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!

Impressions from Friday’s practice at the Red Wings’ 2023 Prospect Tournament

The Detroit Red Wings’ prospects hoped to rebound from Friday’s 4-2 loss against the Dallas Stars by putting in some hard work during today’s practice at Centre ICE Arena.

Things get busy after today, so the Red Wings’ prospects needed to “cram” for their final exams: Toronto plays Dallas in the only game at the prospect tournament tonight (at 6:30 PM EDT), but then the Red Wings will battle Adam Fantilli and the Columbus Blue Jackets Saturday (3:30 PM EDT start), and the Toronto Maple Leafs on Sunday (2 PM EDT; both games will be streamed by the Red Wings).

And training camp begins on Thursday, September 21st, running for five days.

The Wings’ prospects were put through their paces on Friday by Grand Rapids Griffins coach Dan Watson, assistant coaches Stephane Julien and Brian Lashoff, goaltending coach Roope Koistinen video coach Erich Junge…

And the Wings’ prospects were really put to the test, as what appeared to be an “optional skate” for the first fifteen minutes before practice began really ramped up in terms of intensity and pace of play.

Continue reading Impressions from Friday’s practice at the Red Wings’ 2023 Prospect Tournament

Prospect round-up: Buchelnikov clears 20 minutes of ice time; Bicker makes brief DEL debut

Of Red Wings prospect-related note:

In the VHL, Dmitri Buchelnikov had 3 shots in 20:51 as SKA Neva St. Petersburg lost 3-2 in a shootout to Omsk;

And in the “Penny DEL,” Kevin Bicker made his DEL debut, finishing even with no shots in 4:55 of ice time, over the course of only 7 shifts, as the Frankfurt Lowen lost 2-0 to Iserlohn.

A bit of praise for Soderblom and Kasper from Sportsnet’s Bukala

Sportsnet’s Jason Bukala is providing scouting reports on every one of the four prospect teams taking part in the Red Wings’ 2023 Prospect Tournament. Here’s what he has to say about Detroit, which lost 4-2 to Dallas last night:

The tournament hosts had their chances versus Dallas on day one, but couldn’t find the tying goal late. Steve Yzerman’s team has been rebuilding. As a result they have three first-round picks (Marco Kasper, Sebastian Cossa, and Nate Danielson) and four second-round picks (William Nylander, Antti Tuomisto, Andrew Gibson, and Cross Hanus) on their roster.

Elmer Soderblom, 6-foot-8, 246 pounds, left shot forward
Drafted 159th overall in 2019

In my opinion Soderblom won the “player of the day” award after his effort versus Dallas. He was an absolute horse. He scored the Wings’ first goal off a corner crease tip, and had too many chances to count overall. I’m not exaggerating when I say Soderblom looked out of place for the right reasons — he appears prepared to challenge for an NHL roster spot. His puck touch has improved immensely as he’s matured as a player. He extends plays with his size and length and makes several subtle plays that have to be monitored closely to be appreciated.

Marco Kasper, 6-foot-1, 183 pounds, left shot forward
Drafted eighth overall in 2022

Kasper played centre and didn’t look out of place in the role, and has traditionally shown he can play both the wing and the middle. His movement was NHL worthy. He played quick and fast. I appreciate he tracked back the full 200 feet and pressured the puck up ice as F1 trying to create turnovers.

What concerns me is the look of his game offensively. For all the motion, effort, and detail, he didn’t have many looks at the net or handle the puck off the rush making plays. I’m wondering if he is going to be more of a 3F than a top-six scoring forward at the NHL level.

Continued; Kasper has good offensive skills in my opinion, but he’s still trying to make SHL plays on NHL ice, and he’s going to have to simplify his game to adjust to the lack of time and space on the 85-foot-wide rink.

EP Rinkside ranks Wings’ prospect pool as 5th-best in the NHL

EP Rinkside ranks the Red Wings’ prospect pool as the 5th-best in the entire NHL, and here’s what Lasse Alanen has to say about the Wings’ prospects in general:

The Detroit Red Wings have once again reprized their position in the top-five of our annual prospect pool ranking, falling one spot to No. 5. It marks the fourth year in a row the team has featured in the top five when we’ve done this exercise.

The fact that they’re near the top again shouldn’t come as a surprise. The core of the pool remains the same, with Jonatan Berggren being the only notable graduate compared to last year’s ranking. 

The 2023 draft was also yet another big one for the Red Wings, as the team had two top-17 picks and three additional selections in the second round. This helps to compensate for the fact that some of their most well-known prospects (Theodor Niederbach, Sebastian Cossa, Liam Dower Nilsson, for example) haven’t progressed as expected.

Blueliners are undoubtedly the strong point of the Red Wings’ prospect pipeline. When we recently ranked the top-100 affiliated NHL prospects, four defencemen from the Red Wings’ system were featured and two of them ranked in the top-40. You’re also able to find other lesser-heralded yet still intriguing defensive prospects deeper in the system.

The organization also has two middle-six centres with very strong likelihoods of playing and a pair of interesting goalie prospects.

Continued (paywall)

Tweet of note: No update on Mazur; Lombardi to return

Coach Watson said that he was hoping to get an update on Mazur soon, but I doubt that it will be made public.

A bit about Nate Danielson’s debut from Khan

MLive’s Ansar Khan posted a day-after-the-game column about Nate Danielson’s debut with the Red Wings’ prospects, who lost 4-2 to Dallas last night. Danielson had two assists in his Red Wings debut:

The Detroit Red Wings’ top pick in this year’s drafted assisted on both goals in a 4-2 loss to Dallas in Traverse City, displaying some of the traits that prompted the team to take him ninth overall.

“I thought he was a real smart player,” Grand Rapids Griffins coach Dan Watson said. “He plays a 200-foot game, he makes plays, he sees plays, he anticipates the game well. He’s going to be a really good player. And that’s kind of the first time I’ve really seen him live, outside of watching video on him before the tournament. I like where his head’s at. He’s mature for his age.”

Danielson, a 6-2 right-shooting center, realizes it’s important to measure himself against more experienced players.

“I thought it was a pretty fast game,” Danielson, 18, said. “There’s some older guys and they’re a bit bigger and stronger, so it was a little more physical than I’m used to. I thought I did a good job of adjusting to it pretty quick.”

“I think everything happens a little bit quicker. You have to really be out there with your head up and just making plays a bit quicker.”

Continued; Danielson is only 18, but the skinny Brandon Wheat Kings captain isn’t lacking in self-confidence.

Friday practice audio: William Wallinder, Elmer Soderblom, Marco Kasper and coach Dan Watson

Several Red Wings players and coach Dan Watson spoke with the media after Friday’s practice at the Red Wings’ 2023 Prospect Tournament in Traverse City.

We started off with William Wallinder. The soft-spoken defenseman talked about adjusting to North American hockey, his goals for the upcoming season, and his relationship with Rogle BK teammate Marco Kasper:

Then Elmer Soderblom towered over the assembled media, discussing his hopes of dominating at this prospect tournament so that he may build some runway in terms of momentum for joining the Red Wings’ roster this upcoming season:

Marco Kasper was charming in talking about everything from going to high school in Sweden to adjusting to North America, where he has to drive everywhere instead of bike around in Sweden, as well as training with Klagenfurt AC and the influence of his father, who’s both his agent and a former pro hockey player:

Finally, coach Dan Watson had no update on Carter Mazur, but said that Amadeus Lombardi missed practice with a personal issue that won’t keep him out of tomorrow’s game vs. Columbus. He discussed the adjustment of moving to the AHL, his family’s decision to remain in Cleveland for now, and “breaking in” his staff, as well as the performances of players like Kevin Gibson and Nate Danielson:

THN’s Stockton weighs in on Detroit prospects’ loss to Dallas

The Hockey News’s Sam Stockton posted a review of the Red Wings prospects’ 4-2 loss to Dallas last night:

Soderblom’s first period goal offers an example of a different type of winning NHL hockey.  The finish is little more than a tap-in, nothing out of the ordinary, but the play Soderblom makes to facilitate the puck along to his line-mates (Nate Danielson and Cross Hanas) is excellent.

A major question facing Soderblom’s fledgling career is whether he can skate at a high enough level to contribute to an NHL team.  On this sequence, Soderblom shows that even in spots where he’s giving up a speed advantage, he can use his frame and reach to make plays.

Soderblom is pursuing Dallas defender Jacob Murray (67 in green) into the corner for a dumped puck.  Murray has a head start and positional advantage, but Soderblom is able to cut him off as the pair head toward the end boards and prevent the Dallas D man from making a play.

I’m not sure Soderblom even gets a touch on the puck, but his effort and leverage prevent Murray from making a play, and instead, the puck continues around the boards for Danielson and then Hanas.  Instead of a chance for a clean Dallas exit, Detroit gets the opportunity to pursue offense, and the Red Wings capitalize.

Continued

Twitter video: Galli speaks with Henrik Zetterberg at the MSHOF induction ceremony

Here’s WXYZ’s Brad Galli speaking with Henrik Zetterberg at the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame induction ceremony for 1:51: