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Of note before the Red Wings play the Pittsburgh Penguins this evening (7:30 PM EDT on Fox Sports Detroit):

1. The Free Press’s Helene St. James penned an article about Joe Veleno…

His quickness stands out, as does his ability to make plays in tight areas.

One of the benefits of this exhibition season for the Detroit Red Wings is a chance to judge Joe Veleno at the NHL level. He looked good at the prospects tournament and in the Red-White scrimmage during training camp, setting high expectations entering Wednesday’s preseason game against Pittsburgh at Little Caesars Arena.

“I thought as the camp went along he just got better and better,” coach Jeff Blashill said Wednesday morning. “He really started to show me some real things.

“I always look to see, what’s an elite skill that a player has that’s going to allow that to be transferable to the NHL? For him, I wasn’t sure what it was at first. He’s definitely a good transporter of the puck from one end to the other, but his edges are excellent. I mean he can really create space with his edges and then he makes lots of plays in small areas. Those two things can be extraordinarily important here in the NHL.”

St. James continues, and she posted a video of comments from Blashill and Veleno…

Continue reading Slightly belated Wings-Pens game-day articles: On Joe Veleno and Dennis Cholowski

CBS Sports’ Pete Blackburn issued a “burning question” for each and every one of the NHL’s 31 teams. His question for the Red Wings follows:

Is Dylan Larkin a bona fide No. 1 center?

The Red Wings better hope so! With the sudden retirement of Henrik Zetterberg, Detroit is looking pretty thin down the middle. After putting up a career-high 63 points last season, the 22-year-old Larkin was given a five-year extension this offseason. That was a vote of confidence in Larkin’s future, and now he’s got an opportunity to continue his upward trajectory and prove that he’s worthy of being the Wings’ top center as they continue their rebuild in Detroit. If he does that, this could be his team moving forward.

As we await tonight’s game between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Detroit Red Wings (7:30 PM EDT on Fox Sports Detroit), the lineups are available and DetroitRedWings.com’s Dana Wakiji and the Wings’ Twitter account are posting updates from the morning skate:

Continue reading Red Wings-Penguins morning skate Tweets

The Pittsburgh Penguins have posted the lineups for both their team and the Red Wings’ team as pertaining to tonight’s game between the teams (7:30 EDT on Fox Sports Detroit):

Continue reading Penguins post lineups for tonight’s game

Both Hockeybuzz’s Bob Duff and The Athletic’s Max Bultman took note of Joe Veleno’s impressive performance over the course of the Red Wings’ prospect tournament and main training camp.

First, from Duff:

One player who has impressed and will get more chance to do so as the Wings open preseason play is center Joe Veleno.

“He’s been excellent for most of camp,” Blashill said. “Let’s keep watching him and see how he does, get the best feel we can.”

Taken 30th overall in last spring’s NHL entry draft, Veleno would be a tremendous longshot to stick with the big club, but since the departure of Henrik Zetterberg, Detroit’s short and long-term scenario in the middle has been dramatically altered.

“My question is, what is going to be the elite skill that will be transferable, and for me watching him on his edges he has elite edges,” Blashill said. “He knows how to control the puck, because he controls space with his edges and he can make a lot plays in tight. I think Veleno has showed very well.”

And among Max Bultman’s notes:

It’s too bad that Veleno isn’t AHL eligible, because he’s really impressed throughout camp, aside from his brief absence due to injury. It sounds like he’ll play with Rasmussen and Abdelkader Wednesday night, and Tuesday Blashill said Veleno had an “unreal camp.”

Perhaps the more interesting Blashill quote on Veleno came after the Red & White game: “My question has been, what’s the elite skill that’s going to be transferable? And then today for me, watching him on his edges, he’s got elite edges. He controls the puck because he controls space with his edges. Excellent. He can make lots of plays in tight. So, I think Veleno’s showed very well. I’m hoping to get him a couple exhibition games.”

That Veleno has good edges won’t be news to those who have seen him skate much, but he’s clearly made an impression on the head man. He’s already one of the more well-regarded prospects in the organization, but that arrow could point even further upward if he continues his recent play over the next two weeks.

Bultman continues (paywall)…

 

From the Detroit Red Wings:

10th annual MotorCity Casino Hotel Charity Poker Tournament on sale now

Only 108 spots available for Texas Hold ‘Em tournament against current Red Wings players and alumni taking place on Wednesday, Nov. 7 at MotorCity Casino Hotel.

DETROIT – The Detroit Red Wings today announced that tickets are now on sale for the 10^th annual MotorCity Casino Hotel’s annual Red Wings Charity Poker Tournament benefiting the Detroit Red Wings Foundation. Set for Wednesday, Nov. 7 at MotorCity Casino Hotel, the charity poker tournament will give fans an opportunity to go head-to-head with Red Wings players and alumni in a game of Texas Hold ‘Em with a grand prize of $5,000 cash to the tournament winner. Only 108 spots are available for this exclusive tournament. Fans can reserve a seat by making a $400 donation to the Red Wings Foundation.

Continue reading Red Wings to hold annual MotorCity Casino charity poker tournament on November 7th

MLive’s Ansar Khan penned an article discussing the competition for jobs over the course of the exhibition season:

Ten forwards are assured of roster spots: Dylan Larkin, Anthony Mantha, Gustav Nyquist, Thomas Vanek, Justin Abdelkader, Andreas Athanasiou Darren Helm, Luke Glendening, Tyler Bertuzzi and Nielsen.

That leaves three or four open spots. Michael Rasmussen and Filip Zadina, the club’s top picks in each of the past two seasons, will have ample opportunity to win jobs. Rasmussen will play tonight on a line with center Joe Veleno, the 30^th pick this year, and Abdelkader. Zadina is dealing with a groin strain and won’t play tonight but might be ready for Thursday’s game against the Chicago Blackhawks. When he’s cleared, Blashill intends to play him on a line with Athanasiou and Vanek.

“Without question it’s a great opportunity for Zadina, for him to play with two guys like that and play on the power play and see how good he is,” Blashill said. “Everybody is better when you play with good players, but some guys are exponentially better. I’m hoping he’s one of those guys that because of his scoring ability is exponentially better.”

Said Nielsen: “(Zadina) has all the tools it takes to be an elite player in this league. Hopefully, he’ll be with us sooner than later. Rasmussen looks really strong so far in camp; he’s big, strong on the puck, he’s a really good player around the net.”

Martin Frk, out most of the camp with an injury, and Luke Witkowski also are competing for jobs. Evgeny Svechnikov, the top pick in 2015, will be pushing for a spot but might need an injury or two to avoid starting the season with the Grand Rapids Griffins.

Veteran Jussi Jokinen, in camp on a tryout, is trying to earn a contract.

Khan continues, discussing the situation on defense…

The Red Wings play the Pittsburgh Penguins tonight at 7:30 PM (on FSD; tomorrow’s game against Chicago is on FSD Plus), and I’m a little exhausted from training camp, so I’ll be going slowly for the next two days. I pack up today and head home tomorrow, so there may be some slight interruptions in service, but it’s been a grueling two weeks. My apologies for any inconvenience!

According to the Windsor Star’s Jim Parker, the Red Wings Alumni Association will be taking part in a game commemorating the 20th anniversary of the University of Windsor’s hockey title:

University of Windsor Lancers men’s hockey head coach Kevin Hamlin wanted to mark the occasion in a special way.

The Lancers’ 1997-98 team, which won the school’s first Queen’s Cup title, will be honoured with the Team Achievement Award, when the school inducts its 2018 Alumni Sports Hall of Fame class on Sept. 30th.

“The hall of fame is nice, but we thought this could be a memorable moment,” Hamlin said.

Hamlin and Lancers general manager Greg Prymack were talking and came up with the idea of that 1997-98 team taking on the Detroit Red Wings alumni team. The game is set for Sept. 29th at South Windsor Arena at 4 p.m. with the current Lancers team playing an exhibition game with the Guelph Gryphons afterwards.

“I thought it would be a nice way to celebrate a team that meant so much to the school and to the area,” Hamlin said.

A call to Windsor native and former Red Wings goalie Eddie Mio got the ball rolling.

“I was pretty excited when Kevin Hamlin asked,” Mio said.

Continued

The Detroit News’s Gregg Krupa wrote a column suggesting that the Red Wings’ preseason schedule, which includes 8 games to be played over the course of 11 nights, is incredibly important as it will shape the face of the 2018-19 team:

The Red Wings begin arguably their most consequential preseason in a generation Wednesday against the Penguins.

They start with perhaps less established NHL talent than since Steve Yzerman first pulled on the Wings jersey for September games in 1983.

Positions in the lineup are available. A desperate search for the next stars continues. Lines will debut. Several prospects, in whom all hope increasingly rests, will vie for the openings.

It has been 13 years since much, if anything at all, was at stake in the preseason. In September 2005, a well-matured franchise became accustomed to a distinctly acquired taste, Mike Babcock, its new head coach.

Before that, preseasons were largely inconsequential for a decade or more, with a largely veteran lineup set, and preparing to vie for the Stanley Cup.

This preseason is more likely to suggest whether the Red Wings can merely remain competitive.

But much is of consequence, nonetheless. At stake, in part, is a winning tradition and culture of hard work for the team supplanting individual glory.

Krupa continues…