The Malik Report

DetroitRedWings.com’s Arthur J. Regner examines prospect netminder Kaden Fulcher’s 2018-2019 campaign “By the Numbers” this morning. Regner examines Fulcher’s stats from his rookie season, which was spent with the ECHL’s Toledo Walleye, and Wings goaltending coach Brian Mahoney-Wilson weighs in on Fulcher as well:

“In his 28 starts in Toledo, it was a step forward in his development. Maybe he didn’t want to finish the year the way he had with numbers per se, but he had a good record. He came up a couple practices in Grand Rapids, I worked with him closely there, worked with him probably 30 times in Toledo heading down there throughout the year. I expect more from him in the summer, make sure I give him the right drills and tools with his goalie coach so that he comes and gives Filip Larsson a push come camp time. Definitely saw improvement with Kaden’s game. He’s ready to make that next push so that he can try to earn a spot in Grand Rapids.”

Continued

Sad news from the Wings:

We are saddened to hear about the passing of our buddy, Noah, who served as the Honorary Puck Drop Captain for #HockeyFightsCancer Night in 2017.

Our thoughts go out the Gochanour family.

Noah will always be an honorary Red Wing. ❤️ pic.twitter.com/OtGpregTAZ

— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) July 16, 2019

Red Wings prospect Givani Smith tells the Detroit News’s Ted Kulfan that his first professional season was something of a crash course in adjusting and adapting from playing major junior hockey to learning how to play the professional game. As a result, Smith believes that he’s better-equipped to push for a spot on the Wings’ roster this season:

Smith made his professional debut last October with the Griffins, the Red Wings’ minor-league affiliate, and the season turned out to be one long class on pro hockey.

Smith, 21, had plenty to learn. More than he expected.

And though Smith didn’t pass with flying colors, he certainly didn’t fail. It was a passing grade, so to speak, with the expectation Smith will keep adjusting and thriving to the professional game.

“Just learning many small things,” Smith said, of what he learned in particular in the American League.

“Like sleeping habits, and small techniques you have to learn. Practice. You have to focus on many things that translate into the pro game.

“Coming from junior, it’s different playing against men, guys who’ve been there 10-plus, or 5-plus years. It’s a transition — and that’s what I did (transition).”

Kulfan continues

FYI:

The tickets are waiting in the “wings” to be sold TODAY starting at 10 am for @DetroitRedWings Training Camp and NHL Prospect Tournament! Online only – https://t.co/7JN54k0LQO @RedWingsCamps @CentreICEArena pic.twitter.com/cOw8ngPQbQ— Centre Ice Arena (@CentreICEArena) July 16, 2019

Of note from The Athletic this morning:

1. The Athletic’s Max Bultman takes part in a thought exercise today, considering what the Red Wings’ lineup might look like in 2022-2023:

There was a moment at the Red Wings’ development camp last month when Moritz Seider, Joe Veleno, Jonatan Berggren and Robert Mastrosimone were all introduced together before a scrimmage at Little Caesars Arena. All of them were first- and second-round picks from the two most recent NHL Drafts, and two more such picks — Filip Zadina and Jared McIsaac — probably would have been out there, too, if both hadn’t been withheld due to injury.

These types of scrimmages happen everywhere in the NHL. But in Detroit, a sight like that means just a little bit more right now. The Red Wings have missed the playoffs three years running. Draft day has become the most important date on the calendar. The future is everything.

So when fans get to see that collection of talent finally play together, it’s understandably exciting. It’s a reminder that all this waiting really should pay off someday.

This article is about that “someday.”

Continued (paywall)

2. And The Athletic’s Bill Shea, formerly of Crain’s, wrote a remarkably thorough article discussing the public funding of sports stadiums as it applies to the lessons learned from the construction of Joe Louis Arena, the Palace of Auburn Hills and Little Caesars Arena:

The owners of the Red Wings had quietly worked on getting a replacement arena for Joe Louis and by 2012 those efforts bore fruit when the state approved a bond deal on the city’s downtown development agency to finance a new building. Municipal bankruptcy, which likely would have killed a publicly financed arena deal in any other city, didn’t slow Detroit’s new facility. The financing happened outside the traditional city government by using an economic development property tax already on the books for downtown landowners. The team owners would pick up less than half the construction cost, which fell outside of the overall national financing trend.

“It looks extremely distasteful in most cities outside of Detroit to hand over billions of dollars to billionaire owners and millionaire players while laying off public workers,” said [Holy Cross’ Victor] Matheson, the sports economist.

Shea continues at extensive length (paywall)

Stuff you can only post when it’s your own blog: a sentence with a link to a website and no actual content on yours.

Mickey Redmond spoke to Michigan Sports Now’s John Bucek prior to serving as the grand marshal of Traverse City’s Cherry Royale parade earlier this month, and MISportsNow.com posted a non-embeddable 6:45 video of Mickey talking about the parade, Steve Yzerman’s return to the team as the Wings’ GM, the rebuilding timeline given the Wings’ youth movement and the tumult taking place in the Eastern Conference, his opinion as to when Dylan Larkin will assume the captaincy, and Jeff Blashill’s job as a player development catalyst.

Updated at 6:57 PM: WXYZ’s Brad Galli posted two superb video interviews with Dennis Cholowski and Givani Smith after the players participated in the Red Wings’ youth camp today, and the Free Press’s Helene St. James also spoke with Cholowski regarding his later-season demotion to the Grand Rapids Griffins:

Cholowski was back at Little Caesars Arena on Monday to help out with the Wings’ youth hockey camp, and addressed his rookie season.

“Having to go down to Grand Rapids was a disappointment a little bit; I guess it would be for anybody,” Cholowski said.  “In order to play you have to be good defensively and then that generates the offense. So I’m working on the D-zone and hopefully I take those things I learned into camp this year.

“Just the d-zone stuff, fishing the puck out my net, basically is the biggest thing.”

Cholowski played 52 games with the Wings last season and had a team-worst plus-minus of minus-20. He said he’s focused on getting better at reading plays and “sensing danger — just knowing when to pull out and when to jump in. It’s kind of a balance and in order to play at the highest level, you have to have that.”

St. James continues

Update: The Detroit News’s Ted Kulfan also spoke with Cholowski:

Cholowski played in 52 games with the Wings, with 16 points (seven goals, nine assists) and an eyebrow-raising minus-20 rating, a signal of poor defensive play.

With Grand Rapids, Cholowski played 25 games with 12 points (all assists) and an even plus-minus rating.

It was his defensive play that led to Cholowski’s demotion. He was getting lost in coverage too often, the confidence was slipping, and opponents were outmuscling him around the net.

“In order to play you have to be good defensively,” said Cholowski, of the message sent to him upon his demotion. “That generates the offense. Just working the defensive zone and taking the things I’ve learned (last season) to camp this year.”

Continued

The NHLPA posted a set of videos in which Ted Lindsay discusses various topics pertaining to the creation of and qualities necessary to win the Ted Lindsay Award as the NHLPA’s MVP, and today, they wrap up their series with a video in which Lindsay discusses the topic of “fearlessness”:

Here are the other videos in the series:

Continue reading NHLPA wraps up its ‘Ted Takes’

Of disparate Red Wings-related note this afternoon:

1. Pro Hockey Talk’s Adam Gretz listed a set of “power rankings” encompassing levels of “on the hot seat” status for the NHL’s 31 GM’s, and he suggests that Steve Yzerman sits somewhere far removed from such a discussion:

• Steve Yzerman, Detroit Red Wings. This will not be an easy rebuild, but it will be an extensive honeymoon period.

2. The Free Press’s Gregg Levinsky posted an article discussing what NHL experts are saying about the Red Wings’ off-season moves, including the drafting of Moritz Seider:

Moritz Seider

Contract: 3 years, entry-level 

Last year’s stats: 29 games, 2 goal and 4 assists with Adler Mannheim (Germany) 

What they’re saying: “Steve Yzerman’s first draft as Red Wings GM went relative well for a guy who was armed with double-digit picks at his disposal. Overall, he could have done better, but he also picked up a half-dozen quality prospects with legitimate potential for NHL success. Although his weekend began with his surprising selection of big-bodied puck mover Mortiz Seider at sixth overall, Yzerman went on to overdraft another physical presence in Finnish blueliner Antti Tuomisto (35th).” — Sporting News’ Steve Kournianos

“Still, you can’t help but wonder: could the Red Wings have traded down in the draft and still gotten their guy in Seider? Sometimes, it’s not just about judging the quality of draft selections, but also “reading the room” and managing assets properly. At this very moment in time, the Red Wings opened themselves up to a ton of questions.” — NBCSports’ James O’Brien

3. Finally, the Red Wings posted a slightly hammy video in which Alec Regula, Jack Adams and Ryan Kuffner played, “What’s In the Box?”

Update: The Griffins posted something of a blooper reel as well:

WXYZ’s Brad Galli spoke with Red Wings prospect defenseman Dennis Cholowski and forward Givani Smith as both players coached at the Wings’ Youth Camp today.

Galli presents in-depth interviews with both subjects: