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HSJ in the morning: Justin Holl expects to rebound from a difficult 23-24 campaign

The Free Press’s Helene St. James discusses Red Wings defenseman Justin Holl this morning. The 32-year-old with 2 years remaining on his $3.4 million contract believes that he can push the reset button after a frustrating season spent going in and out of the Wings’ lineup last year:

“I can just maintain a narrow focus,” Holl said Tuesday. “That’s kind of all I can do. As a player, you learn to control what you can. For me, that’s just trying to perform as well as I can — every practice, every game, and let the chips fall where they may.

“I think every year you have to continue to prove yourself. So from the mental standpoint, not much changes. But it’s definitely something where I’m highly motivated. I obviously want to be a big part of the team and I know I can be. That’s the main focus for me.”

Yzerman signed Holl on July 1, 2023. A month and a half later, Yzerman traded for Jeff Petry, another right-shot defenseman. Holl played fairly regularly early on, but then ended up a healthy scratch game after game as the Wings enjoyed a season with almost no injuries to their defense corps.

“Nobody likes that feeling,” Holl said. “Everybody wants to be in the lineup every night. I’ve tasted that feeling and I’ve known what it’s like to be a big part of a team. Nothing else will do once you’ve tasted that. That’s where I want to be.”

Management has disagreed with Holl’s lack of usage but ultimately has let the decision be that of the coaching staff. So far at camp, it’s a crowded field again: Petry, Moritz Seider, Ben Chiarot and Simon Edvinsson project to be in the top four, and Olli Määttä and Erik Gustaffson to make up the third pairing. That would seem to leave Holl and Albert Johansson, a draft pick from 2019, as reserves, but there are still games to be played in the exhibition season.

Coach Derek Lalonde said he has “full confidence in Justin. It was just last year, we were in a situation where we were very healthy all year on the back end. So just bring your game, do the things you’re good at, defend, be hard to play against, and we’ll see where it goes from there.”

Continued (paywall) with an embedded video:

Update: Here’s more from the Hockey News’s Connor Eargood:

Continue reading HSJ in the morning: Justin Holl expects to rebound from a difficult 23-24 campaign

Red Wings-Penguins rematch wrap-up: underdog-done good

Despite their unremarkable lineup, the Detroit Red Wings’ “non-game-day” players defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins’ “mostly NHL’ers” team 2-1 on Tuesday night, affording the Wings a 3-1-and-1 record (despite two losses in Monday night’s “split squad” games).

The game was far from elegant, but the “B Team” committed itself to defensive play, Ville Husso was tremendous in stopping 43 of 44 shot against (though he did receive some help from a couple of goalposts), Amadeus Lombardi scored an elegant deke-and-dangle goal in the slot 2:48 into the 2nd, Nate Danielson scored a breakaway goal at 17:11 of the 3rd, and the Wings killed 5 Penguins power plays, all en route to that 2-1 victory.

The Wings open the 2024-2025 season against Pittsburgh on Thursday, October 10th, and I’m certain that Pittsburgh will remember this game going into the Wings’ home opener. The only question is whether the Wings’ “A Team” will be fully ready to put in the kind of blue-collar effort in checking the Penguins’ stars that earned them (with a lot of help from Husso) a hard-fought victory.

Anyway, the Red Wings’ press corps didn’t travel to Pittsburgh, so what we’re going to get tonight is a lot of summaries, and a few quips and quotes.

MLive’s Ansar Khan kept his recap short and sweet…

Continue reading Red Wings-Penguins rematch wrap-up: underdog-done good

Red Wings-Penguins quick take, back-to-back version: Husso, underdog Wings pull off the upset

The Detroit Red Wings sent a particularly patchwork-y lineup to Pittsburgh to battle a Penguins team stocked with NHL stars on Tuesday night.

The Wings dropped a pair of games on Monday–with their “A Team” losing to an under-powered-but-loose Penguins team 5-1, and the “Wiffins” dropping a 4-3 overtime decision to Buffalo.

On Tuesday evening, the Penguins and Red Wings took to the ice at PPG Paints Arena on a “Bring Your Dog to the Game” game, and the underdogs ended up taking the win.

Surprisingly, Ville Husso made a tremendous 43 stops (and he received help from a couple of goalposts), Detroit killed 5 Penguins power plays, and the Wings received goals from Amadeus Lombardi on a gorgeous deke-and-dangle via Hunter Johannes to tie the game at 1 in the 2nd, and late in the 3rd, Michael Brandsegg-Nygard found Nate Danielson at the Pens’ blueline off a terrible Pittsburgh change, and Danielson roared in and scored a breakaway marker at 17:11 to make it 2-1.

The Wings held on through a late Pittsburgh power play, and the “non-game-day players” ended up leaving the fans (and dogs) in attendance booing and howling as they emerged victorious.

Continue reading Red Wings-Penguins quick take, back-to-back version: Husso, underdog Wings pull off the upset

John Buccigross goes golfing with Brady Cleveland

Red Wings prospect and Colorado College transfer Brady Cleveland went golfing with ESPN’s John Buccigross (and teammate Ty Gallagher) recently:

Tweet of note: It’s time for the Red Wings donut (really)

Per the Detroit Red Wings:

Proceeds usually go to charity…

Justin Holl presses the ‘reset’ button

The Detroit News’s Ted Kulfan posted a notebook article whose main thrust is a discussion of Carter Mazur’s status as an up-and-coming prospect, but he offers this regarding Justin Holl as well…

Last season didn’t go as planned for defenseman Justin Holl. Signed to a three-year contract, Holl wound up playing on 38 games as he fell out of the playing rotation, combined with a defensive unit that was mostly healthy kept Holl pinned as a healthy scratch. Holl appears to be in a tight battle for playing time this season, too.

“I can just maintain a narrow focus, that’s all I can do,” Holl said. “As a player you learn control what you can. For me, that’s trying to perform as well as I can every practice and game and let the chips fall as they may.”

Holl is viewing this season as a “clean slate,” a fresh start after last season’s disappointment.

“That’s common theme in the NHL, it’s the best league in the world and every year you have to continue to prove yourself,” Holl said. “I’m definitely highly motivated and want to be a big part of this team, and I know I can be. That’s the focus for me.”

And there are a few more notes of interest from Kulfan:

… Lalonde would like to, and feels it’s likely, the Wings will have a close to an NHL lineup in either of the home games Thursday or Friday.

The Red Wings traditionally have an NHL lineup against the Leafs for their Friday home game, before giving their AHL’ers and prospects one last chance to impress on Saturday night…

… Lalonde has made this one of the more challenging training camps in recent years, and there’s both a physical and mental aspect to it.

“Part of this harder camp, if you will, has been asking the group for a little bit more,” Lalonde said. “We want to push a little more physically, and hopefully it turns into a little more mentally, too.”

Regarding Joe Veleno’s position–and positioning–on the Wings’ roster

The Hockey News’s Sam Stockton wonders aloud where Joe Veleno fits into the Red Wings’ lineup, and he receives a succinct answer from Red Wings coach Derek Lalonde…

“I foresee him starting as our [fourth] center there,” coach Derek Lalonde told The Hockey News, when asked about Veleno’s current place in his lineup. “And he’s given us some good games at center. I think he’s a very valuable, versatile player. I like him at the wing at times too. He can play just a little bit North-South, create a little bit on the forecheck. If you recall last year, he had a little run with Larkin and Raymond, and it game them a huge boost because of his legs. He’s gonna start as a center, but he’s one of those versatile guys that can play both center and wing.” Lalonde added that there is a balance to strike between optimizing each individual player’s role with the overall health and effectiveness of the team, saying “It’s all connected. You’re playing to win every night, but you wanna do that to make your team successful [and put] guys [in a role] where they’re at their best.”

But Veleno himself sees room for growth:

When asked for his opinion on the next steps for his career, Veleno replied, “I wanna up my game in every situation.  Every opportunity that I’m given, I wanna take advantage of that, keep striding in the right direction, being more consistent every night, just bringing that energy night in and night out…I wanna be a part of what’s going on here.  I wanna be part of this trend moving forward, and I think we got something good going on.”

He went on to explain that he doesn’t see a dissonance between pushing for more offense and playing a reliable two-way game.  Instead, for Veleno, the former follows from the latter.  “I think it’s all about anticipation and reading the play and knowing when to be above guys and when to get those opportunities offensively,” he explained.  “I’ve always been taught that if you’re well positioned defensively [and] don’t cheat the game, offense will come to you.  If you’re always in the right spot, somehow you’ll be open and guys will find you.  So I think just always being in the right spot defensively, it will lead to good offense.  Sometimes it will even surprise you.  You’re in a good spot defensively, and the next thing you know, a couple seconds later, you’re getting a Grade A chance in front of the net.”

Continued; really good stuff from Stockton here.

On the Wings’ mobility in the ‘most interesting division’

Sportsnet’s Andrew Brewer wonders aloud, “Who could move up, and down, in the NHL’s most interesting division?” and that division is, of course, the Atlantic Division.

Brewer offers thorough profiles of every one of the NHL’s 8 Atlantic Division teams, and the Red Wings are slotted in a mobile group of teams that “could jump in” to the playoff picture (though Brewer believes that it’s Ottawa, at the expense of Tampa Bay, which will make the playoffs outright):

Detroit Red Wings

Last Playoff Appearance: 2015-2016
Games Before Thanksgiving: 22
Home: 11
Away: 11
vs. 2024 Playoff Team: 13
Back-to-Backs: 3
Coach: Derek Lalonde, hired summer of 2022

Reason they will make the playoffs:

1. They are so close: The Red Wings came a tiebreaker away from securing a spot in the 2023-24 playoffs and have built towards this since Steve Yzerman took over as GM in the post playoff streak era. They are so close they can smell it at this point, and they need a reason to light up the pizza ovens at Little Caesar’s Arena for its first playoff game.

2. Roster build: They might be the most complete team of the bottom four in the Atlantic, with experienced netminders, a mix of skills on the back end and a top-six forward group to rival anyone in the East. The Red Wings’ roster is built for success.

Reason they won’t make the playoffs:

1. What’s New?: I think Lalonde is a great coach, but how can he find the fire that the team showed down the stretch and bring that to the ice in the middle of October?  One of the hardest things a coach can do is motivate experienced players to perform on a Tuesday night in October for a road game against, say, the Islanders (which you’ll see on the 22nd). What’s going to light the spark in Alex Debrincat, Patrick Kane and Ben Chiarot to turn up the heat from the puck drop on October 10?

2. Reputation: Like it or not, franchises and groups have reputations, and opponents will take games more or less seriously against them. For Detroit, their opponents are less likely to sleep on Kane, Vladimir Tarasenko and Dylan Larkin and on a team that just missed the playoffs, than they are on Tage Thompson, Alex Tuch and a Buffalo team that hasn’t played in May since the opposition was in elementary school.

Continued; the Red Wings are not going to surprise any on-ice opponents this year, but they may yet surprise the media folks and even experts like Brewer in terms of pushing through to earn a Wild Card spot this upcoming season. We shall see.

Tweet of note: Kane 16 points away from 1,300 points

Per the NHL’s PR department:

Prospect round-up: No points for NDN, Johansson or Sandin Pellikka in the SHL

Of Red Wings prospect-related note today in the SHL:

Noah Dower Nilsson finished at -1 with 1 shot in 11:13 as Frolunda HC lost 4-1 to Orebro Hockey;

Anton Johansson finished at -1 with 1 shot in 9:48 played as Leksands IF lost 2-1 to Timra IK;

And Axel Sandin Pellikka finished at +2 with 1 shot in 16:50 played as Skelleftea AIK won 5-2 over Lulea Hockey.