St. James engages in a Q and A with Jeff Blashill

The Free Press’s Helene St. James engaged in a Q and A with Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill this morning:

HSJ: Is there a minimum number of prospects that you need to integrate on the team for the sake of rebuilding? 

JB: I don’t know that there is a number. I think one of the big keys is that when you are a playoff team on an annual basis, the right move is that when a young player and a veteran player are tied, the tie goes to the veteran. When you are a team that hasn’t made the playoffs for two years and a young player and a veteran player are tied, I think now the tie should go to the young player. And I say that because we need different results, and part of having different results is improving internally, and that can come with new guys being in spots. So I don’t know that there is a number per se — I think it has way more to do with when guys are ready and show that type of promise, that they get the opportunities to deliver on that promise. I don’t think it’s blind hope, though. One of the things that can happen in the sports world is just because there are unknowns, people think everybody should be given opportunity. Our jobs as evaluators are to decide which guys are going to make us better and which aren’t. It’s not just blind hope. 

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Free Press’s 12-player ‘next Detroit sports star’ list includes Larkin, Zadina, Rasmussen and Bertuzzi

The Detroit Free Press has produced a list of 12 potential Detroit athletes who may become the city’s “next sports star,” and 4 of the players on Marlowe Alter’s list are Red Wings players or prospects, including #1 on the list:

1. Dylan Larkin, Red Wings forward

Age: 21.

Acquired: Drafted 15th overall in 2014.

Stats: 82 games, 16 goals, 47 assists.

Why he will become a star: He has established himself as a top-two line center in the NHL, and has been a go-to guy for the U.S. at two World Championships. He plays in all situations, makes good decisions with the puck and shows creativity. He’s a great skater, and has a high internal drive to be an elite player.

Why he won’t become a star: Can he continue to find ways to produce more?

The list continues, and Filip Zadina, Michael Rasmussen and Tyler Bertuzzi also make appearances for the Wings…

Three Things: On ‘The Russian Five’s’ distribution, McCarty the comedian and Cholowski’s favorites

Of Red Wings-related note this morning:

  1. The Russian Five film director Joshua Riehl gave an interview to the Northern Express’s Ross Boissoneau as part of the film’s debut at the Traverse City Film Festival, and Riehl addressed the sticky issue of distribution:

Riehl hopes to continue to showcase his film through as many channels as possible. With streaming, premium channels, and the ability to host films on websites, including Youtube, Riehl said there are more opportunities to release movies than just in megaplexes across the country. “There are lots of tools now to distribute. The sky’s the limit.”

The interview continues, and it’s quite good…

2. According to the Huron Daily Tribune’s Mike Gallagher, Darren McCarty will be performing stand-up comedy in Ubly, Michigan on August 4th:

Golfers at Ubly Heights Golf & Country Club, along with the public, will get the chance to find out about his comedy, as Darren McCarty’s Slapstick Comedy Tour will be coming to the Ubly Heights Golf & Country Club Men’s Invitational on Aug. 4.

“This came together with a little bit of help from the Men’s Invitational committee,” [Ubly Heights PGA Professional Dave] Hanson said. “It’s actually going to be the entertainment part of the Ubly Heights Men’s Invitational this year. We always do some sort of card game, or comedians or magicians. We did a Vegas night one year, so we try to mix it up and we decided to go with the comedians again this year.”

Hanson added: “When we called, they said that we could have some comedians or we could have Darren McCarty, who had an open weekend. So we jumped on it.”

The show will feature not only McCarty, but also a variety of other Michigan comedians, including Jason Douglas, who has opened for the likes of Dennis Miller, Ron White, Jim Gaffigan, Carrot Top and Weird Al.

“Darren has become quite the good comedian on this tour,” said Douglas. “Darren and I had a mutual friend and I said to a buddy of mine, that I thought Darren could host a comedy show and we could bring in a lot of hockey fans. He could tell some stories and we could have some pro comedians on it. Next thing you know Darren went on stage, we booked the first show and he was super funny. Since then we’ve sat down with some other comics and we do writing sessions.”

3. And finally, Dennis Cholowski engaged in a game of “This or That” during the Wings’ summer development camp:

 

 

Danny DeKeyser to join Western Michigan University hockey’s ‘Ring of Honor’ on July 28th

From Western Michigan University, via MLive:

Western Michigan Hockey alums Steve Abbott and Danny DeKeyser are set to be inducted into the WMU Hockey Ring of Honor on Saturday, July 28 as part of the annual Friends and Alumni Golf Outing at The Moors.

The ceremony begins at 12:30 p.m., following registration and lunch for the golf outing. Spots are still available and fans and alumni can register by going to www.wmugolfoutings.com.

Khan offers a Dylan Larkin contract update

MLive’s Ansar Khan offers an update on the Dylan Larkin contract talks:

The Detroit Red Wings have one more important piece of business to take care of before training camp – sign Dylan Larkin.

They’re not concerned about it because they anticipate no problems getting it done, whether it’s finalized shortly or next month.

The Red Wings, a source said, have been pushing for five years. Larkin and his representatives are seeking six years. Chances are it’ll be in the $6 million-a-year range.

The Red Wings are comfortable locking up Larkin to a long-term deal at age 22 (on July 30) because he is more proven than other young forwards they signed to two-year bridge deals earlier this month (Anthony Mantha and Andreas Athanasiou).

Khan continues, and adds this:

Zetterberg’s status remains uncertain due to his chronically bad back, but the Red Wings expect him to participate in training camp.

Grand Rapids Griffins sign forward Jordan Topping to an AHL deal

According to the Grand Rapids Griffins, one of Michael Rasmussen’s teammates from the WHL’s Tri-City Americans will earn a chance to turn pro with the Griffins or Walleye this upcoming season:

GRIFFINS SIGN JORDAN TOPPING

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – The Grand Rapids Griffins on Friday signed forward Jordan Topping to a one-year contract.

Topping, 21, spent the last four seasons as a member of the Tri-City Americans of the Western Hockey League and compiled 218 points (109-109—218) and 202 penalty minutes in 243 regular season games. He totaled 17 points (6-11—17) and 20 PIM in 22 playoff contests while competing in the 2015, 2017 and 2018 postseasons. Topping was a teammate of Michael Rasmussen, the Detroit Red Wings’ first-round selection in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft, for three full seasons (2015-18).

The 6-foot-1, 200-pound winger posted career highs in points (80), goals (38) and assists (42) in 72 appearances during the 2017-18 campaign. Topping scored a team-high 38 goals – the second time in his WHL tenure he surpassed the 30-goal plateau – and tied for 20th on the circuit. He placed second on the club in points while also ranking among the team’s leaders in shots (246, T1st), power play goals (12, 2nd), assists (3rd) and power play assists (19, T3rd). Topping added 14 points (4-10—14), a plus-nine rating and 10 PIM in 14 postseason contests as Tri-City fell in six games in the conference finals.

A native of Salt Spring Island, British Columbia, Topping also spent one season with the Cowichan Valley Capitals of the British Columbia Hockey League in 2013-14, tallying 15 points (10-5—15) and 39 PIM in 51 games.

With the release of the Griffins’ 2018-19 schedule, group tickets for all home dates at Van Andel Arena are now on sale, along with 2018-19 season ticket packages. Single-game tickets will go on sale to the public on Sept. 14. Fans can secure their full-season, select-season or group ticket packages by calling (616) 774-4585 ext. 2 or visit griffinshockey.com for more information.

A trio of mid-day Tweets of note

Of newsworthy note on Twitter this afternoon:

1. The Red Wings’ annual training camp Golf Classic will take place on September 13th, and Centre ICE Arena is now taking reservations for the event:

2. The Toledo Walleye’s offseason moves have been…chaotic…and I’ve tried to keep you up to date with the bigger moves, but I haven’t given them blanket coverage. The Red Wings’ ECHL affiliate has a roster tracker up, should you want to know the nitty gritty details:

3. And finally, today is Pavel Datsyuk’s 40th birthday:

 

The Athletic’s Custance estimates the Wings’ roster in 4 years, and updates Larkin’s contract negotiations

The Athletic’s Craig Custance estimated the Red Wings’ lineup for the 2021-22 season, and he prefaced his thought experiment with an update on Dylan Larkin’s contract status:

“It’s coming together. Maybe something pretty soon,” Larkin told The Athletic. “It goes back and forth. I’ve learned the business part of it. Between free agency and the draft and everything, it’s tough to get time to talk for my agent and Kenny. That’s part of summer and part of how it goes.”

His conclusion?

“I don’t think it’ll go anywhere near September,” he said, with a pause. “But that’s coming soon.”

The extension will likely be in the five- or six-year range, which would make him a rarity among Red Wings players — guys who will be under contract to start the 2021 season. The Red Wings are in the process of burning through their questionable contracts and this season marks a bit of a breakthrough on that front. For the first time during the rebuild, the Red Wings should have a ton of cap flexibility next offseason.

Custance continues at length (paywall)…

QMJHL article emphasizes Zadina, Veleno and McIsaac’s ‘Q’ ties

The QMJHL’s website posted an article discussing the Red Wings’ trio of QMJHL-playing picks from the 2018 draft in Filip Zadina (Halifax), Joe Veleno (Drummondville) and Jared McIsaac (Halifax):

Zadina’s 82 points (44-38–82) placed him seventh in QMJHL scoring this past season while Veleno, who had a mid-season change of scenery in a trade from Saint John to Drummondville, came in at 10th with 79 points (22-57–79).

“He is a good guy, so if we play together, it will be awesome,” Zadina said of his new teammate Veleno. “He is a good centre, so we could play well together. If he will pass me the puck so I can score the goals, it would be awesome.”

While Zadina and Veleno look to help Detroit offensively, Jared McIsaac was added to the depth chart at 36th overall to try and improve things on the back end. The 18-year-old from Truro, Nova Scotia put up 47 points (9-38–47) in 65 games alongside Zadina in Halifax last season and has an extensive international resume with Hockey Canada.

“Obviously Filip’s a generational talent,” McIsaac said of his teammate. “There’s not many goal scorers like him. I’m very happy to see him go and very happy to be drafted by the same team.”

While Zadina was the star in Halifax this past season, McIsaac is a known QMJHL commodity, being selected second overall in the 2016 QMJHL Draft before earning a reputation as one of the CHL’s top two-way defenders.

Continued