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!

Seider, McLellan ready to be tested by Blue Jackets, Jets

The Detroit News’s Ted Kulfan spoke with Red Wings coach Todd McLellan and defenseman Moritz Seider about the team’s increasing familiarity with its new coach’s systems of play and expectations of his players:

“I just think we play a lot faster,” defenseman Moritz Seider said. “We’re not going to be perfect but we’re playing with more intensity and tweaked the penalty kill a little bit, that was something that was implemented right from the start, and it’s working out pretty well. We’re still learning but it’s the start we were looking for. We’re getting used to each other and there’s good energy on the ice.”

One of the things McLellan has been adamant about the Wings doing is playing freely and not as mechanically as they appeared to be doing during a four-game losing streak that led to the firing of Derek Lalonde, and led to McLellan’s hiring. Seider has seen progress in that regard, also.

“Sometimes, we overthink the game a little bit and try to just make it too perfect and cute,” Seider said. “He’s (McLellan) a big believer in what is out there, read and react. (We) still have the game plan going into the game and trying to match that, (but playing) within ourselves and making better plays.”

The Wings begin a quick two-game road trip Thursday in Columbus and Saturday in Winnipeg. The trip comes at an interesting time for the Wings, who can take what they’ve soaked in from McLellan into two of the toughest arenas in the NHL.

“I’m excited to see how our team will respond on the road,” McLellan said. “We’re a week into together as a group. We have concepts in place and they feel good about themselves. We’re going into a building (Thursday) where they’ve lost only four times (12-4-3) all season. They have a real good home record and playing very well there. Then, going to play one of the best teams in the league (Winnipeg, 27-11-1), so the next six, seven, eight periods we’re going to play, as I talked about with road maps, this will provide a road map as to where we go as a group. Either we’ll keep forging forward, or we go back and review things. I’m excited to see how the group will play.”

Berggren’s been ‘freed up’

MLive’s Ansar Khan posted a practice notebook which focuses on Jonatan Berggren’s resurgent play under coach Todd McLellan:

Todd McLellan told Jonatan Berggren he wants to see the talent and skills that translated well to the NHL as a rookie with the Detroit Red Wings.

“We had a meeting; he told me like let it loose, kind of like he wanted me to play offense and like he knows that I have skills in offensive game,” Berggren said. “It was a nice confidence boost for me to have the coach trust to maybe (make) a mistake, but it’s not the whole world. It was kind of nice to have that meeting with him.

“Every new coach has their own look how the game will play, and (I’m) feeling like Todd and I have kind of the same mindset about the game, how we want to play. So, right now it’s feeling really, really good.”

Berggren, 24, tallied 15 goals and 28 points in 67 games in a bottom-six capacity in 2022-23. Former coach Derek Lalonde had concerns about Berggren’s defensive play, however, and that relegated him to Grand Rapids for most of last season. It appeared to have him playing tentatively at the start of this season.

McLellan’s message was don’t be afraid to make a mistake.

“I feel like maybe I was thinking a little bit too much about don’t make mistake in the beginning,” Berggren said. “So, it was nice to hear from him that he sees and knows what I can do, and he has trust in me. Of course, it’s not like toe-drags on the blue line, but like be offensive player and have the confidence to do it, too.”

Continued (paywall)

Videos: McLellan, Kane and Seider speak after Wednesday’s practice

The Detroit Red Wings participated in an early-afternoon practice at Little Caesars Arena’s BELFOR Training Center on Wednesday afternoon, ahead of a two-game road trip that will take the team to Columbus on Thursday and Winnipeg on Saturday.

The only post-practice Tweet of note came from MLive’s Ansar Khan, who reported that coach Todd McLellan plans on splitting goaltenders’ starts between Alex Lyon and Cam Talbot as the Wings play the streaking Blue Jackets and the NHL-best Jets.

Otherwise, McLellan told Khan that he feels that the Wings are still in their “honeymoon period” with their new coach, and as such, things are going to get tougher, if only eventually, for both the coaching staff and their team.

After practice, the Red Wings posted a video of coach Todd McLellan speaking with the media…

And the Free Press’s Helene St. James also posted a 6:14 video clip of Patrick Kane, Moritz Seider and McLellan’s off-day remarks:

Sandin Pellikka ‘under the radar?’

Red Wings prospect defenseman Axel Sandin Pellikka is tied for the lead in tournament scoring at the World Junior Championship in Ottawa, but Sportsnet’s Jason Bukala suggests that the Team Sweden captain is in fact an “under-the-radar prospect” in an article posted today:

Axel Sandin-Pellikka

Five-foot-10, 180 pounds, right-shot defenceman, Team Sweden 

NHL Draft: Detroit Red Wings, 1st round, 17th overall, 2023 

Sandin-Pellikka is leading the tournament scoring with four goals and four assists after the preliminary round. He’s averaging over 21:00 in total time on ice and being deployed in all situations. Sandin-Pellikka is a right-shot “transitional defenceman” and power-play quarterback. He’s quick, agile and elusive escaping pressure from opponents. On the power play, he has free reign to walk the blue line, travel in and out of traffic, and work the puck from both sides of the offensive zone.  

Sandin-Pellikka plays in Sweden’s top pro league, the SHL, and leads all defencemen in scoring with eight goals and 14 assists suiting up for Skelleftea AIK. He’s not a big body but his hockey sense and ability to jump to space ahead of his opponent allows him to defend with purpose and execution. 

Continued; I’m not certain that the radar is doing anything less than working just fine in terms of Sandin Pellikka’s level of awareness in the hockey community…

Post-practice Tweets: McLellan to split goaltending duties on 2-game road trip

The Detroit Red Wings held an early-afternoon practice ahead of tomorrow night’s match-up with the streaking Columbus Blue Jackets (7 PM EST start on FanDuel SportsNet Detroit/FanDuel SportsNet Ohio/97.1 FM).

After practice, the Red Wings’ players and coach spoke with the assembled media corps:

Random fact of the day: he’s a Polar Sandin Pellikka

The IIHF’s website asked Andrew Podnieks to compile an article consisting of “stats for an off-day,” and he offered this regarding Red Wings prospect and Team Sweden captain Axel Sandin Pellikka:

Swedish defender and top Detroit prospect Axel Sandin Pellikka is from a small town in Sweden called Gallivare. It is 100 miles north of the Arctic Circle and is situated at a latitude of 67 degrees. To put that into perspective, Iqaluit in Canada’s Far North is less than 64 degrees! Anyone who says Sandin Pellikka has ice in his veins is perhaps more correct than he knows.

For what it’s worth, here’s tomorrow’s Quarterfinal schedule:

Germany vs. Kazakhstan 11 AM EST;

Sweden vs. Latvia, 12 PM EST on the NHL Network and TSN

USA vs. Switzerland 2:30 PM on the NHL Network and TSN

Finland vs. Slovakia 5 PM on the NHL Network and TSN

Czechia vs. Canada 7:30 PM on the NHL Network and TSN1

Tweets from Wednesday’s Red Wings practice: 2 PM practice a New Year’s gift from coach McLellan

The Detroit Red Wings will attempt to build upon their 2-game winning streak (including last night’s 4-2 victory over Pittsburgh) when they play the Columbus Blue Jackets tomorrow night (7 PM EST start on FanDuel SportsNet Detroit/FanDuel SportsNet Ohio/97.1 FM), but Detroit Hockey Now’s Kevin Allen reports that the Wings won’t have an easy task:

Coach Todd McLellan’s squad is on the road Thursday in Columbus for a 7 p.m. game (FanDuel Sports Network) against the improved Blue Jackets. The Columbus squad, with Don Waddell as GM, is 12-4-3 at home. The Blue Jackets (16-16-6) are only two points out of a playoff spot.

Columbus is coming off a 3-2 shootout win over the Carolina Hurricanes on Tuesday, and they’ve won 3 of their past 4 games, and are 4-1-and-1 in their past 6 games.

Coach McLellan gave the Red Wings’ players a New Year’s present–a 2 PM practice, as MLive’s Ansar Khan reported:

Continue reading Tweets from Wednesday’s Red Wings practice: 2 PM practice a New Year’s gift from coach McLellan

Will Augustine ‘turn pro’ this spring? I’m not so certain…

As previously noted, Red Wings prospect and Team USA goaltender Trey Augustine stopped 38 of 39 shots against as Team USA won a 4-1 decision over Canada last night at the World Junior Championship in Ottawa, but Augustine deferred most of the credit for his win to his teammates and goalie coach.

Today, Detroit Hockey Now’s Kevin Allen wonders aloud whether the Michigan State University sophomore might sign with the Red Wings at the end of his college season:

The Red Wings drafted Augustine in the second round in the 2023 draft, and they view him among their top prospects. He hasn’t given any indication of when he will turn professional, but it is plausible that he would sign with Detroit after his college season.

With the NHL now moving toward a more even split of goalie starts, the Red Wings could be thinking of a future with both Sebastian Cossa and Augustine both on their roster.

This is Cossa’s third professional season, and South Lyon native Augustine likely will follow a similar plan. The Red Wings also have former Colgate goalie Carter Gylander in their minor league system. They also like his potential.

I’m going to politely disagree with Mr. Allen here. With Sebastian Cossa, Carter Gylander, Gage Alexander and Griffins-contracted goaltender Jan Bednar in the system, Jack Campbell and Ville Husso serving as Cossa’s back-ups in GR, Cam Talbot on a 2-year contract and Alex Lyon presumably looking to stay in Detroit…

That’s a lot of goalies, and I feel that the Wings are going to have to sort out their prospect pipeline before handing the reins over to Cossa and Augustine in Grand Rapids on a full-time basis.

Praise for Axel Sandin Pellikka’s ’round robin’ play

ESPN’s Rachel Doerrie posted an Insider-only column which discusses her “standout prospects” from the preliminary round of the World Junior Championship, and Axel Sandin Pellikka makes her list:

Axel Sandin-Pellikka

The Swedish defenseman has been a shining light on an impressive Swedish team through the round-robin. An opening day hat trick certainly put the tournament on notice that the Swedish captain came to avenge last year’s silver medal finish.

The Detroit Red Wings first-rounder has been outstanding for Sweden, playing major minutes, averaging two points and 6.25 shots per game through the round-robin. A driving force for Sweden from the blue line, Sandin-Pellikka is leading the way for the tournament’s best defenseman award heading into the medal round, and will be a key piece if Sweden are to medal.

Not only is Sandin-Pellikka leading the tournament in points, but he’s also leading in goals and is a plus-7 through the round-robin. He’s impacting the game offensively and defensively, driving play and tilting the ice in Sweden’s favor whenever he’s on.

The smooth-skating offensive dynamo looks every bit the part of a future power-play quarterback in Detroit.

Continued (paywall); Sandin Pellikka took a hooking penalty which led to a penalty shot for the Czechs last night, so he’s going to have to “clamp down” (no pun intended) on his discipline in tomorrow’s Quarterfinal vs. Latvia (12 PM EST start on the NHL Network/TSN).

Update: FloHockey’s Chris Peters also weighed in on Sandin Pellikka’s play:

Axel Sandin-Pellikka, D, Sweden (DET)

Last year’s defenseman of the tournament looks like he wants to defend the title. The Swedish blueliner is in his third World Junior Championship and is tied for the tournament lead in scoring with eight points. He had a hat trick in Sweden’s opener against Slovakia and has poured an astonishing 25 shots on goal in this tournament. He’s Sweden’s captain and their most experienced player and has looked every bit of it. His skill, his decision-making and his ability to play at both ends has really shone in this tournament.