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!

Prospect round-up: Zeroes on the board for Kiiskinen and LDN; Greiss comes out of retirement to help Bicker’s Lowen

Of prospect-related note:

In the Finnish Liiga, Jesse Kiiskinen had 4 shots but finished at -2 in 14:54 of ice time as HPK Hameenlinna lost 6-5 in a shootout to TPS Turku;

In the Swedish Allsvenskan, Liam Dower Nilsson finished even in IF Bjorkloven’s 5-1 win over Almtuna;

And Maximilian Kilpinen didn’t register a point, finishing even with 1 shot, in Osterlunds IK’s 5-0 loss to Vasteras IK.

In the DEL, there’s a little bit of irony afoot as Thomas Greiss is coming out of retirement–short-term–to help the Frankfurt Lowen fill their crease as another former Red Wing, Jussi Olkinuora, suffered a knee injury.

Two Twitter things: MBN goes golfing and calendar options

Of Red Wings-related note in the Twitter department:

  1. The Red Wings posted a clip of Michael Brandsegg-Nygard discussing his off-ice activities in Traverse City…

2. And calendar options are never a bad thing:

Albert Johansson plans on keeping it simple during tonight’s game

The Hockey News’s Sam Stockton posted a particularly lengthy notebook this afternoon, and in it, he discusses Albert Johansson’s attempt to make the Red Wings’ roster as a player who’s out of waiver-exempt options:

This preseason will be an important one for 23-year-old defenseman Albert Johansson, whom Detroit selected 60th overall in 2019.  He’s spent the past two seasons in Grand Rapids with the Griffins, and now, no longer waiver exempt, he will be vying to be one of the defenseman on the Red Wings’ roster come opening night.

“I feel like it’s time for me to take the next step,” Johansson said this afternoon.  “Of course, my goal is to take a spot on the roster and play in Detroit this year.”  It’s been a process to reach this point, but Johansson believes he’s ready for NHL minutes.  “I think since I came over here, we had a good talk, and I knew my first year that I was going to be in Grand Rapids,” he recounts.  “And then my second year of course, I just tried to play as best as I could and hopefully get a chance up here. Last year, the defensemen up here stayed pretty healthy, so I didn’t get the chance, but I didn’t think about it too much. I played a lot of minutes down there, which I think was goo for me. Now, it’s a new season, and I think it’s time to take the step.”

…

As far as what he’s hoping to get out of tonight’s game, Johansson said, “First of all, it’s going to be fun to play a game again.  It’s been a long time.  I think it’s just gonna be fun to get out there and get the game started.  Of course, it’s the first game, so hopefully it goes well and then we can take it from there.”  When asked about the challenge of not trying to do too much, he added, “When you put pressure on yourself, you wanna do a lot and show the coaching staff that I’m ready, but I think the most important [thing] is just to play a simple game, especially in the first one here, so try to keep it as simple as possible.”

Continued

Tweets of note: Red Wings, Blackhawks post rosters for tonight’s game

Per the Red Wings and Blackhawks:

Again, tonight’s game starts at 8 PM EDT, and it will air on DetroitRedWings.com.

Experience counts for Michael Brandsegg-Nygard

Updated at 4:20 PM: MLive’s Ansar Khan took note of Red Wings prospect Michael Brandsegg-Nygard’s comments made to the media this morning, as well as those of coach Derek Lalonde, regarding MBN’s attempts to master an incredibly steep learning curve–learning the North American hockey game–at 18 years of age:

“If I will not make the team this year, next year I will have one more year of experience with training camp and stuff,” Brandsegg-Nygard said. “I’ll know the system more and will probably be more comfortable.”

A good-sized two-way winger with a terrific shot, Brandsegg-Nygard (6-1, 206) will skate on a line centered by 2022 first-round pick Marco Kasper and Elmer Soderblom [tonight vs. Chicago]. He also will get some time on the power play, on the left flank.

“North American game is a lot different,” coach Derek Lalonde said. “Even the pace of practice, pace of the game. At the same time, you still want him to flourish and grow with his offense. You want the puck on a stick.”

The Norwegian-born Brandsegg-Nygard, the 15th overall selection, started training last month with Skelleftea AIK in Sweden’s top men’s league. He doesn’t anticipate the smaller ice being an adjustment like it often is for European players.

“Where I’m from in Norway, we have an NHL-size rink, so it’s not like the first time I played on it,” he said.

“The game is a lot faster, smaller ice in the end zones, but also it feels like you can shoot from almost anywhere because it’s so close to the net. … I feel like I have a pretty quick release and will try to use it as best as possible.”

Continued;

Update: Here’s Red Wings coach Derek Lalonde’s take on Brandsegg-Nygard, per the Hockey News’s Connor Eargood:

Continue reading Experience counts for Michael Brandsegg-Nygard

Tweets of note: Red Wings to split goaltending duties vs. Blackhawks; Hawks’ Nazar looking forward to playing against his hometown team

The Red Wings are taking a mixed lineup to Chicago tonight to battle the Blackhawks (8 PM EDT on DetroitRedWings.com), and EP Rinkside’s Sean Shapiro reports that the Wings are going to split their netminding duties this evening:

Meanwhile, in Chicago…

Coach Lalonde discusses the challenges of playing exhibition hockey

DetroitRedWings.com’s Jonathan Mills posted a preview of tonight’s game between the Red Wings and the Chicago Blackhawks (8 PM EDT start on DetroitRedWings.com), mostly quoting Red Wings coach Derek Lalonde regarding the Wings’ tasks ahead as they begin a stretch of playing 8 games over the course of only 12 nights:

“You plan on it and around [the exhibition season], but it’s exciting too,” Lalonde said. “Obviously it’s rinse and repeat. “You’re running two teams, basically one at once, and these fly-in, fly-out road trips. It’s all part of it.”

Detroit reduced its expanded Training Camp roster to 57 players on Sunday. That number will continue to be trimmed over the next couple weeks, as the Red Wings have until 5 p.m. ET on Oct. 7 to submit their maximum 23-man Opening Night roster.

“I think you’re going to see a lot of mixed lineups, maybe a couple of NHL-experienced lines with a couple of new guys,” Lalonde said. “That’s what we’ll see [Wednesday].”

…

“I liked our intensity in Traverse City, so I’d like to keep that at a high,” Lalonde said. “Obviously your takeaways from that Red & White game – there was some growth in it, some teaching [Tuesday], which happens a lot. A lot of ill-advised turnovers that’ll get us in trouble, which is understandable. We want to keep growing our game in every area.”

Lalonde also spoke about the importance of using these exhibition games to give the organization’s prospects extended opportunity to play alongside and against NHL-caliber talent.

“We’d love to play those guys a ton, but you might be asking those guys to play some back-to-backs, some three [games] in four [days] down the stretch,” Lalonde said. “But yes, we want to give all those guys an opportunity. If you recall last year, we played Simon [Edvinsson] a ton and we thought that was extremely valuable for him and his growth. It will be similar for those young guys.”

Continued

Red Wings-Blackhawks morning skate Tweets, part 2: Chicago’s playing a strong lineup tonight

The Detroit Red Wings’ “game-day group” hit the ice at 9:45 AM for their morning skate ahead of tonight’s game vs. Chicago (8 PM EDT start on DetroitRedWings.com), and after the skate, Michael Brandsegg-Nygard and Albert Johansson spoke with the Wings’ media corps (click the last link for video).

The Blackhawks didn’t take to the ice in the Windy City until 10:35 AM local time, and here’s how they lined up:

Update: The Hawks’ website posted their team’s lineup for tonight, via MLive’s Ansar Khan on Twitter:

Video: Michael Brandsegg-Nygard and Albert Joansson speak with the media

Red Wings prospects Michael Brandsegg-Nygard and Albert Johansson spoke with the media after today’s morning skate, combining for 16:49 worth of press conference time. Brandsegg-Nygard discussed whether he might play in the SHL or AHL this upcoming season.