Author: George Malik

This is a bit belated, but here are the jersey numbers for 13 new members of the Red Wings organization, and one returning player:

Hot off the press! pic.twitter.com/QH6P86HRru

— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) August 16, 2022

Enjoy:

From the Red Wings:

Prospect update!#WorldJuniors x #LGRW pic.twitter.com/lYb5hAcV8K— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) August 16, 2022

Red Wings director of European scouting Hakan Andersson spoke with HockeySverige.se’s Simon Eld today, discussing the Red Wings’ trio of prospects taking part in the World Junior Championship (Edvinsson, Niederbach and Wallinder) as well as one more propect making their North American pro debut this season (Elmer Soderblom). Here’s a rough translation of the interview:

Hakan Andersson on Edvinsson and Wallinder: “Phenomenal”

For over 30 years, Hakan Andersson has worked to recruit European talent for the Detroit Red Wings . From his couch at home in Sweden, he now follows the Detroit-drafted Swedes closely.

“I can’t imagine that there are so many better defensive prospects anywhere,” says Andersson.

For 30 years, Hakan Andersson has been the director of European scouting for the Detroit Red Wings. During his years with the team, he’s been a key when the team signed players such as Henrik Zetterberg, Pavel Datsyuk, Niklas Kronwall, Johan Franzen, Tomas Holmstrom, Valtteri Filppula and Gustav Nyquist.

Now, the next batch of Swedes are on their way over to the Michigan-based team. For HockeySverige.se, he gives his thoughts on the WJC tournament, and tells how he sees the Swedish defensive duo’s rocket-like development.

“Their efforts in the WJC have been okay. Simon Edvinsson is 3rd, William Wallinder is 2nd. Both had phenomenal seasons last year. I haven’t gone through in detail, but I can’t imagine that there are better defensive prospects anywhere. So, based udpon that, one might have thought they would have been even more prominent now. But it’s tough as hell in August, few guys play their best hockey then. Then you can turn it around, it’s the same for everyone. I think they’ve been perfectly fine, but I know they can do better,” Andersson says.

Wallinder was drafted 32nd overall in the second round of the 2020 draft. Edvinsson as 6th overall in the first round, the following year. Both by Detroit. The talents now hope to lead Sweden to success at the WJC from the blueline, and have made a real impact already during last season in the SHL. Now awaits a season in which Edvinsson takes the step over to North America to try and establish himself in Detroit. For Wallinder, another year awaits in Rogle.

What steps do you think they can take during the upcoming season?

“It’s extremely difficult to speculate about that. I’ve been doing this for 30 years. I’ve seen guys go on and make strides. I’ve seen guys fall flat, so it’s super hard to know. You could say this: if you look for the defensive curve for the likes of Wallinder and Edvinsson, they point rather steeply upwards, like the year before. If they continue upward, if they do. It’s a big “IF.” ]

They are the most relevant for the national team. Both Rogle and Frolunda are top teams in Sweden and they were among the leading defensemen for different periods. If they continue upwards, then things will happen. But it’s a big “if.” If they flatten out, it’s a different scenario. If you think that you’re the Aidan Ball and slack off a bit in practice, it should not happen. I’ve seen players do it. I’m not saying that they will, but you have to be on your toes.”

In addition to Edvinsson and Wallinder, there are other players drafted by Detroit in the Junior Krona in Edmonton. Theodor Niederbach is a player that Andersson believes in a lot, and believes that many people may not have opened their eyes to him until now during the WJC.

“It’s exactly the same with Niederbach. I think he can do even more. He’s a super smart player and it’s starting to show now. People are starting to see all his little clever things that he does during the game. Passes pucks to the defensemen and shuts down certain angles. But I think he can do even more. They have said that he will earn a bigger role with Rogle, and so he will be exciting to follow.”

For Sweden, it’s been a bit of a tentative start to the WJC. It’s clear, Andersson also wants to point out, that the players are not in top form when the tournament is played like this in the summer. But with each game, the Junior Krona get closer and closer to the highest level. A quarter-final meeting against Latvia awaits on Wednesday.

Will we see some different hockey now in the playoff rounds?

“Yes, I really think so. With each game and practice, they start to feel more comfortable in their roles and everything from the way their skates sit, to the new gloves, a different angle on their sticks. There are lots of things that come into play. But it’s clear that things are going in a better direction.”

“It’s hard to say how things are going, both the USA and Canada look strong. We should be able to be top three, top four, I think. If you’re going to hit the USA and Canada, then you’re going to need to have a really good day. Personal best day. But they should be able to reach the semifinals.

For Andersson, the summer of 2022 has meant a lot of work and some time off. In addition to the NHL Draft in July, he was over in Canada to see the Hlinka-Gretzky Cup.

What do you take with you from there?

“Anything is possible. It’s August hockey, you can’t forget that. So, to be completely honest, you don’t get any great reflections. But you get a number of names that you want to keep checking upon. It was fun that they got to the Final, Sweden. After all, they have some on the first line who were expected to be a bit of a leader, which they were. Then you can discuss whether they were leading as you expected. Nicely even team. I heard from the coaches that they also had a camp before where even they thought it was an even camp. So it should happen that there were guys who got the chance during the winter that didn’t earn the chance now.”

Sees great potential in Elmer Soderblom

The tiro of Simon Edvinsson, William Wallinder and Theodor Niederbach are players that Andersson will follow with excitement in the coming season as they take further steps toward becoming Swedish stars. But there will also be great focus on Elmer Soderblom. The tall Gothenburger showed high-class during the past season in Frolunda with his unique skills. Now he must adapt his game to the smaller North American rink to sooner or later earn a spot on Detroit.

“He had a great season, he scored a lot of points in Frolunda, found chemistry with Ryan Lasch. He’s got a goal-scoring ability, he’s got size, he’s got the hands. Where does he fit in Detroit? It’s impossible to say. Will Elmer be patient, we hope so. It’s clear that he’s excruciating. That’s why wee drafted him and brought him over. It’s because we see NHL potential in him. That’s why he’s hear. Then how good he will be? It’s like with everyone else, you never know. The years go by and you see what happens. He seems like a super nice guy as well, so it will probably go far, I think so.”

Do you think he resembles someone, or is he unique?

“I can say that it’s very unusual to be 2 meters tall and have such skilled hands. I don’t know who to compare it it. There aren’t many normal-sized players who have his techniques, it’s awesome. Then you can be big and strong, and go for goals, and so on, but those hands mean that he has a bit of an edge that not everyone has. It will be fun to see how he adapts to North American rinks.”

Do you think he resembles someone or is he unique

Per the ECHL’s Toledo Walleye:

🚨 PLAYER ANNOUNCEMENT 🚨

Forward Brett McKenzie makes his return to the Fish for the 2022-23 season.

👉 https://t.co/Ba7muqJJqA pic.twitter.com/PUOejisCC5— Toledo Walleye (@ToledoWalleye) August 16, 2022

Per the Walleye:

(Toledo, OH) – Forward Brett McKenzie has agreed to terms with the Toledo Walleye for the 2022-2023 season.

McKenzie, a native of Ottawa, Ontario, appeared in just ten games for the Walleye this past season with ten points (5G, 5A) before being loaned to the Grand Rapids Griffins. He did return to Toledo in the playoffs with ten points (6G, 4A) in 17 contests. McKenzie posted nine points (4G, 5A) for the Griffins in 44 contests, his longest stint in the AHL. The 25-year-old has 44 goals and 71 assists in 128 games at the ECHL level, which includes the 60 points (23G, 37A) over 56 contests in the 2019-2020 season for the Komets.

Before joining the pro ranks, McKenzie played five seasons in the OHL between North Bay and Owen Sound. He appeared in 328 games over those five seasons with 101 goals scored to go along with 123 assists. In 2017-18, he started the year with North Bay but finished the season with 26 points (13G, 13A) for Owen Sound. The 6’2”, 190-pound forward helped the Attack that year with 16 points (8G, 8A) in 11 postseason contests.

Detroit Hockey Now’s Bob Duff spotted an article in which Red Wings prospect and Czechia goaltender Jan Bednar spoke with iSport.cz’s Michal Kosturik, and Duff offers a translation of said article, in which Bednar discusses whether he’s going to remain with the QMJHL’s Acadie-Bathurst Titan, or whether he expects to earn an NHL contract:

“I can stay in the junior, which is also a great option,” Bednar said. “I have everything there that I need for my development.”

Just 19 and with a year of junior eligibility remaining, the 6-foot-4, 196-pound Bednar isn’t of the opinion that he needs to take a step up in competition in order to further his progress as a puckstopper.

“I do not think so,” Bednar said. “A lot of people say: ‘Why would you go back there, when you can play senior hockey somewhere?’ I’m happy where I am and I don’t want to rush anything. I consider my step to leave Vary to go overseas to be 100% correct. I don’t regret it.

“From a personal point of view, the (2021-22) season was not bad at all,” Bednar said. “I stayed in the better waters of statistics. As a goalkeeper, I have progressed a lot.”

Duff continues…And, put bluntly, it’s not Duff’s fault that Kosturik is trying to stir up controversy.

The whole premise of the Czech article is that Bednar, whose Czech hockey rights belong to HC Energie Karlovy Vary, would surely be better-served (emphasis mine) playing “senior hockey” in the Czech Extraliga instead of playing in some tiny backwater city in faraway Quebec, playing junior hockey.

Bednar’s response, basically, is that he likes Acadie-Bathurst, he likes his billet family, and he likes the QMJHL, where he earned the majority of the starts in Acadie-Bathurst after the New Year.

It’s a less-than-nuanced premise given that Bednar is 19, and would probably be playing in the Czech Under-20 league for Karlovy Vary if he’d stayed home.

Also: Kudos to Duff for finding this one. It took me ten minutes to find this article, and I knew where to look. It was hidden not in the hockey section, but in the general sports section instead.

Red Wings prospect Simon Edvinsson did not take part in Team Sweden’s 4-2 win over Germany on Monday at the World Junior Championship, and reports about Edvinsson’s status circulated throughout the TSN broadcast and on Twitter, etc.

Everything from Edvinsson being “banged up” from blocking shots to having food poisoning to being so injured that he wouldn’t be available until Saturday’s WJC Final.

So let’s hit upon several of these topics, via HockeySverige.se and HockeyNews.se.

HockeySvergie.se’s editor, Rasmus Kagstrom, reported the following, which is, of course, roughly translated from Swedish:

When you put together a bunch of international journalists in order to allow them to cover an international hockey tournament, you, the internet viewer, occasionally find that the conglomerate of international journalists and an international hockey event yields interviews that you never thought would happen.

As it turns out, Red Wings forward and Team Sweden forward Theodor Niederbach has a connection to Czechia, and, as it turns out, Hokej.cz’s Daniel Kratky asked Niederbach about said connection over the course of an interview that was published on Monday night, in Czech.

What follows is good stuff, roughly translated from Czech:

The Red Wings’ prospects at the World Junior Championship will be playing in the following games on Wednesday, first reported by The Mayor of Mayor’s Manor, an LA Kings website:

Rumored schedule for #WorldJuniors quarterfinals on Wednesday…

9am – Finland v SWE/GER
1230p – SWE/GER v Latvia
4p – Canada v Swiss
730p – USA v Czechia— John Hoven | The Mayor (@mayorNHL) August 16, 2022

And confirmed by FloHockey’s Chris Peters:

QF schedule for Wednesday per TSN:

Finland vs. Germany 10 a.m. MT
Sweden vs. Latvia 1:30 p.m. MT
Canada vs. Switzerland 5 p.m. MT
USA vs. Czechia at 8:30 p.m. MT— Chris Peters (@chrismpeters) August 16, 2022

Long story long, the schedule is as follows in terms of Eastern Daylight Time:

Finland (Eemil Viro) vs. Germany at 12 PM EDT

Sweden (Simon Edvinsson, Theodor Niederbach, William Wallinder) vs. Latvia at 3:30 PM EDT

Canada (Donvan Sebrango, Sebastian Cossa) vs. Switzerland at 7 PM EDT

Team USA (Carter Mazur, Red Savage) vs. Czechia (Jan Bednar) at 10:30 PM EDT.

Your #WorldJuniors quarter-finals matchups:@leijonat vs @deb_teams @Trekronorse vs @lhf_lv @HockeyCanada vs @SwissIceHockey @usahockey vs @narodnitym pic.twitter.com/aFxUXJFbLp— IIHF (@IIHFHockey) August 16, 2022

The final game of the World Junior Championship’s round robin play was consequential: Sweden had to beat Germany to finish second in Group B, which would afford them the opportunity of battling Latvia in Wednesday’s Quarterfinal.

If the Swedes lost, they would actually finish below Germany in the standings, and face Finland in the Quarterfinal.

For the Red Wings’ prospects participating in the game–Theodor Niederbach and William Wallinder (Simon Edvinsson was OUT for the game)–Monday night’s game also represented an opportunity to rebound from Sunday night’s 3-2 loss to Team USA, and to build momentum in terms of both team and individual play.

Sweden won the game 4-2, with Niederbach earning an assist on the 4-1 goal for Sweden, but it wasn’t as easy as you might think. The Germans took a 1-0 lead 4:00 into the 1st period, and until the Swedes both tied the game 1:52 later, and earned a lead at 12:29…It felt like Germany was going to upset the lackadaisical Swedes.

That’s not what happened, however, and while the Swedes’ level of attention to detail was a bit ugly at times, the Germans couldn’t beat back-up goaltender Calle Clang again until Luca Munzenberger got a BIZARRE goal with 7.1 seconds remaining in regulation, so Sweden punched its ticket to a match-up with Latvia.

In terms of Red Wings prospects playing in the game…