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Prospect round-up: Injuries, McCollum and Swedish prospect points

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Of prospect-related note in Europe’s pro leagues today:

In the Finnish Liiga, Jared McIsaac remains sidelined as HPK lost 3-2 to Tappara;

In the ICE Hockey League, Michael Rasmussen remains out with an undisclosed injury as his Graz99ers lost 3-2 in OT to Foxes HCB;

There’s a new goaltender who’s standing in the way of Jesper Eliasson playing for the Red Bulls Salzburg–Tom McCollum, who served as the back-up today in Red Bulls Salzburg’s 4-1 loss to Kolner Haie;

In the Swedish Allsvenskan, William Wallinder had an assist and finished even in 11:58 played as MODO Hockey won 6-4 over Kristianstads IK;

In the Swedish J20 league, Elmer Soderblom scored a goal on 4 shots on goal, finishing even, and Theodor Niederbach scored a goal on 5 shots, finishing at +1 in the Frolunda Indians’ 7-2 loss to HV71.

Via Red Wings Prospects on Twitter, the reliable Antonj85 posted both Soderblom and Niederbach’s goal highlights:

Update: Kienan Draper’s Chilliwack Chiefs lost 4-3 in a shootout to the Surrey Eagles.

Kulfan profiles Jan Bednar

The Detroit News’s Ted Kulfan profiles Red Wings prospect goaltender Jan Bednar today:

At 6-foot-4 and 195 pounds, he has the long body and athleticism teams covet. Scouts raved about Bednar’s ability to make outlandish, acrobatic saves – but are troubled by his tendency to get into funks where stoppable shots are missed. Still, what Bednar thinks is the strength of his game is his calmness.

“I’m a really calm goalie,” Bednar said. “I like puckhandling (and make) plays with the puck. I’m a big goalie and I like big goalies, and yes, I’m a little athletic. But it’s not the most important thing for me. I just think I’m calm in the net. (Because) I’m a big goalie, I need speed and agility and I (am) working on that this summer. I will be prepared for this season.”

Bednar’s favorites among current NHL goalies are Commerce’s Connor Hellebuyck (Winnipeg) and Braden Holtby (Vancouver).

Bednar played against men the last two years in the Czech pro league, competing against future and former NHL players. For a young, inexperienced goaltender, the opportunity was invaluable.

“It was a great experience,” Bednar said. “I played my first game as a 16-year-old so it was great experience for me. I would like thank Karlovy Vary (Bednar’s Czech team) for this chance and great experience.”

Continued

Khan profiles William Wallinder

MLive’s Ansar Khan profiles Red Wings second round draft pick William Wallinder today, discussing the big defenseman’s positive attributes:

“My skating is really an important thing,” the 6-4, 191-pound Wallinder said. “I try to always give 100 percent every shift, always do my best to help the team win. I’m just a good two-way defenseman that can play in every zone.”

Wallinder, 18, will need to utilize his size playing against men for Modo in Allsvenskan, Sweden’s second-highest division. That is where he spent half of 2019-20, after being promoted from the junior squad.

“He’s going to get tested night in and night out,” Kris Draper, Red Wings director of amateur scouting, said. “He knows he has to get stronger, but when you start talking about the size and the range, you look at some of the teams that were successful throughout the playoffs, they had a big D corps. That’s something we were talking about, but in the end … you’re not going to draft them just because they’re big, you want to draft them because they can skate, make a good first pass and that’s what we felt we got in William.”

Several projected Wallinder to be taken in the first round – NHL.com had him going 19th, TSN predicted he would be taken 26th.

Continued

It’s Swedish, but it’s interesting: Matias Brome engages in an interview with C More’s Niklas Wikegard while on a race track

Red Wings free agent signing Matias Brome spoke with C More’s Niklas Wikegard regarding a variety of topics today, and while the video of “Wikegard vs.” is both in Swedish and available only to C More subscribers, Brome posted a Twitter preview in which he and Wikegard race Porsches at a racetrack:

Red Wings’ Carley Johnston interviews Lucas Raymond on Instagram

DetroitRedWings.com’s Carley Johnston interviewed Wings prospect Lucas Raymond on Instagram this morning. The interview was posted on the Wings’ Instagram account, and it’s 21 minutes long:

97.1’s Burchfield profiles Red Wings prospect Jan Bednar

97.1 the Ticket’s Will Burchfield profiles Red Wings draft pick Jan Bednar, a 6’4″ Czech goalie, this morning:

“I think I’m a really calm goalie,” he said on a Zoom call with local media Thursday, his first-ever interview in English. “I like puckhandling, (making) plays with the puck. I’m a big goalie and I like big goalies and yeah, I think I’m a little athletic, but it’s not the most important thing for me. I need speed. And I just think I’m so calm in the net.”

To that end, Bednar said he spent most of this summer working on his ‘speed and agility.’ Rebound control and active hands were two more points of focus. He played the past two seasons in the top professional league in the Czech Republic, making his first appearance at the age of 16. “It was great experience,” he said.

Bednar will spend the coming season with the Acadie–Bathurst Titan of Quebec Major Junior, after the club selected him second overall in this year’s CHL draft. He told reporters in July it will be a “good step” toward the NHL: “small rink, more shots, and many hard situations for goalies.”

There’s a lot to like about Bednar, and just as much room for Bednar to grow. He turned 18 in August and remains a long way from Detroit. He’s the youngest of a trio of goalies in the pipeline with big size and big(ish?) upside, after 21-year-old Keith Petruzzelli and 23-year-old Victor Brattstrom. They comprise the giant question mark in the crease for the Red Wings’ future.

Continued; here’s Bednar’s Zoom call:

Roughly translated: Moritz Seider discusses his situation in the SHL

Moritz Seider played 16 minutes and 22 seconds in his SHL debut with Rogle BK on Thursday, and afterward, he spoke with Rogle’s website regarding his first competitive hockey game in 7 months. Seider also spoke with Hockeysverige.se’s Mans Karlsson for a wide-ranging profile, which follows in roughly translated form:

Continue reading Roughly translated: Moritz Seider discusses his situation in the SHL →

St. James profiles Kyle Aucoin and other later-round draft picks

The Detroit Red Wings slowly but surely conducted Zoom calls with the remainder of their 2020 draft picks on Thursday, affording beat writers the opportunity to speak with Jan Bednar, Kyle Aucoin, Alex Cotton and Chase Bradley.

The Free Press’s Helene St. James posted a write-up regarding each player, and, among her notes is the following:

D Kyle Aucoin, 6th round (No. 156)

No pressure at all on Aucoin, other than trying to emulate the greatest sixth-round pick in franchise history in Datsyuk, who won two Stanley Cups and played 953 games for the Wings. Also, there’s Aucoin’s dad, Adrian, a former defenseman who played more than 1,100 games in the NHL. Kyle (5-10, 164) is a smart two-way player and a strong skater. He’s committed to playing at Harvard starting in 2021-22. “Education has always been really important to me and my family,” he said. “That was the best of both worlds with a great hockey program and a great education.”

Aucoin has history with the Wings’ next pick. While their dads were battling at the NHL level, the boys were battling at the triple-A level. “(Kienan Draper) played on Little Caesars (Hockey Club) growing up and I was at Chicago Mission, so that was kind of like our rival team,” Aucoin said. “So we were playing almost every couple of weekends and it was always a battle. They had a great team, so it was pretty awesome he got picked. He texted me after and was, ‘We’re finally on the same side.’ So that’s cool.”

Continued