The Red Wings posted a tweet showing Jordan Oesterle, Alex Nedeljkovic, Nick Leddy and Pius Suter donning the winged wheel, and Oesterle is shown wearing #82, Nedeljkovic #39, Leddy #2 and Suter #24:
?⚪️?⚪️ #LGRW pic.twitter.com/claVvbs1ND
— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) August 2, 2021
This isn’t official or anything, but I think that it’s highly likely we’ll see them wearing the numbers that they’re shown wearing.
From the Red Wings comes a new episode of “The Red and White Authority” with Art Regner, in which Regner speaks with Simon Edvinsson, Sebastian Cossa and Carter Mazur just after the draft last weekend:
?️ The Red and White Authority catches up with three of Detroit’s top four 2021 draft picks, Simon Edvinsson, Sebastian Cossa, and Carter Mazur. ?️
Listen/Subscribe: https://t.co/elGxw3wW0x pic.twitter.com/9CR2zzLr3t— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) August 2, 2021
The Athletic’s Max Bultman attended the World Junior Summer Showcase this past week, and Bultman offers a list of ten observations from the WJSS this morning.
Both Bultman and I were impressed with the raw attributes of defenseman Shai Buium, a 6’3,” 214-pound defender with room to grow literally and figuratively after being drafted 36th overall by the Wings some nine days ago:
Buium will play next season at the University of Denver, so before the showcase started, I reached out to Pioneers coach David Carle to ask what stood out about the big blueliner’s game.
“I think it’s his brain, his vision, his deception with the puck,” Carle said. “He breaks pucks out well, he transitions pucks (through) neutral ice well, and he’s really dynamic on the offensive blue line. He asserts himself in his transition and offensive game very well, and I think for that it makes him really hard to play against.”
All of that showed up in Plymouth. His hands were better than I realized, too, and he certainly showed a real inclination to activate offensively. There’s a nice prospect here.
For me, his skating played up when he had the puck — perhaps because of his size, perhaps because of his hands and smarts, but either way, he just looked dangerous with possession. There’s still room for improvement in his skating overall, though, particularly in order to defend speed in transition. I saw at least two instances where a player got by him by chipping the puck off the wall and beating him to it for a chance off the rush. Certainly, that’s understandable for a player who stands 6-foot-3, 214 pounds, and adding more strength will help Buium there — as he gains more muscle in his legs, his stride should get more powerful.
Continued (paywall);
Team USA coach Nate Leman suggested that Buium’s greatest attribute is his skating, which covers a tremendous amount of rink room with a single stride.
Buium’s hands and feet look to be doing different things at the same time, which doesn’t yield an impression that he’s the smoothest defenseman out there, but his slightly awkward stride belies an impressive amount of poise and maturity.
After watching Finland center Aatu Raty dominate the tournament with the 52nd overall pick that the Wings sacrificed to trade up and draft Buium, I’m not sure that I would have traded up from all of 38th overall to select Buium 5 picks earlier, but Kris Draper and the Wings’ amateur scouts saw a lot more of the Red Wings’ newest prospects participating in hockey games this past season than I did.
That was really my take on the week’s worth of 2021 draft picks (all three of them):
Continue reading Bultman on Buium and the WJSS participants, plus odds and endsIn this week’s episode of “The Third Half with Brooke Fletcher,” Bally Sports Detroit’s Fletcher speaks with Red Wings draft pick Simon Edvinsson (from his car, hockey stick in the trunk included, from the 3:31 mark of the video to the 7-minute mark of the video):
Per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman:
Adam Erne and Jakub Vrana file for salary arbitration. https://t.co/PP5eoR3MQ3— George Malik (@georgemalik) August 1, 2021
17 players filed for arbitration today: Aston-Reese (PIT), Colton (TB), Copp (WIN), Dickinson (VAN), Dunn (SEA), Erne (DET), Fabbro (NASH), Gilbert (COL), Hill (SJ), McNiven (MON), Mete (OTT), Pelech (NYI), Pionk (WIN), Sanford (STL), Saros (NASH), Vrana (DET) & Zadorov (CAL).— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) August 1, 2021
There was one team-elected arb: Brandon Carlo, but he and the Bruins reached a six-year extension.— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) August 1, 2021
In theory, the Red Wings can now buy out Frans Nielsen…And yes, the Red Wings usually reach contract agreements with players prior to salary arbitration hearings.
Under Ken Holland, the Red Wings tended to avoid salary arbitration with players, but KH took it personally if the player made it to the hearing.
Yzerman doesn’t care, he wants the contract done.— George Malik (@georgemalik) August 1, 2021
Erne could become a UFA next summer if his case indeed ends up being settled in arbitration. Vrana still two years away from UFA eligibility. https://t.co/GPVmHo5Fsf— Max Bultman (@m_bultman) August 1, 2021
NHLPA announces 17 players have elected Salary Arbitration: https://t.co/aR7otBGAod— NHLPA (@NHLPA) August 1, 2021
With Erne and Vrana filing for arbitration, the second buyout window will now be triggered so Nielsen could still be bought out, though unlikely. #LGRW #RedWings— The Grind Line Podcast™ (@GrindLinePod) August 1, 2021
Update: Here’s the NHLPA’s press release:
Continue reading Friedman: Adam Erne, Jakub Vrana file for salary arbitrationAlex Wood, a.k.a. AWood40 on YouTube, has posted a 24-minute clip of Dylan Larkin highlights from the 2020-2021 season:
Today and tomorrow will mark milestones of sorts for this year’s restricted free agent class, s CapFriendly notes…
Today at 5pm ET is the deadline for all arbitration eligible players to file for player-elected salary arbitration.
Tomorrow at 5pm ET is the deadline for club-elected filings.
We currently display 58 players as being Arb eligible this off-season ?https://t.co/QqTDcGAerJ— CapFriendly (@CapFriendly) August 1, 2021
Per CapFriendly, Jakub Vrana, Adam Erne and Chase Pearson are eligible for arbitration; Filip Hronek and Givani Smith are not.
Yesterday at this time, the Red Wings announced that they’d signed Tyler Bertuzzi to a 2-year, $9 million contract extension. Bertuzzi spoke with the media yesterday afternoon, and the Free Press’s Helene St. James notes Bertuzzi’s comments this morning:
The first half of 2021 was challenging for Bertuzzi: He had a great start to the season with five goals and seven points in nine games, then a back injury caused him so much pain he ended up missing the rest of the season. He underwent surgery in April, and happily reports everything looks good for being ready for training camp, which begins Sept. 23.
“Last year was very, very tough, physically and mentally, being in pain every day,” Bertuzzi said. “But everything is going as planned. Pretty much all restrictions are lifted in the gym. Been skating. No setbacks. Everything is going really well. I’m just going to keep doing what I’m doing.”
Back injuries can be tough to bounce back from. Defenseman Danny DeKeyser, five years older than Bertuzzi, hasn’t looked as effective since undergoing back surgery in December 2019. Bertuzzi’s style is in-your-face — he loves to mix it up with opponents, and has a knack for scoring goals around the net, where shoves and crosschecks run rampant. But Bertuzzi sounds determined that to be just as big of a pest as he was. That element of his game was a big part of his appeal when the Wings drafted him in the second round in 2013.
Bertuzzi’s rehabbing pal is Larkin, who left the Wings’ April 20 game in obvious pain after Dallas Stars captain Jamie Benn shoved his stick into Larkin’s neck. Larkin was hospitalized and had to wear a neck brace. Yzerman said last week Larkin is progressing well, and Bertuzzi said his and Larkin’s training has included working with skating coaches.
“We’re all working out at the rink,” Bertuzzi said. “I see Larks every day. We’re working out side by side, we’re both getting better, skating together. When more guys come to town, we’ll skate with them.”
St. James continues (paywall)
The Toledo Blade’s Mark Monroe broke the news that long-time Tledo Walleye forward Shane Berschbach retired this morning, and this evening, Monroe has penned a very lengthy article in which the Walleye’s all-time leading scorer discusses his decision to step away from the game:
Future Toledo hockey hall of famer Shane Berschbach, a fixture and cornerstone for the Walleye organization for nearly half of its existence, has retired.
Berschbach, who played six seasons for the ECHL franchise, announced his retirement on Instagram on Saturday. The speedy forward is the organization’s leader in every significant offensive category.
“It’s tough, for sure,” Berschbach said. “It has been the best ride I could have asked for. Big thanks to the city, people, and fans of Toledo. It was an honor to play in front of you for six years. The atmosphere you guys brought every night was second to none and something I’ll remember forever. You guys made Toledo feel like home. I’ll always remember all the good days and the people of Toledo and going to the rink every day and the people I got to work with daily.”
Berschbach, who turned 30 in May, is the Walleye’s all-time leader in games played (376).
The native of Clawson, Mich. also retires as the team’s career leader in points collected (393), goals scored (116), and assists (277).
The Detroit Red Wings’ prospects wrapped up eight days’ worth of games and practices at USA Hockey Arena on Saturday, concluding the World Junior Summer Showcase with a pair of entertaining games.
Team Sweden finally earned their first win in 5 tries, defeating Team USA White 7-1;
Defenseman William Wallinder had 2 assists and was +3 for Sweden, and Theodor Niederbach, playing on the wing, had an assist and was +2 for Sweden…
For the U.S. side, defenseman Shai Buium had a good game despite finishing at -3, and Cross Hanas had a quiet game due to all the special teams play, finishing at -2.
In terms of highlights, IceHockeyGifs covered the game, and here are the plays in which Wallinder and Niederbach had assists:
Continue reading Impressions from Saturday at the World Junior Summer Showcase (and interviews with Theodor Niederbach, Red Savage, and coaches Tomas Monten and Nate Leaman)