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!

Prospect round-up: Viro posts assist in Finland; Johansson 2A in Sweden; Frolunda trio experiences a setback

Of prospect-related note in Europe:

In the Finnish Liiga, Eemil Viro had an assist and 2 shots in 17:05 played as TPS Turku won 2-1 over IFK Helsinki, as illustrated by Red Wings Prospects on Twitter:

#Liiga
– Viro 0+1, +1, 2 SOG, 17:05 ice time in a 3-1 win#LGRW https://t.co/3OvuvfTzIj— Red Wings Prospects (@DRWProspects) September 23, 2021

In the SHL, Albert Johansson had 2 assists, finishing at +2 in 18:15 played, and Jesper Eliasson served as the back-up in Farjestads BK’s 4-0 win over Linkoping. As you might expect, IceHockeyGifs has some clips to show us:

Continue reading Prospect round-up: Viro posts assist in Finland; Johansson 2A in Sweden; Frolunda trio experiences a setback

Training camp videos: Larkin, Bertuzzi, Blashill

The Red Wings and Bally Sports Detroit posted clips of Red Wings captain Dylan Larkin, forward Tyler Bertuzzi and coach Jeff Blashill speaking with the media, with the Blashill video encompassing an interview with John Keating:

Update: Here’s Michael Rasmussen speaking with the media…

As well as coach Blashill:

Tweets of note from Dylan Larkin’s press conference

I’ll post the video when it becomes available:

Larkin excited for this training camp. “These guys are fighting for spots on the team.”— Carley Johnston (@carleykjohnston) September 23, 2021

Larkin on Moritz Seider: “He’s a special player.”— Ethan Sears (@ethan_sears) September 23, 2021

Larkin addressing the media regarding his injury: “I feel great. I haven’t thought about it much today which is a good sign. I just think for myself, why take a risk right now? I want to go into the season healthy like I am right now.” @DetroitRedWings
#LGRW— Daniella Bruce (@daniellabruce_) September 23, 2021

Tweet of note: Bultman posts tentative first-day-of-camp lines

FYI:

Forward lines today (keep in mind Vrana isn’t here, and order is mine):
Bertuzzi-Larkin-Zadina
Fabbri-Suter-Ryan
Namestnikov-Rasmussen-Erne
Gagner-Rowney-Smith
Hirose-Stephens-Raymond
Tyutyayev-Veleno-Barber
Shine-Verbeek/Criscuolo-Elson
Yan-Pearson-Spezia https://t.co/pnzJ5QV2GL— Max Bultman (@m_bultman) September 23, 2021

Red Wings defense pairs today (again, order mine)
DeKeyser-Hronek
Leddy-Seider
Staal-Stecher
Oesterle-Lindstrom
Lashoff-Newpower
Brubacher-Witkowski
Renouf-Cotton
Plandowski-Sebrango https://t.co/TCo3tNHKK8— Max Bultman (@m_bultman) September 23, 2021

Tweets of note from Tyler Bertuzzi’s press conference

As you might imagine…

Red Wings F Tyler Bertuzzi called it a “life choice” to refuse COVID-19 vaccine. Said he knows it means he can’t play in Canada (9 games) but reiterated it’s personal choice.— Helene St. James (@HeleneStJames) September 23, 2021

Bertuzzi says the choice to not get vaccinated a personal decision; talked about it with family #RedWings— Ted Kulfan (@tkulfan) September 23, 2021

Tyler Bertuzzi says he feels about 95 percent healthy, with the other five percent being getting back into game shape— Ethan Sears (@ethan_sears) September 23, 2021

Bert says he’s about 95% there physically. The other 5% is getting game ready. @DetroitRedWings #DRWTC— Carley Johnston (@carleykjohnston) September 23, 2021

I’ll post the video as soon as it’s available.

Update: Here’s more from the Detroit News’s Ted Kulfan:

“It went fine, it was good,” Bertuzzi said of his chat with general manager Steve Yzerman about his decision not to get vaccinated. ”It’s a life choice, a personal choice. Personal choice.”

Bertuzzi said he’s talked with teammates about his decision.

“Everything is good, same as normal,” Bertuzzi said.

Bertuzzi didn’t think twice about his decision to not get vaccinated.

“It was pretty set in stone,” Bertuzzi said.

Update: The Free Press posted a clip of the Bertuzzi presser:

Continue reading Tweets of note from Tyler Bertuzzi’s press conference

Free Press’s Monarrez notes that Yzerman is trying to learn from the best in sport(s)

The Detroit Free Press’s Carlos Monarrez took note of Red Wings GM Steve Yzerman’s remarks regarding following the best examples in sports as he tries to rebuild his own team:

Yzerman is searching on pitches in England and diamonds in America, on gridiron and courts and rinks. Anywhere he can extract some knowledge, like from his favorite soccer team.

“Partly because I’m a big fan of the sport and the team,” he said, “Liverpool soccer club, what they’ve done over the course of the last 10 or 15 years and how they’ve built a kind of culture, a style of play, (that’s) one that comes to mind for me.”

Because the Wings and Tigers are both owned by the Ilitch family, Yzerman has been able to speak with Avila, exchange ideas and has enjoyed learning about how and why some personnel decisions have been made. Even within the NHL, Yzerman is constantly educating himself about the process of building a winning team.

“I talk a lot to other general managers and pick their brain on where they’re going, what they’re doing, why they make the moves they make,” he said. “I learn a lot from that. It’s probably a sin to say, but with Bill Belichick and what he’s done in the NFL with the Patriots, how he’s made and run that franchise has been very, very interesting for me.”

Continued

Two Swedish stories stuck behind a paywall

Regrettably, this morning’s Swedish news stories involve two members of the Red Wings’ prospect core, but they’re stuck behind paywalls.

IceHockeyGifs found a story about Lucas Raymond on GP.se…

From https://t.co/wAuNs7oE58 piece on Lucas Raymond ahead of main camp –

“I will do everything to steal a place on the roster”

New weight after summer is 189lbs while having maintained a bodyfat% “in the single-digits”. #LGRW https://t.co/nQmLohKhGx— IcehockeyGifs (@IcehockeyG) September 23, 2021

And Expressen’s Gothenburg-based paper, GP.se, has an article up profiling big Elmer Soderblom, but it’s also behind a paywall.

Down Goes Brown suggests that the Wings’ success hinges on Nedeljkovic’s play

Sean McIndoe, a.k.a. “Down Goes Brown” of the Athletic, discusses what he considers to be the strangest moves of the offseason via a “bizarro meter’s” worth of power rankings for each and every one of the NHL’s 32 teams, and this is what he has to say about the Red Wings’ offseason:

Detroit Red Wings

The offseason so far: It was basically the Alex Nedeljkovic trade and then a handful of depth moves.

But their strangest story was: If Nedeljkovic turns out to be the answer in goal, Steve Yzerman will have added a key piece at a low price.

Bizarro-meter ranking: 3.4/10. Yzerman continues his slow-but-steady rebuild. Every year, we say that he’ll eventually have to get more aggressive, but apparently, that point hasn’t arrived yet. The Wings are on track, but it’s hard to see how they’ll be all that much better this year unless Nedeljkovic goes full superstar.

Continued

A bit about Seider from HSJ

The Free Press’s Helene St. James posted her pre-training camp article this morning, discussing Moritz Seider’s chances of making the team and Tyler Bertuzzi’s status as unvaccinated and unable to play in Canada:

Seider, 20, comes to the Wings after spending last season with Rögle, where he played so well he was named the Swedish Hockey League defenseman of the year. Previously, he spent a season with the Grand Rapids Griffins and a season in the men’s league in his native Germany.

“Moritz will get every opportunity in the preseason to get as comfortable as he can be to potentially start the regular season,” Yzerman said. “He’s going to compete with not only the other three right shots, but the four left shots as well. Moritz has done well — playing in the men’s league in Germany, he did well. I was somewhat apprehensive his first year in Grand Rapids, as an 18 year old, and he did well. Then going into Sweden last year, he performed well. We are optimistic he’s up for the challenge. I would temper the excitement — it’s a huge step going from the AHL or the SHL to the NHL, the reality is the best players in the world are in the NHL. It is difficult to play in, more so for goalies and defensemen than it is for forwards.

“We expect there to be some learning, but I think he’s physically strong enough, he’s mature enough, and he has enough hockey sense to play. Can he adapt to the speed and excel in the league? Time will tell. He’s 20 years old.”

Continued (paywall)

Update: Here’s a bit more from the Traverse City Record-Eagle’s Andrew Rosenthal:

Moritz Seider, fresh off an year with the Swedish team of Rögle, is a name many fans are itching to know whether or not he will make the 23-player roster or new taxi squad.

What’s certain is he’ll be on the ice a lot in the preseason, Yzerman indicated. The Red Wings took the 20-year-old from Zell, Germany, sixth overall in the 2019 NHL draft. Seider did not play in last weekend’s prospect tournament but is set to appear in Traverse City for camp, which starts Thursday morning at Centre ICE.

Detroit will carry eight defenseman this winter.

“I would temper the excitement and the expectations,” Yzerman said. “I think it’s a huge step going from the American League, the Swedish league, or the KHL for that matter, to the NHL. The reality is the best players in the world are in the NHL, with exception of the young guy who’s stayed in Europe for a year or two more.”