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!

Kulfan’s notebook: Could Soderblom *and* Johnny Burgers start the season in Grand Rapids?

The Detroit News’s Ted Kulfan filed a notebook article about Red Wings 2023 1st round draft pick Nate Danielson, but it’s his second topic that you should be reading today:

With forwards Carter Mazur and Matt Luff both out with long-term injuries, it possibly betters the odds for Jonatan Berggren and Elmer Soderblom to make the opening night roster.

Then again, if neither is actually in the lineup but rather a healthy scratch or maybe not seeing meaningful minutes, would it be better for them to play in Grand Rapids? What happens during the exhibition season will answer those questions.

“It’s something we’ll evaluate,” Lalonde said of the Berggren and Soderblom issue. “We’d like to have the luxury of having 13 or 14 forwards. We’re two forwards down long term with the Mazur and Luff injuries. They (Berggren and Soderblom) are very raw in their development. It’s something we’ll evaluate after the eight (exhibition) games.”

Berggren, 23, played in 67 games with the Wings last season, with 15 goals and 13 assists. He got off to a quick start and sparked the Wings offensively, but he tailed off as the season progressed.

Soderblom, 22, made the opening night roster last year as injuries cut into the Wings’ depth. But as those players got healthy, Soderblom’s role diminished and he was returned to Grand Rapids. Soderblom did come back, but he was sent back and eventually saw his season cut short by injury.

Soderblom played 21 games with the Wings, with five goals and three assists.

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Khan on Danielson’s preseason debut

MLive’s Ansar Khan discusses Nate Danielson’s preseason debut tonight vs. Pittsburgh (7 PM EDT on Bally Sports Detroit Extra/WWJ 950 AM/PittsburghPenguins.com):

“I’m sure there will be a little bit of nerves before the game,” Danielson, who turns 19 on Wednesday, said. “Just pretty excited right now to have the first one.”

Danielson impressed [coach Derek] Lalonde with his 200-foot game in Traverse City during the Prospects Tournament and training camp.

“A lot of the times you’re teaching some of that 200-foot game,” Lalonde said. “I’m told he’s a 200-foot player. You see clips. But pleasantly for me he seems to have a little more offense, a little more deception to his game, his shot, he can make some plays, which is exciting.”

Danielson it not being overwhelmed by instruction.

“At the end of the day, they just want me to go out and play hockey and play the way I can,” he said. “There’s little details that they try to help me with.”

Naturally, the size, strength and skill level of the competition is the biggest difference. The margin for error also is much slimmer.

“You make a mistake it’s probably going to end up in the back of your net,” Danielson said.

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Stockton reviews training camp

The Hockey News’s Sam Stockton posted a training camp wrap-up, including this summary of yesterday’s activities:

On the final day of camp, the Red Wings announced three more cuts.  Emmitt Finnie, Detroit’s 2023 seventh rounder, was sent back to the WHL’s Kamloops Blazers, while Dean Loukas and Nic Sima were released from their try-out deals.

“We have some good teaching from everything we covered yesterday, and it’ll be a good step into our game tomorrow,” said Lalonde to open his final press availability of camp.

“Even in the Red & White game yesterday, you could see a little more organization with our structure,” Lalonde added of his team’s progress through the five days.  “It’s a small thing, but even our sets and our face-offs, guys were on the same page.  It looked organized; it looked detailed.”

Lalonde noted that experimentation with line combinations and competition for roster spots will continue throughout the eight pre-season games and that the organization would “probably like to have our group by that last exhibition game on that Saturday.”

The second-year head coach also spoke about his not-so-pleasant experience reading some preseason prognostications.

“I’ve stopped reading media because it’s so negative on us,” Lalonde said, setting an us against the world tone to Detroit’s 2023-24 season.  “I think the highest article I read is a 14% chance to make the playoffs.  Everyone’s writing us off, and…it’s not a knock on our guys, it’s just the reality of the division and the conference that we’re in.  We’ll knock the noise away.  It’ll be about our process, just doing things correctly.”

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Mills previews the preseason

DetroitRedWings.com’s Jonathan Mills posted something of a pre-game set-up ahead of tonight’s game vs. Pittsburgh (7 PM EDT on Bally Sports Detroit Extra/950 AM/Pittsburgh Penguins’ website):

The Red Wings will play eight preseason games, featuring two contests each against the Penguins, Washington Capitals, Chicago Blackhawks and Toronto Maple Leafs.

Second-year head coach Derek Lalonde said the home-and-home sets are opportunities for players to prove they belong on Detroit’s Opening Night roster.

“Everyone is going to get plenty of game time,” Lalonde said. “Some more than others, obviously. There will be a purpose to that.”

Overall, Lalonde said he likes the way camp played out.

“Even in the Red & White game, you could see a little more organization with our structure,” Lalonde said. “I know it’s a small thing, but even our sets and face-offs guys were on the same page. It looked organized and detailed. It’s still a huge work in progress.”

Applying lessons learned in Traverse City is what the Red Wings aim to “rinse and repeat” throughout the preseason, according to Lalonde.

“You’re just working off your process of improving from the games and holes within your game,” Lalonde said. “Even from our Red & White game, we’ll be making some improvements, enhancements and where we want to be into Pittsburgh.”

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Red Wings-Penguins morning skate Tweets: Lines, lineups and quotes

Detroit plays Pittsburgh tonight at 7 PM (Bally Sports Detroit Extra/WWJ; streamed on PittsburghPenguins.com). Here’s the Wings’ roster…

And the Penguins’ roster:

Of Twitter-related note from the Wings’ beat writers:

Continue reading Red Wings-Penguins morning skate Tweets: Lines, lineups and quotes

Tweets of note: Red Wings post roster, broadcast information for tonight’s game

From the Red Wings:

Shapiro: Jake Walman’s a successful disciple of famed NHL trainer Matt Nichol

Sean Shapiro discusses Red Wings defenseman Jake Walman’s offseason training regimen on his Substack today:

Matt Nichol started to notice Jake Walman’s NHL potential in the summer of 2014.

Walman had been recently drafted by the St. Louis Blues, 82nd overall in the third round, and he was prepping for his freshman season at Providence College when he started offseason training with Nichol in Toronto.

“I remember specifically, Hal Gil was a client of mine for a while and that summer he had retired and was working with me as a coach that summer,” Nichol said. “He pulled me aside and said, ‘Watch this kid. Watch how he walks the line out there, watch his poise, watch how he skates, watch his ability. This guy is going to be a really good NHL player.’”

Like most prophecies, it took some time.

Continued (paywall)