Author: George Malik

Almost 10 minutes of Red Wings forward Joe Veleno explaining what he’s been doing with his summer in Montreal, Quebec:

50 years old today:

HBD, coach! 🥳 pic.twitter.com/GaEaSJyTUX— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) August 18, 2022

EliteProspects has posted an 8-minute video which breaks down plays made by Red Wings 2022 first-round draft pick and Rogle BK center Marco Kasper:

Hey, Red Wings fans, we’ve got a new YouTube video up this morning that might be of interest to you 👀@DavidSt_Louis breaks down one of Marco Kasper’s games from last spring’s SHL playoffs in this edition of Let’s Watch!

🔗: https://t.co/aikQ4c4d3o pic.twitter.com/T0Vu8GsuYu— Elite Prospects (@eliteprospects) August 18, 2022

The Athletic’s Dom Luszczyszyn has posted a list compiling fans’ confidence in their respective teams’ front office personnel, based upon 18,000 reader comments, and the Red Wings came in 3rd. I’m not going to replicate Luszczyszyn’s charts, but I can share the text.

Cue Luszczyszyn’s ever-present skepticism of all things Red Wings!

Steve Yzerman can do no wrong, which to some apparently includes signing a gargoyle statue. I respect that level of trustworthiness and am always amazed at how well Detroit scores in these rankings. Wings fans love Yzerman and have the utmost faith in his vision for the future. The cache he earned building the Lightning definitely helps with that.

The Red Wings had an extremely busy offseason where it became clear that the next phase of the team’s build is upon us. It’s what makes this season a make-or-break season for the unconditional faith in the Yzerplan. At some point, a rebuild needs to take a step forward and it’s clear this is the year where Detroit takes that step. How strong that step is should be telling toward how much confidence should be placed in Detroit’s future. A big step means all the faith during the slow rebuild is rewarded. A small step though would be pretty discouraging considering the length of the rebuild process — though to Yzerman’s credit this is only his fourth season on the job.

His first draft on the job had the Red Wings selecting Moritz Seider, one of the game’s future stars on the back end, with fellow rookie stud Lucas Raymond being taken the following year. That’s a strong nucleus and explains the team’s high marks for drafting and developing. Yzerman deserves a lot of credit for that, but in order for this team to contend, they’ll need some more big hits. 

Yzerman has done a strong job so far, but the hard part is what’s next.

Continued (paywall); yes, this year is a significant stress test of Steve Yzerman’s roster-building. Why do so many of the experts assume that fans think it would be easy? This partisan never did.

NHL.com is previewing its 32 teams on an in-depth basis over the course of this month and early September, and today, they’ve reached the Detroit Red Wings.

NHL.com’s Nicholas J. Cotsonika leads off the preview package with an, “Inside Look at [the] Detroit Red Wings”…

The Red Wings (32-40-10) finished sixth in the Atlantic Division last season and failed to qualify for the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the sixth straight time, while ranking at or near the bottom of the NHL in each major category — goals (227, 25th), goals against (310, 31st), power play (16.3 percent, 26th) and penalty kill (73.8 percent 32nd).

They will look far different after the offseason additions of coach Derek Lalonde, goalie Ville Husso, defensemen Ben Chiarot, Olli Maatta and Mark Pysyk, and Copp, Dominik Kubalik and David Perron at forward.

“I think we’ve addressed some needs,” Yzerman said. “I’m hoping we’re a better team. I think we’re progressing slowly in this rebuilding of the Red Wings. Are we good enough to make the playoffs next year? I don’t know. I’m hopeful that we’ll score more goals, we’ll give up fewer goals. I’m hoping our power play will be a little bit better, our penalty killing is a little bit better, our goals against is a little bit better, and that pushes us higher up the standings.”

Lalonde, hired July 1 to replace Jeff Blashill, was an assistant with the Tampa Bay Lightning the past four seasons and helped them win the Stanley Cup in 2020 and 2021.

Yzerman helped build the Lightning as GM from 2010-18 and a senior adviser in 2018-19 before returning to Detroit, where he won the Stanley Cup in 1997, 1998 and 2002 as a legendary captain and again in 2008 as a vice president of hockey operations.

“Steve was very clear in the whole interview process that this is going to take some time,” Lalonde said. “We’re building. We’re building the right way. But this is going to be a process.”

Cotsonika continues, and he also asks “Three Questions” which the Red Wings face going into the 2022-2023 season…

Red Wings prospect Carter Mazur and Red Savage faced off against fellow Wings prospect Jan Bednar as Team USA battled Czechia in the World Junior Championship’s Quarterfinal round, with a spot in Friday’s Semifinal round on the line.

Team USA imploded, to a large extent, in this game. They scored the 1-0 goal, gave up 3 straight goals, had to kill a major penalty, and did not score on their major power play. Though Carter Mazur scored the 3-2 marker, the Czechs scored an empty-netter and won 4-2.

The Americans were definitely the grittier, more hard-working team, but the Czechs had speed, star power, size, and, quite frankly, they took advantage of the fact that, in single-elimination hockey, anybody can be the best team for one night. For one night, Tomas Suchanek (the Czech goalie) and the Czechs out-worked, out-hustled and out-detailed the Americans, and that was enough to afford them advancement to Friday’s Semifinal round.

So Friday’s Semfinal games are:

Canada vs. Czechia at 4 PM EDT on TSN and the NHL Network;

And Sweden vs. Finland at 8 PM EDT on TSN and the NHL Network.— George Malik (@georgemalik) August 18, 2022

In terms of Red Wings prospects playing in the game…

Carter Mazur: Mazur played right wing on the Americans’ first line, alongside Landon Slaggert and Thomas Bordeleau. He was, arguably, the Americans’ best player this side of Luke Hughes, who played through a knee injury, scoring the Americans’ second goal and working his tail off to come back from nasty cross-checks and trips that the Czechs got away with…

But he finished at -4 with 7 shots in 15:50 of ice time. It was a rough game for him and for everybody else on the U.S. roster.

Red Savage: Savage played as the center on the Americans’ fourth line, between Sasha Pastujov and Riley Duran. Savage finished even with 1 shot in only 9:37 played as the Americans stacked their lines, and while his positioning was superb on a night when the Americans lost their defensive assignments, and he skated well, he was only utilized in a limited role.

Jan Bednar: The Czechs didn’t even dress Bednar, per FloHockey’s Chris Peters. He hasn’t been spectacularly good or terribly bad during the tournament, but to not even dress your would-be starter for the Quarterfinal game was a bit odd. Tomas Suchanek started, and Pavel Cajan was the back-up. Because Suchanek was so dominant, he’s obviously going to start on Friday.

Red Wings prospect and Dylan James was apparently as shocked as the rest of the hockey world when he found out that the Red Wings picked him 40th overall in this past summer’s NHL Draft, as he told the Calgary Booster Club’s Scott Cruickshank:

It is the morning of July 8. General managers, having made their first-round choices the previous evening, are barrelling into the remaining rounds of the NHL draft at the Bell Centre in Montreal. So James, at his family’s home in southeast Calgary, is predictably glued to the television, watching as teams declare their second-round picks.

He notices the Chicago Blackhawks, at No. 39, choose a centreman from the Kingston Frontenacs. Studio analysts dissect the decision, introducing the prospect to the viewing audience through a series of highlight clips. While this is going on, James thinks he catches his name in the background. “I look at my parents and go, ‘Did you guys hear that?’ And they’re like, ‘Yeah.’”

Right then, however, the screen offers no clue about the draft order, about whose turn it is. Stunned, James sits there, assuming his wildest childhood dreams have been realized. But where the heck is he going? What is his NHL destination? He has absolutely no idea. It feels like an eternity. In reality, “a nervous 30 seconds.”

Eventually, the broadcast crew updates the proceedings and James finally learns his fate — he is joining the Detroit Red Wings organization.

“It was pretty cool when I found out it,” said James. “Everything was a blur that next 10 minutes. I was kind of just starstruck. I couldn’t even think. I can’t remember who phoned me. Then a pretty crazy two hours after that.”

Continued (it’s a good read)

Sebastian Cossa, Donovan Sebrango and Team Canada battled Switzerland at the World Junior Championship in Wednesday’s Quarterfinal stage, with a berth in Friday’s Semifinal round on the line…

Canada won 6-3, though the game was a little closer than the score indicated, for most of the effort, anyway.

In terms of Red Wings prospects playing in today’s game…

Donovan Sebrango: Sebrango played on the top defensive pair with Olen Zellweger. He finished even with 1 shot in 20:12 played. Sebrango had some ups and downs; for most of the game, he and Zellweger generated offense, were astute defensively, and while Zellweger is the more offensively-inclined player on the pair, Sebrango was the “high man” while making some good passes and taking some shots of his own. Sebrango became more subdued after a centering pass from below his own goal line led to the third Swiss goal, but he regained his swagger by the end of the game–as did his team.

Simon Edvinsson, Theodor Niederbach, William Wallinder and Team Sweden battled the plucky Latvians in Wednesday’s Quarterfinal match-up, with a spot in Friday’s Semifinal round on the line.

Sweden won 2-1 in what was a ridiculously tight game, with Latvia almost pulling off a tremendous upset because the Swedes mostly sleepwalked through this one, earning a win based upon mostly a great talent disparity as opposed to a lot of heart, hard work and grit–qualities that the Latvians displayed in spades

In Terms of Red Wings prospects playing in today’s game…The good news is that they were among the best of a mediocre lot.

Simon Edvinsson: Edvinsson, who recovered from food poisoning, played on the first Swedish defensive unit with defensive partner Calle Clang. He played only 18:43, with 2 shots and an even plus-minus rating, mostly because he doesn’t play on the Swedish power play, and the Swedes had a 5-minute major. Edvinsson made some mistakes from time to time, so he was not perfect, but his tremendous skating and offensive instincts were complemented by good defense and a subtly physical edge. His skating and positioning shined.

Theodor Niederbach: Niederbach centered the Swedes’ second line, with Oskar Olausson and Daniel Torgersson as his linemates. Niederbach kept up his nearly 60% faceoff win percentage and was tenacious on the forecheck, good on the backcheck, but he was on the ice for the 1-1 goal, so he finished at -1 with 2 shots in 17:52 played. He’s gotten better and better over the years, and he’s efficient as the Swedes’ second-line center;

William Wallinder: Wallinder worked on the 3rd defensive pair with captain Emil Andrae. He had an assist on the game-winning goal, got away with an interference penalty late in the game, and generally played very efficiently and well over the course of 14:56 played, finishing even with 1 shot.

Eemil Viro and Finland battled Germany at the World Junior Championship in Wednesday’s Quaterfinal stage, with a spot in Friday’s Semifinal round on the line.

Finland won 5-2, but the Germans made them sweat for long stretches of the 2nd and 3rd period. They couldn’t hold the Finns’ 4-for-6 power play off the board, but, at even strength, the Germans out-played Finland for a little less than half the game.

Long story long, it was a tight affair until the Finns broke the game open in the 3rd, and Finland earned its victory through hard work, sacrifice and better special teams play.

In terms of Red Wings prospects playing in the game…Viro played on the Finns’ second defensive pairing, alongside usual partner Aleksi Heimosalmi. Viro finished even with no shots and a minor penalty taken in 17:33 played, earning some PK time and just playing his solid, spare, smart puck-moving game.