Author: George Malik

Of prospect-related note this morning: a couple of days ago, the Swedish Ice Hockey Federation released a roster of World Junior Championship-eligible players who will play a series of exhibition games against Finland this November.

This morning, Hockeysverige.se’s Rasmus Kagstrom confirms the roster per Swedish coach Tomas Monten, and the roster includes Red Wings prospects Albert Johansson (Farjestads BK), Gustav Berglund (Vasteras), William Wallinder (MODO), Lucas Raymond (Frolunda) and Elmer Soderblom (Frolunda).

Grand Rapids Griffins play-by-play announcer Bob Kaser speaks with long-time AHL’er and Hershey Bears vice-president of hockey operations Bryan Helmer, who possessed quite the cannon from the point during his time with the Griffins:

After Rogle BK defeated the Frolunda Indians 5-4 today, Moritz Seider spoke with Roger Bengtsson on Rogle’s website’s post-game show (in English).

You can watch the interview from the 6:30 mark to the 10:30 mark of the 17-minute-long video; if you want to watch Roger Bengtsson and Andree Brendheden chat about the game and chat with Rogle’s coach, that’s what the rest of the video is about.

The Edmonton Journal’s Jim Matheson wrote an article discussing the fact that Oilers GM Ken Holland and alumnus Kevin Lowe won’t be preparing for the Hockey Hall of Fame’s 2020 induction speeches as the induction ceremony has been delayed to 2021.

That’s disappointing, but the worrisome part of Matheson’s article comes in the form of an update from the KHL regarding another former Red Wing:

KHL coach Bob Hartley, who has Nail Yakupov on his [Avangard Omsk] team, has managed to avoid COVID but his Omsk team has been hit hard, including his assistant coach Slava Kozlov, the former terrific Detroit Red Wings/Atlanta Thrashers forward who played almost 1,200 NHL games.

“Touch on wood, I’ve been very lucky but Slava spent the last three weeks in hospital on oxygen. He got it really, really bad,” said Hartley. “Last year he was skating with my players and was in NHL shape. I told him I would put him in a game.”

Kozlov is 48 years old.

“We have three coaches who didn’t get hit and maybe three players. One of our masseuses got it pretty good in training camp and spent a week in hospital and the players were sick for two or three days but couldn’t come back for two weeks (quarantine). For three weeks, I was going on the ice with eight players.

“We were supposed to play against Dynamo Riga (Wednesday) but it was postponed. Their junior team was been affected, their KHL team, too. We have a rink that holds 5,500 and they’ve been allowing 1,200 in for games but the Ministry of Health says we can’t have any fans until further notice.”

Continued; that’s scary, plain old scary.

Update: From the Detroit News’s Gregg Krupa:

GOOD NEWS!

a source close to slava kozlov’s family tells me he is out of the hospital and did have a difficult case of COVID-19.#RedWings @georgemalik— gregg krupa (@greggkrupa) October 23, 2020

MLive’s Ansar Khan profiles Wings second-round draft pick Cross Hanas this evening:

While football dominates the sports scene in Texas, kids play hockey there, too. Some have reached the NHL. That is where Cross Hanas hopes to be in a few years after being drafted in the second round (55th overall) this year by the Detroit Red Wings.

“What people really don’t know is in the Dallas area hockey is really growing and people have a real strong passion for the game,” Hanas said. “I have some Canadian roots and a lot of people who played hockey in my family, so it’s always been in my blood.”

Hanas had 22 goals and 27 assists in 60 games for the Western Hockey League’s Portland Winter Hawks. Red Wings general manager Steve Yzerman called him a “smooth skating, skilled left winger” who has “a good nose around the net.”

“He’s a very skilled, smart player, great vision, really good hands, makes plays,” Portland coach Mike Johnston said. “Probably more of a passer than a shooter, but we’re trying to get more shot volume from him. The biggest area I think he’s improved in is his compete in those key areas, along the boards for a winger or in the offensive zone corners or at the net.

“As most young players who were really talented as kids, they rely on their offensive game. He’s learned the importance of being a more well-rounded player, paying attention to the defensive part of the game, killing penalties. Still, his strengths lean toward the skill, vision, playmaking side of things.”

Continued

Of prospect-related note on a busy day:

In the Finnish Liiga, Otto Kivenmaki scored a goal on 2 shots, finishing at +1 in 19:35 played as Assat Pori lost 5-3 to Tappara. Kasper Kotkansalo took 1 shot and finished at -1 in 14:54 played for Assat;

Red Wings prospects on Twitter posted a clip of Kivenmaki’s goal:

Otto Kivenmäki goal today. #LGRW pic.twitter.com/3NfQhszIZo— Red Wings Prospects (@DRWProspects) October 22, 2020

In the SHL,

In one battle of Wings prospects, Albert Johansson and Farjestads BK won 7-3 over Matias Brome and Orebro.

Albert Johansson had 4 shots on goal and finished at -1 in 16:52 of ice time, and he deked and dangled here:

Albert Johansson i PP för Färjestad. #SHL #FBKse #LGRW #DRW #RedWings pic.twitter.com/Jdpbk8QL6A— Anton (@antonj85) October 22, 2020

Brome’s linemate, Borna Rendulic, got 25 minutes in penalties for a check to the head, so Brome finished even in 21:02 played;

Moritz Seider and Rogle BK won 5-4 over a gaggle of Wings prospects on the Frolunda Indians.

Seider had an assist, took a penalty, finished even and played 20:14…

Here’s Seider’s assist on Rogle’s 4-3 goal…

? Simon Ryfors PP
4-3 Rogle pic.twitter.com/x1Ipd21ZQf— Here’s Your Replay ⬇️ (@TheReplayGuy) October 22, 2020

But Seider was on the ice in “no man’s land” for Frolunda’s 4-4 goal:

? Theodor Lennström
4-4 pic.twitter.com/YI946ssUGn— Here’s Your Replay ⬇️ (@TheReplayGuy) October 22, 2020

For Frolunda, Lucas Raymond had 4 shots but finished at -1 in 16:18 played; Elmer Soderblom took 1 shot in 9:40 played; and 13th forward Theodor Niederbach didn’t see any ice time;

Malte Setkov made his return to the Malmo Redhawks’ lineup in Malmo’s 4-3 loss to the Vaxjo Lakers.

Setkov took a penalty and played 15:51 for Malmo; Joe Veleno took 3 shots, had a penalty, finished at +1 and won 42% of his faceoffs in 15:14 played;

And Saturday’s game between Albin Grewe and Djurgardens IF vs. Brynas has been rescheduled due to coronavirus concerns:

Matchen mot Brynäs som skulle spelats på lördag är uppskjuten på grund av sjukdom. Joakim Eriksson kommenterar nuläget härhttps://t.co/fKybEyzJkf— Djurgården Hockey (@DIFHockeyse) October 22, 2020

Finally, in Belarus, via Red Wings prospects:

#Belarus:
– Tyutyayev 0+1, +1 in a 6-3 win
#LGRW— Red Wings Prospects (@DRWProspects) October 22, 2020

Kirill Tyutyayev posted an assist and a +1 in Yunost Minsk’s 6-3 win over Dynamo-Molodenko.

DetroitRedWings.com’s Josh Berenter penned an article discussing Jonathan Bernier’s 2019-2020 season “numbers,” and here are the most significant figures from Berenter’s article:

46 – Number of appearances Bernier made last season, including 41 starts and five relief appearances. His 46 games were his most since playing 58 games for the Maple Leafs six seasons ago, and the 46 games were the third-most in his 12-year career.

17 – Number of quality starts Bernier earned last season. A quality start is earned when a goalie’s save percentage is greater than the average save percentage for the season, or at least 88.5% when facing less than 20 shots in a game.

15 – Number of wins Bernier earned last season. It was the seventh time in his career that he’s earned double-digit wins.

Continued

From the Red Wings on Twitter…

who’s ready for some new jersey numbers?— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) October 22, 2020

? pic.twitter.com/nfUe7FpUid— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) October 22, 2020

Update: FYI:

New team old number. Fact when Thomas started playing hockey his number was 29 also he was born on 1/29. Happy to have a little piece of Germany with us. https://t.co/kxJQsEQJcw— Brittney Greiss (@BrittneyGreiss1) October 22, 2020

70.— Troy Stecher (@troystecher) October 22, 2020

The Detroit News’s Mark Falkner spoke with former Anaheim Ducks, Vancouver Canucks and Toronto Maple Leafs GM Brian Burke regarding his autobiography, Burke’s Law: A Life in Hockey, and Burke praised Red Wings GM Steve Yzerman:

Young Hockeytown fans in Detroit may not have heard of the 1980s television series “MacGyver,” but former National Hockey League general manager Brian Burke knows about actor Richard Dean Anderson’s troubleshooting ways.

While on his book tour last week to promote “Burke’s Law: A Life in Hockey,” the 65-year-old Burke said Detroit Red Wings general manager Steve Yzerman is fast becoming the NHL’s Mr. Fix-It after a last-place 17-49-5 season.

“He’s MacGyver,” Burke said of Yzerman, who signed free-agent forwards Bobby Ryan and Vladislav Namestnikov, defensemen Jon Merrill and Troy Stecher and goalie Thomas Greiss last week. The week before, he acquired defenseman Marc Staal and a 2021 second-round draft pick for future considerations.

“He’s overhauled that team completely all on short-term deals,” Burke continued. “No headlines, just solid signings. Bobby Ryan, who I drafted. Jon Merrill, who we tried to draft but he hit the gap on us. Stecher is a really good right-shot defenseman. Bringing back (Sam) Gagner, Namestnikov who I love. Greiss, Staal. In my mind, they are dramatically better than a year ago. It’s sheer genius.”

Continued

The Free Press’s Helene St. James answers a reader question in a mailbag feature today:

Evaluating when a prospect is ready for promotion is the topic of this Wings mailbag, as John R wonders if it will be different under the management of Steve Yzerman: “I wondered what strategy the new regime in Detroit will take with European players. For example Jonatan Berggren is tearing up the SHL currently. If he continues to perform and does not have a severe drought, is there a chance he comes ready to play in NHL without seasoning in AHL first? We all know that the longtime approach has been to let the kids develop and ripen in Grand Rapids prior to getting the call in Detroit, any chance this changes now that Stevie is running things?”

As with everything else since COVID-19 became a part of our daily vocabulary, this upcoming season is skewed by the pandemic. Many of the Wings’ top prospects, including Moritz Seider, Joe Veleno and Jared McIsaac, have been loaned to European teams, and as the starting date for the 2020-21 NHL season remains a moving target — and minor-league hockey remains uncertain — they’re better off there. 

But even without the weight of the pandemic, Yzerman has shown he’s not going to rush prospects just because the Wings need an influx of good, young talent. Seider came into training camp last year having spent 2018-19 playing in the top men’s league in Germany, when he was 17-18 years old. Yzerman sent him to Grand Rapids to develop. Filip Zadina, a first-round pick from 2019, spent his first pro year in GR, and began his second one there, too. It took Zadina excelling in GR (he had 10 points in 10 games between Oct. 25-Nov. 15, 2019) and an injury to Anthony Mantha for Zadina to get a call to come to Detroit. 

Continued