Author: George Malik

You can take this for what you will: former Red Wings coach Scotty Bowman used to leave a “signing stick” in the lobbies of hotels, and everybody who signed in after curfew got in trouble…Including Darren McCarty, but not by his own hand:

Between Labor Day weekend yielding an inconvenient break for me–I’ve been a bit under the weather–and the the weekend yielding eyes away from the blog, I chose to pause the fundraising effort.

Now that the long weekend’s over, however, I find myself in difficult territory. I pack up a week from now, on the 13th, and leave a week from tomorrow, on the 14th, and I realistically need to raise about $1,500 to pay for half of the hotel bill (which comes due when I check in), pay for fixing my Pacifica’s headlight and tail light, and get me out of the door with gas, groceries and dry cleaning done.

Once I’m up in Traverse City and working, I’ll need to raise just as much to get me back home, but that’s a story for another day.

I’ll say this before engaging in the rigamarole: it takes all kinds of TMR reader support to ensure that this trip happens, and at this point, it’s where the smaller donations tend to add up. If there’s any way you can lend a hand, no matter how small the donation, I need that help now.

If you’re are willing to help, you can use PayPal at https://paypal.me/TheMalikReport, Venmo at https://venmo.com/george-malik-2, Giftly by using my email, rtxg@yahoo.com, at https://www.giftly.com. And you can contact me via email if you want to send me a paper check.

The Athletic’s Max Bultman posted an article in which he discusses the expectations for every Red Wings forward going into training camp, and we’ll start from the top:

Lucas Raymond: What kind of second-year leap is in store?

This time a year ago, the question with Raymond was simply where he would play. And frankly, he seemed destined for a season in Grand Rapids.

Yeah, about that. Raymond exploded onto the scene, making the NHL’s All-Rookie team behind a 23-goal, 57-point season. Now the question is: What will he do for an encore?

Now that he’s been through the grind of an NHL schedule — which he seemed to feel as the season wore on — Raymond could very well pop even more this season. Especially if Detroit’s power play, on which Raymond will be a key piece, can take a long-awaited step forward. Teams know more about him now than they did a year ago, but the bet here is Raymond’s improvement will outpace the ways opponents adjust to defend him.

And examine a “new guy”…

David Perron: Can he help establish a new culture?

Perron might have been the single best addition the Red Wings made this summer. He’s a high-level scorer who shoots right-handed, which will help the power play, and he should bring some jam to the top six, as well. That all will give Detroit a boost right away.

In the big picture, though, one of the most valuable things Perron brings to the Red Wings may be in the dressing room. He’s been a part of a Stanley Cup winner in St. Louis, and he wore a letter on the famous “Golden Misfits” team in Vegas that shocked everyone in the franchise’s first season. Those experiences could prove vital as Lalonde tries to set a foundation in Detroit.

Perron knows what it takes to set and maintain a winning standard, and for that reason, he’s a candidate to wear an “A” for the Red Wings — and to back it up on the ice.

Continued (paywall)

Per the Red Wings comes two Tweets of note today:

First, this is an unmistakable sound when you’re at the BELFOR Training Center, the Red Wings’ practice facility, and Dylan Larkin illustrates how the Red Wings’ players make it:

🏒🔜

🎟: https://t.co/n3wRcnZ3E7 pic.twitter.com/HaCm9uDscS

— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) September 4, 2022

Second, the NHL Network gents had a little discussion about the fact that the Red Wings were picked by Twitter-based fans as the rebuilding team with the brightest future:

"They've got a lot of things that would serve this team well long term."

The @DetroitRedWings are building something special in Hockeytown. pic.twitter.com/6WX7HlDePq

— NHL Network (@NHLNetwork) September 3, 2022

Of prospect-related note on a Sunday in early September:

Via Red Wings Prospects on Twitter, I had to do some Russian-language digging to find this one, but in the MHL, which is the equivalent of a Russian Major Junior hockey league, Dmitri Buchelnikov posted a goal and 2 assists for 3 points, finishing at -1 with 5 shots in 20:51 as SKA-1946 won 7-6 over Red Army Moscow.

It’s very early in the KHL and MHL seasons, but it looks like Buchelnikov will be bouncing up and down between the men’s league, where he’s going to play 4th line minutes, and the Major Junior league, where the 18-year-old who turns 19 on September 6th is a dominant player.

And in the CHL, at least Antti Tuomisto is playing a ton with TPS Turku. TPS lost 1-0 against EV Zug on Sunday, but Tuomisto finished at -1 in 25:25, leading all TPS Turku players in ice time.

It’s not ideal that Tuomisto headed back to Finland after playing for two years at the University of Denver, but if he’s going to average 25+ minutes per night, that’s a net plus.

There aren’t any highlights yet, but I’ll post them when they pop up.

Update: Here are the highlights at 3:59 PM:

The Score’s Jon Matisz posted a listing of the “Bottom 16” NHL teams, and he ranks the Red Wings as one of them, though he suggests that for the Red Wings, Senators, Jets, Islanders, Blue Jackets, Devils, Stars and Canucks, being in “Tier 5: Standings Purgatory” still means that the above-listed teams could make the playoffs “if the stars align”:

Detroit Red Wings: The Red Wings are the most interesting NHL team to monitor this year.

Detroit built up momentum last season with small gains in the win column and brilliant performances from young studs Moritz Seider and Lucas Raymond. Then GM Steve Yzerman went wild, acquiring everyday NHLers Ville Husso, David Perron, Andrew Copp, Dominik Kubalik, Olli Maatta, and Ben Chiarot in one busy summer.

It’s impossible to not be bullish on this squad, both in the short and long terms. They’ve upgraded by leaps and bounds on paper, while holdovers like Jakub Vrana, who’s coming off a major injury, and Dylan Larkin, Tyler Bertuzzi, and Alex Nedeljkovic, all pending unrestricted free agents, aren’t short on motivation.

Along with Seider and Raymond’s continued growth, keep tabs on Swedish defenseman Simon Edvinsson and his transition to North America.

Last season, the Wings finished with 74 points, 26 short of the playoff cutline. This year, if the blue line holds up, they’re capable of 90-plus and should be playing meaningful games down the stretch under first-time head coach Derek Lalonde.

Continued; I’m starting to wonder whether the Red Wings would really fill out their roster by adding one more puck-moving defenseman, but that’s just me hazarding a guess there.

I had mentioned that Cape Breton Screaming Eagles forward Ivan Ivan will be attending the Red Wings’ prospect tournament as a free agent try-out way back on August 30th, and today, Detroit Hockey Now’s Bob Duff has a bit more on the slight forward with the funny name:

“A lot of people are thinking my parents did it on purpose,” Ivan explained during an interview at the World Juniors. “My parents love me and they did it because they want me to be special. I didn’t want to be special because of my name more than my hockey skills.”

Evidently, hockey people have been of the opinion that on the ice, the 5-foot-11, 171-pound Ivan Ivan isn’t that special. He’s been passed over for selection in the 2020, 2021 and 2022 NHL entry drafts.

He’s been playing the past two seasons in the QMJHL with the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles. Last season, Ivan led the Screaming Eagles with 31 goals and 65 assists. His 34 assists ended up earning him a share of the team lead in that department.

He’s slated to be returning to play for Cape Breton again as an overager during the 2022-23 season.

Continued; like I said, the name makes for a great story, but I want to see whether Ivan is a diamond in the rough who’s been waiting for his chance, or whether the name on his passport is what will stick about his game.

With the Wings’ forward corps at the prospect tournament very thin, Detroit will need all its try-outs to give their all if they are to win their three round robin games.

Updated at 5:36 PM: Of Red Wings prospect-related note on Saturday:

In the Champions Hockey League, Liam Dower Nilsson finished even in 9:07 played as Frolunda HC won 7-1 over the Eisbaren Berlin:

Rogle BK won 2-1 over Fehervahr AV19, and in said victory:

Marco Kasper scored the game-wining goal on 1 shot, finishing even in 17:16 played (and, as usual, IceHockeyGifs was on the scene, as it were):

Marco Kasper scores the game winner for Rögle, 2-1 with a few minutes left in the 3rd after some good forechecking work #LGRW pic.twitter.com/a7CFsZyxzx

— IcehockeyGifs (@IcehockeyG) September 3, 2022

Theodor Niederbach did not play;

And William Wallinder finished at -1 with 1 shot in 15:26 played.

Updated at 5:36 PM with highlights:

Marco Kasper hat heute in Gruppe D der Champions Hockey League den Siegestreffer für seine Mannschaft erzielt.

👉 Kasper wurde zwar beim NHL-Draft von den Detroit Red Wings gewählt, spielt diese Saison aber noch für den Club aus der SHL. pic.twitter.com/q1YZQ80nhf— ÖEHV (@hockeyaustria) September 3, 2022

Also, in the KHL, Dmitri Buchelnikov made his KHL debut, finishing even with a shot on goal in 6:49 played (on the fourth line) as SKA St. Petersburg won 3-2 in overtime over Salavat Yulaev Ufa.

Update: You can watch the entire Frolunda-Eisbaren game here, and the Rogle BK-Fehervahr AV19 game here.

In the second day of Champions Hockey League play, Red Wings prospect Antti Tuomisto had a very good outing in terms of ice time, finishing at +2 with 6 shots in over 26:17 played as TPS Turku won 3-2 over Olimpija Ljubjana.

You can watch the game’s highlights here:

On Saturday, Rogle (Kasper, Niederbach and Wallinder) will battle Fehervahr AV19 at 12 PM EDT, and Frolunda HC (Dower Nilsson) will battle Eisbaren Berlin at 9:05 AM EDT, and on Sunday, Tuomisto and TPS Turku will battle EV Zug at 12 PM EDT.

I believe that all three games will be live-streamed on the Champions Hockey League’s YouTube channel.

DetroitRedWings.com’s Jonathan Mills filed an article in which he spoke with Red Wings prospect and 2022 2nd round draft pick Dylan James regarding his selection process:

Dylan James was watching the 2022 NHL Entry Draft with his family in Calgary, Alberta, when he heard his name called as the 40th overall pick. But James, who described the moment as “an exciting time,” couldn’t fully celebrate just yet.

“My (streaming) feed was actually a little delayed, so I saw the person before me, his clips going out,” James said. “Then I heard my name called and I didn’t know what team was up next. Twenty seconds later, it was the Red Wings.”

The 6-foot, 181-pound forward prospect said he talked to several interested NHL teams before July’s draft and is thrilled to join the Red Wings organization.

“I’m pumped to be with Detroit,” James said. “Once I found out, I was pretty stoked.”

Last season, James was named the United States Hockey League’s Rookie of the Year after tallying 61 points (28-33-61) in 62 regular-season games with the Sioux City Musketeers. He also had five goals and three assists in 10 postseason games, helping the Musketeers win the 2021-22 Clark Cup championship.

Continued