – I want to say thank you.  You embraced me from day one.  My experience in Detroit was a lot of fun and we definitely had some unforgettable times together.  Just know that I won’t be a stranger.  I plan on visiting the area whenever I can, especially now that my son, Jake, is playing in the Wings organization.”

Khan profiles Kaden Fulcher

MLive’s Ansar Khan profiles Red Wings prospect Kaden Fulcher this morning. The goaltender helped backstop the OHL’s Hamilton Bulldogs to an OHL title and a Memorial Cup berth this past season, a year after signing with the Red Wings as a free agent, and it’s assumed that Fulcher will “turn pro” this season:

“I definitely want to make the jump to professional hockey, but I know it’s going to be tough,” Fulcher said during Red Wings development camp in June. “I know it’s going to be a lot of work this summer. It’s as much (the Red Wings’) decision as it is mine, so I think I’m just going to listen to what they’re telling me to do and it’s up to them.”

The Red Wings signed free agents Harri Sateri and Patrik Rybar to be their goalies with the AHL Grand Rapids Griffins. They might opt to have Fulcher play for the ECHL Toledo Walleye, with the opportunity to move up to Grand Rapids as needed.

“We got to make some decisions with the goaltending position, but (Fulcher) is a good character guy and he works hard and he’s looking for an opportunity and he’s going to make the most of it,” Griffins coach Ben Simon said. “Young guy, is he ready for that next opportunity? If you ask him, absolutely, he’s going to tell you he is, but again, it’s a long stretch of games in the AHL and it’s a grind. So, we’re going to look at that to help add a little bit of depth moving forward.”

Khan continues, and Fulcher’s got a fantastic attitude regarding the work he needs to put in to continue to evolve as a goaltender, so I believe that the future is very bright for him.

Slowly getting the blog’s shi…I mean ‘stuff’ together

The question regarding a “guest article” sort of prefaces what I hope will be a busier period for the blog.

If anyone else plans on joining the blog logo design contest, please let me know via email, Twitter, Facebook or comment section, because I need to go through my email and dig out the entries for your to vote upon…

I’m officially soliciting, “I’d like to see this feature/design/etc.” comments regarding some a serious blog redesign as it’s time to invest in getting this thing looking professional by the time that I head up to Traverse City for the prospect tournament and main training camp…

And regarding “heading up North,” we are going to be entering some uncharted territory between the 28th of this month and the 4th of August as the mom and I have cobbled together enough scratch to attend the family vacation in Grand Marais. I’m not quite sure how content is going to work with limited internet access and the whole “being on vacation” thing while I’m a sole provider of content, but we can certainly kick around some ideas.

A question about a potential ‘guest article’

Question for the blog: Would you be receptive to having Pro Stock Hockey write a guest blog article? I know it sort-of-kind-of skirts the commercial content angle, but I’ve been approached by PSH and I’m curious as to what they know regarding the Red Wings’ equipment preferences.

They tend to get pro stock gear from the team with more depth than Hockeytown Authentics, and I’d be curious as to whether they might share some of the secrets of the trade with us as well.

Just a thought. Let me know what you think.