Author: George Malik

MLive’s Ansar Khan discusses the Red Wings’ competition for spots on the roster, in terms of both younger and older players, this evening:

“I expect and hope the players all recognize — whether it’s Bobby Ryan coming in on a PTO, Givani Smith, Moritz Seider, you name it — they got a lot to play for and have a good training camp and good preseason and then ultimately, once the regular season starts, maintain their role or play an increased role,” [Red Wings GM Steve] Yzerman said. “I am looking forward to watching the new faces and see how the players that have been here respond to the opportunity to get a bigger role and compete with some of the younger players or new faces for those spots.”

Veleno appears furthest ahead among the waiver-exempt players making a push for a roster spot. He made his NHL debut by playing five games at the end of the season.

“Physically, he’s very strong, he’s a strong skater, good puck skills,” Yzerman said. “I thought he was very good in the (Prospects) tournament. I’m excited to see him in preseason. He’s pretty fit, thick. He looks like a guy who physically has been in the league 7-8 years and that’s going to bode well for him.”

Yzerman said Raymond and Berggren, coming over from Sweden and dealing with minor injuries from the Prospects Tournament, need to show they can keep up and be positive contributors. They’re up against it, as Yzerman said they likely will need to be among the top nine forwards and playing significant minutes to start the season in Detroit.

“Both looked good in limited play in the rookie tournament,” Yzerman said. “Hopefully, Jonatan isn’t out too long, and Lucas is able to go with zero restrictions starting (Thursday) and they can get into the drills and show that they’re strong enough, They’re good skaters, but can they play at the pace of the NHL level, adjust to the smaller ice surface?”

Continued

The Detroit News’s John Niyo took in Steve Yzerman’s press conference from earlier this afternoon, and he paid particularattention to Yzerman’s remarks regarding the Wings’ youngsters, who still have to earn spots on the Red Wings’ roster:

A year ago, the Red Wings’ opening-night roster was the second-oldest in the league, which is not at all how a rebuild is supposed to look. But with the offseason departures of players like Frans Nielsen, Valtteri Filppula and Darren Helm — just to name a few — the 2021-22 roster will be considerably younger. Just how young, though, we’re about to find out.

Yzerman’s first draft pick, 2019 first-rounder Moritz Seider, is a lock to make the roster and play top-four minutes on the blue line after an impressive season that saw him earn top defenseman honors in the Swedish Hockey League as a 19-year-old.

But some of the other young European prospects — namely Swedish forwards Lucas Raymond and Jonatan Berggren — likely are ticketed for Grand Rapids and the American Hockey League this fall. Then again, if we’re to take Yzerman at his word, anything is possible. And where they start the season is up to them now.

“Our younger players, I’m not purposely leaving them in the minors to marinate or whatnot,” Yzerman said Wednesday on the eve of the Red Wings’ training camp in Traverse City. “When they’re ready to play in the NHL, when they’re better than the players that we have on our team, I’m more than happy to put them in there.”

There’s a “but” that followed that, as you’d expect. And that’s the part that buys any GM cover when it comes to decisions like these and the realities of roster manipulation. Yet it’s also true that a rebuilding team like Detroit naturally feels more freedom to toss the kids out on the ice and let them flail than a team that’s intent on making the playoffs. Yzerman finally has the flexibility to do that here, too, after spending the last few years clearing out some of the bloated veteran contracts he inherited when he took this job nearly 2 ½ years ago.

“But I want them to play well and I want them to play meaningful minutes,” Yzerman said of his team’s top prospects. “I don’t want them playing seven or eight minutes (a night), or in a goaltender’s case once every fifth or sixth game. I just believe they’re better off, in the long run, to play significant minutes. And when they’re ready to do that, I’m not gonna wait an extra year, in our position, to do that.”

Continued (paywall)

DetroitRedWings.com’s Ethan Sears offers 5 stories to watch over the course of training camp (and, to some extent, the exhibition season):

What does the top line look like playing together?

By the time the Red Wings made a blockbuster deal for Jakub Vrana late last season, Tyler Bertuzzi‘s year had long since ended with back surgery after playing nine games. And, just three games into Vrana’s time with the Red Wings, center Dylan Larkin suffered a season-ending neck injury on a cross-check.

That did little to slow down Vrana, who totaled 11 points in as many games with the Red Wings after being traded from the Capitals in April. But it does leave open the question of what the Red Wings’ anticipated top line – Vrana, Larkin and Bertuzzi – will look like when they finally take the ice together. Training camp could provide an early glimpse of what to expect, provided a visa issue keeping Vrana from joining the team on day one in Traverse City sorts itself out.

On the surface, the group looks like it could make a big impact. Vrana has averaged over two points per 60 minutes in each of the last three seasons, and adapted quickly to Detroit last season, scoring 2.5 goals per 60 minutes in career-high time on ice after moving over. Bertuzzi, in his last two seasons prior to getting hurt, had approached the 50-point mark, likely only falling short of the milestone in 2020 because of the pandemic-induced season cancellation.

As for Larkin, the Red Wings’ captain finished last season with nine goals and 14 assists over 44 games. Over a full, 82-game season, he has a proven track record of being able to notch upwards of 30 assists with scoring ability to boot. After a 2020-21 season in which the Red Wings at times struggled to score the puck, this top line will look to reverse the trend.

Continued

From DetroitRedWings.com’s Josh Berenter comes this charitable bit of news:

In addition to training some of the world’s best hockey players for optimum performance, the Detroit Red Wings are also focused on fueling youth and families in Hockeytown to help build a hunger-free community.

Throughout last week, the Red Wings and Kroger teamed up to provide 2,000 breakfast kits to families in the community in partnership with Forgotten Harvest to help continue their mission to fight hunger and food insecurity.

More than 50 volunteers from the Red Wings and Kroger joined Forgotten Harvest’s mobile food pantries to help pack and distribute breakfast kits to families across metro Detroit.

“The Red Wings know how important it is for children to start their day fueled and ready to learn in school,” Red Wings and Tigers director of community impact Kevin Brown said. “In partnership with our friends at Kroger and Forgotten Harvest, we’re proud to deliver 2,000 breakfast kits filled with shelf stable food for hundreds of families in need across metro Detroit.”

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DetroitRedWings.com’s Carley Johnston caught up with Red Wings forward/defenseman Luke Witowski for the latest episode of “Summer Wings”:

Of Red Wings prospect-related note:

In the Finnish Liiga, Eemil Viro finished even with 2 shots in 19:12 played as TPS Turku won 3-1 over SaiPa;

In the Swedish J20 league, Liam Dower Nilsson scored a goal and added an assist in Frolunda HC’s 8-1 win over Karlskrona HK;

And William Wallinder had 2 assists in Rogle BK’s J20 team’s 7-4 win over Malmo. Wallinder finished even with 2 shots.

The Grand Rapids Griffins have put out a press release noting that 26 Griffins or Griffins alumni will be taking part in the Detroit Red Wings’ training camp:

RED WINGS TRAINING CAMP OPENS THURSDAY IN TRAVERSE CITY

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – Twenty-six players with Grand Rapids Griffins playing experience will be part of the 62-player roster that will take to the ice this Thursday, Sept. 23 for six days of Detroit Red Wings training camp at Centre Ice Arena in Traverse City, Mich.

Red Wings players, prospects and tryouts will be divided into three teams that will practice and scrimmage through Saturday. Following the annual Red & White Game on Sunday, Sept. 26, the team will practice next Monday and Tuesday before beginning its preseason schedule on Wednesday, Sept. 29 when it travels to the United Center to face the Chicago Blackhawks at 8:30 p.m. EDT.

Training camp coverage will be live-streamed and documented on detroitredwings.com and across the Red Wings’ social media platforms. The opening practice on Thursday, Sept. 23 will take place at 8:30 a.m.  

The players who will eventually comprise the Griffins’ roster will remain in Detroit throughout the preseason, until the Griffins return to Grand Rapids on Monday, Oct. 11 to prepare for their season opener on Friday, Oct. 15 against Rockford.

Nineteen players who appeared for the Griffins during the 2020-21 campaign are slated to participate, including defensemen Seth Barton, Brian Lashoff, Gustav Lindstrom, Jared McIsaac and Donovan Sebrango; forwards Riley Barber, Kyle Criscuolo, Patrick Curry, Turner Elson, Taro Hirose, Chase Pearson, Michael Rasmussen, Dominik Shine, Givani Smith, Tyler Spezia, Joe Veleno and Hayden Verbeek;and goaltenders Kaden Fulcher and Calvin Pickard.

Also present at camp will be seven Griffins alumni – Tyler Bertuzzi, Danny DeKeyser, Filip Hronek, Dylan Larkin, Dan Renouf, Moritz Seider and Filip Zadina – and at least nine others who could make their Grand Rapids debuts this season.

Griffins fourth-year head coach Ben Simon and his assistants will aid the Red Wings’ coaching staff, headed by former Grand Rapids bench boss Jeff Blashill, during the camp.

The complete Red Wings roster and camp schedule can be found at detroitredwings.com.

The Griffins will return to a full 76-game schedule in 2021-22 during the celebration of their 25^th anniversary season. Opening Night presented by Huntington is set for Friday, Oct. 15 at 7 p.m. against the Rockford IceHogs at Van Andel Arena.

Single-game tickets are already available to the public. Fans can secure their full-season, select-season or group ticket packages by calling (616) 774-4585 ext. 2 or visit griffinshockey.com for more information.

Here’s a “chaser” of sorts from the Detroit News’s Ted Kulfan:

Yzerman said he’s talked with coach Jeff Blashill regarding naming new alternate captains, but who will replace the departed Luke Glendening and Frans Nielsen won’t be announced until closer to the start of the regular season.

Yzerman is looking forward to the competition for jobs in the lineup.

“That makes for a more interesting training camp,” Yzerman said. “I expect, and expect the players all recognize, whether it’s Bobby Ryan coming on a professional tryout or Moritz Seider (competing for a lineup berth), any of the players, they have a lot to play for. 

“I am looking forward to watching all the new faces and see how the players within our organization who’ve been here respond to the opportunity to get a bigger role and to compete with some of the younger players or new faces for those spots.

“I hope our record is better than last  year, but truthfully, time will tell.”

Continued

I lost my Uncle Bobby to COVID, in a nursing home. I lost my friend Liz to COVID. I know someone who survived a kidney transplant, but not COVID. My aunt is immune-compromised.

Take this for what you will.

Todd Reynolds, who represents Tyler Bertuzzi, said he will not disclose the reason why his client has declined to be vaccinated. “If the player wants to address his reasons, that’s fine,” he said. “But we see it as a private medical matter, so it’s no one’s business.”— Ken Campbell (@Ken_Campbell27) September 22, 2021

That’s fair. The reasons are his business. The effects (including financial) are plenty of other people’s business.

And hey, it’s always free to speculate. https://t.co/BGI22DZrBG— Winging It In Motown (@wingingitmotown) September 22, 2021

Tyler Bertuzzi’s going to miss the Red Wings’ games in Canada and maybe half a million dollars in salary for the sake of not taking a shot. He’s going to have to mask up around his teammates and adhere to strict protocols whenever he’s around his teammates because he’s not taking a shot. He’s a valuable asset to his team and his teammates, but he’s letting them down.

That doesn’t sit right with me, but if it’s his choice, it’s his choice. The consequences thereof are plain.

So the interview script with Bertuzzi pretty much has to be “Does the player want to address his reasons? Why or why not?”— Winging It In Motown (@wingingitmotown) September 22, 2021

I would be shocked if the Wings make Bertuzzi available to the media.

MLive’s Ansar Khan provides some information regarding Tyler Bertuzzi’s situation and some injury updates in his latest missive:

Like Bertuzzi, Dylan Larkin also will start camp experiencing only controlled contact, after missing the final eight games last season due to a neck injury, which didn’t require surgery.

“He’s been skating in the offseason but there’s not a lot of contact involved in that, so the progression for him now is to get involved,” Yzerman said. “The next step is to get involved in some of the practice. If he responds well to that, then the next step is no limitation or hesitations in any of the drills. We’ll see how he does the first few days and then see if the medical staff is comfortable in green-lighting the next step.”

…

Yzerman provided updates on players injured during last week’s Prospects Tournament:

–Defenseman Jared McIsaac is out with a concussion suffered Sunday when hit from behind into the boards.

“As of yesterday, he is feeling better. Not cleared to play at this point,” Yzerman said. “We will follow concussion protocol. All tests were negative. He’s progressed. No timeframe.”

–Jonatan Berggren has a mild upper-body injury and Lucas Raymond a mild lower-body injury.

“Don’t anticipate him skating tomorrow, day to day,” Yzerman said. “Anticipate (Raymond) will skate tomorrow. He skated today with no issues. Will skate for part of the workout (Thursday) as precaution.”

Continued