Author: George Malik

My name is George Malik, and I'm the Malik Report's editor/blogger/poster. I have been blogging about the Red Wings since 2006, and have worked with MLive and Kukla's Korner. Thank you for reading!

HSJ on the reasons why DeKeyser, Staal were named alternate captains

The Free Press’s Helene St. James posted an article explaining why the Red Wings’ coaches and management chose to name Danny DeKeyser and Marc Staal the team’s alternate captains:

“I have discussions with Steve Yzerman about a lot of things,” Blashill said Thursday hours before the season opener against Tampa Bay. “He’s got a wealth of experience and I love to get his insight and opinion. It’s critically important in leadership that you get that insight and opinion. That’s always been my management style. Then I make the decision I think is best.”

DeKeyser, 31, and Staal, 34, join a leadership letter alliance that has changed considerably over the past year. Dylan Larkin was named captain in January, and former alternates Frans Nielsen and Luke Glendening departed the organization over the summer; Justin Abdelkader was bought out in the prior offseason.

“We have a bunch of guys in the locker room that are going to be part of our leadership group,” Blashill said. “Danny and Marc are very worthy of it. Both guys that have been around the league a long time. Marc wore a letter in New York. One of the things we wanted when we brought him back was his leadership. Does an excellent job of I would say being serious but keeping it loose at the same time.

“Danny has been a really good Red Wing a long time. His work ethic was exemplified by the work he put in to come back from a major back surgery. He’s led by example and has really good leadership quality.”

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Charitable News: Winged Wheel Podcast posts ‘Money on the Board’ initiative

This is pretty cool, per the Winged Wheel Podcast:

We’re excited to announce (in partnership with @iyer_prashanth) a new campaign in benefit of the @JDanielsFund for the new season:

? WINGS MONEY ON THE BOARD ?

Keep reading to find out how it works, or check out this post on our site! ⤵️ #WingsMotB https://t.co/qZaRdzzQO6 pic.twitter.com/BaWt9YsWad— Winged Wheel Podcast (@WingedWheelPod) October 14, 2021

As the new Detroit Red Wings season begins, make a pledge (or many) based on certain players, the whole team, or whatever you want!

ex. $1 for every Larkin goal, $0.50 for every point in the standings, $5 for every Nedeljkovic win; etc. Get as creative as you’d like! #WingsMotB— Winged Wheel Podcast (@WingedWheelPod) October 14, 2021

After you make your pledge, reply or QT us to tell everyone what you’re pledging (if you want), and use #WingsMotB!

At the end of the season, we’ll add up the pledges & remind you to donate. Once you do, you’ll be eligible to receive awesome giveaways and some big prizes…— Winged Wheel Podcast (@WingedWheelPod) October 14, 2021

Those who enter #WingsMotB will be eligible to receive giveaways like WWP stickers, swag packs, shirts, merch, & other fun stuff! You’ll also be entered into big giveaways for jerseys, memorabilia, meet & greets, & more.

We’ll also be doing one-off events, so stay tuned on that.— Winged Wheel Podcast (@WingedWheelPod) October 14, 2021

So, to get started, visit https://t.co/qZaRdzzQO6, click the link to go to the pledge form, & make your first pledge today!#WingsMotB— Winged Wheel Podcast (@WingedWheelPod) October 14, 2021

Free Press’s Ford posts Red Wings/NHL preview

The Detroit Free Press’s Ryan Ford was tasked with writing “Everything You Need to Know About the Detroit Red Wings’ 2021-22 NHL season” today. Among his notes and quotes:

The new kids

In general manager Steve Yzerman’s third season leading the franchise, Wings fans will finally get to see the results of his early drafts with his first two first-rounders making the opening-night roster:

Moritz Seider: A surprise pick at No. 6 overall in 2019, Seider has grown into a defenseman with the potential to dominate.  As a 19-year-old, he had two goals and 20 assists with a minus-5 rating in 49 games with the Grand Rapids Griffins in the AHL. The Wings farmed him out to Rögle of the Swedish Hockey League in 2020-21 to ensure he had a full season of work; in 41 games, he posted seven goals and 21 assists and was named the league’s top defenseman. With the Wings, expect to see him paired with defenseman Nick Leddy (we’ll get to him in a bit), who should provide some veteran leadership.

Lucas Raymond: The No. 4 pick in 2020 also spent the 2020-21 season in Sweden, though unlike Seider, he’s a native Swede. As a 18-year-old, he had six goals and 12 assists in 34 games with Frölunda of the SHL. Raymond was even more impressive in the preseason with the Wings over the past month, leading the team with six points (two goals, four assists). He should get a chance to impress early in the regular season, too, as he’ll likely be paired with Dylan Larkin and Tyler Bertuzzi on the Wings’ top line.

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Red Wings-Lightning Game-Day updates 2: Red Wings ready to play in front of packed arena again

MLive’s Ansar Khan has already filed his game-day notebook ahead of tonight’s game vs. the Tampa Bay Lightning (7:30 PM on BSD/BS Sun/97.1 FM), and Khan notes that the Red Wings’ players are excited about playing in front of a raucous home crowd again:

“We didn’t get a chance to play in stadiums that had the ability to go to capacity last year and so it’s been a ton of time for us,” coach Jeff Blashill said. “I think anybody, a player, a coach, would tell you that fans, how much they mean to the game, how much they mean to the energy and the momentum. So, it’s always special opening night, but given the fact we haven’t see this type of atmosphere in a while it will be that much more special. We have great fans throughout the state of Michigan, very passionate. I think the best fans in the NHL. This means a lot of them. We have a connection with the city for certain and we respect how much this means and want to go out and put out a good effort on a nightly basis.”

Last year began with only 250 fans, mostly players’ families and friends, allowed in the building and ended with some general admission tickets sold but only a maximum of 750 fans allowed in the seats. Tonight will be the first time since March 10, 2020 – what turned out to be the final game of the season before the pandemic shutdown — that LCA will host a significant number of fans.

“All the players are even more so excited this year with the fans being back in the building,” defenseman Danny DeKeyser said. “I think it’s going to be a great night. It’s been a long time since we’ve seen full buildings and the noise the fans bring. They bring another side of the game that we didn’t have for the last year-and-a-half.”

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A bit about players of Cuban descent in hockey, Donovan Sebrango included

The Detroit News’s Mark Falkner penned an article discussing former U of M goaltender Al Montoya’s role as a trailblazer for Cuban-American and Latinx players. Montoya is now the director of community outreach for the Dallas Stars, and Red Wings prospect Donovan Sebrango is aware of Montoya’s status as a role model:

Montoya’s trailblazing role and the publicity surrounding the NHL’s celebration of Hispanic heritage have piqued the interest of Red Wings prospect Donovan Sebrango, whose father Eduardo played for the Cuban national soccer team and with Montreal and Vancouver in the Major Soccer League.

“I remember being around the dressing room when he played in Montreal,” said Sebrango, who was raised by his mother Kim after his parents divorced when he was young. “It’s one of those things you don’t really talk about unless you’re asked but it’s pretty cool and a big responsibility to be one of the few players who have that background and can represent the community.”

A third-round draft pick by the Red Wings in 2020 and now playing with the team’s minor-league affiliate in Grand Rapids, the 19-year-old Sebrango said he was asked about his Cuban-Canadian background while growing up and playing hockey in Ottawa, Kingston and Kitchener and it’s now something he’s “interested in learning more about” and telling others about the “competitiveness” of playing hockey.

Continued

Via Krupa: Russian Hockey Federation names Igor Larionov Olympic team coach

Via the Detroit News’s Gregg Krupa on Twitter, the Russian Hockey Federation has announced that Igor Larionov has been named the coach of the Russian Olympic men’s hockey team:

The management group of the Russian national team has taken the decision to appoint Igor Larionov as the head coach of the Russian Olympic team (the reserve team of the senior national team), and Oleg Bratash as the head coach of the junior Russian national team.

Via TSN: Sportico ranks Wings as 10th-most-valuable NHL franchise

Via TSN: Sportico’s Kurt Badenhausen posted a list of the most valuable franchises in the NHL earlier this morning, and the Red Wings rank 10th in Sportico’s rankings: