Author: George Malik

FYI:

You can watch the whole interview with @alexned_ on YouTube!

The episode was brought to you by @DoorDash and @hockeyfightshttps://t.co/ASLGXwgDKT pic.twitter.com/szYYXWGELQ— Dropping the Gloves (@dropping_gloves) December 6, 2021

The Athletic’s Max Bultman posted an article in which he discusses the Red Wings’ NCAA-playing prospects, including Boston University forward Robert Mastrosimone and University of Denver forward Carter Mazur:

The real surprise of the early NCAA season, however, (at least as far as the Red Wings are concerned) is at the University of Denver, where freshman forward Carter Mazur is off to a scorching start for the Pioneers. With four more points this weekend, Mazur — a 2021 third-rounder — has 14 points in his first 14 college hockey games.

Now, it’s important to note that Mazur is a year older than a typical freshman at 19. He was selected by Detroit this past summer as a re-entry into the draft, so he’s had a bit more time to marinate before debuting in college.

Still: Mazur’s production speaks for itself. His 14 points include eight goals, and he’s averaging nearly three shots on goal per game to rank near the top of the team.

“I think he’s gotten better every week,” Denver coach David Carle said prior to this weekend’s games.

In particular, Carle pointed to Mazur’s confidence rising, noting he was holding onto pucks more, getting to the net and “attacking inside the dots” — all signs of a player getting increasingly comfortable at a new level.

Continued (paywall)

The Free Press’s Helene St. James posted an early-morning column which discusses the Red Wings’ overall play and their ability to win in a gritty fashion, with St. James noting that the Red Wings have turned things around since their 0-3-and-1 road trip in early November:

They used a three-day break to refresh themselves and, as rookie defenseman Moritz Seider put it, “decided to be great.” That’s led to a season high on the swagger meter as the Wings take their 12-9-3 record up against the Nashville Predators on Tuesday.

Sunday was a chance for a little respite after grinding out a 4-3 victory in overtime Saturday against the New York Islanders.

“It wasn’t our best game,” Seider said, “but we have that swagger now, and that confidence in our abilities to stick together and win those games somehow.”

That echoed what Dylan Larkin said Tuesday after the Wings won at Boston, which came after home victories against the St. Louis Blues and Buffalo Sabres, and was followed the next night by a home victory against the Seattle Kraken. To coach Jeff Blashill, who has emphasized the Wings’ need to finish close games, that’s a sign of growth.

“Two things I like when I hear that is, one, our guys understand that we have to keep getting better, and they’re not satisfied… our game isn’t nearly perfect and we need to keep striving for that perfection,” he said. “But with that said I do think you can work and compete yourself past mistakes, and I think we have done that.

“And I think that’s part of grinding out wins — part of it is staying with it, part of it is stepping up in big moments and we’ve had all those things, whether it be a goalie or a player making a big play in overtime — guys have stepped up in big moments.”

Continued (paywall)

The Associated Press has already posted a bare-bones preview of tomorrow night’s Red Wings-Predators game, which takes place at 7 PM EST Tuesday, and airs on ESPN+/Hulu/97.1 FM exclusively:

Nashville Predators (13-10-1, third in the Central) vs. Detroit Red Wings (13-9-3, fourth in the Atlantic)

…

BOTTOM LINE: Nashville visits the Detroit Red Wings after the Predators knocked off Montreal 4-3 in overtime [Saturday night].

The Red Wings are 9-2-2 on their home ice. Detroit averages 8.2 penalty minutes per game, the 10th-most in the Eastern Conference. Filip Hronek leads the team serving 24 total minutes.

The Predators are 5-5-1 on the road. Nashville is 10th in the Western Conference averaging 4.9 assists per game, led by Mikael Granlund with 0.9.

The match-up Tuesday is the first meeting this season for the two teams.

TOP PERFORMERS: Moritz Seider leads the Red Wings with 14 assists and has 17 points this season. Dylan Larkin has six goals and six assists over the last 10 games for Detroit.

Granlund leads the Predators with 26 points, scoring five goals and adding 21 assists. Filip Forsberg has seven goals and two assists over the last 10 games for Nashville.

LAST 10 GAMES: Red Wings: 6-3-1, averaging 2.7 goals, 4.6 assists, 2.8 penalties and 6.2 penalty minutes while giving up 2.8 goals per game with a .912 save percentage.

Predators: 5-5-0, averaging 2.8 goals, 4.7 assists, 4.9 penalties and 13.8 penalty minutes while allowing 2.7 goals per game with a .908 save percentage.

As much as the rookie show in Detroit belongs to Lucas Raymond and Moritz Seider, NHL.com’s Mike G. Morreale offers a good reminder that, when it comes to the 2019 draft class, Seider is among a very deep class of rookie and sophomore performers, including Trevor Zegras, Bo Byram, Spencer Knight and Vasily Podkolzin.

Morreale’s “Rookie Watch” for the 2019 draft class also offers coach Jeff Blashill’s take on Seider’s room for improvement:

Moritz Seider, F, Detroit Red Wings: The No. 6 pick leads rookie defensemen with 17 points (three goals, 14 assists) in 25 games, six power-play points (all assists) and average ice time (22:32). The 20-year-old leads rookies from his draft class in hits (35) and blocked shots (43) and is first among rookie defensemen with eight takeaways. 

Seider scored his second overtime goal of the season in a 4-3 win against the New York Islanders on Saturday, becoming the fifth rookie defenseman in NHL history to score multiple overtime goals in one season (Shayne Gostisbehere, Philadelphia Flyers, four, 2015-16; Brent Seabrook, Chicago Blackhawks, two, 2005-06; P.K. Subban, Montreal Canadiens, two, 2010-11; Cam Fowler, Anaheim Ducks, two, 2010-11).

“He’s got tons of physical abilities, he’s a big guy, he can skate, he’s athletic, he’s got (a) good skill set from a hockey standpoint,” Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill said. “Now our job is to help him continue to (grow) from a really good talent to a great player ultimately. That’s what we’d love him to be here.

“I think without improving, Moritz could be a good player in this league. But that’s not what anybody wants, him or us. So we just want to make sure that we’re continuing to push him, even as he has early success.”

Continued; Raymond and Seider may be dominant, but sometimes we forget that they’re not alone among the elites of the NHL’s youngest would-be stars.

Of Red Wings prospect-related note in North America on Sunday:

In the ECHL, Seth Barton finished at -1 with 1 shot and Kaden Fulcher was the back-up in the Toledo Walleye’s 4-3 win over the Cincinnati Cyclones;

In the QMJHL, Jan Bednar stopped 26 of 28 shots in the Acadie-Bathurst Titan’s 11-2 win over Cape Breton;

Cross Hanas had a goal and an assist, finishing at +1 with 2 shots in the Portland Winterhawks’ 7-1 win over Everett;

And in the BCHL, Kienan Draper scored the shootout-winning goal, earning second-star honors in the Chilliwack Chiefs’ 3-2 shootout win over Cowichan.

From SKA St. Petersburg’s Gillian Kemmerer comes a well-wish for Alex Delvecchio, who turned 90 yesterday, as shown on the jumbotron at Little Caesars Arena last night. This one comes from none other than former Red Wing and current CSKA Moscow coach Sergei Fedorov:

Happy birthday #LGRW Alex Delvecchio — from Russia, with love.

(? @hccska)pic.twitter.com/nsZ7kdtO91— Gillian Kemmerer (@gilliankemmerer) December 5, 2021

Per the Toledo Blade’s Mark Monroe:

G Kaden Fulcher has been assigned from Grand Rapids back to the @ToledoWalleye G Victor Brattstrom, who made 18 saves to win last night, was recalled to Grand Rapids.
Walleye rallied for 4-3 overtime win over Wheeling:https://t.co/subx94KKn6 via @toledosports— Mark Monroe (@MonroeBlade) December 5, 2021

The Red Wings posted a 45-second preview of tomorrow’s episode of “The Winged Wheel,” which will focus on the Red Wings’ rookies…

And episode 5 will air here at 10 AM EST on Monday morning:

The Red Wings re-posted an updated version of an NHL.com article by Nicholas J. Cotsonika which discusses the Red Wings’ trio of strong rookie performers in Alex Nedeljkovic, Lucas Raymond and Moritz Seider:

The Detroit Red Wings have the best rookie forward in the NHL right now. And the best rookie defenseman. And the best rookie goalie.

For a team that has missed the Stanley Cup Playoffs the past five seasons, nothing brings more excitement in the short term and hope for the long term than the play of Lucas Raymond, Moritz Seider and Alex Nedeljkovic.

The three have helped the Red Wings (13-9-3) win five straight after a 4-3 overtime victory against the New York Islanders on Saturday. 

“Obviously,” coach Jeff Blashill said, “there’s been a real infusion of talent with those three players.”

Raymond, the No. 4 pick of the 2020 NHL Draft, leads NHL rookies and the Red Wings with 22 points (10 goals, 12 assists) in 25 games. The 19-year-old forward was NHL Rookie of the Month for November, when he led rookies with 12 points (five goals, seven assists) in 14 games.

Seider, the No. 6 pick of the 2019 NHL Draft, leads NHL rookie defenseman with 17 points (three goals, 14 assists) in 25 games after scoring in overtime agaimnst the Islanders. The 20-year-old was NHL Rookie of the Month for October, when he led rookies with eight assists and an average ice time of 22:28 in nine games.

The Red Wings are the first team to have different players named Rookie of the Month in consecutive months since center Auston Matthews (December 2016) and forward Mitchell Marner (January 2017) did so with the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Continued