From the ECHL:
Berschbach, Jenks back with Walleye
Toledo, Ohio – Forwards Shane Berschbach and A.J. Jenks have each agreed to terms with the Toledo Walleye for the 2018-19 season.
The Walleye are the ECHL affiliate of the National Hockey League’s Detroit Red Wings and the American Hockey League’s Grand Rapids Griffins.
Of Red Wings-related note over the past couple of days (the vacation is going well, but it’s a cloudy day, so it’s time to work!), on a source-by-source basis:
A. Detroit Red Wings:
B. MLive:
1. MLive’s Peter J. Wallner posted an article regarding 9 of the Grand Rapids Griffins’ roster players who are no longer with the team as the Griffins re-tool this summer with the aim of getting younger.
C. Detroit Free Press:
D. Detroit News:
1. Ted Kulfan penned a profile of Otto Kivenmaki.
E. Hockeybuzz:
1. Bob Duff wrote an article about Joe Veleno’s desire to prove the teams that passed upon him at the draft wrong.
F. The Athletic:
Detroit Red Wings — There have at least been discussions about the possibility of Hunter joining the Detroit front office, but nothing appears to be imminent. GM Ken Holland got a two-year extension and there currently isn’t a clear succession plan if this is Holland’s last extension. Bringing in Hunter to create one would certainly run counter to how Holland traditionally operates; he typically prefers to promote from within. And there’s no shortage of front-office executives in Detroit eager to one day become general managers who might be irked about an outsider jumping to the front of the line. Considering the departures from the organization over the years, the Red Wings definitely have space for another assistant GM to complement Ryan Martin, but the preference may be to promote Kris Draper, Shawn Horcoff or Jiri Fischer into that role.
2. The Athletic’s Corey Pronman spoke with Sweden’s World Junior Summer Showcase coach, Tomas Monten, about a multitude of topics:
CP: Last guy we’ll talk about today is Jonatan Berggren (DET). He had an interesting season. He had a lot of points with his junior team, with the U18 team his role got bigger as the year went on, he wasn’t a power play guy initially and by the World Championships he was your go-to guy.
Monten: Ya, I agree. He was our top scorer in April and that’s why he’s here. He wants to have the puck, he wants to shoot, he wants to make a difference. I see a lot of Jesper Bratt in him. We’ll look to him to be an offensive forward who can change the pattern in the game and put up points.
G. WHMI 93.5 FM:
1. According to WHMI 93.5 FM, Darren McCarty is hosting the Huron-Clinton Metroparks Foundation’s charity golf classic on September 14th at the Kensington Metropark.
H. USA Hockey:
1. Keith Petruzzelli made the final U.S. roster for the latter half of the World Junior Summer Showcase;
2. Coach Jeff Blashill will be one of the presenters at USA Hockey’s coaching symposium in Lake Placid, New York from August 23rd to 26th.
Other Stuff:
1. The Charlotte Checkers signed Zach Nastasiuk to an AHL contract;
2. NHL.com’s Brett Amadon suggested that the Red Wings are an “overlooked fantasy hockey team” for the 2018-19 season;
3. The Toledo Walleye re-signed Kevin Tansey.
4. According to Michigan Hockey’s Michael Caples, on August 11th, several current and former Red Wings will take part in the “Play With Purpose” charity game in Plymouth, MI.
The Malik Report will enter some uncharted territory tomorrow as the sole content provider (me) is going on vacation for a week. I’m heading up to Grand Marais, MI for the annual family trip.
I’m not quite sure how things will work while I’m away. I will have some limited internet access, and I haven’t decided whether I’ll post a daily update or whether you’ll get an every-couple-days catch-up post.
It’s been a very busy summer news-wise, but the last week of July/first week of August is usually the nadir/low point of the summer news cycle, so I hope that I don’t miss too much.
In any case, I’m assuming that TMR will survive one down week in the off-season, and that you will all be on your best behavior while I’m gone 😉
The Free Press’s Helene St. James engaged in a Q and A with former Red Wing Chris Chelios. Among the items of note:
How long was the decision to leave Detroit in the making?
CC: Since a few months after my dad passed. My mom gets help from my sister, but the commute just got really old driving back and forth trying to help my sister. Over the years, I’d talked with the Ilitches about it, about returning home at some point. Then after my dad passed, that’s really when I started thinking about it seriously.
The kids also had a bearing on it — I’m an empty nester now. My daughter graduated from Northwestern a few months ago. Two of them are going to be here in Chicago. So it’s basically all family based.
…
Where do you see yourself in five years?
CC: I’m still not ruling out coaching because so far that’s where I’ve had the most fun. I just have to decide if I want to do it 100 percent — the travel, the grind. That’s the only thing holding me back — and again, my mom, being able to help her out whenever I can. I wasn’t there when my dad passed, I was actually at the rink getting ready for a game. You can’t always be there, but it bothers me a lot that I wasn’t there with my mom when he passed. So we’ll see.
Being president of a team allows you to make your own schedule — you’re working a lot but still, if something comes up, a family matter, you can still make that. That seems like a pretty interesting job to me. Coaching, it’s a lot of hours, and all the instruction with video — to me it’s overkill, but that’s how a lot of young coaches are now.
I’ve never had a partner in the restaurant business and I don’t like being told what to do with my schedule. I listen, but I like being the boss.
Will you keep your restaurant in Detroit?
CC: For now, yes.
The Hockey News’s Matt Larkin wrote an exhaustive list handicapping the top 200 fantasy hockey players for the 2018-19 season. Here are his Red Wings mentions:
107. Dylan Larkin, C, Red Wings: He’s unquestionably Detroit’s No. 1 pivot now. Lack of goals and a weak supporting cast limit his upside for now. More interesting if Filip Zadina makes the team and ends up on his line.
154. Anthony Mantha, RW, Red Wings: Strong bet to lead the Wings in goals again, but watch out for Zadina. If you’re not on the first line in Detroit, you’re in a bad fantasy situation, especially if Henrik Zetterberg doesn’t play this year.
164. Filip Zadina, RW, Red Wings: He reminds me of Marian Hossa. You’ll want to reach on him if he makes the team, but keep in mind he’s eligible to return to major junior and that his QMJHL squad hosts the Memorial Cup this year, hint hint.
178. Mike Green, D, Red Wings: Someone has to quarterback the Wings’ power play, and Green will keep holding down that job, but further decline isn’t out of the question for a 32-year-old coming off neck surgery.
Chris Chelios was officially “welcomed home” to both Chicago and the Blackhawks at the Hawks’ annual fan convention, and Chelios told the Chicago Tribune’s Shannon Ryan that he’ll be opening up a Mexican restaurant in Chicago:
Aside from his Hall of Fame hockey career with the Canadiens, Blackhawks and Red Wings, many Chicagoans remember Chris Chelios’ family restaurant on Madison Street near the United Center.
The Hall of Famer who has returned to the Hawks as a team ambassador is already tossing around ideas about opening up a restaurant now that he’s back living in his hometown.
In Dearborn, Mich., Detroit and Chicago, he operated Cheli’s Chili Bar with the help of his family. He said he’s going to switch it up this time.
“I don’t have the location, but it’s going to be Cheli’s Cantina,” he said. “I love Mexican food now.”
97.1 the Ticket’s Jamie and Stoney had an interesting debate this morning, wondering which athlete has been the most beloved in Detroit sports history:
Detroit Tigers fans have waited 17 years for Alan Trammell to make it into the Hall of Fame.
“I’m thrilled that both are getting in at the same time,” Jamie Samuelsen said, adding that no one would argue that Trammell is the best Detroit athlete of all time.
But is he the most beloved in history?
Co-host Mike “Stone” Stone answered: Alan Trammell and Steve Yzerman are the most beloved athletes he can remember seeing in Detroit.
He added that Trammell is special and so beloved, despite his lack of ability as manager, because people just don’t hold the manager years against him.
“Yzerman and Trammell are the two in my mind,” Stoney said.
Continued, and I’d argue that Steve Yzerman may be the most beloved Red Wing this side of Gordie Howe, but that’s just my opinion.
Who do you feel has been the most beloved Red Wings player?
The Red Wings and Pistons team store at Little Caesars Arena is holding its Summer Sale tomorrow…
The @LCArena_Detroit Team Store (76 Henry St., Detroit) will hold its inaugural Summer Sale on Saturday, July 28 from 9:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. ‼️
Details: https://t.co/f3Mox2jWE2 pic.twitter.com/rPWbx3DIGi
— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) July 19, 2018
And Fox 2 Detroit received an in-person preview of some of the items on sale:
Via a heads-up from Abel to Yzerman, NHL.com’s Nicholas J. Cotsonika spoke with Dylan Larkin at the Eastside Elite Hockey League All-Star Game last night, and Larkin told Cotsonika that he needs to step up during the upcoming season:
“I want to be the guy,” Larkin said. “I honestly don’t believe in No. 1 centers in the NHL [in terms of labels]. Who’s the No. 1 center in Toronto? Who’s the No. 1 center in Pittsburgh? You’ve got to have two centers. [But] I want to be the guy that’s out there whether we’re down by a goal and we need to score with a minute left or we’re up by a goal and taking that huge faceoff in your [defensive] zone. So just want to be looked at as that, like Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg have for so long in Detroit.”
The Red Wings need Larkin to become the guy. Datsyuk left for SKA Saint Petersburg of the Kontinental Hockey League after the 2015-16 season, the last of Detroit’s streak of 25 straight Stanley Cup Playoff appearances. Zetterberg turns 38 on Oct. 9 and has back problems. General manager Ken Holland has said he expects Zetterberg to play this season, but it is not certain.
Larkin turns 22 on Monday. A restricted free agent, he said there are no major issues in contract negotiations. He doesn’t feel like a veteran yet, even though he’s entering his fourth NHL season and the Red Wings will give opportunities to younger players, including forwards Michael Rasmussen, 19, and Filip Zadina, 18.
“We have one of the best veteran cores in the NHL of people and players,” Larkin said. “They’re special people, and they’re established. When I think of a veteran, I think of someone who’s paid their dues and been around and knows the ins and outs and have a lot of respect.”
From the Toledo Walleye:
TANSEY TO PATROL WALLEYE BLUE LINE AGAIN
Toledo, OH – Defenseman Kevin Tansey has agreed to terms with the Toledo Walleye for the 2018-19 season.
Tansey, a native of Hammond, Ontario, returns to the Walleye after appearing in 67 games last season with 15 points (7G, 8A) and 77 penalty minutes. He added in a pair of assists during the Walleye playoff run in the spring. His seven goals were second most on the team from a defenseman (Patrick McCarron had nine). Tansey skated in 44 games for the then Missouri Mavericks in 2016-17, his first pro season with 13 goals and 18 assists. In 111 ECHL contests, the 6’4”, 217 defenseman has scored 20 goals with 26 assists, 125 penalty minutes and is a career plus five.
“We saw what Kevin brings to the team on and off the ice,” said Head Coach Dan Watson. “He is a tremendous blue line presence in both the offensive and defensive zones.”
The 25 year old brings 30 games of AHL experience with him after appearing in 19 games for Chicago in the 2016-17 season (1G, 2A) and another 11 contests with Binghamton following his final college season at the end of the 2015-16 season. Tansey played his college hockey at Clarkson University from 2011-2016. Tansey finished his college career second in career games played (151) for the Golden Knights. Tansey scored 12 goals with 22 assists and 122 penalty minutes in his college career at Clarkson.
