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!

Charitable Tweet of note: Griffins have available spots at charity golf tournament on August 21st

The Grand Rapids Griffins are holding their annual charity golf tournament to raise funds for the Griffins’ Youth Foundation on Monday, August 21st at the American Dunes Country Club. The Griffins Tweeted…Erm…X’ed…Erm…Posted that there are still open spots (they’re not cheap, but that’s charity golf tournament stuff for you) today:

Khan profiles Carter Mazur

MLive’s Ansar Khan posted a profile of Red Wings prospect Carter Mazur, who’s a bit of a…shift disturber:

“I would say I like (ticking) people off,” Mazur said. “That’s a big part of my game, so I feel like when that’s going on and getting under people’s skin, that’s what I consider a ‘B’ game. “A (game), I would consider I’m doing all that and adding skill, good passing, scoring goals.”

He added, “I love chirping. Don’t care who you are. It makes hockey a lot of fun.”

The left wing from Jackson, drafted 70th (third round) in 2021, is ready for his first full pro season in Grand Rapids, where he had six points (three goals, three assists) in six games to close out 2022-23, after two years in college that included an NCAA Championship in 2022.

“It is my life-long dream to be a Detroit Red Wing,” Mazur said. “I’m close to it, but it’s still far away. I don’t want to be someone who just sticks around for a couple of games and gets sent down. I want to be a player that competes and does everything. That’s my main focus, along with learning from older guys.

“If I’m in Grand Rapids, I’m in a good spot, but I want to be with the big club. I’m in a good spot either way.”

He’ll be better prepared after gaining weight and adding strength. He checked in at 177 during development camp last month at Little Caesars Arena, when his goal was to gain one pound per week this offseason. He hoped to achieve it by working with team dietician Lisa McDowell and by eating a lot of his mom’s beef burritos.

Continued

A bit about Robby Fabbri’s season-in-review

DetroitRedWings.com’s Jonathan Mills posted a season-in-review article regarding Robby Fabbri, who missed significant time rehabbing from his third ACL injury:

After recovering from his third career ACL tear, Fabbri made his 2022-23 season debut on Jan. 4, on the way to recording 16 points (7-9-16) in 28 games before sustaining a lower-body injury against the Chicago Blackhawks on March 8. The 27-year-old forward underwent surgery later that month, sidelining him for Detroit’s final 17 games of the campaign.Despite his injury-shortened season, Fabbri was proud of his accomplishments.

“I put in a lot of hard work,” Fabbri said in his end-of-media session. “A lot of days to be ready and be in the best shape possible coming back. I think coming in with everyone in mid-season form, team’s rolling and I’m just trying to find my game, I thought I did a really good job. Obviously had some ups and downs in little stretches throughout the 28 games, but I was happy coming in, being able to produce, play my game, get some reps in and feel good going into the summer.”

When reflecting on his surgery, Fabbri said he weighed several options with the Red Wings medical staff before concluding “a quick clean-up” made the most sense.

“At the end of the day, with this one, it was more just about the timing of when it happened, where we were at in the standings and how many games we had left,” Fabbri said. “After the original injury, I was back skating, working out and trying to get over the hump so we could do this clean-up in the summer.

“Unfortunately, the way the rehab was going right after the injury, we only had a handful of games left. As a group here, we made a decision that going into the summer healthy was gonna be a better call.”

Continued

Press release: Red Wings announce dates of prospect tournament, training camp

Per the Detroit Red Wings:

DETROIT – Detroit Red Wings executive vice president and general manager Steve Yzerman today announced that the Red Wings will return to Centre ICE Arena in Traverse City, Mich., to host the NHL Prospect Tournament and Training Camp, as well as the 2023 Training Camp Golf Classic at the Traverse City Country Club.

Continue reading Press release: Red Wings announce dates of prospect tournament, training camp

Tweet of note: A peek behind the paywall

I’ll call this a peek behind the paywall, because the article referenced by IceHockeyGifs on Twitter is in Helsingborgs Dagblad, and it’s behind a paywall:

Update: Just for the record, from Detroit Hockey Now’s Kevin Allen, Marco Kasper is tri-lingual:

This is a serious young man, someone who wants to educate himself on and off the ice. One of his accomplishments this summer was finishing up some assignments to graduate from high school. The Innsbruck, Austria native turned 19 four months ago. He speaks three languages: German, Swedish and English.

“I learned English in school growing up,” Kasper said. “Swedish I learned the past three years (playing in Sweden), going to school every day I learned pretty quickly.”

His language skill serves him well in a multi-national NHL dressing room.

“That’s very cool,” Kasper said.” I can speak German to some guys, Swedish to other guys and English to the rest of the guys. That’s pretty cool.”

Kasper’s father, Peter, was a professional hockey player, and is his agent.

Press release: Coach Lalonde to appear at ‘Drive For Life’ fundraiser in Kalamazoo this September

Per a press release posted early this morning, Red Wings coach Derek Lalonde will appear at a gala held by Kalamazoo’s Drive For Life Foundation, a charitable organization which raises funds for the local charities like Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Southwestern Michigan. The gala takes place on Thursday, September 14th:

KALAMAZOO, Mich., Aug. 14, 2023 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ — The Drive for Life Foundation is proud to announce Derek Lalonde, head coach for the Detroit Red Wings, as its special guest speaker for its upcoming 41st Annual Drive for Life Foundation Gala. The event will be held at the Radisson Plaza at Kalamazoo Center on Thursday, September 14, 2023 at 5:30p.m.

The Gala raised a record-breaking $2 million dollars last year, bringing its grand total for the American Cancer Society and other local charities to $5.5 million over the last four decades.

“I’m extremely honored to participate in this year’s Gala,” said Lalonde, who was named the 28th head coach of the Red Wings on June 30, 2022, quickly guiding the NHL franchise to its most wins (35) and points (80) since 2015-2016.

“For over four decades the Drive for Life Foundation has supported so many worthy causes, including one of particular importance to me and my family – the American Cancer Society. I look forward to a great night with the Kalamazoo community and assisting with the amazing fundraising efforts of this group.”

Continue reading Press release: Coach Lalonde to appear at ‘Drive For Life’ fundraiser in Kalamazoo this September

Video: Motor City Rockers to kick off second season with ‘Fan Fest’ on Saturday, August 26th

The Motor City Rockers are a professional hockey team that plays at Big Boy Arena in Fraser, Michigan, and the second-year franchise is holding a “Fan Fest” on Saturday, August 26th.

Their general manager, Nick Field, spoke with WDIV’s Victor Williams and Priya Mann on Sunday morning regarding the “Fan Fest” events and the team’s hopes for its second season of play:

Allen: Edvinsson, Kasper crack the NHL Network’s ‘Top 50 Prospects in the NHL’ list

These things tend to go in cycles, but, per Detroit Hockey Now’s Kevin Allen, only two Red Wings prospects were ranked among the NHL Network’s “Top 50 Prospects in the NHL,” with Simon Edvinsson and Marco Kasper landing at 11th and 25th, respectively…

And Allen discusses this development in an article on DetroitHockeyNow.com:

The bad news, from the Red Wings’ perspective, is that the Atlantic Division rival Buffalo Sabres have four players on the list. Forwards Zach Benson, Matthew Savoie, Jiri Kulich, and goalie Devon Levi are all ranked among the top 30 prospects.

The Ottawa Senators boast one player (Ridley Greig, 39th) in the top 50. Detroit general manager Steve Yzerman said last season that the Red Wings are primarily competing against the Sabres and Senators because they are at a similar stage of their rebuilding.

The Montreal Canadiens, another Atlantic rival, has two players (David Reinbacher at 17 and Lane Hutson at 26) on the NHL Network list.

Detroit’s 2023 first rounders Nate Danielson and Axel Sandin Pellikka are not on the list, even though players drafted later in the 2023 draft are on the list.  Sandin Pellikka is generally considered the best offensive defenseman coming out of the 2023 draft.

It happens. At this point, the Sabres and Senators are quite chic (ask their fan bases and bloggers, who have spent this summer looking down their noses at the poor, star and prospect-bereft Red Wings), and the Wings are going to have to prove that they belong in the conversation. The Atlantic Division is incredibly competitive, so both the Red Wings and their prospects will have to prove themselves on the ice.

A kind-of-sort-of report from Ben Chiarot’s ‘Scotland’s Yard’ street hockey game

While six Red Wings were raising funds for ALS research in Windsor on Saturday, Red Wings defenseman Ben Chiarot was took to the streets on a rainy day in Waterloo, Ontario to help raise funds for Grand River Hospital’s “Scotland’s Yard” charity.

There’s not that much information up about the events which took place at the “Scotland’s Yard Road Hockey Classic,” save an Instagram summary thereof…

Continue reading A kind-of-sort-of report from Ben Chiarot’s ‘Scotland’s Yard’ street hockey game

A bit more about the ‘All in 4 ALS’ game from the Ontario Hockey League

As noted yesterday, six Red Wings took part in the “All in 4 ALS” game in Windsor, Ontario on Saturday, helping raise funds to further the care of Ottawa Senators assistant coach Bob Jones.

The Ontario Hockey League received behind-the-scenes access, and Josh Sweetland filed a report from the game:

Jones was moved to tears when he received a pre-game standing ovation from the 6,149 in attendance on Saturday.

“It’s a good feeling,” the 53-year-old Jones said pre-game. “We’re trying to find a cure, but it’s not about me. It’s about (the cause).”

NHL captains Brady Tkachuk (Ottawa Senators) and Dylan Larkin (Detroit Red Wings) headlined a list of current NHL players competing, one that also featured more than 40 past and present OHL players and coaches. Team White won the game by a score of 10-6.

According to the Windsor Star, more than $202,000 had been raised before the puck had dropped on Saturday’s event with more than $11,000 more added from the 50-50 draw during the game and a post-game auction had the total pushing nearly a quarter million dollars. At the request of Jones, the bulk of that money will go to the Sunnybrook Foundation in Toronto, which supports the research and treatment for the disease.

The Windsor Spitfires organization, led by owners John Savage, Stephen Savage and Brian Schwab, did a great deal of work to make the event possible.

For more on the game and to hear from some of Bob Jones’ closest friends, check out Bruce Garrioch’s coverage in the Ottawa Sun.

For more information on the event, visit allin4als.ca.

If you’re not familiar with Sunnybrook Hospital in Toronto, it’s the Mayo Clinic of Canada, and they really do remarkable, groundbreaking work.

I know that the goal of the “All in 4 ALS” game was to raise about $250,000 Canadian, but if you’re still interested in purchasing merchandise or donating, coach Jones is going to need the care one way or another.