Monroe: Simon Denis leaves Walleye for Asia League

On Thursday, Toledo Walleye veteran Kyle Bonis signed with a team in Norway, and today, the Toledo Blade’s Mark Monroe and the Toledo Wallumni report that Simon Denis has signed with a South Korean team:

 

Van Andel Arena to undergo renovations including roof replacement, locker room upgrades

According to the Grand Rapids Press’s Amy Biolchini, Van Andel Arena will undergo some necessary renovations in 2019:

The home of the Grand Rapids Griffins is set to receive a new roof and locker-room updates in the next year.

Money for the updates is among $5.1 million in capital projects approved Friday, June 1, for Van Andel Arena and DeVos Place by the joint public authority that oversees both buildings.

Overall the Grand Rapids-Kent County Convention Arena Authority will be spending $19 million in the coming fiscal year to operate and maintain Van Andel Arena and DeVos Place Convention Center.

The authority is planning to use $4.4 million of its savings to cover the gap between revenue and expenditures, but still projects it will have $20 million left in its rainy day fund at the end of fiscal 2019.

The biggest capital projects include a $1 million roof replacement at Van Andel Arena. The money would cover the first phase of the roof replacement project. The arena was built in 1995.

Locker rooms at the arena will receive a $2 million upgrade — a request long made by performers and athletes, according to authority officials.

Continued

Darren McCarty to appear in Soutgate on June 9th–as a stand-up comedian

From Fox 2 Detroit:

A Red Wings legend and three local comedians are joining forces for a one-of-a-kind comedy show next weekend in Southgate.

Darren McCarty and comedian Jason Douglas join Fox 2 with more.

Click here for more information.

McCarty and Douglas explained the event to Fox 2’s Amy Andrews this morning:

McCarty will appear at Crystal Gardens in Southgate on June 9th

A couple of thoughts on Todd Nelson’s departure

Grand Rapids Griffins coach Todd Nelson’s decision to move on after three years as the Griffins’ bench boss wasn’t surprising, but it did leave some fans scratching their heads.

At 49, Nelson told the Grand Rapids media that he “had to go” back to the NHL to further his hopes of landing a head coaching job in the NHL at some point in the future, and as Nelson had won a pair of Calder Cup championships, there really was nothing more for Nelson to prove at the AHL level.

More than a few Wings fans were dissatisfied with Nelson’s move not because he chose to move onward and upward, but because he didn’t end up flanking Jeff Blashill’s shoulder as the person filling the assistant coach’s spot vacated by John Torchetti. That means that Wings fans are angry (though it takes nothing more than a sneeze from the management group to piss off a Wings fan these days).

As far as I can tell:

Continue reading A couple of thoughts on Todd Nelson’s departure

Centre ICE Arena still crowdfunding rink renovations

Centre ICE Arena posted a Tweet encouraging Red Wings fans to lend a hand as the facility attempts to crowdfund the rink renovations necessary to continue holding training camp in Traverse City. Spread the word!

 

A pair of Wings-related articles from The Athletic: A bad fourth line and a Dobson/Bouchard comparison

Of Red Wings-related note from The Athletic this morning:

1. The Athletic’s Tyler Dellow penned a list of the 12 NHL lines that had the worst goal differential, and it’s not surprising to read that the Red Wings’ various combinations of fourth-line forwards struggled:

5. Detroit Red Wings, Line 4 (-20.4 goal difference). Key members: Luke Glendening, Martin Frk, Frans Nielsen, Darren Helm, Andreas Athanasiou, Justin Abdelkader, David Booth

It’s hard for a team to bury itself with a fourth line but Detroit managed to do it. Detroit’s -20.4 goal difference from the fourth line was nearly double the league’s next worst fourth line, Pittsburgh at -10.5. It got outshot by more than 10 shots an hour. Unsurprisingly, there are some percentages at play here – Detroit had an .881 save percentage with the fourth line on the ice and the shooting percentage was bad to boot – but they were just overwhelmed in terms of possession too.

Continue reading A pair of Wings-related articles from The Athletic: A bad fourth line and a Dobson/Bouchard comparison

Wallner: Ryan Martin ready to find Griffins’ next coach

The Grand Rapids Press’s Peter J. Wallner spoke with Red Wings assistant GM and Grand Rapids Griffins GM Ryan Martin regarding the next steps that the Wings will take in order to find Todd Nelson’s successor:

“We will certainly look first inside the organization,” he said Thursday. “This is my 14th year with Detroit and I don’t know if we’ve ever been in a position to promote someone from within – Jeff Blashill was, obviously, a different type of hire. Whenever we’ve had an opening at this level it’s most immediately that we go outside the organization first.”

He said Griffins assistants Ben Simon and Bruce Ramsay have expressed interest.

Martin also noted a trend to college coaches and away from NHL assistants:

“I think the NCAA pipeline is just a different dynamic than it was and frankly, I don’t think there are as many NHL assistant coaches that are doing that (go down to AHL to be a head coach),” he said. “I think part of that is opportunities in the NHL seem to be more plentiful. Staffs are getting bigger and so that just has not been the trend lately.”

Wallner continues…

Regner on Tom McCollum’s (last?) season with Grand Rapids

DetroitRedWings.com’s Arthur J. Regner examines Tom McCollum’s 2017-18 season, and Wings goaltending development coach Brian Mahoney-Wilson praises McCollum’s efforts to stabilize the Grand Rapids Griffins’ crease while Jared Coreau was in Detroit:

Quotable: “Last season he came off the summertime with a lower-body injury, so for Tom it took him a good month to get into goalie shape and finally got his wheels going in November and by that time once December rolled around, he became the winningest goalie in Grand Rapids Griffins history. Once Jared Coreau went up (to Detroit) he established himself again as the No. 1 with Matej Machovsky coming up from Toledo. Actually, in his last 25 games, including the playoffs, he went 17 wins and eight losses with over a .927 save percentage.

So for Tommy, he ended the year high and going forward whether he’s with Grand Rapids or another organization, he gave it what he had to solidify another contract next year. The reality within our organization is we have a lot of young prospects and maybe one in Kaden Fulcher who may be ready to turn into the pro ranks, but we’re going to, consistently as a growing organization that wants to get younger in the crease, we’re going to look at younger prospects to fill that role. For Tom, it’s still a negotiation process come July 1 with the Detroit Red Wings and other organizations, because he is an unrestricted free agent and so is Jared Coreau. It’s going to be an interesting process for those two and we’ll see happens when that time comes.” – Brian Mahoney-Wilson, Detroit’s goaltending development coach

Regner continues…

Two Things, radio version: a pair of interviews with Todd Nelson

Former Grand Rapids Griffins coach Todd Nelson gave two radio interviews on Thursday afternoon, speaking with ESPN 96.1 FM’s “Big Drew & Jim“…

Listen to “Todd Nelson – Former Grand Rapids Griffins Head Coach/New Dallas Stars Assistant Coach (5/31/18)” on Spreaker.

And TSN 1260 Edmonton’s Jason Gregor spoke with Nelson and TSN’s Ryan Rishaug, with Nelson appearing at the 20-minute mark of Gregor’s show:

Three Things: On the Griffins’ coaching search, the “scouting combine” and Saturday’s HTA equipment/memorabilia sale

Of Red Wings and Griffins-related note this evening:

  1. WOOD TV’s Larry Figurski spoke with outgoing Grand Rapids Griffins coach Todd Nelson regarding his hiring with the Dallas Stars, and Figurski notes that Griffins assistant coach Ben Simon, South Korea head coach Jim Paek and Toledo Walleye coach Dan Watson are among the possible candidates to replace Nelson:

I certainly wish that the Red Wings were able to keep Nelson in the organization, but if Nelson felt that it was best to go elsewhere to stake out on his own (he is 49 and still looking to earn an NHL head coaching position), I wish Nelson nothing but the best. He was a tremendous coach and mentor for the Griffins and he was a pleasure to speak to from a media perspective.

2. In the “future Wings” department, Hockeybuzz’s Bob Duff noted that the Red Wings’ front office is attending the NHL’s Scouting Combine in Buffalo, both keeping an eye upon draft-eligible players they undergo fitness testing and interviewing said prospects on a one-on-one (or nearly so) basis:

“By this point, when you get to May, we’ve been watching these players, in some cases 2-3 years and over the course of that time you’re meeting with coaches, trainers, teammates, billet families, strength coaches, people that have had contact with these players throughout their lives, even parents perhaps. You’re painting a picture. So this is not something that is put together over one season, it’s typically multiple seasons. At this point of the year, most of these players, if not all, we will have already interviewed once or more throughout the year.

“When we get into the combine, several of these players we’ve already interviewed multiple times. This is a little different format, eight or nine of us in a room. It’s a little bit more intense of a setting than just meeting a kid after a game in the basement of a rink. It doesn’t carry the day, but it’s one piece of the puzzle we’re putting together, and it can certainly affect a player’s status on our list in terms of moving up or down.”

Duff continues…

3. And if you are planning on attending the Red Wings’ annual equipment and memorabilia sale this Saturday in Troy, the Wings are allowing season ticket-holders into Hockeytown Authentics at 9 AM, and the general public in at 10 AM: