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: A busy day in Sweden yields 22:25 played for Edvinsson and an assist for Soderblom in a Frolunda win

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:

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.

Cossa, Bednar, Plandowski make The Hockey News’s ‘100 players to watch in the CHL’ list

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

WXYZ’s Trotman posts report on the preseason opener

WXYZ’s Jeanna Trotman posted a report regarding the Red Wings’ preseason opener against Buffalo tonight, discussing Lucas Raymond’s debut and the Wings’ desire to perform in front of their own fans again:

Kulfan on Adam Erne the playmaker

The Detroit News’s Ted Kulfan took note of Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill’s remarks regarding Adam Erne rounding out his game:

Erne made a pair of nice passing plays, setting up Michael Rasmussen and Ryan with goals in Wednesday’s victory in Chicago. Coming off, arguably, the best season of his career, Erne showed glimpses of perhaps building on what he showed last season.

“I talked to Adam at the end of last season and told him he made more plays as the year went along, than he had in him, to be honest,” Blashill said. “He’s earned it (playing time, larger role) the hard way, where he wasn’t given anything. He’s had to earn his minutes, and he’s done it.

“On the power play, he’s getting a little bit of time on the penalty kill, but what he’s done is made more plays with the puck. He’s really worked hard at it outside of the regular season, to increase his vision with the puck and make more plays scanning ahead of time, before you get it (the puck).”

Continued

Red Wings Tweet out tonight’s lineup, plus today’s episode of ‘The Forecheck’

The Red Wings Tweeted out tonight’s lineup versus the Buffalo Sabres (7:30 EDT on DetroitRedWings.com)…

And “The Forecheck” returned to YouTube today:

Blashill’s bottom line on the Vrana-less Red Wings

With Jakub Vrana out for the next four months due to shoulder surgery (at the very least), Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill duly noted that his team will have to rely upon depth of scoring and better team defense for the foreseeable future, as NHL.com’s Nicholas J. Cotsonika noted:

“Ultimately we’re going to have to rely on depth more than necessarily one or two high-end guys,” coach Jeff Blashill said Thursday. “But there’s a lot of guys that haven’t necessarily proven that they’re that type of player that are top-six quote-unquote players. That doesn’t mean they can’t be that at all. It just means they’ve got to prove it, and there’s unknowns involved in that, the unknowns probably uncertainty from our aspect.

“But the positive thing for us is, we do have seven more exhibition games. I mean, we do have a lot of games to be able to look at guys and see how they do.”

Blashill referenced the New York Islanders as an example of how a team can use its depth to overcome injuries and win. The Islanders advanced to the third round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs in consecutive seasons despite injuries to center Casey Cizikas (eye) in 2020 and captain Anders Lee (knee) in 2021.

“They do it right, meaning they’re committed to their game plan, they stay with their game plan, they don’t wander outside their systems, they play to their system structurally, and they’re just real committed to it,” Blashill said. “That’s ultimately what we’re going to need to do to have success here. We’re going to have to be super committed to it. Part of that is making sure you don’t give up easy chances and making sure you’re really good defensively, and they’ve done a good job of that.”

Continued

Khan: Lucas Raymond’s excited about his preseason debut

Red Wings prospect Lucas Raymond will make his North American debut against the Buffalo Sabres this evening (7:30 PM EDT on DetroitRedWings.com), and he spoke with MLive’s Ansar Khan regarding his first game wearing a Red Wings jersey:

“It’ll be a lot of fun playing here,” Raymond said after the morning skate. “It’s something I dreamt of since I was drafted. To finally be here, to be able to play tonight will be an incredible feeling. Of course, there’s always nerves the first game of the season. Just trying to treat it like every game and be calm. To be in this arena in a Red Wings jersey is really special.”

Raymond, the fourth overall pick in the 2020 draft, will be skating on a line centered by Pius Suter, with Robby Fabbri at left wing when the Red Wings face the Buffalo Sabres (7:30 p.m., livestreamed on DetroitRedWings.com).

“They’re two really good players,” Raymond said. “They make great choices out there. It makes it easier for me to play.”

Coach Jeff Blashill said for Raymond to succeed, he must have the puck a lot.

“He’s a really smart player, he’s good with the puck, he can make a lot of plays,” Blashill said. “He’s got to make sure he has the puck a lot. How do you have the puck a lot? Either you get in the right spots, or you work to get open or you work to get it. And you play good defense to make sure you’re not defending all night. That’s how you end up with the puck. I think he’s an accountable player defensively. If he goes through the whole night and he touches the puck two times, he’s not going to be real effective. If he’s got the puck on his stick all night, we’re all going to walk out of the building saying, ‘Man, he was good.’ “

Continued

A bit more about Jakub Vrana’s shoulder injury (which requires surgery) from Khan and HSJ

Updated 2x at 1:09 PM: The Detroit Red Wings announced that Jakub Vrana needs surgery to repair an injured shoulder, and that he’ll be out for 4 months as a result.

MLive’s Ansar Khan reveals that Vrana’s shoulder issue was a nagging injury:

Coach Jeff Blashill said Thursday that Vrana had been bothered by shoulder pain in the offseason but was hoping to play through it. He reaggravated the issue 10 minutes into his first on-ice workout in training camp on Sunday.

“He’s had some issues with it. Went through the summer rehabbing it and ultimately re-aggravated it,” Blashill said. “Unfortunately, it was the first practice. It could have happend three weeks into the season. Ultimately, surgery is the last option. Jakub thought he could get through the season and unfortunately he couldn’t.”

So, what happens now?

“A guy like Bobby Ryan, Lucas Raymond or Joe Veleno, do they make the team? Is there a more direct avenue?” Blashill said. “With the two young guys, they’re going to have to play great. Bobby is going to have to play great. But if they play great, there’s an avenue there for them.”

Veleno is a center, but Blashill indicated there is a path for him to make the roster as a winger.

…

They have a spot open among their top six forwards. For now, the top line consists of Larkin, Tyler Bertuzzi and Filip Zadina and the second line Suter and Fabbri.

“We have unknowns in our top six, and you don’t necessarily win with a top six you win with a hockey team, 12 forwards who can play,” Blashill said. “Ultimately, we’re going to have rely on depth than just one or two pure high-end guys. There’s a lot of guys that haven’t necessarily proven that they’re top-six players. That doesn’t mean it can’t be that, it just means they haven’t proven it. The positive thing is we have seven more exhibition games, a lot of games to be able to look at guys.”

Update: Here’s a bit more from the Free Press’s Helene St. James:

Continue reading A bit more about Jakub Vrana’s shoulder injury (which requires surgery) from Khan and HSJ