Author: George Malik

DetroitRedWings.com’s Jonathan Mills posted an article in which he discusses Red Wings prospect and 2021 draft pick Shai Buium, who said this about having won an NCAA Division 1 hockey championship during his freshman season at the University of Denver:

“I wanna be a role model for the freshmen,” said Buium, who was the Detroit Red Wings’ 36th overall pick in the 2021 NHL Entry Draft. “We have two new incoming defensemen that I want to show them the way, hopefully pick up a bigger role and do the same thing. It’s hard to win, so we’re gonna try to do that again.”

This past season, the 6-foot-3, 209-pound blue line prospect registered 18 points (3-15-18) in 39 games with Denver, including a plus-20 rating. He also was named the NCHC Rookie of the Week on Feb. 14.

“I’m really happy about the way that I’ve developed my defensive game,” Buium said about his 2021-22 campaign. “The coaches and all the other D-men on the team have helped me a lot, especially at the start where you’re learning the new game of college and getting used to it.”

Before stepping on Denver’s campus, Buium tallied four goals and 22 assists in 50 games with the USHL’s Sioux City Musketeers in 2020-21.

The 19-year-old said he views himself as an offensive defenseman.

“I like to get creative in the offensive zone, make plays and try to score goals as much as I can,” Buium said. “But I like to pass the puck.”

Continued

Here are two Red Wings prospect-related items from The Athletic:

1. The Athletic’s Corey Pronman answered a Red Wings-related question in his prospect mailbag this morning, and I think this one is accurate:

How many prospects, and which ones specifically, do you think will make the Red Wings full-time this season? — Chris C.

Simon Edvinsson I think is 50-50 to make it. Jonatan Berggren has an outside chance but is probably more of a call-up. I think most of their prospects have a better chance of being injury- or performance-issue call-ups rather than stealing a veteran’s job in camp. I could see defensemen like Donovan Sebrango, Albert Johansson or Jared McIsaac getting games if guys go down for example.

Continued (paywall); training camp, injuries and the Wings’ defensive depth = it’s going to be hard for Edvinsson to make the team out of camp, though it could be done.

I agree that Berggren will probably start out later this season as an injury replacement, and we’ll see at least one of the Wings’ Grand Rapids goalies at some point, though I’m not certain whether one views Victor Brattstrom or Jussi Olkinuora as prospects at this point…

2. And The Athletic’s Scott Wheeler posted an article in which he discusses prospects who his assessments misjudged, saying this about the still-developing Joe Veleno:

C Joe Veleno (Detroit Red Wings — No. 30, 2018)
My final draft ranking: No. 13

Ahead of the 2018 draft, you could often find me arguing that Veleno had been doomed by his exceptional status, that the talent around him to that point in Saint John was never going to allow his numbers to pop, and that he was closer to the player who’d produced 21 goals and 59 points in 43 games after the trade to Drummondville than the one who’d posted a still-respectable 31 in 31 to start the year in Saint John.

I loved his skating. I loved the way he pushed pace and played through the middle. I loved his commitment to the defensive zone and the detail that was layered throughout his game. And while I wrote that he didn’t have first-line upside, I felt he had a real good chance to become a second-line centre. But there was also always a chance that his softer skills never got the level they’d need to get to for him to reach a top-six ceiling, and his bottom-six reality today was always a legitimate outcome.

So where he’s landed isn’t one of the surprises of this list to me. I should have adjusted his ranking accordingly, given the likelihood that his skills inside the offensive zone didn’t take off. He was also a January 2000, which placed him on the older side of the draft, so maybe I should have been more cognizant of the fact that he was closer to what he’d been in his time in Saint John rather than being poised for a breakout after what he’d shown in Drummondville. I also think I overemphasized his two-way game. While his work rate is still a part of his game, I’m not sure he’s actually a plus-level player defensively per se.

Continued; ouch. Proclaiming a 22-year-old with one real NHL season to his name a bust is pretty harsh.

Ahead of the CBC’s documentary on the 50th anniversary of the Summit Series, Summit 72, which will start airing on Wednesday at 8 PM EDT on Channel 9, MLive’s Ansar Khan spoke with former University of Michigan coach Red Berenson regarding participating in the highly-charged hockey summit between Canada and Russia in 1972:

“Canada was trying to push them around, outmuscle them [early in the series],” Berenson said. “That wasn’t working. They didn’t shy away but they didn’t retaliate, so we’d end up with the penalty. They found a way to get even. They did a lot of kicking your feet out from under you and jabbing with their sticks. When they could, they got their licks in. There definitely was animosity. It just got more emotional as it went.”

Canada coach Harry Sinden faced tough lineup decisions.

“I remember talking to Harry one day and said, ‘Harry, you got to go with the guys that are playing because they’re the ones that are getting better. You can’t keep throwing guys in and expect them to get caught up to the group,’ ” Berenson said. “He settled on a lineup that was the right group and they kept getting better. We put a lot more pressure on (goaltender Vladislav) Tretiak than we did in the first four games.”

It took Canada some time to learn and adjust. Who were their best players? What kind of systems did they play?

“This regrouping and defensemen jumping in from the points and all kinds of back-door plays and one-timers that we didn’t do much in the NHL, it was like a whole different game,” Berenson said.

Continued

The WHL’s website posted a quick summary of its two representatives who will be attending the Red Wings‘ prospect tournament and training camp, hoping to earn spots on the NHL team:

Sebastian Cossa: Goaltender Sebastian Cossa back-stopped the Edmonton Oil Kings to the WHL Championship in 2022, posting a combined 11 shutouts in regular season and playoff play last season. Hailing from Fort McMurray, Alta., Cossa has registered a 71-16-4-3 career regular season record in the WHL, and held a 1.93 goals-against average and .919 save percentage over 19 post-season appearanaces this past spring. Selected by Detroit in the first round of the 2021 NHL Draft, Cossa recently helped Canada to a gold medal at the 2022 IIHF World Junior Championship in Edmonton.

Cross Hanas: A second-round selection by the Red Wings in the 2020 NHL Draft, forward Cross Hanas enters the 2022-23 season having led the Portland Winterhawks with 60 assists and 86 points a season ago. In four seasons in the Rose City, the product of Highland Village, Texas registered 103 assists as part of his 161 career regular season points. For his efforts, he was named to the U.S. Division First All-Star Team this past spring. Hanas signed a three-year, entry-level contract with Detroit in March of 2022.

Continued

Via Paul Kukla of Abel to Yzerman comes this Tweet in which the NHL Network’s Jameson Coyle and Mike Johnson discuss the Red Wings’ status as a “sneaky” team to watch this upcoming season:

.@MikeKellyNHL is keeping his eye on the Detroit Red Wings this season.

Will the @DetroitRedWings make waves in the Atlantic Division this season?@JamisonCoyle | @mike_p_johnson | #NHLTonight pic.twitter.com/JQcwrfsqzq

— NHL Network (@NHLNetwork) September 11, 2022

The Red Wings are hosting their annual prospect tournament this upcoming week and weekend in Traverse City, Michigan, and the Red Wings revealed their roster for said tournament approximately two weeks ago.

I shared my thoughts regarding the roster shortly thereafter, and, on Sunday, Detroit Hockey Now’s Nate Brown asked five pertinent questions regarding the Wings’ prospects. Among them:

What about Elmer Soderblom? Rookie camp is just the first step in what could be a giant leap for the towering forward. His 21-goal, 33 point performance in 52 games with Frolunda seems the appetizer for what could be a very telling season. Be it with Grand Rapids or Detroit, Soderblom’s appearance on North American ice has been eagerly anticipated. A dominant rookie tournament will only amplify the attention on Soderblom.

Brown continues, and my biggest question is simple:

How do the forwards stack up?

The Red Wings’ prospect tournament blueline is absolutely stacked with prospects who’ve accumulated professional experience in Simon Edvinsson, Eemil Viro, Albert Johansson, Seth Barton and Donovan Sebrango, but up front, Soderblom is the only player who’s played at this level.

If Sebastian Cossa can find his form in the net, and the defense can stand up in front of him, the Wings will be able to keep pucks out of their own net, but with Soderblom, Cross Hanas, Pasquale Zito, the college guy, Drew Worrad, AHL-contracted Kirill Tyutyayev and 18-year-old Amadeus Lombardi standing out among a host of try-outs…

The Red Wings’ prospect tournament team is going to have to develop chemistry, scoring depth and defensive aplomb in a hurry.

It’s going to take Grand Rapids Griffins coach Ben Simon’s hard work to build a roster out of a bunch of players who don’t know each other very well, and on top of that, a bunch of forward try-outs who will have to find their way into roster spots quickly.

Rakapuckar’s Henrik Lehman has watched Frolunda HC through the six-week preseason that is preseason “friendly” games and Champions Hockey League action.

Ahead of the SHL regular-season start on September 17th, he’s offered observations regarding each and every one of Frolunda’s players, including the Red Wings’ lone representative on the team, one Liam Dower Nilsson:

Liam Dower Nilsson: Hot as an iron stove in the preseason when he played alongside [Max] Friberg and [Joel] Lundqvist, not the same on the line with Jacob Nilsson and Anthony Greco, but maybe that’s not so strange. The 19-year-old has made a fine start to his men’s team career, securing the center’s spot against Eisbären Berlin. The fact that he was given that chance by Frölunda says a lot about the young Borås-born center’s wisdom. More exactly, what stands out, rather than his “flashiness.” But Liam can shoot. It would be good if he went there a little more often.

Continued; Henrik’s going the pay site route in the future, so we’d better enjoy his analysis while we can get it.

The NHL Network is revealing its top 50 players ahead of the 2022-2023 season, and among players 50-41 may be the Red Wings’ only representative on the list. Moritz Seider comes in at #49, per NHL.com’s David Satriano:

49. Moritz Seider, Detroit Red Wings, D

Seider won the Calder Trophy voted as NHL rookie of the year last season, leading first-year players in assists (43) and power-play points (21). He led rookie defensemen in points (50), game-winning goals (four) and shots on goal (187) and was second in goals (seven) while playing all 82 games. The 21-year-old led the Red Wings in time on ice per game (23:02), total ice time (1,889:22) and blocked shots (161) and was second in hits (151).

“We knew he was going to be very talented, we knew he was going to be a pillar of a D-core in Detroit, but I didn’t know he was going to be this physical.” Rupp said. “It’s one thing to be able to move the puck the way he can, distribute the puck, but his physicality. You’ve got to know when No. 53 is on the ice. They got a good one here in Detroit and that’s going to be a centerpiece of their team moving forward.”

NHL.com hasn’t made Mike Rupp’s video breakdown of Seider embeddable or even searchable on their website, so you have to head to the story on NHL.com to get his breakdown.

Update: Here’s the video in Twitter form:

"I give him a ton of credit for cracking this list after just one year." –@Rupper17

Mo Seider comes in at 49 on the #NHLTopPlayers list.@JamisonCoyle | @DetroitRedWings | #NHLTonight pic.twitter.com/M3EpNn27Rd

— NHL Network (@NHLNetwork) September 12, 2022

This is really cool:

Special shoutout to Mickey Redmond, who was inducted into the @MSHOF tonight!

Well-deserved. Congrats, Mick! 🙌 pic.twitter.com/B4avobhEsq— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) September 11, 2022

Welcome to the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame, Class of 2022! pic.twitter.com/mtu8exTeNo— Michigan Sports HOF (@MSHOF) September 11, 2022

Expressen’s Gunnar Nordstrom spoke with Red Wings free agent signing Robert Hagg about his decision to join the Red Wings a little later in the free agency signing period. What follows is roughly translated from Swedish:

Hagg excited about the challenge in Detroit

Los Angeles. Our Swedish NHL professionals are starting to arrive in Canada and the USA ahead of the 2022-2023 NHL season.

The holiday season at home in Sweden is over or coming to an end.

The NHL teams will start their training camps on September 20th or 21st.

One of the Swedes who traveled across the Atlantic last week was Robert Hagg, 27, who chose to sign with the Detroit Red Wings this summer.

“I’m very excited and have always liked playing here as an opponent. The Red Wings are a long-standing team in the league,”says Robert to SportExpressen.

He arrived in Detroit on Monday and has spent the week getting an apartment in the suburb of Royal Oak and familiarizing himself with Little Caesars Arena.

“I go in every morning and train in the gym and then go on the ice. I feel healthy and fresh and have had a good summer at home in Uppsala. There’s nothing to complain about.