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!

Tweet of note: Your gratuitous Nicklas Lidstrom Tweet of the day

5 days until the NHL begins its 2023-2024 regular season, which strikes me as a good reason to remember the greatest #5 in hockey history.

Kulfan’s notebook: Kasper’s still adjusting to the ‘small ice’

The Detroit News’s Ted Kulfan took note of Red Wings coach Derek Lalonde’s comments regarding Marco Kasper, who’s an incredibly bright prospect. Kasper hasn’t had the greatest preseason in terms of production, and coach Lalonde isn’t necessarily surprised by that:

Marco Kasper was drafted a year before Danielson, but Kasper’s camp has been one about adjusting to North American pro hockey.

Playing in Sweden last year, against pros, was a good education. But the larger ice surface in Europe, along with the style of play, has made things a little different for Kasper.

“It’s a little different,” Lalonde said. “Adjusting to North American hockey is a little different. There’s some different time and space (situations) probably where he played last year, which I don’t mind from a skill development, but you can see he has a tendency to slow plays down and regroup pucks.

“The turnover that ended up in the back of our net the other night, he tried a behind-the-back, through-the-legs pass to the defenseman for a regroup, which you don’t see very often (in the NHL). It’s a no-no in our league but that is probably a common play with the bigger ice (surface). It’s a little bit of an adjustment and he self-admitted that when we watched a video this morning. But each game he has gotten better, which is a good sign.”

Continued; Kasper does like to “buttonhook” quite a bit and attempt to regroup for better second or third scoring chances, but you can’t do that on 85-foot-wide ice.

He’s got the pluck, skill and bite to make a difference here in North America, but there’s going to be an adjustment period for him, and that’s okay.

Two things: A different kind of ‘Michigan Man,’ and a bit of Bedard mania in Detroit?

Of brief Red Wings-related note this afternoon:

  1. I’d normally look at this quote and toss it, but Dylan Larkin said something about the Red Wings’ attempts to recruit Michiganders to the AP’s Stephen Whyno, and Whyno included the remark in an article about “new faces in new places“:

ALEX DeBRINCAT: Dylan Larkin was sour when the Detroit Red Wings were selling at the trade deadline, unsure the direction GM Steve Yzerman was going with the retooling process. That changed in July when Yzerman traded for two-time 41-goal scorer Alex DeBrincat and signed him to a long-term extension.

“We’ve had conversations in the past of getting some Michigan-grown talent back,” Larkin said of his discussions with Yzerman. “You never know how or if or who it could be, but there’s a lot of great players that have ties to the state of Michigan. Alex wanted to be here. It was just good timing.”

DeBrincat isn’t the only Michigan native joining the Red Wings. They also acquired defenseman Jeff Petry from Montreal after he was sent there in the Karlsson trade with the understanding the Canadiens wouldn’t keep him.

Kind of interesting to know that Larkin and Yzerman speak, even if it’s irregularly…

2. And you may take this from EP Rinkside’s Sean Shapiro as you wish to:

Continue reading Two things: A different kind of ‘Michigan Man,’ and a bit of Bedard mania in Detroit?

Prospect round-up: ASP’s Skelleftea win, and a highlight of a Gibson goal

Of Red Wings prospect-related note:

In the KHL, Dmitri Buchelnikov hasn’t made it to Vladivostok yet, but his Admiral Vladivostok won 2-1 in overtime over Lada;

In the SHL, Axel Sandin Pellikka finished even with 3 shots on goal in 17:25 played as Skelleftea AIK won 2-1 over Oskarshamn:

Later tonight, in the OHL, Tnias Mathurin and the North Bay Battalion will visit the Windsor Spitfires;

Update: Tnias Mathurin had an assist and finished at +3 in the Battalion’s 5-4 overtime loss to Windsor;

And in highlights, Andrew Gibson scored a goal for the Soo Greyhounds in the Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario team’s 3-2 shootout win over the London Knights last night. Here’s a Twitter highlight of Gibson’s goal:

On Edvinsson and Petry

DetroitRedWings.com’s Jonathan Mills looks back at yesterday night’s 2-1 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins as part of his Wings-Leafs preview, discussing the chemistry between Simon Edvinsson and Jeff Petry:

Edvinsson was paired with veteran defenseman Jeff Petry on Wednesday, and according to Edvinsson, the 35-year-old blueliner has been a valuable mentor this preseason.

“I played with Petry and it felt really good,” said Edvinsson, who is also projected to play at Toronto Thursday. “I feel like we play good together. He teaches me a lot. He gives me a lot of information. He’s been in the league for a long time. It’s been good. I feel good.”

Petry, who recorded an assist in 20:31 of ice time against the Penguins, said Edvinsson brings a unique skillset to the Red Wings.

“He skates well,” Petry said about Detroit’s sixth overall pick in the 2021 NHL Entry Draft. “He’s obviously got a big frame, which is an asset he can use to his advantage. His skating and ability to make a good first pass are very good assets to have, especially as a young player coming in.”

Continued

Khan discusses Nate Danielson’s preseason performances

MLive’s Ansar Khan posted an article in which he discusses Red Wings coach Derek Lalonde and prospect Nate Danielson’s remarks regarding the latter’s performance over the course of four exhibition games played:

“Two hundred-foot game, smart. He’s good in all areas,” Lalonde said. “Skill, vision and poise. You can just see him not rushing plays. He’ll hold on to a puck, protect it, let a play develop. That stuff usually takes time, usually takes some development, some video input in those situations, but he’s got a good knack for it.”

Said Danielson: “It’s kind of how I’ve always been, poised with the puck. It’s obviously a bit different out here and things happen a lot quicker. I still wanted to keep that (poise) in my game. It’s something that makes me successful, so I think just trying to play confident and play how I play is the biggest thing.”

Danielson will center a line with Jonatan Berggren and Klim Kostin at the start of tonight’s game.

It might be his final preseason game before he’s sent back to Brandon (WHL) for another year of juniors, though Lalonde said there’s a possibility Danielson might also play in the exhibition finale against the Leafs Saturday at Little Caesars Arena.

“We’ll get through tonight and then we’ll see where we’re at for Saturday,” Lalonde said. “Saturday will probably be more of a dry run on what we expect, close to what our NHL team will be for next Thursday. But we still may use Saturday as a one last look at some guys that are on that bubble.”

Continued

Four Red Wings prospects make Daily Faceoff’s ‘Top 75 NHL-affiliated prospects’ list

Daily Faceoff’s Steven Ellis posted his “Top 75 NHL-affiliated prospects” list today. Here are the Wings’ representatives:

13. Simon Edvinsson, D, 20 (Detroit Red Wings)

After an excellent season in the SHL, the team could have rushed him to the NHL for 2022-23, but they didn’t. They let him simmer with the AHL’s Grand Rapids Griffins, where he was one of the best players on a weak team. He had some solid moments down the stretch with the Red Wings, showing he was ready for a much bigger workload in 2023-24. Along with Moritz Seider, Edvinsson looks to be a huge piece of Detroit’s future. And that’s also literal, given he’s 6-foot-6.

29. Marco Kasper, C, 19 (Detroit Red Wings)

It’s really difficult to produce as a junior-aged player in the Swedish Hockey League, one of the best European leagues in the world – and one that is more interested in winning than developing for the NHL. Over the past two years, only Anaheim Ducks prospect Leo Carlsson (25) has more points as a U-20 skater than Kasper (23). In fact, four of the top six U-20 scorers in that span happen to be Red Wings prospects. Kasper is the team’s top forward prospect for a reason – he’s physical, has a great shot, and is a good skater. Now that he’s in North America, it’ll be interesting to see how he adjusts.

39. Axel Sandin Pellikka, D, 18 (Detroit Red Wings)

ASP was a monster at the U-20 level but much more reserved against men in the SHL. A good puck-mover, Sandin Pellikka was the best defenseman at the U-18 World Championship and the U-20 Swedish league, too. He could score, set guys up and is an excellent puckhandler. While his top speed is still missing the next step, Sandin Pellikka’s acceleration was near the top of the defensive crop for the 2023 draft class. If he can unlock a bit more intensity with Skelleftea next season, he’ll be in excellent shape. The 2024 world juniors on home ice will be a nice challenge for the Swedish blueliner.

65. Nate Danielson, C, 19 (Detroit Red Wings)

I’ll be upfront: I didn’t love the pick at No. 9. But the 19-year-old center has good size, creates chances and charges to the net with purpose. A captain at 18, Danielson is well-respected among his teammates, and he seems to make everyone around him better. I don’t think he’ll be a big producer in the NHL, but he’ll be a reliable two-way center.

Continued; Danielson is underrated. As per usual.

Red Wings-Maple Leafs morning skate Tweets 2: Wings’ ‘game group’ skates at the BELFOR Training Center

Updated 4x at 12 PM: Okay, we know the rosters for tonight’s game between Detroit and Toronto in Hogtown (7 PM EDT on TSN4/ESPN+/DetroitRedWings.com, 97.1 FM), and we know that the Maple Leafs, who will start Ilya Samsonov tonight, took an optional morning skate today at Scotiabank Arena.

MLive’s Ansar Khan posted a Tweet of the Wings’ lines as Detroit’s “game group” took to the ice at the BELFOR Training Center under Little Caesars Arena:

If you missed it, here are the rosters:

Continue reading Red Wings-Maple Leafs morning skate Tweets 2: Wings’ ‘game group’ skates at the BELFOR Training Center

Predicting a ‘big year’ for big Mo

Bleacher Report’s Adam Gretz offers one prediction for each and every one of the NHL’s 32 teams, and here’s his prediction for Detroit’s 2023-2024 campaign:

Detroit Red Wings: Moritz Seider Has Huge Year: Moritz Seider burst onto the scene for the Detroit Red Wings during the 2021-22 season and became the rare defenseman to take home the Calder Trophy as the league’s Rookie of the Year.

That set sky-high expectations for him going into the 2022-23 season, and he seemed to take a little bit of a step backward. He was not necessarily bad, just not quite what was expected. At least early in the year.

The biggest source of those struggles was that the Red Wings spent the first part of the year asking him to play next to Ben Chiarot as his partner, and it simply did not work. Chiarot is a favorite of NHL coaches and general managers for his physical play and apparent defensive prowess, but it never actually shows up in the numbers, and he has a tendency to hold back his teams when he is on the ice.

Sure enough, when Seider was moved away from Chiarot, he started to again resemble the player he was as a rookie.

There is a stark difference in his performance with Chiarot versus without Chiarot, in terms of goals scored, goals allowed and scoring-chance differentials.

Putting him in a better position to succeed, as well as a second year of experience in the NHL, should help Seider have a true breakout year and reestablish himself as one of the best up-and-coming defenseman in the NHL.

Continued; Walman. Jake Walman. That’s the reason Seider had a good second half, his own talents excluded. And yes, he should have a “big year.”