Evening news: On Todd Nelson’s future, the Joe, Larkin at the Worlds and prospect (flippin’) progress

Of Grand Rapids Griffins and Detroit Red Wings-related note this evening:

1. WOOD TV 8, Fox 17 and the Detroit News’s Ted Kulfan took note of Griffins coach Todd Nelson’s uncertain future, with WOOD TV filing a video report…

Fox 17 filing a video report…

And Kulfan filing a column regarding Nelson’s post-game comments on Monday night:

“I’m not thinking too far ahead right now,” Nelson told reporters on griffinshockey.com after Monday’s 5-1 Game 5 first-round series loss to Manitoba. “I have to process what just happened. We have exit interviews with players, I’m sure I’ll get feedback from management to see where myself and the coaching staff is at. Once that’s done, we’ll see what happens.”

But Nelson, who was an interim coach in Edmonton in 2014-15 and drew positive reviews, would like another opportunity to coach in the NHL.

“Obviously that’s a goal of mine,” said Nelson, who has a year left on his contract with the Wings’ organization. “But if it doesn’t happen, this is a great place of work. The Grand Rapids organization is fantastic to work with, fantastic people. The Wings are fantastic to work with. I’m just going to process this.”

2. As already noted, Olympia Entertainment is selling off seats from Joe Louis Arena, first to Red Wings season-ticket holders, and then to the general public starting on May 12th. The Detroit News and WDIV posted stories regarding the sale, and the Detroit News’s David Guralnick posted both a photo gallery and video of the state of the Joe, which ain’t great:

3. According to Team USA’s website, Dylan Larkin scored a goal in Team USA’s 3-2 win over Denmark in exhibition play at the World Championship, and Team USA’s website posted a highlight clip from the game:

4. In the prospect department, part 1: I happen to believe that what Givani Smith did to earn a suspension for Game 7 of the Kitchener Rangers-Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds series was stupid, but the Hockey News’s Ryan Kennedy does a good job of summarizing what character assumptions one should make when a 20-year-old flips off the opposition bench:

Lessons have definitely been learned along the way. Kitchener Rangers power forward Givani Smith found that out the hard way. The Detroit Red Wings pick flipped off the Sault Ste. Marie bench after a thrilling OT win in Game 6 and that act got him suspended two games, including the pivotal Game 7 that the Soo ended up winning in double OT. Was it a crass move by Smith? Sure. Did he feel horrible, not being able to help his team in a crucial game? I’m sure he did. And while a lot of folks were upset with Smith, let’s not forget that he just turned 20; he’s still a very young man. No doubt he will move on, as should we.

Stupid? You bet. Does a suspension in a deciding game of a playoff series send home the message that one needs to grow up? Uh uh.

5. And I’m going to get a little creative here and combine some narratives.

The Free Press’s Helene St. James took note of the fact that the Griffins, Smith and Michael Rasmussen’s respective playoff runs ended on Monday night, and St. James had this to say about Rasmussen:

What happened: The Tri-City Americans lost 6-5 in overtime in Game 7 of a third-round series against Everett in the WHL. It wasn’t for lack of production from Rasmussen. The team captain had 16 goals and 17 assists for 33 points in 14 playoff games games. Among WHL league leaders, he ranked first with seven power play goals, second in points, third in goals and fourth in assists.

What’s next: Time in the gym to add more strength to his 6-foot-6, 221 pound body. Development camp with other Wings prospects in June. From people I talk to in the Wings organization, Rasmussen is penciled onto next season’s squad. He can’t play in Grand Rapids because he has a year left of junior eligibility, so it’s Detroit or Tri-City. But Rasmussen impressed with his mature play last September, and now he’ll come to camp with the confidence of having dominated at the junior level.

I’m sure that some Wings fans are discounting Rasmussen’s playoff production with the same words of caution that followed Anthony Mantha’s playoff run, and that’s fair: while the WHL isn’t as high-scoring a league as the QMJHL is, Rasmussen’s team lost because they were letting in as many goals as they surrendered, and Rasmussen’s +/- of 8 on a 33-points-in-14-games effort could easily seen as a caution flag [see also: power play production, which was the reason some draft experts thought Rasmussen was a dud a year ago at this time].

The point of the matter (to me) is that Rasmussen recovered from wrist surgery to play really damn well, and he played really damn well in front of the Red Wings’ brass as everyone from Cleary and Horcoff to Holland and Blashill took trips out to Kennewick, Washington to watch Rasmussen skate in games.

6. The same is true of the progress made by Filip Hronek, whose conditioning makes him a little less NHL-ready (as does the Wings’ relative depth on defense, at least in terms of contracts at the position).

As Hockeybuzz’s Bob Duff noted, Hronek had a superb rookie professional season, and Griffins coach Todd Nelson spoke wisely regarding Hronek’s ability to make an impact in the AHL and/or NHL next season:

Hronek, 20, picked 53rd by Detroit in the 2016 NHL entry draft, led all Grand Rapids defensemen with 11-28-39 totals. The six foot, 178-pound Hronek also posted a team-best plus-24 rating. No other Grand Rapids player was better than plus-12.

“He exceeded my expectations,” Grand Rapids coach Todd Nelson told Detroitredwings.com. “I knew he was going to be good, but I didn’t think he’d develop as quick as he has.”

Only seven AHL defensemen scored more goals than Hronek and just eight accumulated more points.

“It was a tremendous first season for him,” Nelson said. “He really put himself on the map with the organization. (Detroit coach) Jeff Blashill’s been here, (GM) Ken (Holland), (assistant GM) Ryan (Martin), they’ve been watching a lot of our games and he’s putting himself in a good opportunity to play some National Hockey League games next year. It’ll be up to him at training camp to see where he’s at.”

As Duff noted, Hronek will be able to earn more confidence as he plays for the Czechs at the World Championship, and from there, it’s up to Rasmussen, Hronek and the rest of the Wings’ top prospects to train with a purpose this summer, play well at next fall’s prospect tournament, and then have a good showing in training camp.

You and I both know by this time that the Red Wings don’t hand young players opportunities unless the players have earned them, and training camp and the exhibition season have a way of sorting out who’s ready and who’s not.

If you’re panicking or yelling about a player’s potential as you deem it to be defined forever and ever as of early May? Take a chill pill, my friend, and remember that there has been time with which the Red Wings have evaluated these players, and there will be more time with which to make as-they-play evaluations going forward.

Sadowy, Borkowski head back to Toledo

Grand Rapids Griffins forwards Dylan Sadowy and Mike Borkowski will continue their playoff campaigns with the ECHL’s Toledo Walleye:

 

A bit about Dylan Larkin’s World Championship learning curve

The 2018 World Championship will take place in Copenhagen and Herning, Denmark starting on Friday, and Team USA’s Dylan Larkin headlines a group of seven Red Wings players and prospects taking part in the tournament.

MLive’s Ansar Khan penned an article about Larkin’s belief that his second consecutive World Championship appearance will help him hone his NHL game:

“It’s an experience for me not being complacent with finishing in early April,” Larkin said. “Playing hockey into May is what it’s all about and I’m young, have a lot of energy, have a lot of passion. … Moving forward with my career, the next step is becoming a winner. When we get into games late I want to have that extra factor where I take my game to the next level to either hold on to a lead or try to get that goal to tie it up or win.”

Team USA, with Larkin and Detroit defenseman Nick Jensen, coached for the second year in a row by the Red Wings’ Jeff Blashill, play host Denmark in an exhibition game Tuesday (2:30 p.m. ET) and open the tournament Friday against Canada (10:15 a.m., NHL Network).

Larkin (two goals, eight assists) was second in scoring on the U.S. last season. The Americans went 6-2, losing to Finland 2-0 in the quarterfinals.

“He’s going to be a big factor in it. It’s why I think Larks is a great competitor,” Blashill said. “He looks at this year and says, ‘I can be a better winner.’ I think that’s great to hear. What you want are athletes who want it on their shoulders when it matters most and he’s certainly one of those guys.

Khan continues…

 

Filip Larsson named to USHL’s First (All-Star) Team

Yesterday, Red Wings prospect Filip Larsson was named the USHL’s Goaltender of the Year, and today, the USHL has named Larsson to its First All-Star Team:

 

HSJ: Filip Hronek, Libor Sulak to play for Czechs at World Championships

According to the Free Press’s Helene St. James, Grand Rapids Griffins defensemen Filip Hronek and Libor Sulak will continue their 2017-18 campaigns:

 

Wallner: Griffins coach Todd Nelson still holds NHL aspirations

As the Grand Rapids Press’s Peter J. Wallner notes, Grand Rapids Griffins coach Todd Nelson may or may not be back with the Griffins next season.

Nelson still aspires to coach in the NHL, and after Monday’s playoff-ending loss to Manitoba, Nelson and his players wondered aloud what the future holds:

“I’m not thinking too far ahead right now,” he said after the Griffins lost Game 5 to the Manitoba Moose, 5-1. “I have to process what just happened. We have exit interviews with players and see where we’re at. I’m sure I’ll get feedback from management to see where myself and coaching staff is at. Once that’s done, we’ll see what happens.

“But, obviously, that’s a goal of mine to move on. But if it doesn’t happen, this is a great place to work. Fantastic people. Grand Rapids organization is fantastic to work with. The Wings are fantastic to work with. Like I said, I’m just going to try and process this.”

Nelson and his players will meet with the Red Wings’ brass for exit meetings on Wednesday, and Nelson’s players heartily endorsed their coach:

“One of my favorite coaches in my life to play for,” said Ben Street. “… I hope he gets a chance because I don’t think there’s a whole lot left for him to prove at this level. The whole staff is excellent.”

“He lets us play,” said second-year defenseman Joe Hicketts. “We play a very aggressive system, which is up my alley. It’s a credit to him. We’re one of the only teams in the American League that play that aggressive style hockey.”

Wallner continues…

Joe Louis Arena seats to go on sale today to season-ticket holders; public sale May 12th

From MLive’s Gus Burns, WDIV, WXYZ, and Crain’s Detroit Business’s Bill Shea, all with publishing dates at or around 5:30 AM:

After 18 months of delays and discussion, the sale of city-owned Joe Louis Arena’s thousands of seats has finally been scheduled — and it starts today.

There will be a separate sale for other assets from inside the 39-year-old arena in Detroit, including the scoreboard, ice equipment and suite wet bars.

The online seat auction will be at thejoeseats.com.

Current full and partial season ticket holders, suite holders and corporate sponsors will be able to bid starting Tuesday. The general public can bid for whatever is left beginning May 12.

The city has hired Byron Center-based appraisal and auction firm Miedema Asset Management Group Inc. and Bloomfield Hills-based industrial asset auctioneer Robert Levy Associates LLC to handle the direct sale of the seats and fixtures.

Terms of the deal between the Detroit Building Authority and the auctioneers weren’t disclosed. Levy owner Robert Levy told Crain’s that the deal is a “cumulative tiered structure” for sales fees, but deferred any comment on specific financials to the city. A message was left with the mayor’s office.

Seat prices will begin at $150, and they will be sold in minimum sets of two because of the shared armrests. Feet for the seats, which come in wall- or floor-mounted variations, will be made available for what’s expected to be about $170 to $180 per pair of seats.

Requests for specific seats will incur additional charges, but amounts weren’t disclosed. Pricing will be on the auction site.

Shea continues, and he reports that almost everything else must go:

Aside from seats, equipment and fixtures will be sold online via a separate auction at orbitbid.com and rlevyinc.com/sales. Among the items that will be auctioned are furniture, lighting, signs, plumbing, HVAC, chilling systems and other basic infrastructure, but also will include suite wet bars and the Joe’s official scoreboard, the auctioneers said.

Prospect playoff round-up: Rasmussen’s Americans drop WHL WCF in OT

Of prospect-related playoff note:

In the WHL, on a night in which the Grand Rapids Griffins bid their playoff hopes adieu, their most plausible roster reinforcement saw his WHL playoff run come to an end.

Michael Rasmussen scored a goal and registered an assist, finishing even on 4 shots as his Tri-City Americans lost 6-5 in overtime to the Everett Silvertips.

Everett won the WHL’s Western Conference Final 4 games to 2, and they’ll advance to play the Swift Current Broncos for the WHL title.

Rasmussen’s playoff run ends with 16 goals and 17 assists for 33 points registered over the course of 14 games played.

He’ll earn a good chance to make the Red Wings’ roster out of training camp, and if he doesn’t make the big club, he’ll be a big part of the Grand Rapids Griffins team.

A midnight ramble

What a gut-punch. Playoff losses come and playoff losses go, but the Grand Rapids Griffins’ season-ending loss to the Manitoba Moose was an incredibly difficult one to swallow.

As Griffins coach Todd Nelson suggested a couple of games ago, best-of-five-game series have a way of getting away from you, and on a night that the Griffins surrendered 5 goals, the players agreed that the 2-1 goal, scored by Cameron Schilling at 19:46 of the 2nd period, was the dagger.

After the game, I don’t know if the fact that the Griffins would be unable to defend their Calder Cup championship had sunk in. It was still a playoff loss against a grown-to-be-hated opponent in the pesky Moose (led by, of all people, Brendan Lemieux in this game), but I don’t think it’ll hit the players until Tuesday, if not Wednesday’s exit meetings with the team’s coaches and management.

The Griffins did their best to suggest that the injuries to Matt Lorito, Dominic Turgeon, Axel Holmstrom and the suspension to Eric Tangradi did not harm them, and players like Evgeny Svechnikov, who were obviously playing hurt, made no attempts to suggest that physical issues unaccounted for were to blame for their performances.

But the players were talking about coach Todd Nelson like a coach who deserves better than to return to the AHL. The players were praising each other’s pluck, talking about futures of prospects not yet far upon their professional journeys, looking a little longingly at the locker room, knowing already that next year’s team might not include them.

As Jared Coreau said, there are athletes who are lucky enough to spend their entire careers with one team, and there are athletes who welcome new starts elsewhere, and you have to be prepared for both eventualities.

Next year’s Griffins team will look different, will look a lot younger, it has to despite the contracts that the Red Wings have weaved with Grand Rapids’ defensemen, because there’s a new crop coming, and some of the old guard needs to get out of the way.

It’s just disappointing to be sitting up here in press row at nearly 1 in the morning, knowing that I’m not going to be driving back to Grand Rapids for a good while. Over the past couple of years, I’ve learned that this is a real hockey town, and that, come playoff time, they expect the kind of success that Hockeytown has put on pause due to a slight detour into roster re-pavement, turned a full freeway reconstruction.

I try to hide my bias as best I can, but you end up rooting for the people and the players, and you want the rink to be full, you want the crowd to be lively, you want that stupid song with the whistling and the screaming (whatever that “Big Enough” song is about) playing during the second intermission.

It’s fun to go to the rink and get in for free to watch people like Filip Hronek make massive strides forward as a youngster, to watch the synergy of old teammates like Ben Street and Matthew Ford, to watch plucky Joe Hicketts hammer opponents with the same veracity as a Dylan McIlrath who’s 3/4 of a foot taller than Hicketts, it’s enthusing to see Jared Coreau assuage a rough stint in Detroit with strong individual play.

And it’s disappointing to watch a team that celebrated with the Calder Cup on the ice last June fall so far short.

Thanks for the ride, Griffins. It’s been a hell of a year.

Ahead of OHL final, Kaden Fulcher speaks with Hockeybuzz’s Duff

Red Wings prospect and Hamilton Bulldogs netminder Kaden Fulcher will be battling Jordan Sambrook and the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds for the Ontario Hockey League championship this weekend. Ahead of the match-up, Fulcher spoke with Hockeybuzz’s Bob Duff regarding his roller-coaster of a season and surprise ascension up the Wings’ depth chart as an un-drafted free agent signing:

“[Being signed] was a pretty big surprise, to be honest,” Fulcher admitted. “I was going to camp as a free agent. You don’t really expect much. I think at the end of the day I went in there looking to earn a contract, obviously, but I don’t think you really understand how hard it is. I think just going in and not having any pressure on me was pretty big.”

He’s carried over that belief shown in him by the Wings into a transformative season for both him and his team. The Bulldogs are bound for the OHL championship after whipping the Kingston Frontenacs 4-1 in the East final, and the 6-3, 182-pound Fulcher, 19, leads the postseason in wins (12) and goals-against average (2.35).

“Not a lot of guys on our team have had team success in the years in the OHL,” Fulcher said. “Everyone’s pretty excited for this opportunity. We’re just going to make the most of it.”

Returning to junior with an NHL contract in his pocket certainly motivated Fulcher to have a career year.

“It’s definitely huge to know that they’re making plans for you,” Fulcher said. “I think as a player, you just try to make sure that every day you show up at the rink at the OHL level, that you want to keep putting in the work to get to that next level. I think getting a little taste of it at the prospect tournament and the main camp, you see just how good everyone is, and how good you’re going to have to get to get there.”

Duff continues…