Author: George Malik

I don’t know how to frame this one. The Athletic’s Sean McIndoe, a.k.a. Down Goes Brown, declares whether the NHL is “rigged” for or against each and every one of the NHL’s 32 teams, and he offers this bluster about the Red Wings:

Detroit Red Wings: The NHL never forgave the dynasty-era Red Wings for drafting so well in the later rounds and has been making sure they get screwed in every draft lottery of the modern era. But smash a Red Wing’s face into the glass or into the boards and the league is pretty much fine with it.

Verdict: League rigged against you

Continued; the salary cap is certainly “rigged” against the Red Wings’ financial clout, and yes, I get pissed off about the Zetterberg, Datsyuk, Kronwall, etc. incidents…

But the league is not “rigged” against any team. The Department of Player Safety has been terrible of late to every team in the NHL.

Of Red Wings-related World Junior Championship note this morning:

1. The Sporting News’s Bryan Murphy posted a list of 10 prospects to watch at the World Junior Championship, which begins in Edmonton today, and #1 on his list is one Simon Edvinsson…

1. Simon Edvinsson, D, Sweden: If there’s one player outside of the North American teams that is a must-watch, it’s Edvinsson. The towering defenseman for Sweden was taken by the Red Wings with the No. 6 pick in the 2021 draft.

Edvinsson excels in all three zones of the ice. Not only can he play physically, but his long stride allows him to be a strong puck carrier. He ended his 2021-22 campaign with 19 points in 44 games for Frölunda HC of the SHL. The Swede should be in the running for best defenseman at the World Juniors.

2. And Edvinsson is named in Future Considerations’ Austin Broad’s “Prospects to Watch” as well:

Simon Edvinsson, D, Detroit Red Wings: Sweden always has a strong defense group and this roster is no different, and the headliner has to be Simon Edvinsson. He’s a smooth-skating, two-way defender who can drive play from the backend. Edvinsson has all the skills and physical traits to be top tier NHL defender and after he was a force in Sweden’s two games during the December tournament. Detroit Red Wings fans can expect him to take another big step this time around.

The hockey world has been on a low buzz regarding the concept that the New York Islanders somehow have to clear cap space to sign Nazem Kadri as an unrestricted free agent, and the Hockey News’s Lyle “Spector” Richardson notes that there’s been a particular trade pitched repeatedly, in several forms:

Rumors have linked the New York Islanders to Nazem Kadri for several weeks now. Given their need to free up salary-cap space if they’re to sign the 31-year-old center, it’s been suggested they move Mathew Barzal in a cost-cutting trade.

Boston Hockey Now’s Jimmy Murphy recently took to Twitter pitching a hypothetical deal that sends the 25-year-old Barzal to the Detroit Red Wings. He felt it would help the Isles win now by clearing space for Kadri while addressing their future with a return of promising youth from the Wings.

Barzal is slated to become a restricted free agent next summer with arbitration rights. He’ll also be a year away from unrestricted free agent eligibility. Murphy’s colleague Stefan Rosner reported there’s been no word of contract extension talks between the young center and Isles management.

Barzal indicated he’d love to sign a long-term deal during his end-of-season media session. Nevertheless, Rosner believes it’s important for the Isles to determine if he remains part of their long-term future. They don’t want to see him depart as a free agent like John Tavares did four years ago.

The Red Wings, meanwhile, have to deal with Dylan Larkin and Tyler Bertuzzi as both forwards are slated to become UFAs next summer. If one or both appear headed to market, perhaps Wings management would be interested in trading for Barzal.

That’s a hard pass from me. It’s frickin’ August, and the Red Wings have until next July to sign Larkin, a Michigander who happens to be the captain, and Bertuzzi, who’s very explicitly said he wants to stay. Why would they move either one, even given how dynamic Barzal is as a player?

Of Twitter-related note from the Red Wings comes this clip of five plays from Red Wings winger David Perron:

Perron's top 5 🤩 pic.twitter.com/CYKdKgGbX2

— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) August 8, 2022

Red Wings assistant director of player development Daniel Cleary spoke with NHL.com’s Adam Kimelman regarding the fact that the Wings are represented by 9 prospects at the World Junior Championship:

“We’ve had a lot of a lot of draft capital the last number of years, our amateur scouts did a great job and it’s been great to work with some of these young guys,” Red Wings assistant director of player development Dan Cleary said. “We’ve got some talented players coming through that should come to fruition here within a year, two years, next year.”

Topping that list is their two picks from the first round of the 2021 NHL Draft, Sweden defenseman Simon Edvinsson (No. 6) and Canada goalie Sebastian Cossa (No. 15). Edvinsson had 19 points (two goals, 17 assists) and averaged 19:42 of ice time in 44 gams with Frolunda in the Swedish Hockey League last season, and a strong tournament could give the 19-year-old a jumpstart on earning an NHL roster spot this season.

“Simon is an excellent prospect,” Cleary said. “He’s big (6-foot-4, 198 pounds), he skates effortlessly, he’s confident, he’s got good puck skills. He was off to a great start last year and he played great in Frolunda at 19. It’s not an easy league to play in and he played very well for one of the best teams in the league. We’ll see what happens in September. Our team is better, but certainly if Simon comes in and plays the way I believe he can play, I don’t see any reason why not.”

Cossa was the third goalie for Canada when the tournament was held in December but could see an elevated role after the 19-year-old was 33-9-3 with a 2.28 goals-against average and .913 save percentage in 46 regular-season games for Edmonton, and had a .919 save percentage and five shutouts in 19 playoff games to help Edmonton win the Western Hockey League championship.

“I’m really excited for him,” Cleary said. “His attitude in terms of preparation was great. After development camp [July 10-14], he stayed a few weeks later to get a lot of good prep work with our goaltending [development staff]. … You’re just one of the team. That’s the way we want him to go into it and go and just work hard and be a great teammate. Just go in and do your job and let the chips fall where they may. Be willing to do your job and you’ll be in the net.”

Other Red Wings prospects playing in the tournament are goalie Jan Bednar (Czechia); defensemen Donovan Sebrango (Canada), Eemil Viro (Finland) and William Wallinder (Sweden); and forwards Carter Mazur (United States), Theodor Niederbach (Sweden), Redmond Savage (United States).

“I think anybody who’s a Red Wings fan, part of our organization, should be really excited as well,” Cleary said.

Continued

TSN’s Mark Masters is following Team Canada at the World Junior Championship in Edmonton, and he filed an expansive report today which noted the following ahead of tonight’s exhibition game vs. Sweden, in which Sebastian Cossa stopped 8 of 11 shots while splitting time in Team Canada’s 4-3 win over Sweden (which received goals from William Wallinder and Theodor Niederbach):

[Sebastian] Cossa, who stands 6-foot-6, is also riding a wave of confidence after backstopping the Oil Kings to the WHL title.

“It was a good experience for me going on that long playoff run and getting a championship under my belt,” the Detroit Red Wings prospect said. “There were a lot of ups and downs in that playoff run.”

Cossa went 16-3 with a .919 save percentage in the WHL postseason. What’s he doing better now versus December?

“Just keeping my feet underneath me and being set for every single puck,” he said. “My hands have also gotten better because of that.”

Continued

The Detroit News’s Ted Kulfan has weighed into the fray of Red Wings pundits examining Detroit’s 9 participants in the 2022 World Junior Championship, and here are a couple of pertinent takes:

► Canada: Defenseman Donovan Sebrango and goaltender Sebastian Cossa. This will be an interesting situation for Sebrango, who already has two seasons of pro experience in Grand Rapids and will be an alternate captain for Canada.

Sebrango, 20, is excited to impart what he’s learned in the American League to his Canadian teammates.

“In the room you try to be a leader and just lead by example and take it day by day,” Sebrango said. “They’re still the same age as me, so you don’t want to come in like you’re better than them. I just try to show them what pro hockey is like and what it takes to get there. On the ice, you’re playing against the best players in the world in your age group, so it’s not a huge adjustment. I just try to bring my leadership and experience playing against men and hopefully that takes us to gold.”

Cossa, a 2021 first-round pick, was 33-9-3 with a 2.28 goals-against average and .913 save percentage for Edmonton in the WHL, pacing the team to the Memorial Cup before being eliminated.

“It was a lot of experience for me and it was really good,” Cossa said of the long season.

The pressure of representing Canada is something Cossa values.

“Being a goalie, it’s being the last end-all or be-all. I like that about the position, for sure,” he said.

Continued; it remains to be seen whether Cossa will actually play for Canada, whose presumptive starter is Dylan Garand…

Detroit Hockey Now’s Nate Brown analyzes the Red Wings’ drafting tendencies over the past 3 seasons in the first 2 rounds of the draft today, kicking off a series of articles which promise to explain the “Anatomy of the Yzerplan.” Here’s his take on the second round selections:

Prospects in the first and second round of the draft according to Dobber Prospects have a 37.3% and 17.2% chance respectively of making it to the NHL. The drop off is steep from the first to second round, but it goes without saying that when 54.5% of NHL bound prospects are in the top two rounds, choosing well is crucial.

In the first round, 80% of Yzerman’s selections came from an international league. In the second round, five of the nine picks came from international rinks. Until the Hanas pick in 2020, Yzerman had almost exclusively gone international, with seven of the eight picks (87.5%) in the first and second round being from either the Finnish or Swedish leagues.

Positionally, it’s pretty split between wings and defensemen with the lone center being Niederbach in 2020. To no one’s surprise, the bulk of Detroit’s picks in the first two rounds came from the Swedish League, both professionally and in J20.

Continued

The Red Wings will have 9 prospects participating in the World Junior Championship in Edmonton, Alberta, starting tomorrow. I’ve broken down each prospect, and DetroitRedWings.com’s Jonathan Mills does so today. Among his observations:

Blueliners Simon Edvinsson and William Wallinder will play for Team Sweden.

Edvinsson had two goals and 17 assists in 44 games last season with Frolunda HC’s Swedish Hockey League team. The Red Wings’ sixth overall pick in 2021, Edvinsson was also named a finalist for the SHL Rookie of the Year.

Wallinder, who was Detroit’s 32nd overall pick in 2020, led all U20 SHL defensemen in 2021-22 with 19 points in 47 games with Rogle BK.

Also representing Sweden is forward Theodor Niederbach, who was Detroit’s 51st overall pick in 2020. In his second campaign with Frolunda HC, Niederbach recorded nine goals and seven assists in 51 games.

Continued; this is a good, concise summary of the players’ backgrounds…

I have to raise funds this month, and there are several reasons why:

• My web-hosting bill is due, and while Bluehost and WordPress have helped whittle it down a bit from $500, between the three services I use (Jetpack is the third), it’s still going to cost about $400 for me to keep running this website for another year.
• Put bluntly, there are bills to pay this month, and we’re under-budget;
• My hotel accommodations are booked for the third and fourth weeks of September, but, as you might imagine, heading up to the Red Wings’ prospect tournament and training camp will be an expensive trip. Despite earning a massive discount from my hotel, the bill is still gigantic; groceries, gas and getting my headlights fixed so that I can drive at night will cost a fair amount (I have a wonky headlight and a wonky tail light). It all goes down from September 14th-28th. So the Big Prospect Tournament/Training Camp fund is open for business.

I’m admittedly scared right now, because the stakes are high and the budget is particularly low. Aunt Annie and I live as simply as possible. She’s been kind enough to afford me the opportunity to do this job in addition to caring for her, but it’s got to put food on the table, too.