Author: George Malik

Red Wings GM Steve Yzerman appeared on yesterday’s episode of “The Word on Woodward,” engaging in a short Q and A session…

And Yzerman’s comments were annotated by MLive’s Ansar Khan…

The Athletic’s Corey Pronman posted his latest mock draft this morning, and he’s named a familiar name as the Wings’ most likely pick at 4th overall:

4. Detroit Red Wings: Cole Perfetti, C, Saginaw-OHL

The draft starts to get interesting and more wide-open starting with Detroit’s pick. I’ve heard Lucas Raymond mentioned with the Red Wings, but a fair amount of sources seem to think the team likes Cole Perfetti a lot. His elite skill and hockey IQ with average feet and size has a lot of resemblance to Brayden Point, who Detroit GM Steve Yzerman picked during his tenure in Tampa Bay.

Continued (paywall); the more and more mock drafts I read, the more and more likely it appears that the Wings are going to bring Perfetti into the fold.

The Grand Rapids Griffins posted a minute-and-a-half clip highlighting the biggest bodychecks from the team’s 2019-2020 season:

Red Wings forward Filip Zadina scored the game-opening goal as Ocelari Trinec defeated Dynamo Pardubice 3-0 in the Czech General Cup on Wednesday…

And Zadina spoke with both iSport.cz’s Kvetoslav Simek and Ocelari Trinec’s website after the game. Here’s a very rough translation of what Zadina had to say to Simek:

The Red Wings are airing a Q and A with GM Steve Yzerman today at 11 AM, as part of their “The Word on Woodward” program:

Today on The #WordOnWoodward… an exclusive Q&A with #RedWings EVP & GM Steve Yzerman!

Tune in @ 11am on Facebook, YouTube & https://t.co/jLX5LxapNh. pic.twitter.com/DNGEmDVREU

— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) September 10, 2020

Of brief Red Wings-related note this morning:

1. New Toledo Walleye signing Gordi Myer spoke with Ohio State University’s student newspaper, The Lantern, regarding the possibility of a condensed ECHL season for the 2020-2021 campaign. Myer told Colin Ginnan that he spent most of his offseason studying for his LSAT’s, and now he’s gearing up for hockey again:

In the meantime, ECHL teams have yet to resume official practices. In the absence of training camp, Myer began skating with a handful of his Walleye teammates who remained in the Toledo area.

“They just said it’s going to be crazy playing so many games in a short period,” Myer said. “I’m kind of looking forward to it, though, because that means you don’t practice as much and you just get to play a lot of games, which is more fun in my opinion.”

2. Elsewhere, the homepage of the Dansk Metal Ligaen, the Danish pro hockey league, reports that Frans Nielsen told his hometown newspaper, Herning Folkeblad, that he may want to finish his professional career playing for his hometown team, the Herning Blue Fox. There’s no specific date involved in Nielsen’s plan to head home, and I was unable to find the article on Herning Folkeblad’s website, but this is something worth watching.

The Detroit Free Press’s Helene St. James checked in with Red Wings assistant GM Ryan Martin recently, discussing the state of the Red Wings’ prospect pool. According to Martin, the Red Wings are still in offseason mode, which means that their contact with their prospects remains limited…

Teams are subject to offseason rules and can’t monitor players, but some staff can have contact with them. 

“You can’t tell them what to do, but our development people have been in touch with our players and they’re in good spots training,” Martin said. “If they don’t have access to something they need, we help them, at their expense.”

And St. James reports that the Red Wings’ current crop of overseas-loaned prospects will likely remain capped at six (Filip Hronek, Filip Zadina, Moritz Seider, Gustav Lindstrom, Filip Larsson and Mattias Brome):

Martin did not anticipate any more Wings players being loaned overseas. There had been talk of Joe Veleno joining fellow 2018 first-round pick Zadina in the Czech Republic, but Veleno is enjoying his training in the Montreal area. 

“I think Joe is having a phenomenal offseason,” Martin said. “He likes where he is and he sees the advances he is making, so I don’t think he wants to go anywhere else.”

St. James continues (paywall); she also speaks with Martin regarding the possibility that NHL, AHL and ECHL teams might return to play with a reduced capacity format:

“Certainly the NHL has the financial means to sustain itself on less of a fan base. Minor leagues do not. That’s another piece of the puzzle. We’re going to have to work through that.”

Sportsnet’s Rory Boylen posted a column which discusses the top puck-possession teams in the playoffs since 2008, and the Red Wings’ last Stanley Cup-winning team earns a significant nod in terms of “Corsi for” percentage, “Expected goals for,” “high-danger chances for percentage” and “shots percentage” from Natural Stat Trick:

2008, Detroit: 60.38 CF% (1), 58.26 xGF% (1), 56.75 HDCF% (1), 60.26 SF% (1) (won the Cup)

The 2008 Detroit Red Wings remain the gold standard of puck possession playoff teams with a lineup that was loaded with Hall of Fame talent and they finished with a Stanley Cup win. Since 2008, no other team has reached at least the conference final and finished first overall in each of these statistical categories. The closest to repeating this feat may have been the 2015 Anaheim Ducks, who finished first in three of these categories, but were fourth-best when measuring Corsi. But that team also fell one win short of reaching the Stanley Cup Final.

Continued; Boylen notes that the Vegas Golden Knights of all teams are hot on the 2008 Wings’ heels.

The Toledo Walleye continued their trend of signing smaller but skilled players to round out their ECHL team roster for the 2020-2021 season on Wednesday, signing 25-year-old center Hunter Garlent as a free agent. Garlent only stands at 5’9″ and 172 pounds, but the Toledo Blade’s Mark Monroe reports that Garlent comes highly-regarded as far as Walleye coach Dan Watson’s is concerned:

“Hunter is someone I see playing in all situations because of his intelligence and knack for reading the play,” Watson said. “He will be counted on to play big minutes and be one of our go-to guys.”

Monroe also summarizes the Walleye’s roster situation:

The Walleye have now signed 16 players so far this offseason: eight forwards, seven defensemen, and one goalie.

Second-year goaltender Trevor Gorsuch remains the only netminder signed this offseason. Although veteran Pat Nagle signed with Grand Rapids and could see more time with the Walleye this season.

The forward group is led by veterans Shane Berschbach and Kyle Bonis. Brett Boeing also returns. Brandon Hawkins, Keeghan Howdeshell, Conlan Keenan, and Luke Sandler are the other forwards.

The defensemen that have signed this offseason are Butrus Ghafari, Ryker Killins, Ryan Lowney, Chris McKay, Gordi Myer, Kevin Spinozzi, and Connor Walters.

The team has signed six rookies: Myer, Killins, Howdeshell, Kennan, Walters, and Ghafari.

ESPN’s Chris Peters compiled a list of 5 2020-draft eligible prospects and 5 previously-drafted prospects for whom he tends to “root for” (as much as he’s able to do so), and he listed one Red Wings prospect in a story for ESPN+…

Moritz Seider, D, Detroit Red Wings: When evaluating Seider for his draft season, I saw him only on film. He still popped but not in a way that made me believe he’d be the sixth overall pick in the 2019 draft. Then I got to see him live at the World Juniors and again in the AHL, and it was revelatory. His performance at the World Juniors on a shallow German team where he had to play seemingly every other shift was dominant. He had only a few even-strength goals against the entire tournament and could change the dynamic of the game when he was on the ice. It was one of the more impressive showings I’ve seen from a young prospect in all the years I’ve followed the World Juniors.

But even beyond his excellent playing ability, how can you not like him as a person? Seider showed up to the combine in a polo shirt, fashionable jeans and what he termed as “really nice” tennis shoes, despite the fact most players wear suits to the event. He didn’t know any better, and I don’t even think he cared. He’s so comfortable with himself, and that’s true on the ice, too. That will carry him far.

And Peters is also a fan of a prospect often linked to the Red Wings at this fall’s upcoming draft:

Cole Perfetti, C, Saginaw (OHL)

My current rank: No. 5

There’s a good chance Perfetti is going in the top five of this draft, so he’s no sleeper. This just comes down to the enjoyment I get watching him play. His creativity and vision are off the charts, and he processes the game at such a high level, especially offensively. There are definitely concerns about pace and skating, but I’m not as concerned due to his elite hockey sense.

Perfetti is a legitimate shot-pass threat in the offensive zone, which forces teams to respect both, making him more difficult to defend. He takes the plays that are given to him, which I think is an especially assuring trait in his game. He’s not always looking to pass, and he’s not always looking to shoot. There are some players who can’t get past that problem, and Perfetti has no issue there.

He was ninth in the OHL with 244 shots on goal, and I think he could have even shot more, but he made everyone around him better by just making the right plays instead of the plays he preferred. That — plus a high-end release and some exceptional puckhandling ability — makes him a really fun player to watch.

Continued (paywall)…