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Allen: coach McLellan expects players without letters on their jerseys to help Seider, Raymond lead

Detroit Hockey Now’s Kevin Allen took note of Red Wings coach Todd McLellan’s take on his new alternate captains’ statuses as part of a larger leadership group:

Todd McLellan has learned on his coaching journey that leadership is not always spelled out by the letters sewn onto players’ jerseys.

“Kris Draper and Kirk Maltby, they didn’t wear A’s,” said McLellan who was assistant coach with the Red Wings back then. “But they led. And that’s what we’re going with.”

On the day Moritz Seider and Lucas Raymond were named permanent alternate captains, McLellan made it clear that his hope, perhaps his expectation, is that every player sees himself as a leader. The NHL tradition is to celebrate the idea that winning is always a collective process. This a sport that believes role players contribute mightily.

When McLellan was asked how he saw his leadership group, he said: “It will be 23 men.”

While McLellan respects and likes the NHL tradition of a captain and two alternates, he finds success comes more frequently when everyone is involved.

He said coaches always have a difficult time limiting the leadership group. “Inevitably, you just keep (thinking)… Well, we can’t leave him out. So you add another guy in, and pretty soon three quarters of your team is in the leadership group.”

Continued

Roughly translated: Michael Brandsegg-Nygard’s parents are coming to Detroit for their son’s debut

Red Wings rookie Michael Brandsegg-Nygard’s family is en route to Detroit at the present moment, according to TV2.no’s Erlend Boren Kristofferson and Jonas Barias:

Got the dream news on Instagram: A shock!

During a phone call, a father suddenly discovered that his son’s greatest wish had come true.

“It was absolutely sick. I was a little speechless, and I thought: ‘Is this happening?'”

It is 4:35 a.m.

Carmen Brandsegg-Nygård stands excitedly in the departure hall at Oslo Airport with her mom and dad.

They have begun to believe that it is actually true. Now the family has scrambled to catch a plane to the United States – where her brother, and their son, will soon do what he has dreamed of his whole life.

“I have to admit that I feel pride. It’s hard,” says his father, Kjell Richard “Ricky” Nygård.

Continue reading Roughly translated: Michael Brandsegg-Nygard’s parents are coming to Detroit for their son’s debut

Mid-day Red Wings mash-up: Jersey sales, McLellan interview highlights, playoff predictions and power rankings

Of mid-day Red Wings-related note:

  1. This does not surprise me:

2. If you missed Red Wings coach Todd McLellan’s interview with 97.1 the Ticket this morning, Will Burchfield offered some highlights from the interview:

Continue reading Mid-day Red Wings mash-up: Jersey sales, McLellan interview highlights, playoff predictions and power rankings

Post-practice Tweets: Gibson to start vs. Habs; 3rd D-pair in flux; JvR may be ready Saturday vs. Toronto

The Detroit Red Wings offered no lineup changes when they practiced on Wednesday, with tomorrow might’s home opener vs. the Montreal Candiens (7 PM EDT start on FanDuel Sports Network Detroit/TSN2/RDS/97.1 the Ticket) looming large.

After practice, the Wings’ players and coach spoke with the assembled media:

Roughly translated: Charlie Forslund discusses his time at the Red Wings’ summer development camp, injury issues in Sweden

Red Wings prospect Charlie Forslund spoke with Hockeynews.se’s Andreas Hanson regarding an injury he’s suffered while playing for Mora IK of the Allsvenskan, and while this article is cut off by a paywall, the part of the article that is above the paywall is worth translating:

Charlie Forslund was praised at the Detroit Red Wings’ summer development camp, and was looking forward to settling in with Mora IK of the Hockeyallsvenksan this season.

Then everything turned–even before he had time to get on the ice.

“It’s really sad when it went well over there,” he told Hockeynews.se.

Ties between Sweden and the Detroit Red Wings have been strong for many years.

One of the lesser-known Swedish Red Wings-affiliated players is 19-year-old Charlie Forslund of Mora IK.

The Falu native was drafted by Detroit in 2024 in the 6th round, something perhaps unexpected when he had played in the Hockeyettan with his parent team, Falu IF. But after that he signed a contract with Mora, and played 12 games in the Hockeyallsvenskan this past season, combined with their Under-20 team.

He was also attending Detroit’s summer camp last year and this summer, and this time he had noticed that he had taken big steps in his development, he says.

“It was the second year I was there, there weren’t many question marks then. I was more comfortable, had met everyone there before, it was easier to take for myself. I could pick out what I’m good at, in another way,” he tells me.

At the camp there was a mixture of everything you can imagine, he tells us – practice on ice, mental exercises, physical training, and tests of everything from heart function and endurance to muscle strength and explosiveness.

“Everything is a level up from what you’re used to,” he said.

The story continues behind a paywall, and here’s hoping that Forslund gets back up to speed soon.

Tweets from Wednesday’s practice: lineup remains stable ahead of Thursday’s opener vs. Montreal

The Detroit Red Wings took to the ice at Little Caesars Arena’s BELFOR Training Center one day before Detroit’s 2025-2026 home opener against the Montreal Canadiens (7 PM EDT start on FanDuel Sports Network Detroit/TSN2/RDS/97.1 the Ticket).

Montreal happens to be playing in Toronto tonight (7 PM EDT start on TVA Sports and Sportsnet), with Samuel Montembeault starting in goal, so we already know that Jakub Dobes will be the starter on Thursday evening.

Coach McLellan suggested yesterday that the team would be made to feel “light and fast” today, and we’ll see whether that was the case after practice…

If you’re attending tomorrow night’s game, there’s going to be a “Red Carpet Walk” from 3-4 PM and a pregame set of player introductions starting at 6:35 PM, and the Wings will be wearing their heritage alternate jerseys as well.

Update: For what it’s worth, three of the Detroit News’s four polled sportswriters believe that the Wings will make the playoffs this season:

Continue reading Tweets from Wednesday’s practice: lineup remains stable ahead of Thursday’s opener vs. Montreal

Audio link: Red Wings coach Todd McLellan appears on 97.1 the Ticket

Earlier this morning, Red Wings coach Todd McLellan appeared on 97.1 the Ticket’s “Costa and Jansen with Heather” show, giving a 10-minute interview to the hosts, speaking about the Red Wings’ season to come, expectations for said season, the Red Wings’ leadership group, its youth movement and the need for team cohesion to make an earnest push for a playoff spot.

Update: Here are some written quotes from 97.1 the Ticket:

Nine of Yzerman’s draft picks and six of his first-rounders will have a significant say in whether the Red Wings can snap a franchise-worst nine-year playoff drought.

“There certainly is (a youth movement), but that is not going to take us to the never-never land,” head coach Todd McLellan said Wednesday on 97.1 The Ticket. “We’re going to need a lot from everybody on the team including the veterans, but the youth has come in and infected a bit of enthusiasm and energy and the older players have embraced them.”

The biggest names of the aforementioned group are Seider and Raymond, alternate captains for the first time in Detroit. The hottest one might be Sandin-Pellikaa, the 20-year-old defenseman with major offensive upside. The most notable is Finnie, a seventh-round pick two years ago who spent most of last season in the WHL and forged his way onto the Red Wings’ roster over the last month by playing with irresistible pace. On a team that wants to play fast.

Finnie, who turned 20 in June, will start the season as the complement to Detroit’s one-two punch of Raymond and center Dylan Larkin on the top line. All three rookies on the Opening Night roster are here because of their play, not their pedigree, a long-standing tenet of the Red Wings’ organization.

“It wasn’t a token, ‘Hey, we’re going with youth this year and we’re going to just play them and see what happens,'” said McLellan. “They earned their way onto the roster. Finnie is a speedster, I talk about him being fueled by nitro. He’s a guy that can really skate, he hunts the opposition down in all situations, he’s got some pretty good puck skills and a mind.”

Brandsegg-Nygård, the 15th overall pick last year who turned 20 this month, is “more of a bully, heavier-set, more physical,” said McLellan, “and definitely a shooter. He finds open ice and can shoot the puck.” He will add some thump to the lineup that the Wings have been lacking.

Sandin-Pellikaa, the 17th overall pick in 2023 who turned 20 in March, plays “with tremendous vision and a great hockey mind” on the backend, said McLellan. “Very creative. A little undersized, but we think that we can help him with that.” Listed at 5’11, Sandin-Pellika should help the Wings get up the ice with his deft passing ability and will get a look on the second power-play unit.

The Red Wings believe “all three (rookies) can be a factor” this season. They’ll almost have to be for the team to take the step that it intends to.

Continued

Tweet of note: Red Wings name ‘Origins Era’ team

The Red Wings are getting serious about celebrating their “eras” today, naming an “Origins Era” team and a starting six from said team:

Also, from Ken Kal:

Press release: Grand Rapids Griffins sign Tyler Angle to a 1-year AHL contract

Per the Grand Rapids Griffins:

Griffins Sign Forward Tyler Angle to One-Year Deal

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – The Grand Rapids Griffins on Wednesday signed forward Tyler Angle to a one-year contract. 

Angle most recently competed for Dusseldorfer in Germany (DEL) during the 2024-25 season, showing 27 points (7-20—27), 14 penalty minutes and a minus-32 rating in 47 appearances. Prior to his time overseas, Angle spent four campaigns within the Columbus Blue Jackets’ organization from 2020-24 after being selected with the 212th overall pick by the franchise in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft. The 5-foot-11 forward played in four NHL games with the Blue Jackets from 2022-24, scoring a goal in his debut on April 14, 2023, against Buffalo. Angle, a native of Niagara Falls, Ontario, saw action in 200 AHL games with Cleveland from 2020-24, producing 100 points (41-59—100) and 84 penalty minutes. In 2021-22 with the Monsters, Angle logged career-high numbers in games played (71), goals (11), assists (26), points (37) and penalty minutes (32). 

Prior to turning pro, Angle spent parts of four seasons in the OHL with the Windsor Spitfires from 2016-20. In 228 OHL regular-season outings, the 25-year-old accumulated 132 points (61-71—132) and 120 penalty minutes. He also spent parts of two campaigns in the GOJHL with the St. Catharines Falcons and notched eight points (5-3—8) and 26 penalty minutes in 12 games from 2015-17.