Author: George Malik

Detroit Hockey Now’s Kevin Allen reminds us that the Grind Line–Joe Kocur, Darren McCarty, Kris Draper and Kirk Maltby–will be honored by the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame tonight:

The Grind Line won over Detroit Red Wings fans with a blue collar work ethic and a feisty playing style. When you competed against the Grind Line , you knew were in for a long night. When you talked about lines that were hard to play against, this was the one by which all others were judged.

The line’s accomplishment and popularity will both be recognized tonight when The Michigan Sports Hall of Fame  honors it with the Detroit Red Wings’  Grind  Line tonight with the Treasure Award.

The original Grind Line was Joe Kocur, Kris Draper and Kirk Maltby, and then Darren McCarty replaced Kocur.  All four players will be honored.  Draper, McCarty and Maltby won four Stanley Cup with the Red Wings, while Kocur won two. He has previously won a Stanley Cup with the New York Rangers.

McCarty scored the 1997 Stanley Cup-clinching goal against the Philadelphia Flyers. But he is more well-known for taking down Claude Lemieux in a famous fight as retribution for the nasty hit he previously had laid on Draper.

According to HockeyNews.se’s Mattias Ek, Red Wings prospect and Frolunda Hockey Club defenseman Simon Edvinsson has been fined 5,000 Swedish Krona ($570.51) by the SHL for wearing “illegal protective equipment” during yesterday’s win over Orebro.

There’s been no clarification as to what was illegal, though he does cut the thumb loops off his gloves.

Update: FYI:

In SHL you need to wear neck protection. He didn’t use it and that’s why he was fined, I think.— Alfred ?? (@affehockey) October 1, 2021

He did not wear a neck guard in the game, after being told in previous games that he needs to wear one.— Alexander Nilsson (@aalexnil) October 1, 2021

pic.twitter.com/I4rzjIY0wS— Alfred ?? (@affehockey) October 1, 2021

Detroit Hockey Now’s Bob Duff notes that Red Wings forward Vladislav Namestnikov knows that he must improve over his first season with Detroit if he is to continue his tenure here:

“I think I could have produced more,” Namestnikov said. “It was kind of a down year personally.”

Signed to a two-year, $4 million contract by the Detroit Red Wings prior to last season, bigger things were expected from Vladislav Namestnikov than what he delivered on the ice. He finished with eight goals and nine assists from 53 games. This from a player who potted 17 goals in the previous season and a career-high 22 as recently as 2017-18.

Excuses? Sure, they would be available. The strange conditions created by the COVID-19 pandemic. The delay in the launch of the season until January. The shortened, condensed 56-game campaign.

Again, he’s not going there. Namestnikov is only finding fault in himself.

“I wouldn’t blame it on the weird year,” Namestnikov said. “We were obviously all in the same situation. Sometimes you just aren’t happy with the way you play all season. I think I could have been way better.”

Continued

Of Red Wings-related note this morning, after the Wings’ 6-2 victory over the Buffalo Sabres in preseason hockey:

1. The Free Press’s Carlos Monarrez makes a couple of early observations regarding the Red Wings’ two exhibition wins:

So yes, the Wings have shown they can score. And they can rally. Just like they did after falling behind in Chicago in Wednesday’s exhibition opener, the Wings came back from a 1-0 deficit in the first period Thursday.

That resilience tells us something early about this team:, There may be some hope this season. It’s hope that can be found in Raymond’s goal, an ugly one that came off a pinball turnover near the slot.

“He did a good job,” coach Jeff Blashill said of Raymond. “He’s a smart player. He’s solid. He’s got a really good two-way game, so those types of players are always guys that are transferable because they know how to create efficient offense, and I thought he did that.”

There’s also hope in the steady play Seider displayed while being paired with veteran Nick Leddy and working on the power play. The No. 6 overall pick in 2019 showed good, careful judgment. Pinching in when he could, but mostly falling back and staying in position.

“I think Sides did a solid job,” Blashill said. “He’s a presence out there, he’s a big man, he’s smart, he’s got good hands and makes plays with really good hockey instincts.”

2. And MLive’s Ansar Khan posted an article discussing the offense made available by the pairing of Robby Fabbri and Pius Suter:

Of Red Wings-related note after Detroit’s 6-2 win over the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday night:

1. The Detroit News’s Ted Kulfan took note of the comments made by Robby Fabbri, Pius Suter and coach Jeff Blashill:

“It’s a great for a guy like [Lucas Raymond] to come in and be as confident as he is,” said linemate Robby Fabbri, who scored two goals. “It’s important that he’s making those plays and playing his game and you can see that tonight. It makes our job easier when he’s playing his game.”

Fabbri (two goals, including an empty netter), Troy Stecher, Luke Witkowski and Jon Martin added the other goals, but it was Raymond who the fans came to see — along with defenseman Moritz Seider — and fans likely went home happy.

“Like I said (during in training camp in Traverse City), he looks good,” said Pius Suter, who had three assists. “He shoots the puck and has a nice shot.”

With the news Thursday that Jakub Vrana will miss at least four months due to shoulder surgery, the Wings will need goal-scoring ability from someone.

Raymond is beginning to show it could be from him. In the second period, just 23 seconds after Robby Fabbri got the Wings on the scoreboard tying the game, Raymond gathered a loose puck near the dot, skated into the slot, and whistled a shot past Sabres goaltender Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen.

“He did a good job, he’s a smart player,” said coach Jeff Blashill. “He has a good two way game and those types of players are guys who are transferable (from offense to defense.”

2. The Free Press’s Helene St. James also filed a post-game notebook…

The Detroit Red Wings iced a different roster of players opposite the Buffalo Sabres as compared to the roster that played in Wednesday’s 4-3 shootout win against the Chicago Blackhawks. The Red Wings’ “B” team defeated the Sabres 6-2, in a game that was closer than the score indicated.

While Detroit surrendered the game’s first goal despite out-shooting the Sabres 18-9 in the 1st period (to Rasmus Asplund), they broke through early in the 2nd, with goals from Robby Fabbri, Lucas Raymond and Troy Stetcher (all scored within a 3:12 span), the Wings took a little nap and let the Sabres come back to within 3-2, and Luke Witkowski gave them breathing room just before the 3rd period, scoring the 4-2 marker;

And the 3rd period was something of a snoozer, with neither team’s special teams connecting, but Lucas Raymond found Robby Fabbri for an empty-net goal with 2:18 remaining (affording Pius Suter his 3rd assist of the night), and that was that…Though Jon Martin deked his way into a 6-2 goal before all was said and done.

It wasn’t as much of a blowout as it looked–the Sabres had a really good push in the 2nd and 3rd–but Detroit prevailed thanks to better scoring depth and fine goaltending between Nedeljkovic and Brattstrom.

The Wings got the only goal of the practice shootout as well, with Robby Fabbri scoring a gorgeous top-shelf marker.

In the “media folks” department, MLive’s Ansar Khan penned a recap…

Enjoy:

FYI:

Here’s the link to the Red Wings’ stream. It’s on https://t.co/H5NjHHEWaU and not YouTube tonight.https://t.co/N8dwdBoOMV— George Malik (@georgemalik) September 30, 2021

Your URL is https://www.nhl.com/redwings/fans/gameday

Of prospect-related note in Sweden:

In the SHL, Albert Johansson finished at -3 with 1 shot in 17:31 played as Farjestads BK lost 4-0 to Skelleftea AIK. Jesper Eliasson served as the back-up netminder;

William Wallinder finished at -1 with 1 shot in only 2:46 played as the 7th defenseman in Rogle BK’s 4-1 loss to Linkoping;

And, in Frolunda HC’s 4-2 win over Orebro, a quartet of Wings prospects played:

Simon Edvinsson finished at +1 in 22:25 played;

Theodor Niederbach finished even with 3 shots and a 56% faceoff win percentage in 9:31 played;

Elmer Soderblom finished even with an assist and a shot in 10:37 played. Per IceHockeyGifs on Twitter:

"With a smooth and gracious skating stride scaffolded on top of those mechanical handling skills, Edvinsson’s tools sometimes take him to rarified air as a puck-carrier."

-EliteProspects 2021 NHL Draft Guide#LGRW pic.twitter.com/L1Cb5fnT3J

— IcehockeyGifs (@IcehockeyG) September 30, 2021

And Liam Dower Nilsson warmed up but did not leave the bench as a thirteenth forward, finishing with zero minutes and zero seconds of playing time.

The Hockey News’s Ryan Kennedy posted a list of 100 players to watch in the Canadian Hockey League, which consists of the QMJHL, the OHL and the WHL. The Red Wings received three nods:

8. Sebastian Cossa, G, Edmonton (WHL): Prototypical NHL goalie of the future was snapped up by Detroit in the first round; should be Canada’s world junior starter.

…

60. Jan Bednar, G, Acadie-Bathurst (QMJHL): A big netminder with a lot of potential, Bednar is a Detroit Red Wings pick starting his sophomore campaign with the Titan.

…

89. Oscar Plandowski, D, Charlottetown (QMJHL): Puckmoving defenseman part of a great blueline cast in Charlottetown. The Detroit Red Wings snapped him up in the draft.

Continued