Author: George Malik

Both MLive’s Ansar Khan and the Detroit News’s Ted Kulfan posted profiles of Red Wings prospect Chase Pearson this afternoon.

Pearson, who’s an “older prospect” at 24 years of age, looks like someone who’s continuing to evolve into a stalwart defensive center at the NHL level, and that is exactly what Pearson’s goal for this season happens to be, as he told Khan:

“The goal is making the Red Wings roster on opening night,” Pearson said. “Just give them a reason for me to stay. I’m going to try to do that every day and have a positive attitude around the rink. That’s about all I can do, and things will face into play, or they won’t. We’ll see.”

Pearson is a good-sized center (6-3, 205) who fits the checking-line mold. He’s strong defensively, has shown some offensive ability in the AHL and can play the wing.

The Red Wings are looking to replace fourth-line center Luke Glendening, who signed with Dallas. They also parted ways with Darren Helm, Evgeny Svechnikov, Frans Nielsen, Richard Panik and Mathias Brome, creating opportunities.

Mitchell Stephens, acquired from Tampa Bay and drafted the same year as Pearson, might have the inside track on the fourth-line center spot based on his NHL experience (45 games). Veteran Carter Rowney and young Joe Veleno and Givani Smith also are in the mix for bottom-six spots.

Kulfan picks up the story from there:

Last season, during the pandemic shortened AHL season, Pearson had eight goals and 14 assists for 22 points. Those 22 points were identical to how many Pearson earned the season before. The difference: Pearson amassed the total last season in 28 games, unlike the 59 games the season before.

Pearson had a plus-3 rating last season, compared to being minus-9 the season before.

“Last year was huge for me,” Pearson said. “I got a bigger role in Grand Rapids, and I earned the coaches’ trust a little bit more, which enabled me to play in all situations and really take a step forward.

“I got better defensively and also on the offensive side. I was able to come into my own a little bit, which helped through playing more and gaining confidence. When you play with confidence, the game comes easier for you.”

Kulfan also continues…I don’t say this about many prospects, but I have full faith that Chase Pearson is going to be a defensive center at the NHL level within a year or two, regardless of whether it’s with Detroit or some other NHL team, and his employer will be better off for having him in the lineup.

Sportsnet’s Rory Boylen posted a comprehensive list of power rankings, ranking the Red Wings 29th despite offering the following assessment of the Wings’ roster situation…

29. Detroit Red Wings

Key additions: Pius Suter, Mitchell Stephens, Nick Leddy, Alex Nedeljkovic

Key subtractions: Valtteri Filppula, Bobby Ryan, Darren Helm, Jonathan Bernier

This training camp is all about the kids. What do we see from Moritz Seider and can he force his way on to the roster? How long can Lucas Raymond hang around camp and how close is he to NHL ready? Everyone knows what this Wings team is all about, but while more losing is expected in the short-term, you still want to see bounce backs from Dylan Larkin and Tyler Bertuzzi as they return from injuries, a step up from Filip Zadina, and more of the same from Jakub Vrana, who was a point per game player after being acquired at the trade deadline.

Continued; and the Hockey News’s Matt Larkin offers this take on the Red Wings’ “Stanley Cup Window”:

REBUILDING

(Laying foundation for the future, not interested in pursuing a Cup right now)

Detroit Red Wings

Steve Yzerman continues to slow-play things. Trading for goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic was a long-term move, just like last season’s Jakub Vrana trade was, and even this past summer’s Nick Leddy trade meant bringing in a veteran with an expiring deal and trade-deadline value. We should see mega-prospect defenseman Moritz Seider in the NHL this year, and maybe left winger Lucas Raymond as well, but the Wings still don’t appear to be in any rush. The 2022 and 2023 draft classes are just too tempting. If you’re rebuilding now, you might as well lay low one more year to get a crack at a lottery selection in one of those classes.

Also continued…

Enjoy this profile of Moritz Seider from the Red Wings’ “Waiting in the Wings” series:

Scary stuff from WXYZ’s Kim Russell:

In text form:

“I was with Vlady when he was in Beaumont in a coma. I saw him say his first words after the coma. I saw him do his first physical therapy after the coma. And to see him then and to see him now is a miracle,” said Jim Bellanca, Vlady’s friend, and attorney.

“He is incredible,” said Linda Krumm, Konstantinov’s Medical Case Manager, who has cared for him since shortly after his injury.

Krumm coordinates caregivers who help him eat, dress, and get out in the community. He needs around-the-clock care due to the impact of his traumatic brain injury.

Konstantinov’s care team has defended his privacy, not allowing news crews into his Oakland County apartment over the years, despite requests for interviews, but now something has changed.

“I don’t think he is going to survive. That’s how strongly I feel,” said Bellanca.

Continued

Detroit Hockey Now’s Kevin Allen stirs the pot a little bit with a ranking of the Atlantic Division’s best GM’s:

1.Julien BriseBois, Tampa Bay Lightning: BriseBois learned from Yzerman, but has earned the No. 1 ranking because of the trades he’s made and the creativity he showed managing his salary cap. He left Yzerman’s shadow when he won back-to-back Stanley Cup championships.

2. Steve Yzerman, Detroit Red Wings: Yzerman was no longer there, but his fingerprints were all over the Tampa Bay titles. More importantly to Detroit fans, he has received strong reviews for the work he has done thus far in the Red Wings’ rebuild. He is highly respected for his vision and aggressiveness.

Continued; Yzerman has made some trade and signing fumbles, like any GM (see: Alex Regula for Brendan Perlini, and the inability to really address the dearth of offense or defensive depth until he was able to shake off the final Ken Holland contracts this past summer), and he’s going to continue to make a mistake from time to time, but his overall vision for the team is a strong one.

It’s on the players, coaches and fellow management to deliver upon that vision–one man cannot rebuild a team alone.

Of Red Wings-related note this afternoon:

1. Detroit Hockey Now’s Bob Duff posted something of a prospect tournament wrap-up, noting that Grand Rapids Griffins coach Ben Simon was working with a disparate group of prospects, who were all experiencing different stages of their development:

As coach of his hastily-assembled crew, the job of Grand Rapids Griffins coach Ben Simon was to mold them into a cohesive unit while at the same time aiding each player in their individual growth.

“Every player is at a different point in their development process,” Simon said. “When that puck is dropped, though, it doesn’t matter if you’re a 24 year old or an 18 year old. It doesn’t matter if you played 10 games last year or a hundred games last year. It may not show in the results but I do think this tournament is great in seeing where you stack up.”

Hockey players live by the mantra that every day they show up for work is a tryout to keep their job. They do so because that’s how it works.

“If you’re a young 19-20 year old and you’re playing against a 24-25 year old, I’m learning, ‘okay, I’ve got a little ways to go to be able to compete wit that 24-25 year old,’” Simon said. “Or conversely, if I’m a 24, 25 year old and I’m not as good as I thought I was and this young kid is pushing me, it teaches you that you’ve got to push even harder to stay relevant.”

2. Duff also wrote an article which discusses the murky injury statuses of Jonatan Berggren and Lucas Raymond…

Raymond and Berggren didn’t play in Sunday’s 7-3 loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets in Detroit’s NHL Rookie Tournament finale at Traverse City, Michigan. Berggren, hurt in the previous game against the St. Louis Blues, wasn’t expected to play. Raymond was a late scratch, leaving the Wings with just 10 forwards.

Whatever is ailing either of these young prospects is a closely-guarded secret. Will they be good to go when main camp hits the ice? The Wings haven’t revealed what Berggren’s injury is, or if in fact Raymond is hurt.

“I can’t speak to that,” said Grand Rapids Griffins coach Ben Simon, who handled the rookie team in Traverse City.

3. And finally, this item from DetroitRedWings.com’s Josh Berenter’s recap of Sunday night’s game is worth noting:

The Red Wings now turn their attention to main training camp, which runs Thursday, Sept. 23 through Tuesday, Sept. 28 in Traverse City.

Red Wings players, prospects and tryouts will be divided into teams that will practice and scrimmage throughout camp, including the annual Red and White Game on Sunday, Sept. 26, followed by practices next Monday and Tuesday, before breaking camp to begin the preseason schedule on Wednesday, Sept. 29 against the Chicago Blackhawks.

Training Camp coverage will be live streamed and documented on DetroitRedWings.com and across the Red Wings’ social media platforms.

According to The Athletic’s Scott Wheeler, former Red Wings prospect Keith Petruzzelli chose to become a free agent, and ultimately sign with the AHL’s Toronto Marlies, because the 22-year-old feels that the Maple Leafs are best-suited to helping him learn how to put on and keep a healthy weight…And, because the Red Wings wanted Petruzzelli to wait one more year before turning pro:

A few weeks ago, he signed a two-year AHL contract with the Toronto Marlies, leaving college and the Red Wings, the team who drafted him in the third round of the 2017 NHL Draft, behind. One of the many reasons he was pulled to the Leafs was for the wealth of resources he’d be able to tap into in his pursuit of stability in his weight.

“I had a really good summer this year and with the resources in Toronto, I can get on a plan with a nutritionist and a strength coach and really take my game to the next level building my body to where it needs to be,” Petruzzelli said. “It just really felt like a good fit. They have a lot of resources that I felt I could really use to my advantage over the next two years for my development.”

The resources weren’t the only reason he landed in Toronto, though. He decided to test free agency because the Red Wings wanted him to return to Quinnipiac for a fifth year in the NCAA. But Petruzzelli felt he was ready to turn pro, saying “going back to school wasn’t something I was prepared to do.”

Continued (paywall)

The Athletic’s Scott Wheeler posted a list of his top 20 candidates for the Calder Trophy, the NHL’s award for the top rookie of the year, and he lists Moritz Seider in a surprisingly high spot:

3. Moritz Seider, RHD, 20 (Detroit Red Wings — 6th overall, 2019)

I think there are decent odds Seider is the most impactful rookie in the NHL this season and doesn’t win the Calder. That’s because the reality is that defensemen rarely win the award. In fact, in the 88 times the award has been handed out, it has been given to a defenseman just 12 times. So defensemen represent 33 percent of the players in the NHL but have won just 14 percent of the rookie of the year awards, including just two times in the last 11 seasons (Cale Makar in 2020 and Aaron Ekblad in 2015). Traditionally, when defensemen do win it’s typically because their counting stats really pop (Makar had 50 points in 57 games in a pandemic-shortened season at the high end and Ekblad scored 12 goals and 39 points as a bare minimum). And while I think Seider’s likely going to put up point totals around that Ekblad season (though probably not from a goal-scoring point of view) throughout his career, I’m not convinced he’ll do that right out of the gate. I expect him to be really good in Detroit this year. He’s going to get to play, probably a lot, and he’s going to thrive no different than he did at world championships (or in the SHL, AHL and DEL before them). But goals are still going to be hard to come by for the Red Wings and that will impact him, rightly or wrongly, in the Calder race.

I agree with Wheeler that it will be incredibly difficult for Seider to win the award in a year where Cole Caufield and Trevor Zegras are both eligible for the trophy. Defensemen just don’t win the Calder Trophy unless they’re extraordinarily good.

Wheeler also suggests that Joe Veleno is an outlier as a dark-horse candidate, and he names Lucas Raymond as an “honorable mention”:

18. Joe Veleno, C/LW, 21 (Detroit Red Wings — 30th overall, 2018)

The Red Wings have a handful of rookies who are going to get to audition at some point this year but Veleno feels like the most likely of that group not named Seider to spend the full year with the NHL club. That’s likely going to be in a bottom-six role, which will limit his ability to produce, but I expect him to have a modestly successful first full NHL season, contribute in line with his minutes and begin to establish himself as a part of the future in Detroit. At this point on the list, that’s enough to warrant inclusion.

Continued; ah, yes, the old, “Detroit is still going to stink, don’t forget that part” warning…

The Athletic’s Max Bultman posted a list of 11 thoughts and observations regarding the Red Wings’ play during the prospect tournament. Among them:

He didn’t play in the Sunday finale for precautionary reasons, but Lucas Raymond may have been Detroit’s best player in Saturday’s game against St. Louis. That may seem obvious because he scored both goals — and they were strong goals — but overall he looked much more comfortable in that game. Raymond told me Sunday morning he was feeling exactly that way Saturday, compared to Thursday.

His shot was highly effective against St. Louis, first scoring off a turnover down low and then later from distance on the power play. Play seemed to run through Raymond when Detroit had the man advantage.

…

[Joe] Veleno was one of Detroit’s top players through the weekend. That said, he didn’t necessarily dominate quite to the extent one might have expected as a third-time player with NHL experience, especially on the scoresheet. Part of that was decidedly beyond his control — one of his linemates (Berggren) was injured in the first period of the second game, and the other (Raymond) was scratched from the third, leaving him with a revolving cast of linemates the rest of the way. And production certainly is not everything. But still, seeing Veleno have just two points in three games (once the aforementioned assist gets properly credited to Tyutyayev) after totaling 15 in eight games in his previous two tournaments (which occurred two and three years ago) wasn’t the ideal way to begin a roster push.

Still, if he can show he can thrive at the highest level this preseason, he still has plenty of runway to make his case.

Continued (paywall)

The Detroit Red Wings’ prospects, thinned by injuries and decisions to keep players out for precautionary reasons, dropped a 7-3 loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets on Sunday, wrapping up the prospect tournament with a 1-and-2 record.

It was a hard loss to take in many ways, but the loss of Jared McIsaac to an accidental bodycheck by Blue Jackets forward James Malatesta knocked the wind out of the Red Wings’ sails, and while it sounds like McIsaac, who hit his head on the glass and then the ice, will be okay, a Wings team that started with 10 forwards and 7 defensemen just lost its way.

By the time the game was over, Detroit was down to 9 forwards as T-Bone Codd took a heavy hit and left the game early, and 5 defensemen for periods of time as Wyatt Newpower sat for 7 minutes early in the 2nd due to tripping and fighting penalties.

Between the thin lineup, giving up the game’s first 3 goals, rallying to 3-2, and then surrendering a power play goal to eventual Hat Trick-scorer Yegor Chinakov, the game spiraled out of control, the ECHL refs did anything but rein in the Blue Jackets when they began to take liberties with the young Wings, and the 7-3 score may very well have been a bit flattering, all things considered.

As is understandably so, McIsaac’s injury took the spotlight in terms of coverage from the media, as provided in coverage from the Free Press’s Helene St. James…