On Dominic Turgeon’s recovery and readiness to battle for an NHL job

The Detroit News’s Ted Kulfan and Hockeybuzz’s Bob Duff spoke with Red Wings prospect Dominic Turgeon regarding his recovery from a blood clot in his arm and surgery to both fix the clot and resect a rib. Turgeon is fully healthy and aiming to earn a spot on the Wings’ roster this season, as he told Kulfan…

“My mindset is to come to (training) camp and be strong,” Turgeon said. “Being a strong two-way player, being good on faceoffs, good on the penalty kill, and also provide offense. I’m just going to play the best hockey I can.”

Turgeon felt he progressed in Grand Rapids last season, his second in the American League.

“Made a leap from year one in G.R.,” said Turgeon, whose father Pierre was a long-time NHL player. “My main focus coming into the year was providing more offense. I felt I did that and overall it was a great year.

And Duff:

“I was on blood thinners for three months, so I had no contact until I got off those, Turgeon said. “I slowly started training after six weeks or so, just riding the bike a little bit, a little bit of body exercises and then slowly week after week got into doing weights.

“It definitely was scary. I didn’t know much of it at the time, but stuff happens in life. Thankfully, the recovery went well.”

Turgeon, 22, the son of former NHL star Pierre Turgeon, got into five games with Detroit last season, and that first taste of the show only left him craving more.

“Yeah, obviously it was a dream to be in the National League,” Turgeon said. “To get a taste of it, you definitely get that drive and want to be back there. Having that motivation, especially throughout summer time, is a big help.”

Khan on Joe Hicketts’ bid for a spot on the blueline

MLive’s Ansar Khan discusses Joe Hicketts’ attempts to crack a crowded blueline this autumn, and while space on defense is scant, Hicketts believes that he brings an element to the team:

Hicketts said he wants to bring what he brought last season.

“I thought I brought a little bit of swagger,” Hicketts said. “I didn’t back down from anything. I think that’s important. As a small defenseman, I got to be able to go in the corners and know I’m going to win a puck and out-battle someone. That’s how I kind of modeled my game throughout my career, as being the most competitive guy on the ice. It’s got me to this point and hopefully it’s going to help me get to that next level, which is the NHL full-time.”

Puck management is a priority, something coach Jeff Blashill stressed to him last season.

“I think that’s the biggest thing, avoid turnovers, be good defensively and it’s about moving pucks up to our forwards,” Hicketts said. “If I can make little five-, six-, seven-foot plays to get the puck out of our end and into our forwards’ hands that’s what’s going to get me to that next level.”

Khan continues, and he posted a video of Hicketts’ remarks:

 

Audio from the Red Wings’ win over the Rangers at the prospect tournament ’18: Veleno, Rybar, Rasmussen and coach Simon

The Detroit Red Wings’ prospects defeated the New York Rangers’ prospects 5-0 on Monday night, advancing to the championship game at the Red Wings’ prospect tournament.

The Red Wings will play a to-be-determined opponent on Tuesday at 7 PM EDT (on Fox Sports GO and DetroitRedWings.com).

Axel Holmstrom, Joe Veleno (2), Michael Rasmussen and Zach Gallant scored for Detroit; Patrik Rybar stopped 14 of 14 shots, Givani Smith won a spirited fight with Brett Howden, and Jared McIsaac appeared to be OK after leaving the game with a shoulder injury in the 3rd period.

After the game, I spoke with Joe Veleno regarding the Wings’ tremendous commitment to defense, the prospect of winning a championship after coming together as a team, Veleno’s 2-goal performance and playing on a line with Rasmussen and Filip Zadina:

Continue reading Audio from the Red Wings’ win over the Rangers at the prospect tournament ’18: Veleno, Rybar, Rasmussen and coach Simon

Via Instagram: Jussi Jokinen to attend Wings’ camp on a pro try-out

Sorry this is late: at the rink with little net connectivity = things slip through from time to time. Via CBS Sports, Jussi Jokinen let the world know he’s signed a pro try-out with the Red Wings via an Instagram post:

 

View this post on Instagram

 

Very excited to sign PTO with @detroitredwings #hockeytown

A post shared by ?? Jussi Jokinen (@jussijokinen36) on

Update: MLive’s Ansar Khan confirms:

Well-traveled left wing Jussi Jokinen is coming to Detroit Red Wings training camp on a tryout, general manager Ken Holland said.

Jokinen, 35, played for four teams in 2017-18 (Edmonton, Los Angeles, Columbus and Vancouver), appearing in 60 games and picking up five goals and 12 assists.

Jokinen (6-0, 191) has played for nine teams during a 13-year NHL career in which he’s collected 191 goals and 372 assists in 951 games.

Red Wings captain Henrik Zetterberg won’t be ready for the start of the season due to a back issue that might end his career.

The Red Wings are anticipating that Michael Rasmussen and Filip Zadina, their top picks in each of the past two drafts, will make their roster.

Quick note: Red Wings’ prospects win 5-0 over NYR, will play in tournament championship game on Tuesday at 7 PM

The Detroit Red Wings’ prospects defeated the New York Rangers’ prospects 5-0 on Monday night, and the Wings advance to the tournament’s championship game as a result. The game will take place against a to-be-determined opponent at 7 PM EDT on Tuesday night (on Fox Sports GO and DetroitRedWings.com).

Red Wings post pre-game report ahead of Monday’s game vs. NYR at the Wings’ prospect tournament ’18

The Red Wings posted a 2-and-a-half minute video setting up this afternoon’s 4 PM-starting game against the New York Rangers’ prospects in Traverse City (on Fox Sports GO and DetroitRedWings.com):

Two Things: Golfing with Ted and Witkowski on school assembly duty

Of Red Wings-related note this afternoon:

1. The Red Wings’ players are taking part in a very special golf tournament today, helping raise funds for the Ted Lindsay Foundation for Autism research:

2. And the Wings posted a video of Luke Witkowski taking part in the Red Wings’ School Assembly Program:

 

Quick impressions from Monday’s morning skate at the Red Wings’ prospect tournament ’18

The Detroit Red Wings’ prospects have a 4 PM EDT game against the New York Rangers’ prospects (to be streamed on Fox Sports GO and DetroitRedWings.com; if the Wings win and the Stars beat Minnesota in a 3:30-start game, Detroit’s in Tuesday’s championship game on Tuesday), so coach Ben Simon chose to hold an optional morning skate for his players.

Starting goaltender Patrik Rybar, back-ups Kaden Fulcher and Justin Fazio, forwards Nicholas Guay and Pavel Gogolev and defensemen Trevor Hamilton and Cole Fraser took part in the skate.

Rybar spent the vast majority of the skate in the south net, working with the Wings’ goaltending coaches, Brian Mahoney-Wilson and Jeff Salajko, and Rybar went off early, affording Kaden Fulcher some time to break in his brand new Vaughn pads.

Continue reading Quick impressions from Monday’s morning skate at the Red Wings’ prospect tournament ’18

Audio from the Red Wings prospects’ morning skate ahead of Monday’s game vs. NYR: Coach Simon, Kaden Fulcher, Pavel Gogolev and Cole Fraser

The Detroit Red Wings’ prospects play the New York Rangers at 4 PM today, so the coaching staff chose to give the players a very, very optional morning skate.

Starting goaltender Patrik Rybar, back-ups Kaden Fulcher and Justin Fazio, and scratches Pavel Gogolev, Nicholas Guay, Trevor Hamilton and Cole Fraser skated, with Filip Zadina making a 10-minute guest appearance.

The Wings still brought out a full complement of coaches as Ben Simon, Daniel Cleary and Shawn Horcoff watched from the stands: goalie coaches Jeff Salajko and Brian Mahoney-Wilson, Griffins assistants Mike Knuble, Matt MacDonald and Brad Tapper and skill development coach Brandon Naurato all took part in drills with the Wings’ three goaltenders and four skaters.

After the “optional,” coach Ben Simon discussed his rationale in allowing the players who played (they did warm up off the ice) to skip the on-ice portion of their morning skate with a 4 PM game in the offing; Simon also discussed the work that the scratches put in to develop their skills, the fact that everybody is being evaluated at all times, regardless of whether they’re playing; he confirmed that Rybar will start as well:

Continue reading Audio from the Red Wings prospects’ morning skate ahead of Monday’s game vs. NYR: Coach Simon, Kaden Fulcher, Pavel Gogolev and Cole Fraser

Khan discusses Filip Hronek’s 2018-19 season possibilities

MLive’s Ansar Khan discusses the 2018-19 season outlook for Filip Hronek this morning:

2018-19 outlook: Hronek, the team’s third selection in the 2016 draft (53rd overall), had a strong rookie AHL season, following a solid OHL year in Saginaw after making the jump from the Czech Republic to North America.

Now he’s ready for the NHL. At least, the Red Wings hope so. They have four defense prospects who are close (Joe Hicketts, Libor Sulak and Dennis Cholowski the others) and believe Hronek leads the pack.

Hronek is mobile, moves the puck well, has offensive ability and shoots right. Those are elements the Red Wings’ blue line lacks.

If the Red Wings use Danny DeKeyser-Mike Green and Trevor Daley-Jonathan Ericsson as their top two defense pairings, Hronek play alongside Niklas Kronwall on the third pairing. Hronek figures to be competing with Nick Jensen for a spot in the lineup. Because he’s waiver-exempt, Hronek likely would return to Grand Rapids if he’s not playing regularly in Detroit.

Strength is usually an issue with younger players and Hronek improved last season by gaining 10 pounds. Despite his offensive ability, whether he plays and how many minutes he logs will depend mostly on how well he plays defensively.

Continued