Author: George Malik

Grand Rapids Griffins coach Ben Simon spoke with the Detroit and Grand Rapids media corps for over 16 minutes on Wednesday afternoon…

And MLive’s Steve Kaminski reports that Simon noted that this year’s AHL season, which will only constitute 28 games for the Griffins, will present unique challenges:

Simon said there are plenty of challenges ahead as the Griffins get back to work. He added that those challenges will be much different than the ones teams across the league have faced in the past.

“The biggest thing is just being smart with your decisions,” Simon said. “I don’t know when the vaccine is going to be available for the guys in Grand Rapids and the staff. Assuming that we don’t, you have to be as smart as you can and not put yourself in a bad spot so not to be exposed to this virus as much as possible.

“As far as other things, there are a lot of firsts. It’s a first for having a taxi squad and all the testing and different protocols. I think getting a little bit acclimated to how we are going to work with all of that, and we are going to be doing less road trips. We are going to be transitioning into a newer model schedule this year. The players are going to have to change their routines and practice routines a little bit.”

Continued

Of very brief Red Wings-related note this morning:

1. Red Wings prospect Elmer Soderblom received praise from ESPN’s Chris Peters as a prospect who “leveled up” during the World Junior Championship…

Elmer Soderblom, LW, Sweden/Detroit Red Wings: A favorite of mine since his draft year of 2019, the 6-foot-7 Soderblom was one of Sweden’s most reliable forwards and a menace at the net front. Despite that big size, Soderblom moves well and has excellent hands. He had just three points, but seemed to be involved in everything for Sweden.

2. And Filip Zadina is listed among The Athletic’s Scott Cullen’s top 10 “fantasy hockey sleepers“:

Filip Zadina, RW, Detroit: Just about anyone on the Red Wings this side of Dylan Larkin could be a sleeper because they were just awful last season. Maybe lurking a little further down, Zadina was the sixth overall pick in 2018 and had 15 points in 28 games for the Red Wings last season. The opportunity is there for him to play a top-six role and get some power play time and that still may not be enough to be fantasy relevant but if Zadina is scoring, he should have some upward mobility in the lineup.

For the prospect hounds: Red Wings draft pick and prospect goalie Carter Gylander is taking part in his freshman season at Colgate, and USCHO.com’s Nate Owen wrote about the fact that Gylander is part of a netminding triumvirate:

Finding a good goalie can be a challenge for many hockey teams, but it shouldn’t be difficult for Colgate this season.

The Raiders have juniors Andrew Farrier and Mitch Benson, a goaltending duo whose strong play helped Colgate host a home series in the first round of the league playoffs last year. Colgate also added freshman Carter Gylander, a Detroit draft pick who was named the AJHL’s top goalie last season.

That trio should give the Raiders plenty of options in net this season.

“We’re really excited about where we are [with our goaltending],” Colgate coach Don Vaughan said.

But the Raiders’ success this season rests on improving an offense that ranked 52nd in the country in scoring last season and lost its top two scorers to graduation.

“When you only give up two goals a game, you’ve got to find a way to score more than two goals,” Vaughan said. “If we can find a way to [average] two and a half or three goals a game, we can pile up the Ws.”

Continued, with various college hockey notes; Colgate plays next on Saturday, when they face Saint Lawrence.

The Toledo Blade’s Mark Monroe spoke with hockey historian Dan Saevig regarding the high probability that the Red Wings’ ECHL affiliate will likely recover from a 2020-2021 season not played due to financial concerns:

“Toledo has shown that absence makes the heart grow fonder [for hockey],” Saevig said. “While this is disappointing for everyone, the good news is that it’s just a one-year blip on the hockey radar screen. Unlike the previous instances in Toledo when hockey wasn’t played, it isn’t because of controllable variables like poor ticket sales, bad marketing, or a sub-par win-loss record. This is simply because of a horrible pandemic. What makes this hiatus different from all previous shutdowns is that the hockey product and the business operations of the Walleye are in great shape.”

The Walleye annually rank among the top two teams in the ECHL in attendance. The team now routinely sells out its home games. Last season, the team set a single-season record with 7,448 fans per game and had 24 sellouts before the season was cut short on March 14. The organization now enjoys a season-ticket holder fan base of 2,850. The franchise set a Toledo record when 8,538 fans jammed into the downtown arena for Game 5 of the Kelly Cup Finals in 2019.

Saevig said given those “great metrics” the Walleye enjoyed up until the pandemic, he expects that success to continue.

“The strength of the organization on and off the ice [indicate that] the overwhelming majority of people will be back because they will be starved for entertainment,” Saevig said. “We know that the Walleye will be back later this year.”

Neil Neukam, the Walleye’s executive vice president and general manager, struggled to put the disappointment over the announcement into words on Tuesday. But he said the organization already has its eyes on a big return next season.

“We had anticipated another exciting season for our fans, in spite of the challenges,” Neukam said. “We remain committed to our fans … and we look forward to celebrating T-Town hockey in October.”

Continued

It was great to see Fox Sports Detroit’s Trevor Thompson at the rink yesterday, and it’s great to see Fox 2’s Woody Woodriffe speaking about the Red Wings’ training camp this evening. It’s a jam-packed 1:38 report that offers an overview of the Wings’ camp activities thus far:

Flint’s MyCity Magazine‘s Mark Spezia spoke with Red Wings defenseman and Grand Blanc, MI native Jon Merrill regarding his decision to sign with his hometown Red Wings earlier this past fall:

The easiest decision of Merrill’s life was signing a one-year, $950,000 deal with Detroit. “I had thought about and dreamed about that moment for so long that I really could not sign fast enough,” he says. “My wife was equally excited and this is what’s best for our family. My parents and all the family we have in Michigan were elated.”

Calls, texts and messages began flooding Merrill’s phone and the family’s social media accounts. “I heard from so many people. Guys I played with ten years ago said they were happy to see me return home,” he says. “It was really touching, actually.”

One of the first to contact Merrill was Detroit forward Luke Glendening, his former Wolverines teammate. “I have been fortunate to be good friends with Luke and have him show me around and introduce me to the guys,” he says. “That has gone very well and they are a great group of teammates. He also introduced me to the coaching staff and front office people. They have been very welcoming.”

Continued

If you’re interested on what is a very sad day in America…Spend your time doing something better than staring at the TV.

Rakapuckar’s Henrik Leman spoke with Elmer Soderblom and Lucas Raymond after today’s Frolunda Indians practice, asking both players about their World Junior Championship experiences, as well as whether their WJC performances should impact their roles with Frolunda. What follows is roughly translated from Swedish:

The WJC guys practiced already on Tuesday, when Frolunda had closed the media off for coronavirus.

On Wednesday, it was almost a bit of business as usual.

“It’s nice to come back immeidately and be up and running quickly, be with the old men again. Regardless of whether we won or came last (in the WJC), it’s important to forget it and get back in the environment here, to continue to take steps individually and as a team,” said Lucas Raymond, who added this before his comeback game vs. Lulea:

“It’s [going to be] great fun, fun game to come home to as well.”

Elmer Soderblom agreed:

“It feels good to be home. Still a bit jet-lagged, waking up hungry and so on, but at the same time it’s nice to get into it right away.”

The strong Soderblom presented himself to the Swedish people with his goals away in Edmonton, where the WJC was a cheeky journey to the bitter end against Finland.

Are you aware of the [team’s] resurrection here at home?

“Yes…I’ve heard a lot from family and friends and so on. Of course it was fun, of course it was a small boost that you have to take in the right way, get energy from, and try to develop even more.”

For Lucas Raymond, it loosened up in earnest in the quarterfinal against Finland (nicely scoring the 1-0 goal)–then it was over. But he still feels it from the tournament.

“The body took a lot of beatings,” he admitted.

MLive’s Ansar Khan penned an off-day notebook on the topic of the day, one Mathias Brome’s attempt to earn a spot on the Red Wings’ roster as a 26-year-old rookie:

“I think I’m a good two-way player. I can play on offense and defense, too,” Brome said. “That will make me have a good chance to make the team. If I put that in every night hopefully, I can get a spot. I’m really hoping I have a good chance to make the team, but it’s up to me to do it. I’m going to take every day here and do my best and see how long it will take to make the team.”

If Brome doesn’t earn a spot on the Red Wings’ season-opening roster, he likely would be named to the taxi squad since he is exempt from waivers.

Having played 23 games for Orebro in the fall (four goals, 16 assists) gave him a head start.

“I feel ready and I feel like I’m in game mode,” Brome said.

Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill watched tape of Brome playing in Sweden.

“Those are always a little bit hard comparisons because you don’t know exactly how the league translates,” Blashill said. “The two things that have stood for me and are going to help him at the NHL level is, one, he seems to be a little thicker, a little stronger on his skates than maybe I saw on tape, and two, he’s got good tenacity. Those two things will help an under-sized guy have success. He’s got some smarts; he’s got some skills. He has a chance to be a good NHLer and we’ll keep giving him opportunities and seeing where he’s at.”

Continued

The Detroit News’s Ted Kulfan filed a training camp notebook regarding the topic of the day in one Mathias Brome’s attempts to earn an NHL job with the Red Wings, but he also addressed several other issues, including Troy Stecher’s take on a college hockey-like schedule of tightly-packed games, as well as this nugget of wisdom from veteran Sam Gagner:

Veteran forward Sam Gagner has been through rebuilds similar to the Wings’ while he was in Edmonton.

Gagner feels he can help the Wings’ younger players with his NHL experience.

“Your top players need to be insulated with depth that can help in a lot of different ways,” Gagner said. “We have a great group of young player that have really taken a step and need to continue to do so.

“I, personally, think I have a lot of game left, and I think Steve (Yzerman) felt the same way,” Gagner said. “It’s just a matter of being prepared, which I feel like I am. If everyone goes out and does their part, it helps everyone take a step forward.”

Continued