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Prospect round-up: Kiiskinen takes 8 shots, Buchelnikov takes 6 shots in European action

Of Red Wings prospect-related note on a rough Friday for the Wings’ European crop:

In the DEL, Kevin Bicker‘s going to take part in the Prospect Games with the Red Wings, but he’ll head back to Frankfurt soon, and his Frankfurt Lowen dropped a 9-1 decision to the Grizzlys Wolfsburg;

In the Finnish Liiga, Jesse Kiiskinen finished at -1 with 8 shots in 16:06 played as HPK Hameenlinna lost 4-1 to Assat;

And in the KHL, Dmitri Buchelnikov finished even with 6 shots and a hit in 13:23 as CSKA Moscow lost 2-0 to HC Sochi.

Tweet of note: Reminder that the Prospect Games take place this weekend

Per the Detroit Red Wings:

Update: It appears that the prospects skated at Little Caesars Arena today:

Yet another Erik Karlsson rumor

Pro Hockey Rumors’ Brennan McClain offers new news on the Erik Karlsson front:

Now that the Pittsburgh Penguins are in rebuild mode, much has been made this offseason about the potential trade candidacy of the trio of Rickard Rakell, Bryan Rust, and Erik Karlsson. Regarding the latter candidate, while speaking on the Kevin Karius Show, Josh Yohe of The Athletic expects a trade to be completed sooner rather than later, with one team in particular leading the pack.

According to Yohe, the Detroit Red Wings have been the most active team in their pursuit of Karlsson. This isnā€™t to say that the Red Wings are the only interested party, but they are the team that Yohe has heard the most about. Detroit is in a unique position as a team looking to contend, which could also conceivably afford Karlssonā€™s total $10MM cap hit.

If the Red Wings considered taking on Karlssonā€™s full salary, it would limit any potential trade return for the Penguins, but it could be the best option for the rebuilding club. Itā€™s not complicated to ascertain Detroitā€™s purported interest in Karlsson, as the right side of their defense behind Moritz Seider is undeniably thin.

While Karlssonā€™s defensive weaknesses have become more evident in his game over the past two years, he would certainly be an improvement for the Red Wings behind Seider. Additionally, bringing him in wouldnā€™t create any long-term commitments, which General Manager Steve Yzerman has generally worked to avoid during his early years managing Detroitā€™s front office.

Continued; you guys know that I’m not the biggest fan of adding Karlsson, especially at his full salary (he’s making $11.5 million in AAV this season, but the San Jose Sharks ate $1.5 million of that contract, thus the $10 million cap hit), but if it happens, I will take it.

A Swedish six-pack

Ahead of the start of the SHL season tomorrow, MLive’s Ansar Khan lists the Red Wings’ Swedish prospects, all six of them:

Eddie Genborg, RW, Timra IK (SHL): The 44th overall pick this year is big and strong (6-2, 205), skates well, plays physical and likes to forecheck. Heā€™s hard to play against, the type of player the Red Wings need. After coming up in the Linkoping system, where he appeared in 28 games for the big club last season (two goals, no assists), heā€™s moved on to Timra.

Michal Svrcek, LW, Brynas IF (SHL): Selected in the fourth round this year (114th overall), he plays bigger than his size (5-11, 190) and is noted for his compete level and skating ability. The Slovakian had his initiation to the menā€™s league last season, appearing in 17 regular season games (one goal, two assists) and 10 playoff games (two assists).

Charlie Forslund, LW/RW, Mora IK (Allsvenskan): Big winger (6-4, 212) taken 176th overall in 2024 is said to have a wicked release but didnā€™t really show it last year with just nine goals in 50 games, mostly with the J20 team. Now, at 19, heā€™ll play in the second division menā€™s league.

Noah Dower-Nilsson, C/LW, Frolunda (SHL): A skilled playmaker whoā€™s starting his second full season in the menā€™s league after producing four goals and 10 points in 35 games last season (no points in seven playoff games). He was selected in the third round in 2023 (No. 73).

Anton Johansson, D, Leksands IF (SHL): Good-sized two-way defenseman (6-4, 198) made a favorable impression during a brief stint late last season with the Grand Rapids Griffins, picking up five assists in 11 regular season games and one assist in three playoff games. The 104th overall pick in 2022, he returned to Leksands on a loan for his fourth season in the SHL, where his father, Thomas, is the general manager. Heā€™ll return to the Griffins after the SHL season.

Maximilian Kilpinen, LW, Hudiksvalls HC (HockeyEttan): The Red Wings have until June 1, 2026, to decide whether to sign this fourth-round pick from 2022 (129th overall), and itā€™s not looking promising, considering heā€™s been demoted from the second menā€™s league (Allsvenskan) to the third tier (HockeyEttan) at age 21.

Continued

Tweet of note via RWP: Dylan James named alternate captain at University of North Dakota

Via Red Wings Prospects on Twitter, Wings prospect Dylan James has been named an alternate captain for the University of North Dakota Fighting Hawks:

A bit about the Prospect Games and the demise of the Red Wings’ Prospect Tournament

The Prospect Games start tomorrow (Saturday at 8 PM EDT on DetroitRedWings.com and Victory+; Sunday at 7 PM EDT on DetroitRedWings.com and Victory+) between the Detroit Red Wings and Dallas Stars, and the Detroit News’s Ted Kulfan discusses the demise of the Traverse City prospect tournament, which involved teams’ desires to host their own tournaments–and cost:

The Wings and Stars played two games last year and will do so again this weekend, although not in Traverse City. They’ll play at the Comerica Center in Frisco, Texas, the Stars’ practice facility.

The plan is to alternate between Traverse City and Frisco hosting the event.

The Traverse City-based prospects tournament began in 1998. At its peak, the eight teams played four games in five days with many of the daily sessions at Centre ICE Arena sold out or close to it.

More than 700 players who participated in the tourney played at least one NHL game, a testament to its quality. Pavel Datsyuk, Henrik Zetterberg, Lucas Raymond, Marco Kasper, Jamie Benn, Rick Nash and Jason Robertson are just a few of the players who competed as unproven young players and grew into NHL stars.

But as years passed, many NHL organizations began to have options closer to their own cities with similar tournaments born across the league landscape. The cost of housing some 20-25 prospects and staff in most markets was much cheaper than Traverse City in mid-September.

“Over the last three or four years, we’ve gone from eight (teams) down to two for different reasons,” general manager Steve Yzerman said last year after the two Dallas games in Traverse City. “Teams wanted to do different things. Some didn’t want to play four games. Some wanted to save the expense and not have to travel to Traverse City. They’re able to do different things.”

Continued (paywall); it’s just a big disappointment to those of us who believed in the TC prospect tournament to see it go elsewhere.

Tweet of note via KK: Patrick Kane offers an Olympic sales pitch

Via Paul Kukla of Kukla’s Korner: Red Wings forward Patrick Kane gave his sales pitch to Julie Stewart-Binks and Nate Thompson regarding his desire to make Team USA’s Olympic team:

Also: Stewart-Binks and Thompson have posted an audio podcast (available on many platforms) in which Kane and agent Pat Brisson discuss a number of topics from the NHL/NHLPA Player Media Tour in Las Vegas earlier this week:

Tweet of note: Ken Kal, Daniella Bruce reveal guests for Red Wings’ ‘Hockeytown Centennial Fan Fest’

Per the Detroit Red Wings…

So Scotty Bowman, Tomas Holmstrom, Igor Larionov, Joe Kocur and Doug Brown among the attendees…And you can find more information about the Centennial Fan Fest here.