Author: George Malik

From Detroit Hockey Now’s Bob Duff’s overnight notebook:

When the Detroit Red Wings were opening the NHL preseason on Tuesday at Little Caesars Arena against the Pittsburgh Penguins, they were also welcoming home an old friend. Alex Nedeljkovic, a Detroit goalie the previous two seasons, got the start and went the distance for the Penguins in their 4-3 loss.

So how did the Red Wings players acknowledge their old mate?

“You see him and it registers,” Detroit forward Michael Rasmussen said. “You give him a ‘hi’ or a tap on pads in warmup, but once you get out there he’s just a goalie.

Continued; once the puck dropped, there are no friends on the ice.

Here’s the Washington Capitals’ lineup for tonight’s game vs. the Detroit Red Wings in DC (7 PM on the NHL Network, Monumental Sports):

The roster for tomorrow night's preseason game against Detroit at @CapitalOneArena.#CapsWings | #ALLCAPS pic.twitter.com/SEPXhWRk1Y

— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) September 27, 2023

ESPN’s Greg Wyshynski posted an Insider-only player ranking 25 players into “breakout tiers,” and Lucas Raymond is mentioned as someone with a “new sidekick“:

Lucas Raymond, LW, Detroit Red Wings: The absolute epitome of a breakout player, the 21-year-old winger had 23 goals in 82 games as a rookie, and then saw his production slightly dip to 17 goals in 74 games last season.

It appears the Red Wings are going to position him to thrive in Year 3, potentially on a line with Dylan Larkin and the newly acquired Alex DeBrincat. It’s all there for Raymond to reach a new level in Detroit.

Continued (paywall)

Kelowna Rockets defenseman Jackson DeSouza took part in the Red Wings’ prospect tournament and main training camp over the past two weeks in Traverse City.

The free agent invite didn’t land a job with the Wings, but the 6’4″ defenseman looked mobile and smart with the puck in limited duty at the prospect tournament, scoring a boomer of a goal, and he skated with the AHL’ers/ECHL’ers team during training camp.

DeSouza spoke with the Kelowna Rockets’ website regarding his time spent with the Wings:

“It’s pretty awesome just being around those players and basically seeing players from across Canada and the world show up and try to make it to the next level, you definitely learn a lot.

“I was a little shocked when the puck went into the net. If you told me when I was 16 years old that was going to happen, I would tell you that you were lying. I did everything I could this summer to make sure that I could perform at that level, so it was a nice reward.”

At the end of the rookie camp, DeSouza was invited to stick around for the first few days of their main camp where he said he was able to take plenty away that will help him grow as a player.

“It’s pretty surreal, seeing those guys that are basically living your dream. It pushes you to try and get there, you definitely learn a whole lot of things like how they conduct themselves on and on the ice, they’re professionals in their game and it’s their job, they’re playing to keep it and feed their family.”

Continued

Full Press Hockey’s Michael Augello picks pairs of players from Atlantic Division teams who might serve as “breakout” performers this upcoming season. Do you agree with his choices for the Red Wings?

Simon Edvinsson – A Swedish defenseman with a big wingspan, Edvinsson was selected sixth overall in 2021 and played a full year in the SHL before coming to North America. Last season, the 20-year-old scored 27 points with Grand Rapids and got a nine-game look with the Wings, but GM Steve Yzerman’s loading up with veteran blueliners may delay his road to regular NHL playing time. 

Marco Kasper – The Austrian-born Kasper played most of the year with Rogle of the SHL and finished the season making his NHL debut. It does not seem that the Wings are following their normal practice of over-patience with the 19-year-old, who could start the season in Detroit with a great camp.   

Continued; I’ve got a feeling that both Edvinsson and Kasper will start the season in Grand Rapids, but how they play over the course of their time with Grand Rapids (and injuries, of course) will determine how much time they spend in the AHL.

It’s not going to be particularly long for either of them.

In a subscriber-only article, Detroit Hockey Now’s Bob Duff discusses the fact that Grand Rapids Griffins coach Dan Watson spent yesterday night’s preseason opener behind the Detroit Red Wings’ bench:

There was an unfamiliar face behind the bench for the Detroit Red Wings as they were opening the NHL preseason on Tuesday. Grand Rapids Griffins coach Dan Watson was helping out on the Detroit bench as the Wings were edging the Pittsburgh Penguins 4-3 at Little Caesars Arena.

Associate coach Bob Boughner was watching things unfold from high up in the press box while Watson was getting an up close and personal look at the NHL brand of hockey for the first time during his career.

This wasn’t by coincidence. No, in fact it was by design.

“We kind of have a routine we rifle through  every American Hockey League coach for one game on the bench, because we believe it’s valuable experience,” Red Wings coach Derek Lalonde said. ”Whatever spot he takes, he just assumes his role.”

Continued; so assistant coaches Brian Lashoff and Stephane Julien will likely spend time behind the Wings’ bench this exhibition season, as will video coach Erich Junge.

I know that goaltending coach Roope Koistinen is helping Wings goaltending coach Alex Westlund during practice as well, which makes sense given that the Red Wings are carrying Ville Husso, James Reimer, Alex Lyon, Michael Hutchinson, Sebastian Cossa and Jan Bednar.

DetroitRedWings.com’s Jonathan Mills discusses Jonatan Berggren’s desire to be a little more “selfish” in a good way this upcoming season:

“Last year, I was trying to pass more than shoot,” Berggren said Monday. “This summer, I worked on my shot. I feel like this season, I want to be more of a threat. Maybe a little bit selfish in some areas and shoot more.”

Berggren started last season with the American Hockey League’s Grand Rapids Griffins before making his NHL debut on Nov. 10. The 5-foot-11, 197-pound forward became a regular in the Detroit Red Wings’ lineup, recording 15 goals and 13 assists in 67 games.

“He was a great addition for us at times last year,” Red Wings head coach Derek Lalonde said about Berggren on Sept. 21. “We didn’t have a lot of what he was. He was making plays. We went through some of those games where we were looking for some offense. He was one of the guys who could create some offense.”

Berggren said he learned a lot about himself during his debut season in Detroit and understands what he must improve on to continue his development.

“It felt like I had a great start,” Berggren said. “Then after a while, I felt a little dip in the middle of the season. But overall, I had an okay season. I created more chances than I scored. If I have a little bit more edge on it, I can be a real offensive player in this league.”

Continued; I remember when the Red Wings drafted Berggren. He was 5’9,” 150 pounds, and couldn’t kill a fly. He stands at 5’11” and 197 pounds now, and the little guy who is not so little any more seems driven as heck to self-improve.

Self-improvers are the type of players who succeed at the pro level, be it in the NHL or elsewhere. You always have to try to get better if you want to continue to earn your job.

Red Wings prospect and 2023 9th overall draft pick Nate Danielson turns 19 today, and after last night’s 2-assist performance in the Red Wings’ preseason opener, the Free Press’s Helene St. James discusses Danielson’s potential:

The Wings drafted Danielson out of the Western Hockey League at No. 9 overall. General manager Steve Yzerman said, “we like all parts of his game. He’s got pretty good size, he’s a good skater, he’s got good skills, he’s a good two-way centerman, so there’s a lot to like about him. He’s just a solid all-around prospect.”

Michael Rasmussen, himself a No. 9 overall pick from 2017, shared his thoughts on Danielson’s early showings.

“He’s impressive,” Rasmussen said. “He’s really poised, just goes about his business, good attitude. Works hard. It’s nice to see him get rewarded. Besides the goal I thought he played really well, too. I just think he handles himself really well — hockey sense, skill, patience. He seems like he’s got a good head on his shoulders.”

The Wings have seven exhibition games left, starting with Thursday at the Washington Capitals. They play back-to-back games at home this weekend, and then have three in three days next week. That kind of glut scheduling is conducive to getting a young player multiple looks. Danielson’s first showing certainly warrants giving him five or six games, if possible.

Continued; I hate early predictions being made after the first preseason game, but I said throughout training camp that I was impressed by Danielson’s overall skating and especially his level of self-belief. You don’t captain the Brandon Wheat Kings as a 17-year-old if you don’t believe in yourself, and Danielson’s quietly confident in all best senses of the term.

The Detroit Red Wings face a stiff task in attempting to earn a playoff spot in the stacked Atlantic Division, but Red Wings coach Derek Lalonde made it very clear this Monday that his team has to “shut out the noise” of media types predicting the Red Wings’ early demise. The Detroit News’s Ted Kulfan notes that the Red Wings’ GM echoed Lalonde’s remarks when Yzerman spoke with the media last week, too:

“You try to push the noise away and that’s the media,” Lalonde said. “I stopped reading because it’s so negative on us. Some people have us no chance at making the playoffs. The highest (most optimistic) article I read is a 14% chance of us making the playoffs. Everyone is writing us off. I get it, it’s not a knock on our guys. It’s just the reality of the division, the conference.”

Yzerman, in his preseason interview with the media, also alluded to the strong Atlantic Division. Yzerman wants to see the Wings go through the opening weeks of the regular season before forming an opinion on his team.

“I look at our division and I’m not sure what to expect from some teams that continue to get better and teams that lost players,” Yzerman said. “We’ll get into the season and see how we match up, how we do through the first quarter of the season and then kind of have a better idea of where we’re at. I’d like to think we’re a better team, that we’re a more competitive team. We’ll see if that puts us in a position to compete for a playoff spot.”

The talk of playoffs, or bettering what the Wings accomplished last season, has been discussed said captain Dylan Larkin.

“Going into this season, I know Steve and Newsie (Lalonde) have not really set an expectation,” Larkin said. “The guys in the room, we talked about it last year, we want more. There are guys coming in (this season) that have been on teams that have been locks for the playoffs. Veteran players, guys going into contract years. I like the dynamic of everyone’s situation and we’re going to rely on each other.”

Continued; I promised coach Lalonde that there might be 5% of the media that still believes the Wings can compete for a spot, but that might have been optimistic.

The Detroit Red Wings will play the Washington Capitals tomorrow night in Washington, DC (7 PM start on the NHL Network and Monumental Sports), and the Hockey News’s Sammi Silber reports that Alex Ovechkin will be part of a very NHL-ready lineup for the Caps:

Ovechkin and Miroshnichenko are expected to play on the first line together with Nicklas Backstrom at center. Evgeny Kuznetsov was centering the second line with Connor McMichael and Tom Wilson.

Here are the projected lines based on Wednesday’s group combos:

Alex Ovechkin-Nicklas Backstrom-Ivan Miroshnichenko

Connor McMichael-Evgeny Kuznetsov-Tom Wilson

Joe Snively-Nic Dowd-T.J. Oshie

Andrew Cristall-Mike Sgarbossa-Pierrick Dube/Alexander Suzdalev

Rasmus Sandin-John Carlson

Hardy Haman Aktell-Alex Alexeyev

Lucas Johansen-Vincent Iorio

Charlie Lindgren

Expect either Pierrick Dube or Alexander Suzdalev to sit up front, while Nick Leivermann and Logan Day figure to be the extra defensive pairing. Hunter Shepard will back up Lindgren.