Author: George Malik

The ECHL’s Toledo Walleye chose to not participate in the 2020-2021 season due to the pandemic, but the Walleye are back for this year’s campaign, and Toledo Blade correspondent Mark Monroe spoke with Walleye coach Dan Watson regarding the state of his team:

With the retirement of mainstay forwards Shane Berschbach (the team’s all-time leader in nearly every category) and Kyle Bonis and the departure of 2019 ECHL MVP Josh Kestner, there are offensive holes to fill.

But Watson has instilled a culture of success that has created lofty expectations every season. His teams have featured an up-tempo style balanced with tight checking and dependable goaltending.

“I think we have a little bit of everything again,” Watson said. “No. 1, we have a real good group of guys. We have some skill. We have some guys that can push the pace with their skating and the way they move pucks. We have some toughness. We have really good goaltending, as well. We will have a very competitive team that the fans will be proud of once we get playing.”

The team’s Kelly Cup aspirations begin in net with the goaltending tandem of Billy Christopoulos and Kaden Fulcher. Christopoulos is a proven winner at the ECHL level, and Fulcher also has a track record of success in junior hockey.

The team’s offense received a huge offensive boost when captain T.J. Hensick, a 35-year-old former NHL forward, opted to put retirement off for at least one more year. Hensick has played in 104 career regular-season games for Toledo, racking up 114 points with 33 goals and 81 assists. He played in his 900th career game the last time the Walleye were on the ice, at the Huntington Center on March 11, 2020.

Watson believes Hensick is in better shape than he was in 2020 and looks energized.

“I really wanted him back, and he knows that,” Watson said. “He has dedicated himself to being ready for the season, and it’s showing.”

Continued

The Red Wings will hold a “viewing party” for the team’s October 27th road game vs. the Washington Capitals at the MotorCity Casino:

Join Darren McCarty and Joey Kocur for our first #RedWings viewing party at Sound Board inside MotorCity Casino Hotel on 10/27 to watch our matchup with the Capitals! (Event is 21+) #LGRW

RSVP: https://t.co/k4fRWphixo pic.twitter.com/c3vMFkPcb1

— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) October 20, 2021

Detroit Hockey Now’s Kevin Allen posted a subscriber-only article in which he discusses the Red Wings’ rebuilding effort under GM Steve Yzerman…

Steve Yzerman was named the Detroit Red Wings general manager on April 19, 2019. But the Yzerman managerial era didn’t start until last Thursday when defenseman Moritz Seider and forward Lucas Raymond made their NHL debut.

Those were the two players Yzerman chose in the first round of the first two drafts he commanded as Detroit’s GM. Yzerman has joked in the past that his scouting department does the work and then he gets credit when they succeed and he can blame the scouts if it doesn’t work out.

But anyone who knows Yzerman knows those first-round picks were his decisions. You can tell that by the people chosen. It looks like Yzerman hit a home run with both selections. But it will be a while before that is truly determined. It’s not even a given yet that Raymond will stay with the team this season, although it looks better every time Raymond makes a play or takes a shot.

The Red Wings situation is similar to what a college football coach goes through when he takes over a struggling team.  It’s said that they shouldn’t be judged until their recruits start to become starters.

This is the first season the Red Wings are getting the youngsters that Yzerman drafted. It will still be a couple or three seasons before Yzerman has put together a group the way he wants it. But you can see it starting the take shape.

Continued (paywall); and Bob Duff posted a non-subscriber article examining “How the Red Wings were built“…

Bally Sports Detroit posted this week’s episode of Wingspan, addressing the Red Wings young players’ development over the course of 21 minutes of video:

Of Red Wings prospect-related note in Europe and North America today:

In the Finnish Liiga, Otto Kivenmaki finished at -2 with 3 shots in 18:10 played as the Lahti Pelicans lost 7-4 to Jurkurit;

In the Swedish Allsvenskan, Filip Larsson served as the back-up in HV71 Jonkoping’s 5-0 win over Sodertalje SK;

And Jesper Eliasson stopped 16 of 21 shots in Almtuna IS’s 6-4 loss to Troja-Ljungby;

In the QMJHL, Jan Bednar stopped 36 of 41 shots in the Acadie-Bathurst Titan’s 5-4 loss to Saint John;

And Oscar Plandowski finished at +1 in the Charlottetown Islanders’ 7-2 win over Cape Breton.

RotoWire’s Jason Chen offers something of an endorsement for Thomas Greiss while discussing fantasy hockey goalies worth picking up off the waiver wire:

Thomas Greiss, Red Wings (2-0-0, .969 Sv%, 1.00 GAA): Maybe Greiss is more used to the barrage of shots having already spent one season behind Detroit’s shoddy defense. Alex Nedeljkovic made 41 saves in his first start but allowed seven goals, while Greiss has now saved 62 and allowed just two. This is normally not a big deal, but the Wings have suddenly turned from lottery-bound to being able to make the Atlantic Division just a tad more interesting.

Greiss could be the starting goalie on a team that might get close to 40 wins, and he likely will get the start Thursday against Calgary and then get one more start during a weekend back-to-back in Montreal and Chicago. It’ll give us a chance to see more of Greiss and also give Nedeljkovic one more chance to fight for his share of the playing time. In fantasy leagues where goalies are scarce, Greiss should still be available and worth a wait-and-see stash with a much-improved Red Wings team. There will be bad nights, but the Wings also have enough talent to compete now, going toe-to-toe with the Lightning then winning two straight with only one goal allowed per game.

Last season, the Wings couldn’t limit their opponents to one goal for consecutive games until the third month.

Continued; I have the feeling that the Wings will split Greiss and Nedeljkovic’s workload fairly evenly over the course of the entire season, but right now, it’s probably Greiss’s net to lose.

After a full three weeks without attempting to raise a dime for this website, it’s time to get back to fundraising, for three reasons:

1. I need to pay my bills, which all human beings have to do when they are adults (ex. my right front headlight is out, and I need to replace it);
2. Sprint has informed me that if I do not purchase a new cell phone by the end of the year, my old Galaxy S7 will no longer be supported, so I need to raise about $600 to purchase that new phone/case/charger;
3. And I’m trying to help my aunt pay her taxes on the condominium. My aunt is being stubborn and trying to deal with her summer property tax bill on her own, but I can’t stand here and watch us end up with a lien on our home, so I’m gonna try to raise about $300 a month to get that bill paid off by February.

In the words of Sifl n Olly, there are “Rock n Roll friends” to lean upon when times get tough, and I’m gonna try and be a good friend to my aunt by giving her my support. I can’t do that without your support for this blog.

So if you’re willing to lend a hand, you can use Paypal at https://paypal.me/TheMalikReport, Venmo at https://venmo.com/george-malik-2, Giftly by using my email, rtxg@yahoo.com, at https://www.giftly.com. And you can contact me via email if you want to send me a paper check.

Any support is appreciated, because I can’t blog without the blog cave.

The Detroit Red Wings appeared to dress a healthy lineup at today’s practice, again, ahead of a stretch of 3 games to be played over the course of 4 nights this week and weekend.

The Red Wings will face the 0-1-and-1 Flames tomorrow; on Sunday, they face the 0-and-4 Canadiens, who host Carolina tomorrow night; and, on Sunday, Detroit flies from Montreal to Chicago, where they’ll face a Blackhawks team that hasn’t played since their Thursday-night match-up against Vancouver.

Long story long, Detroit will be facing three incredibly desperate teams, and rested teams at that (Calgary hasn’t played since Monday, either), so, while the Wings are healthy and happy at 2-0-and-1, their schedule gets exponentially harder this weekend, and they won’t have Tyler Bertuzzi in the lineup on Saturday due to his vaccination status.

Anyway, after today’s practice, the Red Wings’ players and coach spoke with the media. Ironically so…

Tyler Bertuzzi said he’s really happy with his start to the season after missing almost a full year. Said it’s a great feeling. #LGRW @DetroitRedWings— Daniella Bruce (@daniellabruce_) October 20, 2021

Bertuzzi confirms he can’t go to Montreal but will be in Chicago. #LGRW @DetroitRedWings— Daniella Bruce (@daniellabruce_) October 20, 2021

Tyler Bertuzzi says he’ll be watching Red Wings Saturday when they’re in Montreal. Can’t travel because not vaccinated. Leads Wings with 5 goals in 3 games.— Helene St. James (@HeleneStJames) October 20, 2021

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Also a big shoulder shrug to the beat writers not Tweeting out coach Jeff Blashill’s press conference.

That being said, the Wings posted videos of Bertuzzi and Blashill’s remarks:

This made me smile:

#CBJ Jack Roslovic on #LGRW fans: “Those people in Detroit, man. They didn’t like me last night.”

Reporter: Maybe it had something to do with the hit on Lucas Raymond.

Roslovic: “Even before that.”— Aaron Portzline (@Aportzline) October 20, 2021

The Red Wings only have one prospect on the Toledo Walleye at present–goaltender Kaden Fulcher–and the Toledo Blade’s Mark Monroe reports that the Red Wings’ ECHL affiliate has a fine tandem of goaltenders to lean upon this season in Fulcher and one Billy Christopoulos:

Christopoulos had earned a spot on the All-ECHL rookie team in 2019-20 and looked to be a solid bet to lead the Walleye to a deep playoff run. Christopoulos had put together some stellar numbers (23-3-3 record with a 2.29 goals-against average) when the season came to a sudden end just as the Walleye secured the best winning percentage in the league.

“I know everybody feels like we have a little bit of unfinished business when we got shut down,” Christopoulos said. “We’re all excited to get back to the Huntington Center and listen to [fans] rock that place.”

Fulcher began his career in Toledo in 2018-19 with high expectations after signing with the Detroit Red Wings as a 20-year-old who was coming off a championship season in junior hockey.

However, Fulcher has been plagued by injury and stuck in a goalie logjam in the Red Wings’ system. He has played in only 38 games, including just two games for Toledo in 2019-20, since turning pro. He has appeared in seven games for the Walleye’s American Hockey League affiliate, Grand Rapids, and in 30 games for the Walleye. Fulcher also made his NHL debut for the Red Wings against the Buffalo Sabres on April 6, 2019.

“The first thing on my goal list is chasing that Kelly Cup,” Fulcher said. “I’m down here, and I want to win with this group. I want to help this team win hockey games.”

Continued