Author: George Malik

Via IceHockeyGifs on Twitter…

https://t.co/U9SbdcQN4I— IcehockeyGifs (@IcehockeyG) October 29, 2021

SHL.se’s Sixen Funqvist has posted an English-language profile of Red Wings prospect Elmer Soderblom:

Frölunda HC has been a powerhouse in the SHL for all of Elmer Söderblom´s life. Since he was born, on July 5th 2001, Frölunda has reached the playoff finals five times, winning four titles in the process. After, by their standards, a mediocre season last year, things are looking up for the Gothenburg team. At the time of this interview, Frölunda have won eight out of their past ten games in the SHL, adding two CHL wins as well. Last Saturday they looked to be on their way to yet another win, but they lost their focus and ended up throwing away a 2-0 to what would be a 4-3 overtime loss to the Malmö Redhawks.

“Overall, we perform pretty well as a team. But we have to eliminate some mistakes and try not to give up the puck in bad areas. If we can simplify our game, things will be good.” Elmer Söderblom says, continuing: “We’re off to a great start here. I’d say our team is more in sync compared to last season.”

In charge of the Frölunda SHL team is coach Roger Rönnberg, currently the longest tenured coach in the SHL. Rönnberg has been the head coach of Frölunda since the start of the 2013-14 season. To outsiders, Rönnberg can come off as a hard styled coach, but Söderblom likes what his coach brings.

“Yeah, he can be like that to us as well. I like him. He’s got different sides, obviously. But he’s always pushing us to become better players and better as a team.”

Söderblom grew up in Gothenburg and growing up in Gothenburg in the 2000’s, Frölunda hockey was never far away. He went to his first games with his grandfather and his brother Arvid (currently the goalie of the Rockford IceHogs in the AHL). From being a supporter, he’s now a part of the team he grew up cheering for.

Continued, with a Q and A and short video profile…

Of prospect-related note in Europe this Friday:

In the Finnish Liiga, Otto Kivenmaki had finished even with 2 shots in 15:01 played as the Lahti Pelicans lost 3-0 to HPK;

In the Swedish Allsvenskan, Jesper Eliasson stopped 27 of 31 shots in Almtuna IS’s 4-0 loss to Vasteras IK;

Filip Larsson stopped 23 of 27 shots as HV71 Jonkoping won 5-4 over Kristianstads;

Albin Grewe finished even and Gustav Berglund did not play in Mora IK’s 5-2 win over BIK Karlskoga;

In the Swedish J20 league, Liam Dower Nilsson didn’t play in Frolunda HC’s 4-3 shootout loss to IK Oskarhsamn.

Yahoo Sports’ Stephen Psihogios offers praise for three Red Wings players, two of them eligible for the Calder Trophy, during this week’s edition of Psihogios’ “Fantasy Hockey Takeaways”:

Moritz Seider (35 percent rostered on Yahoo) has arrived: Anybody who’s flipped on a Red Wings game for even a brief moment can tell you that Moritz Seider is the real deal.

It didn’t take the 20-year-old long to supplant Nick Leddy on the top power-play unit, a role he’s earned in addition to his spot on the first defensive pairing. While logging 21:51 per game, Seider has tallied six assists in seven games, eight blocks, five hits, and three power-play points.

This offensive production shouldn’t dry up, either. While he won’t average a point-per-game for the rest of the 2021-22 campaign, he will likely finish in the 35-40 point range. In both the SHL and AHL, while playing against men, he has demonstrated an ability to be a solid contributor.

Still available in over 60 percent of Yahoo leagues, Seider is one of the best players available for fantasy managers to snatch up on the waiver wire.

Continued with praise for Thomas Greiss and Lucas Raymond…

Red Wings prospect Simon Edvinsson had quite the Thursday in the SHL, and today, the Hockey News’s Ryan Kennedy discusses the progress made by the young defenseman:

The Detroit Red Wings have a young defenseman on their hands who is blowing away expectations this season and I’m not talking about Moritz Seider – though he certainly qualifies for honorifics himself.

No, I’m talking about Simon Edvinsson, the sixth overall pick in the 2021 draft and one of the best stories of the young SHL season over in Sweden. Playing for a first-place Frolunda squad, Edvinsson has nine points through 15 games, tying him for third in all SHL scoring among blueliners. It’s an impressive feat compounded by the fact the 18-year-old is playing in his first full SHL season after splitting last year between the top league, the second-tier Allsvenskan and Sweden’s junior circuit.

While Edvinsson had already been on the draft radar, his loan from Frolunda to Vasteras in the Allsvenskan last year enabled the youngster to get more minutes and a bigger shot at offensive contributions. As Frolunda GM Fredrik Sjostrom told me in the lead-up to the draft, it was a developmental move the team was pleased with.

“We were talking to him on a regular basis and watching all of his games,” Sjostrom said. “You give him feedback here and there but not too much – you want him to have fun and be playing bigger minutes. We kept close tabs and we were really happy with how he was doing.”

Continued

Ken Kal and Daniella Bruce previewed tonight’s match-up with the Florida Panthers (7 PM EDT on ESPN+/hulu/97.1 FM):

The Free Press’s Helene St. James posted an article noting Red Wings forward Sam Gagner’s comments made to the media today regarding the sexual assault against Kyle Beach:

Forward Sam Gagner commended Beach for his “tremendous courage.

“You feel for Kyle Beach and stand with him and everything he’s gone through. It obviously took a lot for him to get to the point. It’s something you never want to see somebody go through. You want to see accountability for the things that have happened. It’s certainly an awful thing. We’re just hoping that Kyle, that this process has kind of helped him. With the culture of accountability, we’re hoping it helps our game grow as well. You hate to see it happen. Hopefully it’s a reckoning and helps us move forward.”

In addition to the revelations in independent investigation by Jenner & Block LLP, Beach has said he told the NHL Players Association what happened. The fact that nothing happened for a decade is something the Wings organization has emphasized must not happen.

Update: Here’s a bit more from Detroit Hockey Now’s Bob Duff:

Blashill indicated that the Red Wings have in place support that players can access in times of need.

“There’s a number of things our players go through. We want to make sure there’s support for them here and we certainly have discussed that and will continue to discuss that,” Blashill said.

“The first part and the most important part is doing everything possible to not be in situations where people are exposed to predators. But that’s sometimes impossible to understand and know. When that type of action happens, no matter what happens after it, it doesn’t take away from the fact that action happened. It’s something that none of us would ever want to subject anybody to.

“From our perspective we have to make sure our players understand there’s support here for them in a lot of different areas. We have to make sure we’re making the best decisions we can with our players and our staff and anybody around us. That we’re putting their personal lives first and foremost.”

MLive’s Ansar Khan has filed a game-day article in which he speaks with Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill about tonight’s game against the unbeaten, 7-and-0 Florida Panthers (7 PM EDT on ESPN+/hulu/97.1 FM):

“From a hockey perspective, we focus like we normally would to play against Florida,” coach Jeff Blashill said. “There are no real adjustments, probably, to their systems and all that stuff is probably going to remain the same. Obviously, there is a lot going on there and I can’t speak to that within their own dressing room.

“That’s the hockey perspective. From a life perspective, I think all of us in our locker room, our biggest thoughts, me personally, I speak for myself, my heart going out to Kyle Beach, to Joe Doe in Hope, Michigan (another alleged victim of Aldrich), in what they’ve had to go through in the hands of a predator. It’s something that’s not going to go away, something they’ll have to live with the rest of their lives. From a personal perspective, in our room we all have great sympathy for what those two have to go through and any others.”

Blashill continues, and offers this take on the Wings’ supports for their players:

“The first part and the most important part is doing everything possible to not be in situations where people are exposed to predators, but that’s sometimes impossible to understand and know,” Blashill said. “When that type of action happens, no matter what happens after it, it doesn’t take away from the fact that action happened. It’s something that none of us would ever want to subject anybody to.

“From our perspective, we have to make sure our players understand there’s support here for them in a lot of different areas. We have to make sure we’re making the best decisions we can with our players and our staff and anybody around us, their personal lives first and foremost.”

We’ll consider this story to be somewhat Red Wings-related in the alumni vein. Former Red Wings forward Anthony Mantha’s sister, Elizabeth, is making her AHL debut as a referee this evening, and she’s earned a hearty cheer from The Malik Report for her efforts, as described in a story by The Athletic’s Tarik El-Bashir:

Elizabeth Mantha will achieve a milestone many years in the making when she takes the ice as an AHL referee Friday night in Quebec.

Close to 50 friends and family members will be in the crowd at Place Bell, where the Laval Rocket will host the Rochester Americans.

About 600 miles away, there will be another very interested party who won’t be able to make it to Mantha’s debut because, well, he’ll be skating in a professional hockey game of his own. But Capitals winger Anthony Mantha will be sure to text his older sister before leaving Capital One Arena to get all the scoop on her first pro game in stripes.

Anthony and Elizabeth aren’t able to see each other much these days, even in the offseason, due to their hectic schedules. But they frequently make time for a quick text or FaceTime, particularly before or after a game.

“We’re under the same kind of pressure,” Elizabeth told The Athletic in a recent telephone interview. “We know how it’s hard, the pressure that comes with it. So we just encourage each other.”

Continued (paywall)

Guess who’s in town today for tonight’s ESPN+ broadcast?

Andrew Brunette’s first practice as @FlaPanthers Head Coach here in Detroit pic.twitter.com/hLYB9ZPb4f— Bucci Mane (@Buccigross) October 29, 2021

I really like this barn. The seat colors, the trimming…it has a cool feel to it..and I hear the broadcast booth is butter, too. ? tonight ESPN+..7pm https://t.co/wzHzi5zGEk— Bucci Mane (@Buccigross) October 29, 2021

Of prospect-related note from Thursday’s games:

In the SHL, William Wallinder had an assist, finishing at+2 in 16:39 played as Rogle BK won 5-2 over Skelleftea AIK:

William Wallinder positioned in front of the net gets the puck to Bristedt for an empty net goal, Wallinder's 3rd point the last 4 games #LGRW pic.twitter.com/OBSIoxaNyD

— IcehockeyGifs (@IcehockeyG) October 28, 2021

Albert Johansson finished at -2 with 1 shot in 19:42 played as Farjestads BK lost 2-1 to Lulea Hockey;

And, in Frolunda HC’s 5-2 win over Djurgarden:

Simon Edvinsson had 2 assists, finishing at +3 with 4 shots in 16:08 played;

Theodor Niederbach finished at -1 with 2 shots in 13:03 played;

Liam Dower Nilsson finished even with 1 shot in 6:52 played;

Elmer Soderblom finished even with 1 shot in 17:26 played.

Among the .gifs from IceHockeyGifs of Edvinsson: