Author: George Malik

As some of you on Twitter, Facebook, and of course the comments have noted, the Red Wings’ intrepid media corps, who are also called by the “Deep Diggers” by the brilliant Bill Houlihan of Abel to Yzerman, have more or less greased the wheels for this story to happen, and The Athletic’s Eric Duhatschek believes there’s a logical fit for Bobby Ryan to return to the Red Wings for a second season, too:

The news that Jakub Vrana would require shoulder surgery and miss up to four months after getting injured in practice was devastating news for a Red Wings team that was counting on him for first-line production this year. But Vrana’s absence will almost certainly enhance the chances that Bobby Ryan will stick with the team, after joining them on a professional tryout. Ryan’s popularity in the dressing room makes him a logical signing at this stage.

Continued (paywall), with really good observations regarding the necessary evil that is preseason player evaluation against uneven competition…

MLive’s Ansar Khan filed a three-subject notebook article this afternoon, and in his article, he discusses new Red Wings defenseman Nick Leddy’s status as something of a mentor to his defensive partner, one Moritz Seider:

“My biggest message to Nick is just be who you are, be a great pro,” coach Jeff Blashill said. “I think talking is fine, but what really helps us is when you have great models, great examples that young guys follow.

“Seids has a lot of qualities of being a great pro in terms of his preparedness, his approach. He wants to be a great player. So, I don’t think he needs a ton of mentorship, but it’s certainly good to have a little balance of that.”

The pair made their preseason debut Thursday in a 6-2 victory over Buffalo, each logging more than 21 minutes in all situations while furthering their chemistry.

“We all know how special a player he is,” Leddy said. “He’s got size, he’s got a ton of skill, good skater, really good at making that first play. For me and him, it’s just talking out plays, communicating on and off the ice and really creating that chemistry together so we know what each other is going to do in certain spots throughout the ice and the game.

“I remember when I first got to Chicago looking up to Duncan Keith and all the stuff he’s taught me over the years. It was an older team when I got to Chicago, looking up to all those guys and learning from them was huge for me.”

Continued, with Larkin/Bertuzzi talk and practice lines…

Khan also reports that Saturday’s game is a Bally Sports Detroit Plus game, not a regular BSD game.

This isn’t surprising stuff, per Detroit Hockey Now’s Bob Duff, not just because of his vaccination status, but also due to the fact that the Wings gauged interest in Bertuzzi before:

It would be incorrect to suggest that Detroit Red Wings GM Steve Yzerman was shopping forward Tyler Bertuzzi. However, a rival NHL GM did confirm that Yzerman is calling teams. The Detroit GM isn’t offering them Bertuzzi. He’s just subtly gauging what interest there might be from them in acquiring Bertuzzi.

Bertuzzi is the only Detroit Red Wings player who has opted not to get the COVID-19 vaccination. That means he’ll be missing from the club’s lineup for all nine of their games in Canada, since he won’t be able to cross the border.

[Darren] McCarty, who slammed NBA draft pick Jalen Green earlier this year when he was critical of Detroit, is also taking Bertuzzi to task for being a bad teammate.

Continued, with this:

Of prospect-related note in Europe today:

In the Finnish Liiga, Otto Kivenmaki finished even with 2 shots in 15:49 as the Lahti Pelicans won 3-0 of Lukko Rauma;

And in the Swedish Allsvenskan, Filip Larsson pitched a 24-save shutout in HV71 Jonkoping’s 2-0 win over AIK Stockholm.

In an article discussing Calder Trophy odds for NHL players, The Score’s Todd Cordell offers this take on Lucas Raymond’s opportunity to make the Wings’ roster this year:

Lucas Raymond (+2500)

The Detroit Red Wings are heading for yet another long season. They’re a bad hockey team and play in an unforgiving division, featuring the Tampa Bay Lightning, Toronto Maple Leafs, Boston Bruins, and Panthers, among others.

Add in the fact one of their best players, Jakub Vrana, is already out long term with an injury, and the outlook for the Red Wings is even bleaker.

There’s always a bright spot, though, and Raymond is destined to be that for Detroit. Last season he averaged more than .50 points per game in the SHL, which is very impressive for an 18-year-old playing in a professional league.

The ultra-talented winger should step into Detroit’s lineup immediately and see plenty of ice. Developing youngsters like Raymond is priority No. 1 for the Red Wings. There’s even more opportunity to go around with Vrana out of the picture. If you want to take a stab on a wild card, so to speak, Raymond is the guy.

I don’t know if Raymond is going to step into the lineup right out of training camp, but when he’s ready, he’ll be ready to shine.

Defensemen Nick Leddy and Marc Staal spoke with the media today, as did coach Jeff Blashill, and the Red Wings’ YouTube channel has already posted 2 of the 3 total videos incoming:

Update: Here’s coach Blashill:

Per the WHL’s website, via the Canadian Hockey League: the Edmonton Oil Kings have been ranked as the #1 overall team in the entire CHL, in no small part due to Sebastian Cossa’s presence in their crease:

1. Edmonton Oil Kings

Headlined by first-round NHL talents like Dylan Guenther (Arizona Coyotes), Jake Neighbours (St. Louis Blues), and Sebastian Cossa (Detroit Red Wings), the Oil Kings look to be a dominant force in the west that can score at will while holding back the opposition. At the forward ranks, no player was more productive on a point-per-game basis last season than Guenther, who netted 24 points in just 12 games before heading to the U18s, while by season’s end, Neighbours had taken command of the team scoring lead in registering 33 points in only 19 outings, good for seventh-best league-wide. Between the pipes, Cossa was near perfect, surrendering just one regulation loss in his 19 appearances while leading the WHL with a 1.57 goals-against average and .941 save percentage.

Continued

The Detroit News’s John Niyo has posted a column in which he discusses the Red Wings’ attempts to find more offensive contributors as the rebuilding effort evolves:

What’s also clear a couple weeks before the puck drops on [coach Jeff] Blashill’s seventh season behind the Wings’ bench — and [Steve] Yzerman’s third season in charge of filling it with players — is that their job isn’t getting any easier.

There’s more young talent worth keeping an eye on this preseason, certainly. More players who could conceivably be part of a playoff push a couple years from now as well. But there are still far more question marks than answers if you’re trying to find a bridge from here to there.

Blashill felt compelled to remind everyone in his postgame media session Thursday that this was still the preseason, “so you take everything with a grain of salt.” It’s probably a spoonful, if we’re being honest. Especially against the Sabres, a team likely to finish last in the NHL again this season.

Still, for a roster in the midst of a major rebuild — and one that already has some serious injury concerns — there were a few hopeful signs. Starting up front, where Blashill, who admittedly lacks the “pure high-end guys” some other coaches can send over the boards — in Toronto and Edmonton and Colorado, for example — but does have something to work with here.

Continued (paywall)

Of post-practice-related note from The Athletic’s Max Bultman and the Free Press’s Helene St. James:

Blashill says Larkin and Bertuzzi are cleared to play— Max Bultman (@m_bultman) October 1, 2021

Jeff Blashill said Jonatan Berggren (upper body) is close to being green-lit for contact practice, hope is he can get into an one or two exhibition games. #REDWINGS— Helene St. James (@HeleneStJames) October 1, 2021

The Detroit Red Wings took to the ice on Friday, after Thursday’s 6-2 win over Buffalo and prior to a slate of 3 exhibition games occurring over the course of 3 days and nights.

The first group of Red Wings skated around 10 AM, and DetroitRedWings.com’s Ethan Sears noted the following:

Fwiw (and it probably isn’t worth much), Lucas Raymond and Joe Veleno are on the ice with the Red Wings’ early practice group, which is comprised primarily of Grand Rapids players. Both played last night.— Ethan Sears (@ethan_sears) October 1, 2021

The big boys didn’t take to the ice until just before noon:

#RedWings practice lines:
Bertuzzi-Larkin-Zadina
Fabbri-Suter-Ryan
Namestnikov-Rasmussen-Erne
Smith-Stephens-Gagner
Veleno and Raymond skated with the earlier group consisting mostly of ⁦@griffinshockey⁩ players
DeKeyser-Hronek
Leddy-Seider
Staal-Stecher
Oesterle-Lindstrom pic.twitter.com/YRj9Dfu3Ns— Ansar Khan (@AnsarKhanMLive) October 1, 2021

Red Wings lines today at the NHL-heavy practice (may be a good indicator of where things stand so far)

Bertuzzi-Larkin-Zadina
Suter-Fabbri-Ryan
Namestnikov-Rasmussen-Erne
Smith-Stephens/Rowney-Gagner

DeKeyser-Hronek
Leddy-Seider
Staal-Stecher
Lindstrom-Oesterle— Max Bultman (@m_bultman) October 1, 2021

Suter at C here not Fabbri, my bad — old habits putting Fabbri in the middle from last year— Max Bultman (@m_bultman) October 1, 2021

The Red Wings host Columbus on Saturday (7 PM EDT on Bally Sports Detroit), head to Pittsburgh for a Sunday matinee (12 PM EDT), and host the Blackhawks on Monday (7:30 PM EDT on Bally Sports Detroit).