St. James, Kulfan on Joe Veleno’s development process

Red Wings prospect Joe Veleno probably won’t make the Wings’ roster out of training camp, but the QMJHL alumnus believes that he’s come a long way over the past couple of seasons, and that he is an asset to whatever team he ends up playing upon, as he told the Free Press’s Helene St. James…

“What do I better than other guys?” Veleno said after Wednesday’s morning skate. “Make a difference whether it’s creating a chance or playing well defensively, all the little details are going to be important to my game. One of my best attributes is using my speed.

“You know you can always get better at something every year and I guess in a lot of players, it’s looking to score more goals. You want to contribute offensively and having a good shot, being able to score goals, have that skill, comes a long way.”

Veleno is hoping to do what Larkin did and make the Wings at 19 years old. Larkin had a terrific rookie year (23 goals, 45 points) but he spent the season playing wing on a line with veteran Henrik Zetterberg at center. Veleno is up against a depth chart down the middle that numbers Larkin, Valtteri Filppula, Frans Nielsen and Luke Glendening, plus prospects Michael Rasmussen, Christoffer Ehn and Jacob de la Rose (some of those players could also make it as a wing). 

“It’s a hard league to play in and you have to work hard for every little bit of it,” Veleno said. “For some guys, it’s pretty much their jobs and you’re trying to earn a spot, trying to take someone’s job. That’s what it comes down to now.”

St. James continues, and she posted a video of Veleno and coach Jeff Blashill’s comments…

Continue reading St. James, Kulfan on Joe Veleno’s development process

Via Michigan Hockey: National Team Development Program (NTDP) releases promotional schedule

Via Michigan Hockey’s Michael Caples, the U.S. National Team Development Program released its promotional schedule for games played at USA Hockey Arena in Plymouth. Here’s USA Hockey’s press release:

Team USA Releases 2019-20 Promotional Schedule

Nickelodeon Night headlines this season’s new entertainment

PLYMOUTH, Mich. – USA Hockey’s National Team Development Program announced its promotional schedule for the 2019-20 season this afternoon, which features giveaways, theme nights and community initiatives.

Team USA kicks off the season with a pair of NCAA matchups against Northern Michigan University and the University of Notre Dame on October 5 and 6, respectively. Promotions for opening weekend include a 2019-20 magnet schedule giveaway for the first 2,500 fans, as well as the Under-18 team poster giveaway and postgame autograph session after Sunday’s game.

Continue reading Via Michigan Hockey: National Team Development Program (NTDP) releases promotional schedule

A bit about Jonathan Bernier from Wakiji

DetroitRedWings.com’s Dana Wakiji spoke with Red Wings goaltender Jonathan Bernier regarding his summertime training:

“I probably skated, I was on the ice around June and working on little details, post work,” Bernier said. “I thought we were getting a lot of shots from low to high so I kind of worked on that. You just train hard and you make sure that physically you’re ready to go.”

Bernier played in 35 games last season, 30 starts, and went 9-18-5 with a 3.16 goals-against average and .904 save percentage.

Bernier seemed to get in more of a groove when he and Jimmy Howard alternated starts for a while late in the season but there’s no guarantee of a specific workload this season.

“Obviously, I think it’s a lot easier to feel confident and being focused on the game but I gotta find a way when I don’t play a lot to come in and be sharp like I was playing every night,” Bernier said.

Continued; the Wings posted a video of Bernier’s remarks as well:

Jonathan Bernier will get the nod in goal tonight. #DETvsCHI #LGRW pic.twitter.com/3GtFzzdTdb— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) September 18, 2019

Moritz Seider to play vs. Blackhawks tonight

Red Wings prospect Moritz Seider will play against the Chicago Blackhawks when the Wings travel to Chicago for preseason action tonight (8:30 PM EDT on the NHL Network/NBCS Chicago Plus/WXYT AM). Seider spoke with MLive’s Ansar Khan regarding the opportunity which presents itself this evening…

“It’s a great opportunity playing in the United Center against some very, very good NHL guys, I think one of the best (Kane),” Seider said after the morning skate at Little Caesars Arena. “It’s always nice when you have a challenge in a game or a nice, important role. I had the opportunity to play one of the best NHL guys in an exhibition game already against USA (Kane at the World Championship) so I’m kind of familiar with that. It was on the big ice. I think it’s completely different in the States (smaller ice).”

The game starts at 8:30 p.m. and will joined in progress on the NHL Network following the Florida-Montreal game that starts at 7 p.m.

Seider (6-4, 203) is coming off his first NHL training camp, following a strong showing at the Prospects Tournament, where he logged a lot of ice time and played physical.

“I think when you’re tall you have to use your size and that’s what I try every single night,” Seider said. “I think playing hard and making the opponent tough to play against me is probably one of the parts of my game, too.”

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

DetroitRedWings.com’s Dana Wakiji also spoke with Seider and Wings coach Jeff Blashill regarding his debut:

“One of the ways you can become a great defenseman is be as efficient as possible,” Wings coach Jeff Blashill said. “The best D in the world are super-efficient, In terms of winning D, we had the best of all-time here in Nick Lidstrom probably in terms of pure efficiency, created offense without hardly giving anything up. I’m not comparing the two by any stretch but I think Seider has to be super-efficient, he has to use his offensive instincts when the opportunity presents itself but not at the risk of 50-50 plays.

“Sometimes in the Prospects Tournament he got over the 50-50 plays, where he was trying to force things that aren’t necessarily there and that’s how you end up beating yourself as a hockey team. He doesn’t have to, I think he’s got real good offensive and defensive instincts, so use them and be impactful and be a great defender.”

Throughout camp and again tonight in Chicago, Seider has been paired with veteran Trevor Daley.

“He’s one of the most experienced guys in the league, over (1,000) games, I think,” Seider said. “It’s great. He helps me a lot, we communicate a lot. It makes it a lot easier.”

Wakiji also continues; the Wings posted clips of Seider and Blashill’s remarks on Twitter:

Injury report: Abdelkader, Athanasiou, Bertuzzi, Helm, Larkin and Kaski are all nursing minor injuries

The Detroit News’s Ted Kulfan reports that several members of the Red Wings are injured at present…

Add Justin Abdelkader and Oliwer Kaski to the list of Red Wings nursing minor injuries, joining Dylan Larkin, Andreas Athanasiou, Tyler Bertuzzi and Darren Helm.

Blashill said Larkin has skated on his own the last two days but not with the rest of the team.

“They’re not all the same (injuries) but I don’t expect any of them to not be ready for the regular season,” Blashill said. “Any soft tissue stuff, you worry about pushing them too fast and it turns into two weeks (of missed playing time).”

As does MLive’s Ansar Khan:

The list of players dealing with minor injuries includes Dylan Larkin, Andreas Athanasiou, Tyler Bertuzzi, Justin Abdelkader and Oliwer Kaski.

“Any soft tissue stuff, you worry about pushing them back too fast and it turns into two weeks,” Blashill said. “They’re not all the same, but I don’t expect any of them to not be ready for the regular season. We’re hoping to get them all in on Friday or in some instances Sunday.”

Larkin the past two days but not with team.

Heading home today

I’ve spent the last two weeks in Traverse City, but today I’m heading back to South Lyon.

I will miss the Wings’ morning skate and probably resurface sometime before tonight’s game vs. Chicago (8:30 PM EDT on the NHL Network, NHL.tv and WXYZ AM 1270), but I’m not making any promises.

I’ve decided to take Thursday completely off as I’m feeling a bit burnt out from the heavy workload during the prospect tournament and main training camp; I will try to get my butt back to work by Friday or Saturday at the latest. I want to take a little break, but I don’t want a short hiccup in coverage to become a longer-term thing this season.

I want to thank you for your support over the course of the last two weeks, in terms of readership, constructive criticism and financial support. I wouldn’t have been able to get up here without you, and the workload wouldn’t have been worth it if you weren’t my audience.

I’ll see you later today.

Anthony Mantha, Filip Hronek listed as ‘breakout candidates’ for fantasy hockey poolies

The Athletic’s Chris Meaney examines “top breakout candidates” for fantasy hockey poolies this upcoming season, and Meaney believes that Anthony Mantha and his linemates are solid fantasy picks…

Anthony Mantha, DET — Mantha scored a career-high 25 goals last season, despite missing 15 games. He has 51 goals combined in the past two seasons and at least 17 in each of his past three seasons. Mantha will continue to see an uptick in ice time and his linemates (Dylan Larkin and Tyler Bertuzzi), will continue to grow offensively. The trio were one of the most underrated lines in the final few weeks of the season and Mantha was a big part of that: 15 goals and 23 points in his final 26 games.

As is one Filip Hronek…

Filip Hronek, DET — There’s not a lot to like in Detroit and if you play with that silly stat called plus/minus, you probably want nothing to do with Filip Hronek. Which is too bad, because the Red Wings’ defenseman will open up the season on the top pair and it won’t take long to overtake Mike Green on the No. 1 PP unit. Hronek averaged 20 minutes per game and he picked up 23 points (five PPP) in 46 games as a rookie. The 21-year-old could have 23 points by the all-star break.

Continued (paywall)

Two things: Khan discusses Michael Rasmussen’s play; Bultman discusses Rasmussen and Cholowski’s uphill battles

Of Red Wings-related note this morning:

  1. MLive’s Ansar Khan posted a morning notebook in which he discusses Michael Rasmussen’s play during last night’s exhibition win over Chicago:

Rasmussen looks forward to playing center, his natural position, this season after playing almost exclusively at wing in 62 games as a rookie with the Red Wings. He is competing for a roster spot because he can be assigned to the AHL Grand Rapids Griffins this season.

“Just way more skating (at center),” Rasmussen said. “I need to get my body up and down the ice a little bit different than wing. Just getting up and down and you got to play as the third D-man pretty much in the zone.”

Rasmussen’s net-front ability on the power play could give him an edge in competition for a spot on the third line.

“He knows how to screen the goalie, he knows how to present his stick, he’s got pretty soft hands in those areas,” coach Jeff Blashill said. “We’ll keep working on trying to find different ways to be super-dangerous when he gets the puck there.”

2. The Athletic’s Max Bultman also discussed Rasmussen and Dennis Cholowski’s uphill battles in terms of earning spots on the Red Wings’ crowded roster:

Continue reading Two things: Khan discusses Michael Rasmussen’s play; Bultman discusses Rasmussen and Cholowski’s uphill battles