Author: George Malik

NHL.com’s Dave Hogg spoke with Red Wings prospect Simon Edvinsson regarding his experiences at the Red Wings’ summer development camp, as well as his expectations for the upcoming season:

Simon Edvinsson didn’t get the full benefit of this summer’s development camp with the Detroit Red Wings but the defenseman prospect said he thinks he learned what he needed to. Edvinsson’s arrival in Detroit was delayed by travel issues, meaning most of his ice time came in the 3-on-3 tournament on the final day.

“It was just awesome to get here after all the struggles with the planes and everything,” Edvinsson said. “Today was about getting to know everyone, and I’m going to be staying in town for the next three weeks to work with a lot of these guys.”

Edvinsson spent his time in Detroit getting ready for the World Junior Championship, where he scored two points (one goal, one assist) and helped Sweden finish third. Now he’s taking a short break before the Red Wings hold prospect camp and their full training camp.

“I want to be in the lineup on the first day of the season,” Edvinsson said. “I know I’m going to have to work hard because we have a lot of great defensemen, but that’s just more motivation for me. I’m going to show everything I’ve got.”

Continued

Sportsnet’s Jeff Marek Tweeted this teaser for what is apparently an upcoming feature in which Marek speaks with Red Wings defenseman Moritz Seider in Mannheim, Germany:

Excited to drop this piece with Moritz Seider chatting with @JeffMarek in Mannheim 🇩🇪 @Sportsnet pic.twitter.com/IwzrDkRGpD— Amil Delic (@amandelic) August 23, 2022

Detroit Hockey Now’s Bob Duff posted an article which discusses defenseman Olli Maatta’s comments regarding his new employer’s potential on-ice improvement this upcoming season:

When it comes to rebuilds, Olli Maatta has been there and done that. One of the newest members of the Detroit Red Wings, Maatta spent the past two seasons patroling the blueline for the Los Angeles Kings.

There, the defenseman saw the Kings go from a .438 winning percentage in 2021 to a .604 mark and a playoff position last season. Maatta doesn’t see why the Red Wings, a .451 squad last season, can’t engineer a similar increase in production this season.

“I think it’s an exciting time, especially when you look at the team,” Maatta explained. “They’re young, but when you see the players they had before . . . and now adding a bunch of big pieces, I think it’s a great place and it’s an exciting time.”

The Kings, Stanley Cup champions in 2011-12 and 2013-14, retooled through the draft and an influx of young homegrown talent. The Red Wings are following a similar pattern. Key parts of the core that are homegrown include captain Dylan Larkin, forwards Tyler Bertuzzi and Lucas Raymond and Calder Trophy-winning defenseman Moritz Seider.

“When you look at how they built the team, and I know Steve Yzerman knows how to build a team, he’s done it before, when you look at the young guys they drafted, they’re already top players in the league,” Maatta said. “You look at Seider, Larks, Bertuzzi.”

Duff continues…

MLive’s Ansar Khan posted a profile of Red Wings prospect Cross Hanas this morning, discussing the turning-pro forward’s attributes and mindset as he prepares to make the Grand Rapids Griffins’ roster this fall:

“I’m going to work toward playing in the AHL,” Hanas said. “If they end up not wanting me there then I’ll get sent back to Portland for my 20-year-old year. I’m determined to play in the AHL next year for Grand Rapids. I’m ready for that next step coming into pro hockey.”

That will be determined at Red Wings training camp next month.

Hanas (6-1, 171), a right wing selected 55th overall (second round) in 2020, had 26 goals and 86 points in 63 games for Portland in the WHL. He had just five goals and 20 points in 33 games between Lincoln (USHL) and Portland in the COVID-shortened 2020-21 season.

“Being 19 in the WHL is a big step,” Hanas said. “They rely on you a lot, so I got to be first power play, got to be on the PK. They trusted me defensively because I’ve been working on that. Playing PK this year was one of the first times I was doing that, so I think I grew a lot there. Being out there and playing with confidence, knowing you’re going to get ice time and knowing I can do stuff out there to produce for our team and win.”

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Red Wings defenseman Olli Maatta spoke with Ilta-Sanomat’s Tommi Koivunen regarding his decision to sign with the Red Wings, and here’s a rough translation of the Finnish article:

The Finnish defenseman is in a new situation in the NHL–he chose a rebuilding team: “There’s an awful fire to succeed there”

Olli Maatta signed a one-year contract with Detroit, one of the rising teams of the NHL.

Chicago, Los Angeles, now Detroit.

Olli Maatta spent the first six seasons of his NHL career in Pittsburgh, but since the summer of 2019, his address has changed frequently.

Maatta played for the Blackhawks and the Kings on the same season, with the 6-year contract he’d signed with the Penguins.

“When the trade to Chicago happened, I was afraid to go to a new team. Now that a couple of team changes are behind me, I know that joining a new team is quite easy. The biggest challenge is adapting to everyday life in a new city and finding routines,” Maatta summarizes.

Paul Stastny is 36 and will turn 37 years of age this upcoming season, but he’s been a relatively productive, tenacious two-way center for the past five years. As such, the Hockey News’s Mike Stephens tries to play “matchmaker” this evening, suggesting three potential landing spots for Stastny, including the Red Wings:

Detroit Red Wings 
2022-23 Cap Space: $9,246,111

Whereas the Canadiens have one foot in rebuild mode while still looking like a win-now team, the Red Wings are going full-steam ahead after a teardown of their own, throwing money at established veterans all summer long in an effort to make their roster competitive in the toughest division in hockey. 

Stastny seems like the logical final piece to the puzzle GM Steve Yzerman has been building this offseason. 

Not only do the Red Wings have a need for a useful middle-six centre to compliment Dylan Larkin and Andrew Copp, but they actually have the cap space to give Stastny what he’s asking for, operating as one of the very few teams league-wide with upwards of $9 million in available funds to spend however they like. 

No matter where Stastny goes, a short-term deal is likely all he’s getting — which works best for all parties involved, really. The Red Wings can exceed any offer Stastny receives, and their roster will be boosted in the immediate future by an effective and versatile veteran with plenty left in the tank. 

Continued; the Red Wings already have Pius Suter slated to be their 3rd line center, the Red Wings have Chase Pearson no longer waiver-exempt in their prospect pipeline, and I don’t see a reason for the team to spend another $4-5 million on another middle-of-the-lineup guy.

The fit doesn’t make sense to me.

I’m incredibly cautious regarding writing about Red Wings prospects’ preseason performances in European leagues, in no small part because the levels of competition that they’re facing vary wildly from game to game…

So we’ll allow Detroit Hockey Now’s Kevin Allen to note 1) that Liam Dower Nilsson is doing very well for the Frolunda Indians during the month-long SHL preseason, and 2) Perhaps more importantly, Dower Nilsson is skating alongside his presumptive linemates for the upcoming season in Joel Lundqvist and Max Friberg:

Liam Dower Nilsson (134th overall in 2021) is showing flash in his play for Frolunda in the Swedish Hockey League’s preseason. He has five goals in three games. Dower Nilsson, according to Swedish media reports, has been playing on a line with Henrik Lundqvist’s brother, Joel and Max Friberg.

Joel Lundqvist is 40, Friberg is 29 and Dower-Nilsson is 19.

“All praise to them,” Dower Nilsson told rakapuckar.com. “They mean a lot, both on and off the ice. When they come and say things, about the structure and other things, you really think about it.”

Dower-Nilsson is a Hakan Andersson special project. Kris Draper said Detroit’s European Scouting Director pounded the table when he insisted the Red Wings draft Dower Nilsson. Dower Nilsson is a smart, enterprising, responsible center with a scoring touch. He didn’t score in 10 SHL games last season, but registered 50 points in 34 games in the junior league.

This will be an important development season for Dower Nilsson. He believes he has much more to give.

Allen continued; LDN isn’t particularly big at 6′ and 172 pounds, but he’s a pesky little bugger. We’ll see whether he continues to produce solid numbers alongside what will probably constitute Frolunda HC’s 3rd line.

Via Detroit Sports Nation’s Michael Whitaker, Red Wings goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic appeared on 97.1 the Ticket’s Stoney and Jansen with Heather show on Monday morning, discussing his offseason training (as he recovers from a lower-body injury which required surgery after the World Championship) and the Red Wings’ offseason changes, including the team’s coaching changes:

Red Wings defenseman Olli Maatta turns 28 today:

🎂🎉‼️ pic.twitter.com/AzPT3gzXeL

— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) August 22, 2022

The Athletic’s Max Bultman weighs in on the World Junior Championship performances of the 9 Red Wings prospects who took part in the WJC:

Donovan Sebrango: He may have been overshadowed a bit by the production of his defense partner — Anaheim prospect Olen Zellwegger was arguably the tournament’s top defenseman — but I liked what I saw from Sebrango at this tournament. Playing on Canada’s top pair, he looked like a player who spent the last two years competing against men and was the defensive stalwart of the pairing with Zellwegger. I liked his first pass, and he’s fearless going into battles along the boards. Sebrango’s arrow keeps trending up.

Sebastian Cossa: Cossa played only one game in the tournament for the eventual champs, giving up a pair of goals to an upstart Latvia team that advanced out of pool play. After he appeared to be the third-string netminder in the winter, though, Cossa being Canada’s back-up for the rest of the tournament was no surprise. It’s just hard to take much away from the one game.

Of course, while starter Dylan Garand was good for Canada, the fact Cossa was relegated largely to the bench while fellow top 2021 netminder Jesper Wallstedt was the tournament’s top goaltender has to sting a bit for the Red Wings. Detroit traded up to pick Cossa over Wallstedt last summer, and while there’s plenty of room for both to develop into quality NHL netminders, Wallstedt is clearly off to the better individual start post-draft.

The two don’t need to be compared against one another forever — nor should they be — but right now, it’s fair to be left wanting a bit more out of Cossa.

Eemil Viro: I saw fewer of Finland’s games than most of the others here, so apologies for a lighter report on Viro. When I did see him, he was largely the same profile I’ve seen in the past: a defense-first defender with good mobility and a solid first pass, playing a second-pair role. He had an assist and was +1 for the tournament on a Finnish team that was inches from upsetting Canada for the gold, and his assist came in that gold medal game.

He’s got a solid foundation to become a depth defenseman, and we’ll now see if he can pop a bit more as he begins his North American pro career in Grand Rapids.

Continued…