Author: George Malik

The Athletic’s Max Bultman suggests that both Red Wings prospect Marco Kasper and pro try-out Austin Watson have earned spots on this year’s Red Wings team, and this morning, he ponders how the Wings might make room on their roster for one or both players.

Bultman starts with Kasper’s case for making the team:

Marco Kasper deserves a spot on this team.

He was noticeable in training camp. He was impactful to begin the preseason. And he closed out his exhibition season with his best game yet Friday night, a two-goal showing against the Ottawa Senators in which Kasper very nearly recorded a hat trick in the first period.

“(He’s) been excellent,” head coach Derek Lalonde said Friday. “Energy. Some finish there. He’s had a really good camp.”

Lalonde went back to a point he made early in camp about the differences he’s seen between Kasper now versus at this time last year, when the coach felt the young forward looked like a “deer in a headlight.”

This time around? Kasper was the story of the preseason for Detroit. He played an up-tempo game, looked confident with the puck and created chances even when short-handed. And he did that all within what looked like a very sustainable framework, not cheating for offense. Getting the two goals Friday was the final piece of the puzzle, adding some production to a lot of good processes.

Of course, he’s still a rookie, and on Thursday, Lalonde noted that Kasper “probably had his fingerprints” on a goal against, being out of position on the penalty kill. But the mistakes were few and far between, and by the end, Kasper didn’t just look like a good prospect. He looked like one of the Red Wings’ 12 best forwards.

Continued (paywall); I’m honestly a bit flummoxed as to what’s going to happen here.

The Red Wings definitely witnessed a revelatory performance from Kasper, but at present, there’s no room for him on the roster without making some decisions–as in waiving Justin Holl, sitting someone like Jonatan Berggren or Joe Veleno, or waiving a goaltender (and Bultman and I are in agreement that Ville Husso looked superb in the preseason).

Just as importantly, Bultman argues that Austin Watson was literally and figuratively impactful enough that he should earn a contract with the Red Wings. That’s doubly complicated because, even assuming that the Wings make room for Kasper on the roster, there’s no room for Watson on the opening-night roster if the Wings are to a) keep three goaltenders or b) keep 8 defensemen with c) Kasper on the roster.

Of Red Wings prospect-related note in North America on Saturday night:

In the USHL, Austin Baker finished at -1 in the Sioux Falls Stampede’s 3-2 loss to the Lincoln Stars;

Rudy Guimond stopped 21 of 24 shots in the Cedar Rapids Roughriders’ 3-2 loss to the Youngstown Phantoms;

In NCAA Hockey, Larry Keenan had an assist, finishing at +2 with 3 shots in the UMass Minutemen’s 5-4 win over Bentley;

Kienan Draper finished even, going 4-for-9 on faceoffs as the University of Michigan Wolverines won 4-1 over Minnesota State;

Trey Augustine stopped 24 of 25 shots, Red Savage had an assist, finishing even with an 11-and-10 faceoff record, and the Michigan State University Spartans won 5-1 over Lake Superior State;

And Max Plante had 2 assists, finishing even with 2 shots in the Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs’ 4-3 loss to Bemidji State.

The Detroit Red Wings concluded their preseason with a 3-3-and-2 record thanks to a 3-2 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs’ “A Team” on Saturday night. The undermanned “B Team” gave the Leafs a good effort, especially thanks to two goals from the Copp line (one from Fischer and one from Copp himself), and Ville Husso was excellent in stopping 30 of 33 shots…

But the Wings could not withstand the Maple Leafs’ All-Star power play, which went 2-for-4, or All-Star lineup, which plain old out-lasted a Red Wings team that looked physically and mentally tired as it wrapped up a bafflingly tight schedule of 8 games played in 11 nights–including 6 games this week alone (split-squad games against Pittsburgh and Buffalo on Tuesday included).

I never understand why the Red Wings choose to play 8 exhibition games–I think that 6 games in 2 weeks is a real maximum for the team to realistically contribute–and it’s a small miracle that Shai Buium and Tim Gettinger end the exhibition season on the IR, with Ondrej Becher already injured before the Prospect Games began.

The game’s narrative will be told in sparing fashion as the vast majority of the Red Wings’ press corps did not fly to Toronto to take in the game, which wasn’t aired on Metro Detroit TV stations, either.

The Free Press’s Helene St. James relates the game’s details quite well…

The Detroit Red Wings concluded their 8-games-in-11-nights preseason schedule by traveling to Toronto with their “B Team” to play the Maple Leafs’ “A Team” on Saturday night.

To some extent, the “how’s” of the Red Wings players’ performances would matter much more than the result of the game, because the Leafs’ constellation of stars tends to overwhelm visiting teams’ best lineups; going into the game, the Red Wings possessed a 3-3-and-1 record over the course of 7 exhibition games played, so mastering the details of the game and systems play–and getting Ville Husso some “reps”–were what counted on Saturday night.

Still, Toronto’s “B Team” took a 2-0 decision from the Red Wings on Thursday night, and these teams are always rivals, so the Red Wings wouldn’t mind taking a chunk out of the Leafs on Saturday evening.

Ultimately, the Maple Leafs out-lasted the Red Wings, and out-shot the shit out of them, with Toronto taking a 33-20 shot advantage–and a 15-1 shot advantage in the 2nd period–en route to a 3-2 win over the Red Wings.

Christian Fischer tipped a shot from Andrew Copp past Joseph Woll only 3:33 into the 1st, and after Stephen Lorentz tied the game, Copp scored a goal of his own from William Wallinder and Joe Snively on the PP at 16:58…

But from there on out, it was all Toronto, and Ville Husso is the reason that the score didn’t get out of hand…

Well, Husso, and players like Copp, Fischer, Rasmussen, Veleno, Berggren, Mazur, Johansson, Wallinder and the rest of a very young Wings team, which received tons of ice time and lots of good lessons learned against an All-Star Maple Leafs team.

Detroit wraps up its preseason going 3-3-and-2 while playing 8 times in 11 nights; the players have tomorrow off from practice, but the team will have to make its cut-down from 41 to 23 players by Monday at 5 PM.

Most likely, the Wings will make their cuts on Sunday, deciding the fates of 18 players, including Michael Brandsegg-Nygard, who may stay in North America after all.

In terms of the game’s narrative…

Detroit Hockey Now’s Kevin Allen wonders aloud whether the Red Wings are considering retaining Marco Kasper on the team’s initial 23-man roster, or whether Justin Holl might be waived in order to keep Kasper around:

Detroit Red Wings coach Derek Lalonde says he has never undestood the drama surrounding who makes the roster coming out of training camp.

“Grand Rapids is two hours away,” Lalonde said. “We’ll have played 33 players by Christmas… Maybe it’s a little old school, maybe that’s where it was 20, 25 years ago. You made the team on Day 1. I think in reality, we’re probably going to have 15 forwards, 10 D that are going to play for us and make our team. So it’ll be very interesting how it plays out in the next couple days.”

It’s hard to know who needs that message more. The media? Fan base? Or is it, Marco Kasper?  The Austrian center seems like he has made a serious bid to make the opening day roster.  He plays hard, brings considerable energy and his two-goal game Friday showed his scoring may be coming around.

The argument for finding room for him is that he could put a youthful charge into the team. The Detroit Tigers have used that strategy effectively. With Simon Edvinsson and Albert Johansson also joining Moritz Seider and Lucas Raymond, adding Kasper would make it seem like we are turning the corner on the rebuild. Nate Danielson and Carter Mazur aren’t far behind Kasper.

Allen continues…

Per the Detroit Red Wings:

RED WINGS REDUCE PRESEASON ROSTER TO 41

  … Detroit Concludes Preseason Schedule with Road Game Against Toronto Maple Leafs at 7:00 p.m. at Scotiabank Arena; Game to be Streamed on DetroitRedWings.com  …

DETROIT – The Detroit Red Wings today released forward Isaac Ratcliffe from his professional tryout, assigned forwards Alexandre Doucet, Amadeus Lombardi and Jakub Rychlovský to the American Hockey League’s Grand Rapids Griffins, and assigned goaltender Gage Alexander to the ECHL’s Toledo Walleye. Additionally, the Red Wings have designated forward Tim Gettinger and defenseman Shai Buium as injured non-roster, while forward Ondřej Becher will continue his rehab in Grand Rapids.

The Red Wings have released forwards Hunter Johannes and Dominik Shine, and defenseman Josiah Didier from their professional tryouts, returning them to Grand Rapids. The Griffins have also assigned forwards Carson Bantle and Gabriel Seger, defenseman Chaz Reddekopp, and goaltender Jan Bednar to Toledo.

The Red Wings currently have 41 players on their training camp roster: 21 forwards, 14 defensemen and six goaltenders. Currently at 3-2-2 through seven preseason games, Detroit concludes its preseason schedule with a road game against the Toronto Maple Leafs tonight (Saturday, Oct. 5) at 7:00 p.m. at Scotiabank Arena. The game will be streamed on DetroitRedWings.com.

Red Wings executive VP of Hockey Operations Nicklas Lidstrom was in Prague to take in the “NHL Global Series” between the Buffalo Sabres and New Jersey Devils, and he spoke with NHL.com/sv’s Peter Ekholm about the experience. What follows is roughly translated from Swedish:

Why are you here in Prague?

“The NHL is back in Europe, and it’s also with two teams that are in our Eastern Conference. I’m excited to have NHL hockey back in Europe again, really.”

The team that’s not here that you know well is your Detroit Red Wings. Lucas Raymond has just signed a new long-term contract. What do you think that the future looks like for the team, and what do you think about the current situation, and what he can contribute?

“I think that we have a very bright future. We are pleased that we’ve signed both Raymond and Moritz Seider to long-term contracts. Lucas had a very good second half of last season. And when we had injuries to our forwards, Lucas stepped up for us. We expect him to bring that into this season.”

What do you think of the Swedish players who are here? Jacob Markstrom in particular, what do you think that he can bring to the Devils? And Rasmus Dahlin, who is in his first season as [Buffalo’s] captain?

“Markstrom had a great first game yesterday [Friday night]. He was really standing on his head. They got a goal on him late in the 3rd, but I think that he played very well for the Devils. Jesper Bratt is another player who I’m impressed with. He works hard, he’s smart and he plays on both sides of the puck. A really stable player. Dahlin, it will be interesting to see him this season now that he is the captain. He will feel more pressure on his shoulders. But I think that he’s ready for that next step. He’s gotten better and better every year he’s been in the league, and I’m looking forward to seeing him play.”

There’s the 4 Nations Face-Off in February, a tournament in which Sweden, Finland, the U.S.A. and Canada will all participate. How do you think that the tournament will go?

“It will be an exciting tournament. Seeing the best players in the world have a chance to play against each other. Playing on the smaller rinks, like in the NHL. I’m sure that it’s going to be a fun tournament to watch.”

As the Hockey News’s Connor Eargood notes, Red Wings coach Derek Lalonde made an interesting point during today’s media availability–he suggested that media and Red Wings fans alike need not despair if their favorite role player or prospect does not make the Wings’ roster out of training camp:

“Everyone makes such a big deal of making the team on day one, and I’ve never understood it,” Lalonde said. “Because Grand Rapids is two hours away. We’ll have played 33 players by Christmas. … Maybe it’s a little old school, maybe that’s where it was 20-25 years ago — you made the team on day one. I think in reality, we’re probably going to have 15 forwards, 10 D that are going to play for us and make our team. So it will be very interesting to see how it all plays out in the next couple days.”

Lalonde isn’t wrong. Unusually lucky on the injury front last season, Detroit still saw 28 different players skate in at least one game. Four goalies, eight defensemen, 16 forwards. Even if a player isn’t on the initial 23-man roster in October, there are 82 opportunities or more to get to the NHL.

For Kasper, Danielson and Mazur, even if they don’t make the roster this weekend, there are still plenty of opportunities for them to reach the NHL later in the year. That’s a product of the skills they flashed since training camp commenced, as well as the upside of their potential growth. But it’s also due to their ability to play a variety of roles, which might be most important.

Ultimately, the Red Wings are going to make decisions in terms of calling up players based upon what roles the players might fulfill when they’re recalled, and, as Eargood suggests, the fact that Marco Kasper, Nate Danielson and Carter Mazur can play in pretty much every situation bodes well for them:

“It’s a reality of development and growing guys in the league,” Lalonde said. “What I like about a lot of our prospects, and I’ve mentioned this a few times, is even though they’re 1A and are high picks or mid-first round picks, they’ve got some two-way DNA already in them. I mean, Marco, Danielson, Mazur — you can see these guys in camp winning battles, having energy, having a little grit to them. That’s what excites me about the development of some of these guys.”

Instead of a question of whether these prospects can deliver in an NHL lineup, their overall versatility changes the question to whether it’s good for them to play a certain role. Because they can defend and influence play at both ends of the rink, they don’t limit themselves to one type of opportunity with their play. They can impact the game from the second line down to the fourth.

At the same time, Lalonde suggested that the Wings won’t go with their younger players by default when it’s time to plug a hole in the lineup:

Role versatility doesn’t automatically mean that these prospects will top the list of call-up candidates. Consider a hypothetical pitched by Lalonde: “I think the tougher decision when we start getting into those call-ups is do you bring Player A knowing it’s a three game road trip and he plays in a lesser role? Or do you bring Player B who’s going to miss out on 20 minutes, both power play and PK down in Grand Rapids?”

Continued; there’s not a simple answer as to “who’s ready” when the Red Wings make call-ups, but we all know that, in due time, anyway, the Wings have three bright prospects in Kasper, Danielson and Mazur, and they’re all likely to make the NHL to stay at some point in the near future.

Of Red Wings prospect-related note in the SHL today:

Axel Sandin Pellikka finished at -1 with 4 shots in 23:24 played as Skelleftea AIK lost 4-1 to Linkopings HC;

Noah Dower Nilsson finished even with 3 shots and a minor penalty taken in 13:03 played as Frolunda HC won 2-1 in overtime over the Malmo Redhawks;

And Anton Johansson finished even with 2 shots taken in Leksands IF’s 2-1 loss to Orebro Hockey. Leksand is really struggling this season, so there’s already talk of big changes being made.

The Red Wings dropped a 4-3 OT decision to the Ottawa Senators last night, but the physical, mental and emotional rivalry with the Senators team carried over from last season in a big way, and that was fine with the Red Wings, who were happy that pro try-out Austin Watson got into it with Senators forward Jan Jenik–even though Watson ended up being ejected, and gave the Senators a 5-minute power play.

The Detroit News’s Ted Kulfan discusses the situation today:

“I actually liked it a lot,” Lalonde said. “It energized our guys.”

Watson was scheduled to be in the lineup Saturday in Toronto, the Wings’ final preseason game, and get one final opportunity to show what he can provide. Rosters must be set by Monday at 5 p.m. and Watson appears to be on the cusp of making the roster. The physicality Watson brings, the ability to make opponents think twice about taking advantage of the Wings, could be an important ingredient they might choose to keep.

“It’s amazing, just one guy with that mentality helps the group out a ton,” Lalonde said. “Up to that point, Austin was good in his game. He kills penalties, he had a beautiful Grade A chance on the back door, five-on-five. He’s done some good things with his play also.”

Watson is probably going to have at least a couple of tussles with Ryan Reaves, who the Leafs are dressing as Calle Jarnkrok’s nursing a minor injury…

Long after Watson was ejected, Ottawa’s Cole Reinhardt took exception to Simon Edvinsson delivering a clean, hard hit on a Senators teammate. Reinhardt skated toward Edvinsson and began to engage, but Edvinsson easily hauled Reinhardt to the ice before the scuffle was broken up, much to the delight of the Little Caesars Arena crowd.

The Wings did a good job of sticking up for each other last season. Friday’s responses were a sign they are determined to come to each other’s aid.

“It gets us to stick together,” defenseman Olli Maatta said. “We did that. That’s the toughness you need. It’s not necessarily fighting anymore but it’s a team spirit. Don’t back down and you support your teammates, your partner, your linemates. That’s the mindset we’ve had all three years I’ve been here and we’re going to keep doing that.”

Continued; I’m not as big a fan of the rough stuff in the preseason, but everybody needs to find a spark somehow.

Update: Detroit Hockey Now’s Bob Duff also discussed Austin Watson’s play: