Author: George Malik

The Grand Rapids Griffins’ Youth Foundation has named a new executive director:

GRIFFINS YOUTH FOUNDATION NAMES JENNIFER LARDIE AS EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – The Griffins Youth Foundation’s board of directors on Monday named Jennifer Lardie as the organization’s new executive director.

Lardie has a long association with the foundation, most recently having served as its director of coaching since 2014. She has also been involved with numerous volunteer opportunities within the foundation since 2009 and is a mother to two foundation hockey players, Caleb and Bradley. 

“We are absolutely thrilled to have had such a strong candidate as Jenn emerge from within our program,” said Bob Kaser, president of the Griffins Youth Foundation and vice president of community relations and broadcasting for the Grand Rapids Griffins. “Jenn is highly regarded among our foundation’s staff, coaches, players and families, and she has an extensive background in just about every capacity, including as our longtime director of coaching. Additionally, she has an intimate knowledge of our program from the perspective of a parent, as her boys have played in the foundation for many years.”

Frolunda HC defenseman Andreas Borgman took over Frolunda’s social media team’s camera for one Tweet’s worth of images, and the first one shows Red Wings forward Lucas Raymond hanging out in Gothenburg, with Liam Dower Nilsson shown on the ice in the third picture:

Andreas Borgman agerade fotograf under herrarnas ispass idag✌️ pic.twitter.com/gegv5edhsp— Frölunda HC (@frolunda_hc) August 29, 2022

Nice snag by the Winged Wheel Podcast gang:

The Athletic’s Corey Pronman posted a list compiling his top players under 23 years of age, and Moritz Seider finishes just behind Jack Hughes on Pronman’s list:

2. Moritz Seider, D, Detroit

21 years old | 6-foot-3 | 208 pounds | Shoots right

Drafted: No. 6 in 2019
Skating: NHL average
Puck skills: NHL average
Hockey sense: Above NHL average
Compete: Above NHL average

Analysis: Seider’s first NHL season was the best-case scenario. He stepped in right away and was an impactful defenseman for the Wings. He’s a tall, mobile right-shot defender who plays the game hard and with skill. Defensively he’s a rock due to his length and skating combined with an edge he brings to his game. He closes on checks at a high level and breaks up a lot of plays. The offensive parts of his game continue to improve and look like a clear strength. He ran Detroit’s PP1, showing instances of high-end skill and playmaking at both ends of the rink. Seider looks like a player who will be a star defenseman in the league for a long time and will likely get Norris votes in his career.

Lucas Raymond, Simon Edvinsson (32nd), Marco Kasper (67th), Filip Zadina (80th), Elmer Soderblom (96th), Joe Veleno (122nd), Jonatan Berggren (151st) and Sebastian Cossa (165th) also make his list:

9. Lucas Raymond, RW, Detroit

20 years old | 5-foot-11 | 170 pounds | Shoots right

Drafted: No. 4 in 2020
Skating: NHL average
Puck skills: High-end
Hockey sense: NHL average
Compete: NHL average
Shot: Above NHL average

Analysis: Raymond was about as good as anyone could have reasonably hoped he would have been in the NHL as a teenager. He played significant minutes, ran the PP1 flank and was a go-to player for the Red Wings as a teenager. Raymond’s puck game is exceptional. He has the elite hands to make defenders miss and maintain possession like a top player. He’s a highly creative playmaker who can wait out seams. He also has a strong wrist shot and it’s what makes him deadly on the man advantage. Raymond lacks ideal size and speed, but he’s shifty and doesn’t get hit much. He looks like a budding star who will be a top scorer in the league for a while.

Continued (paywall)…I agree that, as of yet, Raymond doesn’t have top speed, but he’s got the same kind of “sneaky fast” bursts of speed that Luc Robitaille once possessed. He knows how to get from point A to point B fast enough, and how to get to the net faster…

This is very high praise indeed, from the NHL Network’s Ken Daneyko and Steve Konroyd:

Update: Here’s the list, per NHL.com’s David Satriano:

11. Moritz Seider, Detroit Red Wings

Seider won the Calder Trophy last season, leading rookies 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).

“I love the way he plays the game, I love his physicality, and he’s still growing,” NHL Network analyst Steve Konroyd said. “… You’re going to see Seider’s numbers creep up [this season] in a northward direction. The sky is the limit for this kid.”

Continued

Earlier today, the Hockey News’s Jason Chen suggested that Red Wings defenseman Moritz Seider is one of the 10 best NHL defenders for fantasy hockey poolies to pick. This evening, NHL.com piggybacks on the NHL Network’s rankings of the top 20 players at each position to engage in a “thought experiment” article, in which 6 NHL.com writers discuss which defenseman they believe will be the NHL’s best some 3 seasons from now.

Seider earns the support of a pair of writers, tying Cale Makar in that department:

Moritz Seider, Detroit Red Wings

The 21-year-old certainly got off to a great start in his NHL career when he won the Calder Trophy voted as the League’s rookie of the year last season. I see him improving steadily during the next three seasons. He led rookie defensemen with 50 points and 43 assists and was second among them with seven goals (Martin Fehervary of the Washington Capitals scored eight). He led Detroit with 21 power-play points (two goals, 19 assists) last season. Seider’s already used to a good amount of ice time (he led the Red Wings with an average of 23:02 per game). With Detroit adding some veterans this offseason, including defenseman Ben Chiarot, Seider can keep improving without too much pressure. He showed great personality when he accepted the Calder at the 2022 NHL Awards He seems like a cool customer, and the Red Wings will benefit from his improvement during the next three seasons. — Tracey Myers, staff writer

Seider’s outstanding rookie season could just be the tip of the iceberg. He produced offensively, his 50 points in 82 games the most by a Red Wings rookie defenseman since Nicklas Lidstrom had 60 in 1991-92. And he was able to play against the top players in the NHL; he was one of 11 defensemen to average at least 18:00 of ice time per game at even strength (18:16), at least 2:30 on the power play (2:53) and at least 1:30 on the penalty kill (1:53), and the only rookie. And he didn’t shy away from physical play, leading the Red Wings in blocked shots (161) and finishing second in hits (151; Adam Erne had 161). And did we mention he’s just 21 and has a frame (6-foot-4, 197 pounds) that will allow him to get stronger? More experience, more strength, and in three more seasons he’ll have more than a Calder Trophy on his shelf. — Adam Kimelman, deputy managing editor

Continued…

Again, here’s hoping, because NHL.com’s Adam Kimelman’s pick is probably among the deepest crop of star defensemen I can remember since the mid-to-late-90’s. Cale Makar’s one of the better defensemen I’ve seen in a long time, and he’s just one of at least a dozen excellent NHL defensemen out there right now, so “Mo” Seider has his work cut out for him.

Why, yes, but debate among yourselves…

Who’s saying yes to the @HockeyHallFame? 👇 pic.twitter.com/FskGM7fax1— NHL (@NHL) August 28, 2022

Red Wings defenseman Moritz Seider has graduated from a Calder Trophy-winning “freshman defenseman” to a sophomore amidst a sea of stars on the blueline.

The NHL’s crop of defensemen is so very rich and varied right now that I’ll admit I’ve spent some of my summer wondering to myself whether Seider will get lost in the shuffle of the Cale Makars, Miro Heiskanens and Roman Josis.

Long story long, I think it’s going to be hard for Seider to contend for a Norris Trophy even if he replicates his 50-point rookie season output.

All of that being said, It’s encouraging to see Seider listed among the Hockey News’s Jason Chen’s list of the Top 10 Defensemen for fantasy hockey poolies to pick:

Moritz Seider, Red Wings: Stylistically, Seider’s closest to Hedman; he can score points, quarterback a power play and contribute in both hits and blocked shots. In banger leagues, Seider’s upside is huge and should climb a few spots higher. The theory about sophomores hitting a wall is overblown, and most bumps in the road for young players are only temporary. The hype is real and Seider will be a Norris contender for years.

Continued;

1. Comparing Seider to Hedman is a massive amount of praise, but, given Seider’s underrated physicality, it’s also accurate in my biased opinion;
2. Seider was pretty consistent over the course of his rookie campaign in 2021-2022, so I’m not expecting a fall-off in 22-23, either. At 21 years of age, with an AHL and a SHL campaign under his belt as well as a full NHL season, I think he’s a little less likely to hit a wall than Lucas Raymond..Though my suspicions are that both players’ time spent hitting that “sophomore wall” will be short, if they hit it at all;
3. Again, with the aforementioned Makar, Heiskanen, Josi and now Hedman on the Norris list, and the NHL’s awards voters tending to value point production over an all-round game on defense, I think it’s going to take a couple of years for Seider to round into true Norris contention, but I believe he can do it.

Detroit Hockey Now’s Bob Duff touched upon the preseason performances of Red Wings prospects and 2022 draft picks Marco Kasper, Anton Johansson and Dmitri Buchelnikov today (and I happened to talk about Kasper and Buchelnikov yesterday).

To me, the most interesting situation involves Buchelnikov, who’s making a very hard push to skip the MHL, the Russian version of Major Junior Hockey, in attempt to make SKA St. Petersburg’s KHL roster as an 18-year-old:

In an article on KHL.ru, KHL TV commentator Anton Vasyatin was touting Red Wings draft pick Dmitri Buchelnikov (52nd overall, 2022) as a contender for the Alexei Cherepanov Prize as the KHL’s top rookie performer.

Describing Buchelnikov as a “fast, nimble forward,” Vasyatin is also noting that it will be a challenge for Buchelnikov to crack the SKA St. Petersburg lineup.

The fact that he shoots right, a rare quality among Russian players, could help him earn the opportunity. Though he’s been skating on the fourth line in preseason, Buchelnikov is producing on the SKA power play.

“His main advantage is his shot,” Vasytin noted of Buchelnikov. “Even in the most difficult situations in terms of receiving the puck, Buchelnikov manages to handle it without problems and shoot it very sharply and accurately.”

The article which Duff references is on the KHL’s Russian-language website, and Anton Vasyatin is asked to compile a list of players who might compete for the above-mentioned Cherepanov Prize. Buchelnikov is listed 6th out of 10 players that Vasyatin names. Here’s a rough translation of what he says:

Red Wings prospect Albin Grewe spoke with HockeyNews.se’s Alexander Nilsson recently regarding the 21-year-old winger’s bumpy road over the past couple of seasons. Here’s a rough translation of their conversation:

Grewe about his strange time in Finland and the missed move to Canada

SUNDSVALL, Sweden. His OHL dreams crashed. The move to Finland was a flop, and then he was absent for two months. Albin Grewe’s last couple of hockey years have been messy.

“I think it was strange that they took me in from the beginning, to be honest,” he tells HockeyNews.se about his short stay in Finland.

Fiery forward Albin Grewe had been able to show himself in the SHL with Djurgarden and on the Swedish national junior team before Detroit drafted him in the 3rd round [66th overall] in the 2019 draft.

A year later, Grewe, together with Detroit and Djurgarden, concluded that playing in the Canadian Major Junior league the OHL was the best way forward.

The now 21-year-old forward had therefore prepared himself for a move to North America in 2020, but that didn’t happen.

Due to the pandemic, the start of the OHL season was postponed, and Grewe remained with Djurgarden before he had to go over [the Atlantic] at the end of the 2020-2021 season, then for games in the AHL with Grand Rapids.

“It was tough. I would have liked to go over and play in the OHL, I think it would have been good for me to play over there high up in the lineup and get a lot of confidence, which was the plan. So it was clear that when it didn’t turn out that way, it was a shame. But I earned the chance to play in the SHL instead, which I thought was incredibly fun,” says Grewe to HockeyNews.se.