NHL.com’s Dan Rosen discusses several Red Wings-related topics in his Wednesday mailbag feature:

Red Wings general manager Steve Yzerman has made some interesting moves this offseason. He has some serious prospects in their system. He has drafted well. How long until we see a renaissance of sorts with his team? Could we see Sebastian Cossa, Lucas Raymond or Moritz Seider make the team this year? — @theashcity

The Red Wings are at least two years, if not three, away from a renaissance. But that’s not surprising. This was a five-year plan when Yzerman was hired as executive vice president and general manager April 19, 2019. They’re two truncated seasons and three NHL Drafts into it.

Seider has the best chance of making an impact this season. The No. 6 pick in the 2019 NHL Draft should be penciled in as a top-six defenseman. He scored 22 points (two goals, 20 assists) in 49 games for Grand Rapids of the American Hockey League in 2019-20. He played for Rogle in the Swedish Hockey League last season, won the SHL Elite Prospects Award, and was named SHL Defenseman of the Year, scoring 28 points (seven goals, 21 assists) in 41 games.

Raymond, the No. 4 pick in the 2020 NHL Draft, is in the mix to earn a spot in Detroit’s forward group, but the 19-year-old might not be ready and could be headed for Grand Rapids.

Cossa won’t be in the NHL at least until the 2023-24 season figuring he has one more season with Edmonton in the Western Hockey League and then at least one in the AHL. The No. 15 pick in the 2021 NHL Draft is in line to be Detroit’s goalie of the future, but Alex Nedeljkovic has the net after signing a two-year contract July 22, the same day he was traded to the Red Wings by the Hurricanes.

Continued; Blashill had this to say about Lucas Raymond’s challenges in terms of making the team out of training camp, per WXYZ’s Brad Galli:

Jeff Blashill said Lucas Raymond’s needs to stand out to to make the Red Wings roster.

“It should be clear to my wife that he should be on the hockey team,” Blashill said, before clarifying that it’s not a slight on his wife. pic.twitter.com/H7tNvUQ3jR— Brad Galli (@BradGalli) September 29, 2021

Detroit Hockey Now’s Bob Duff notes that Red Wings defenseman Troy Stecher hopes to play better hockey after experiencing a “bump” in performance as an integral member of Team Canada’s World Championship team:

Stecher was a huge piece of the puzzle as Canada won the gold medal at the 2021 IIHF World Championship. He believes that will only serve to make him a more valuable player in Detroit’s scheme of things.

“Last year for myself was kind of a season with two different ends,” Stecher explained. “I started the season really well. Then I got hurt and came back and didn’t play as well as I would have liked, so [going to the worlds] was an opportunity for me to extend my season, go play some meaningful minutes.

“I played a ton there and in an important role for that team. More than anything it gave me a lot of confidence and reassurance in myself as a player that I can play at this level and I can be a factor.”

Stecher is also hoping that his offseason work ethic pays off:

“For me, I pride myself in my work ethic and what I do away from the rink, especially in the offseason,”Stecher said. “This past summer I took only six days off after the World Championship.

“Getting back to Canada, I looked at the schedule. It was June 17. I realized camp was coming up pretty quick.

“I’ve been on the ice basically for 12 months now, been to the gym the whole offseason. I just wanted to come to camp and show the organization, the coaching staff and management how hard I worked this summer and make sure I was in good shape.”

MLive’s Ansar Khan discusses the battle for jobs on the Red Wings’ roster this upcoming season, and he specifically discusses coach Jeff Blashill’s takes on Lucas Raymond’s chances of beating out someone for a top-six role…

“You should walk out of games and feel like he was one of the better players on the ice,” Blashill said. “It shouldn’t be a hard decision. If guys are equal, then you keep your depth by starting a guy like Lucas Raymond in the minors and letting him earn his way back on the team. Guys that are trying to grab jobs, you can’t be just as good as the other guy, you got to be way better. Ultimately, I think he’s a guy who can really be an elite power-play guy. So, help our power play look elite when he’s out there. Have the puck on his stick a good amount. Find a way to have the puck more either by going to get it yourself, or by making sure you’re facilitating and getting yourself open.”

Joe Veleno’s chances of earning a third or fourth-line spot ahead of Mitchell Stephens or possibly Bobby Ryan…

“If he ends up a much better player than some of those guys we foresee in those spots and we can find him a spot in the top nine then it’s a discussion,” Blashill said. “The discussion for fourth-line center, we’d have to (determine) what’s best for Joe Veleno. Is he a little better than another guy? Is that the best thing for our organization and the best thing for him in terms of development? Those are talks Steve (general manager Yzerman) and I will have as we go through exhibition season. He just needs to make a statement every time he’s on the ice that he’s going to make us better.”

And Moritz Seider’s learning curve:

“When he gets the puck, he’s really good. When he’s engaged with a player, he’s really good,” Blashill said. “It’s without the puck that he’s got to make sure offensively he knows what he’s going to do with it before he gets it. He’s got great poise and size, so he draws people to him and makes plays but sometimes the right play is to just move it right away. Let’s play fast, let’s get it moving and then you jump into the play.

“Defensively, when he’s engaged in people, he’s a really good defender but you have to work and think ahead so that you’re in the proper position to have really good gaps so you can get engaged in that guy quicker. I just think it’s without the puck, and those issues are just learning things for young defensemen.”

Continued

This is really cool. Al Sobotka, the Red Wings’ building manager, explains how the Wings put the ice in at Little Caesars Arena in the inaugural episode of “The Crew”:

Of brief prospect-related note from Europe today:

In the Swedish J20 league, Liam Dower Nilsson scored a goal in Frolunda HC’s 5-4 win over Malmo.

Update: Here’s a .gif thereof:

Liam Dower Nilsson ? #J20Nationell #frolundahc #LGRW
? SvenskHockey TV pic.twitter.com/EbwVvNCt5f— SwehockeyGIFs (@swehockeygifs) September 28, 2021

WXYZ’s Brad Galli filed a report regarding Bobby Ryan’s attempt to make the Red Wings out of training camp as a free agent try-out…

“There were a very select few places I was holding out that I hoped would call, and this was No. 1,” Ryan said on Monday. “I’m happy it did work out, even if it was short notice. They realize how much I wanted to be here and loved being here last year. No place has felt this comfortable for me throughout my career.”

His season ended early after scoring seven goals and seven assists last season with the Red Wings. He is trying to make the roster on a tryout.

“You feel like you’re on a shorter leash,” he said. “I can say with absolute certainty you feel tighter and a little more restrictive. I am fortunate that I’ve been here and I know the coaching staff. I have a good rapport with everyone in the room.”

And a video of Ryan’s press conference from Monday accompanies the story:

The Detroit Red Wings engaged in their final practice of their 2021 training camp on Tuesday, spending most of their time working on situational power play vs. penalty-killing drills, working on puck retrieval and breakouts, and generally attempting to replicate in-game situations.

There was a little less out-and-out skating from end to end of the rink today, and much more strategy regarding defensive zone coverage and trying to capitalize on scoring chances. Blashill did not spare the rod when he felt that a team that was clearly a little tired after 6 days of training camp was lollygagging a bit.

In the second group, I noticed that he spent a fair amount of time with Moritz Seider, who, according to coach Blashill, needs to a) know what he’s going to do with the puck offensively before he gets it and b) know that the simple play is often the wisest play defensively speaking.

Blashill also told the media that he’s going to put Filip Zadina on a line with Sam Gagner and Joe Veleno for a bit, taking Zadina away from the Larkin-Bertuzzi pairing, and he stated that Lucas Raymond will have to be the best player on the ice after every game he plays in for the Red Wings to keep him on the roster to start the season; otherwise, the Wings see no harm in sending him go GR for “finishing school” (my term, not his).

The Red Wings now head back to Little Caesars Arena to prepare for tomorrow’s game vs. Chicago (8:30 PM EDT, NBCSCH/NHL Network ‘Joined in Progress’) and Thursday’s tilt vs. Buffalo (7:30 PM on DetroitRedWings YouTube).

Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill spoke in no uncertain terms when asked what Lucas Raymond must do to make the Red Wings’ roster out of training camp, as noted by Detroit Hockey Now’s Bob Duff:

“You should walk out of a game and feel like he was one of the better players on the ice,” Blashill said. “It should be clear to my wife that he should be on the team.”

Blashill clearly was having some fun with his answer. He added: “By the way, my wife, that’s not a slight on her. She knows hockey pretty well. She’s been around a long time. She should be able to pick out who the best players are. “

Blashill’s point is Raymond has to make it obvious that he deserves a spot on the team. He can’t just have a slight advantage over a veteran player. He needs to prove he can have a significant impact, not just look dangerous offensively now and then.

“It’s just the reality of it,” Blashill said. “It shouldn’t be a hard decision. Because here’s the thing – if guys are equal, then you keep your depth by starting a guy like Lucas Raymond in the minors and letting him earn his way back on the team.”

Continued

The Detroit Red Wings are about to embark upon an exhibition season in which they will play 8 games over the course of only 11 nights, and Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill addressed the situation as it stands today, as noted by the Detroit News’s Ted Kulfan:

“They’re valuable from an evaluation standpoint, for sure,” coach Jeff Blashill said. “Whoever can grab jobs, grab jobs. It’s as competitive here as it has been for a long time.”

Nearly every NHL team has, essentially, two rosters during the exhibition season to play the onslaught of exhibition games, and to evaluate so many players. Blashill was going to have a “Detroit” lineup and a “Grand Rapids”, minor league-heavy lineup for these next two weeks.

“But I don’t know who is on that Detroit team, yet,” Blashill said. “I stayed with two split groups and we keep going. We’ll see during the exhibition season to determine who is on the team.”

An injury to forward Jakub Vrana (shoulder), and keeping forwards Dylan Larkin (neck) and Tyler Bertuzzi (back surgery) on a planned schedule heading into the regular season (both were hurt at the end of last season), all have impacted the lineups.

“It’s a little like that movie ‘A Beautiful Mind’,” said Blashill, as to how the coaching staff devises exhibition lineups. “You have all these numbers, and we have an Excel spreadsheet, and three guys get hurt and you have to re-plan it. We’re in the re-planning stage.”

Continued, with talk of Troy Stecher and Kirill Tyutyayev…

Bally Sports Detroit filed one final training camp report, in which coach Jeff Blashill reflected upon Jakub Vrana’s uncertain-to-start-the-season status:

As @DetroitRedWings Training Camp concludes, we check-in with @JohnKeatingBSD and head coach Jeff Blashill in Traverse City on where the Wings stand before their first preseason tune-up tomorrow in Chicago. #LGRW pic.twitter.com/xhnZvN4yee— Bally Sports Detroit (@BallySportsDET) September 28, 2021