The Malik Report

I’ve been debating whether to post this article as it isn’t necessarily hockey-related, but the Toledo Blade’s Mark Monroe spoke with a hockey scout who’s advocating for both physical and mental health issues, and my blog has a place for that kind of story:

While Walleye head scout Ed Burkholder dreams of one day bringing a Kelly Cup to Toledo, his daily passion is aimed at erasing stigmas surrounding serious issues affecting all of society.

Burkholder, whose connection with Toledo professional hockey dates to 2003, hopes to spark an open discussion on two subjects most people find uncomfortable.

Burkholder, a 50-year-old native of Welland, Ont., has launched a podcast to encourage others to speak up about topics such as testicular cancer, depression, and anxiety.

His campaign called “Check Yourself, Express Yourself” is deeply personal.

“It’s OK to talk about these things,” Burkholder said. “Plug into each other. Let’s talk about it.”

Burkholder, who also is a TV broadcaster for the Niagara IceDogs of the Ontario Hockey League, was diagnosed with testicular cancer at the age of 26.

He has been cancer free since 2007, and has become a staunch advocate of cancer awareness.

“Cancer affects us all. Everyone has a story,” Burkholder said. “You need to check yourself. It could save your life. Get to a doctor. It may be uncomfortable for a lot of people, but it could mean life or death.”

Burkholder has created T-shirts and cause bracelets with his slogan. Last month, he developed the idea of producing the podcast as another outlet. The first episode features a compelling story from former NHLer Jim Thomson. It can be heard at podomatic.com/podcasts/checkyourselfexpressyourself.

Continued

USA Hockey Arena will be hosting a charity hockey game on August 11th, and the game will include several Red Wings and NHL’ers, past and present:

2nd Annual Play With Purpose Charity Hockey Game Set For August 11

Charity Game Presented by Hockey Has Heart to be Held at USA Hockey Arena

PLYMOUTH, Mich.- The second annual Play With Purpose Charity Hockey Game presented by Hockey Has Heart featuring several notable hockey players from the NHL, NCAA and the junior ranks, will take place at USA Hockey Arena on Saturday, August 11, 2018 at 4pm ET; doors will open at 3pm.

The Play With Purpose Charity Hockey Game was created to honor the memory of the late Mitchel Kiefer and to increase the awareness of the consequences of distracted driving.

Mitchel was killed by a distracted driver on September 19, 2016, while driving to Michigan State University after a weekend at home. Mitchel played his last hockey game in August of 2016, when he joined the summer interns of Gallagher-Kaiser (GK), in an employee vs. intern game. The following year, the interns decided to dedicate the event to Mitchel, creating the annual Play With Purpose game.

This year, GK’s memorial game will be presented by Hockey Has Heart, with a portion of the proceeds used to support distracted driving awareness initiatives led by the PEERS foundation, BRAKES foundation and Stopdistractions.org.

Continue reading USA Hockey Arena to host ‘Play With Purpose Charity Hockey Game’ on August 11th

Hockeybuzz’s Bob Duff profiled Red Wings prospect Malte Setkov this morning, and this afternoon, DetroitRedWings.com’s Arthur J. Regner offers this scouting report on the 6’6″ defenseman from Jiri Fischer, as part of a “By the Numbers” look back at Setkov’s 2017-18 campaign:

“You notice his size right away, that will be something people will talk about for the rest of his career, that he is a big guy. He actually moves pretty well on the ice. With him being a defenseman it’s very important to make a good first pass, don’t lose one-on-one battles and get your shots through from the blueline. He did all those things in development camp, which is a high level of competition, but limited contact. He caught everybody’s eye with the skills he had and the way he plays the game responsibly.

He doesn’t gamble, he doesn’t try to cheat on pucks and he’s really making sure he’s sound defensively and makes a good first pass. I think it’s fair to compare development camp (2017) to development camp (2018) and he’s certainly taken another step in his maturity, his ability to make plays, the way he controlled and managed the puck as well as how he played defensively. His mechanics are great and now it’s just the matter of gaining some power, which will come by commitment and effort. When players are improving in general, including him, the organization gets excited about that, so I think there’s a lot of positives in his future.” Jiri Fischer, Detroit’s director of player evaluation.

Continued

 

From Michigan Hockey’s Stefan Kubus: Steven Oleksy’s Eastside Elite League will be holding its annual All-Star Game on July 26th:

Mark your calendars; the annual Eastside Elite All-Star Game is almost here.

League founder and Chesterfield native Steve Oleksy has announced that four teams of the Eastside Elite League’s very best will square off on Thursday, July 26 at the Mount Clemens Ice Arena.

This year, each of the four teams will wear specialty jerseys to represent a cause: ALS awareness, autism awareness, concussion prevention and the Special Olympics. Those jerseys will be autographed and auctioned off.

Those four teams will be headlined by some major hockey names, as Igor Larionov, Chris Chelios, Todd Bertuzzi and Sergei Samsonov are all involved in the 2018 Eastside ASG.

Continued

It’s one of the best #SummerHockey events out there.

The 2018 @EastsideElite All-Star Game is slated for July 26.

Info, with more to come in the upcoming days: https://t.co/e6dUej9uxH pic.twitter.com/1DMpSWzRGl

— MiHockey (@MiHockeyNow) July 18, 2018

 

The Free Press’s Helene St. James has filed a mailbag feature, and she posted an update on Dylan Larkin’s contract negotiations:

HSJ: The Wings are working on a long-term extension for Larkin — they’d prefer five years, but may have to go to six. Of the young forwards who were restricted free agents this summer (Larkin, Anthony Mantha, Andreas Athanasiou, Tyler Bertuzzi and Martin Frk), Larkin is the one who’s earned a big commitment because of the growth and character he’s shown since being drafted in 2014.

Regarding the second question, I wouldn’t be surprised to see the Wings trade Athanasiou in exchange for a high draft pick/prospect. His skill and speed should hold appeal (especially if he gets hot for a stretch) and yield a good return.

Continued

Hockeybuzz’s Bob Duff profiles Red Wings prospect Malte Setkov this morning. Setkov’s 6’6″ size and arms-and-legs build intrigue, but a bumpy season in the Swedish J20 league has yielded some caution:

“I think it was tough like one year ago,” Setkov admitted. “I didn’t really feel comfortable in my body, actually. But I think I’m learning it more and more now. I think I’m pretty mobile on the ice compared to my size.”

Last season, Setkov cracked the lineup of Malmo in the Swedish Elitserien, but just when he seemed ready to take another step forward, illness put him on the shelf.

“Yeah I was sick for one month just before the world juniors,” Setkov explained. “I got some kind of lung inflammation. It was tough and I lost like 20 pounds, so it was very tough for me. It was tough for me to eat.”

Up until that point, he felt like his development was on a steady upward curve.

“I started off very well actually,” Setkov said. “I got some games on the senior team in Malmo. After the world juniors, I kind of got back to it but it was still tough for me. My shape wasn’t that well. I think I got my old shape back maybe around the playoffs, so it was a pretty tough season, actually.”

Duff continues…

As reported by WDIV earlier this morning, the Red Wings and Pistons are officially shifting their ticketing to mobile phone usage for the 2018-19 season. Here’s the Red Wings’ press release:

Detroit Red Wings and Detroit Pistons Will Implement Ticketmaster’s Mobile Ticketing Technology at Little Caesars Arena Beginning with the 2018-19 Season

Mobile ticketing allows fans to use their mobile device as a game ticket, reducing fraud and providing easy access to Little Caesars Arena through a barcode that can be scanned from a device’s screen

PDF tickets will no longer be accepted as a method of entry for Red Wings or Pistons games at Little Caesars Arena

Through Ticketmaster’s website or mobile app fans can quickly and easily transfer or re-sell tickets

DETROIT – The Detroit Red Wings and Detroit Pistons, through Ticketmaster’s user-friendly mobile ticketing technology, will be using mobile ticketing as their primary method of entry for all home games at Little Caesars Arena, starting with the upcoming 2018-19 season.

Mobile ticketing allows fans to use their mobile device as a game ticket, providing access to Little Caesars Arena through a barcode that can be scanned from a device’s screen. The Ticketmaster technology, adopted in arenas throughout the country, also reduces the chance of fraudulent tickets, allows for convenient online transfer and re-sale of tickets, and provides a user-friendly platform for the online management of tickets.

All PDF tickets, either printed or copied on a mobile phone, will no longer be accepted as a method of entry for Red Wings or Pistons games at Little Caesars Arena.

Continue reading Red Wings, Pistons officially announce shift to mobile ticketing

If you missed the news yesterday, the AHL’s Milwaukee Admirals have signed long-time Grand Rapids Griffins goaltender Tom McCollum to an AHL contract:

Ads Sign Tom McCollum to AHL Deal

Milwaukee, WI—The Admirals announced today that the team has signed goaltender Tom McCollum to an AHL Contract for the 2018-19 season.

McCollum has spent the majority of his career with the Grand Rapids Griffins, winning the Calder Cup with the club in 2013, and totaling a 123-105-9 record with a 2.76 goals against average, a .906 save percentage, and eight shutouts in eight seasons in Grand Rapids. Last season the Sanborn, NY native netted a 20-14-3 mark with a 2.64 GAA and a .912 save % in 37 games with the Griffs.

McCollum has been a proverbial thorn in the Admirals side since entering the AHL in 2009, going 13-5-2 with a miniscule 2.14 GAA in 22 games against Milwaukee. Last season alone he was 4-0-1, allowing just eight goals in five contests and stopping 94.5% of the shots he faced.

Fox 17’s Stephanie Funkhouser and James Hutton produced a video in which Jared Nightengale and Luke Witkowski discuss this week’s Great Lakes Hockey Camp in Holland, MI:

 

WDIV reports that Little Caesars Arena is going to transition to mobile phone ticketing as its only method of entry:

We expect to learn more later today from Little Caesars Arena as it is set to introduce mobile ticketing as its primary entry method for the upcoming 2018-19 Detroit Red Wings and Pistons seasons.

The move is allegedly being made to protect fans from the risk of obtaining fraudulent or counterfeit tickets.

Instead of using traditional paper tickets to enter the building, a smartphone or other mobile device will act as a fans ticket and a QR code will be scanned directly from the screen and allow entry into the building.

Local 4 has learned the move will mean season ticket holders will no longer receive traditional ticket books with individual tickets for each game as they have in the past.

Detroit Red Wings season ticket holders are slated to receive a commemorative printed ticket to celebrate the upcoming season, with individual game tickets set to be uploaded to their online Ticketmaster account by the end of August.

According to WDIV, printed tickets won’t be accepted any more.