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 Day 7 at the World Junior Summer Showcase

Wednesday’s second-to-last set of games taking place at the World Junior Summer Showcase were perhaps the most important in terms of promoting international rivalries, as Finland took on Sweden and Team USA Blue battled its sibling team, Team USA White.

Ultimately, Sweden defeated Finland 3 to 2 in the 1 PM game, with Axel Sandin Pellikka scoring the Swedes’ final goal, assisted by Anton Johansson (who has 2 goals and 1 assist over the course of 3 games played).

And USA White defeated USA Blue 7 to 3 in the 4 PM game, with. Trey Augustine took a seat for this one, watching his USA Hockey teammates battle each other from the stands. Former Red Wings development camper Andrew Oke started for USA Blue and stopped 24 of 29 shots over 40 minutes’ worth of play, and fellow development camper and now-Philadelphia Flyers prospect Cole Knuble had 2 goals for USA White.

Three of the four teams will practice on Thursday at USA Hockey Arena (Finland’s taking the day off), and then Friday’s games between USA Blue and Sweden at 1 PM EDT, and USA White vs. Finland at 4 PM.

Continue reading Impressions from Day 7 at the World Junior Summer Showcase

DHN’s Allen on Axel Sandin Pellikka’s redemptive performance in Sweden’s 3-2 win over Finland at the WJSS

I’ve got a whole new set of impressions from today’s games at the World Junior Summer Showcase set to hit the wire in 24:25 of playing time (Team USA White and Team USA Blue are still battling here at the World Junior Summer Showcase).

In the interim, Detroit Hockey Now’s Kevin Allen posted an article about Axel Sandin Pellikka’s performance in Sweden’s 3-2 win over Finland, in which ASP scored the game-winning goal:

Detroit fans got their first look at Sandin Pellikka’s offensive knack Wednesday when he scored a third-period game-winning goal in a 3-2 Sweden win over Finland at the World Junior Summer Showcase tournament.

“I just took the puck. I saw the defender and he kind of went to the boards,” Sandin Pellikka said. “So I kind of cut to the middle and it worked this time.”

The Red Wings like the way he reads plays and they appreciate his instincts. This is a young defenseman who posted 16 goals and 36 points in 31 junior games last season. He didn’t turn 18 until March and still had five points playing 22 more games in the Swedish Hockey League.

Was his goal against Sweden a read or an instinctual play?  “It’s both,” he said. “I saw that defender — he thought I was going to go to the boards and he cheated a little bit. I saw the opportunity to take it inside.”

Continued; here’s the goal:

DetroitRedWings.com’s Mills discusses Michael Rasmussen’s 22-23 season

DetroitRedWings.com’s Jonathan Mills “wraps up” Michael Rasmussen’s 2022-2023 season today:

Michael Rasmussen was understandably frustrated.

Through 55 games in the 2022-23 season, Rasmussen owned NHL career highs in assists (19) and points (29). But after blocking a shot against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Feb. 25, the Detroit Red Wings forward was placed on injured reserve on March 2.

“Tough with where things were at with the team and how well everyone was playing,” Rasmussen said in his end-of-season media session. “To get removed from that was really tough and something I haven’t experienced for a while, so it was upsetting to watch and not be out there with the guys.”

Despite the injury, the 24-year-old forward feels he made encouraging progress in his fourth campaign with the Red Wings.

“I think it was a positive year for me,” said Rasmussen, who was Detroit’s ninth overall pick in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft. “Definitely improved on things in the summer, took it into the season and just got to a point in my game where I felt confident in how I was contributing.”

Continued

Kulfan profiles Daniel Sprong

The Detroit News’s Ted Kulfan profiles Red Wings forward Daniel Sprong this morning:

Armed with one of the best shots in the NHL, Sprong had six goals and 14 points on the power play, where his hard shot can create havoc and is a valuable option.

In all, Sprong could prove to be an interesting addition for coach Derek Lalonde to utilize.

“We think he can contribute goal scoring, and potentially at a good age that he can continue to grow,” Yzerman said. “I like his scoring ability, size and offensive ability. He fits a real need for us.”

Sprong, who signed a one-year contract worth $2 million, was excited about landing with the Wings.

“It will be a good fit for both sides,” Sprong said after signing with the Wings. “Something Detroit was lacking last year was scoring. They’re an up-and-coming team. I thought it would be a good fit to be there and help with the scoring and grow with the guys there and be part of the organization.”

Continued

Allen lists three Wings who should provide more goals in 23-24

Detroit Hockey Now’s Kevin Allen posted an early-evening column which cites Andrew Copp, Lucas Raymond and Joe Veleno as three Red Wings forwards who need to score more regularly for the Red Wings to succeed this upcoming season.

There’s no doubt that Lucas Raymond hit the wall as his sophomore season progressed, but that doesn’t mean that he’s hit a wall as a player:

Lucas Raymond: The prevailing wisdom around the Red Wings was that Lucas Raymond wasn’t as effective as he was a rookie. Call it a sophomore slump. His scoring went down from 23 to 17. The Red Wings were hoping it was going to go up.

As a rookie, Raymond looked like a natural scorer. This past season, he didn’t seem to have the same drive.

Hope for Raymond in 2023-24: The Red Wings would like 25 from Raymond in his third NHL season. He’s only 21. Maybe that’s asking too much. But this is a very talented forward.

Continued; Raymond can hit 25 if he’s worked on his conditioning and strength during the offseason, because he’s definitely a marked man when it comes to opposing defenses and opposing players trying to mess with a smaller forward in a physical manner.

Khan on the importance of being Reimer

Earlier this afternoon, MLive’s Ansar Khan discussed the plain old fact that the Red Wings need better back-up goaltending to succeed this upcoming season. That means that the Wings will expect James Reimer to step into Alex Nedeljkovic/Magnus Hellberg’s spot and stand out behind Ville Husso:

He is coming off his worst season statistically (12-21-8, 3.48 GAA, .890 save percentage) on the fourth-worst team in the league.

“I think the mindset is every single year you should come in with something to prove, whether you’ve had a good year or a bad year,” Reimer, who signed a one-year, $1.5 million deal on July 1, said. “There’s always that drive to be the best, that drive to be perfect. Is there more when the season didn’t go the way you liked it as opposed to having a career year? Probably. But that drive should be there no matter what.

“The stats didn’t reflect well. But it’s also one of those things where I played some really good hockey. I felt like I was a better goalie at the end of the year than the start of the year. When things don’t go your way it’s hard, but I felt like I learned a lot and grew a lot and improved my game a lot. So, I’m excited to continue to work on it, to have that drive to get after it this year and make it a great year.”

Husso arguably was the Red Wings’ most valuable player for much of the season before faltering in the final month (1-6-1, 4.32 GAA, .832 save percentage final eight starts). A nagging injury and overuse due to ineffectiveness from his backups, Alex Nedeljkovic and Magnus Hellberg, contributed.

Continued

A bit of (rare) praise for the Red Wings’ offseason moves

EP Rinkside’s “JFresh” analyzed NHL teams’ offseason moves from an analytical perspective, ranking the 5 most improved and 5 least improved teams. According to JFresh, the Red Wings may or may not have improved their playoff position, but they definitely improved their stead:

#1 – Detroit Red Wings

Net Gain: 8.2 wins above replacement

Last summer general manager Steve Yzerman treated free agency like a kid in a candy shop, taking advantage of a clear cap payroll to essentially buy a bunch of wins, fill in gaps in the lineup, and build a bridge to contention. The results were mixed, with some players simply not fitting in and the team finishing 12 points out of a playoff spot, behind competitors like the Senators and Sabres. 

He followed a similar playbook this summer, but the names are a bit more appealing. The headliner, Alex DeBrincat, has a star-level track record and will easily replace a winger in Kubalik who was far more limited. J.T. Compher does seem a little redunant after the investment the team made in Andrew Copp last summer, but did break out as an excellent shut-down pivot in big minutes for the Avalanche in 2022-23. Shayne Gostisbehere and Justin Holl are essentially a new second pairing, each of them underrated and capable of making a strong breakout pass; Daniel Sprong and Klim Kostin add much-needed scoring touch. 

Can this team properly compete? Are they setting themselves up for frustration down the road? This all remains to be seen. But this is a major infusion of NHL talent.

Continued (paywall); take the praise where you can get it…

Via A2Y: Kris Draper joins ‘PBX Paintball,’ a pickleball league pitting professional MLB, NHL alumni against amateurs

Via Paul Kukla of Abel to Yzerman, it appears that Red Wings assistant GM/director of amateur scouting Kris Draper has invested in a professional pickleball league, per The Athletic’s Aaron Portzline:

PBX Paintball promises to give amateur pickleball players “experiences” in which they play pickleball against former Major League Baseball players and NHL Alumni Association members.

Here’s the company’s press release:

Continue reading Via A2Y: Kris Draper joins ‘PBX Paintball,’ a pickleball league pitting professional MLB, NHL alumni against amateurs

Khan discusses the Wings’ 2023 ‘Big Four’ draft picks

MLive’s Ansar Khan examines the Red Wings’ 2023 NHL Draft haul as it applies to the team’s drafting of defensemen Brady Cleveland, Andrew Gibson, Larry Keenan and Jack Phelan:

After addressing their needs for a two-way center (Nate Danielson) and skilled right-shooting defenseman (Axel Sandin Pellikka) in the first round this year, the Detroit Red Wings used much of their draft capital on big, shutdown-type defensemen.

They selected Andrew Gibson (6-3, 202) and Brady Cleveland (6-5, 210) in the second round, Larry Keenan (6-3, 186) in the fourth and Jack Phelan (6-2, 171) in the fifth.

“It wasn’t necessarily the plan that we need big defensemen, we just happened to like these guys,” general manager Steve Yzerman said. “We like them as prospects. It’s nice that they’re big and if they can play that’ll be ever better.”

That won’t be determined for several years. All of them aren’t likely to reach the NHL. If only one ends up having a productive career in Detroit, the Red Wings will be happy.

Continued