The Malik Report

Of Twitter-related note this morning:

1. Via Expressen:

My heartfelt condolences go out to Greg Johnson’s family. What a great teammate. RIP— Nicklas Lidstrom (@NicklasLidstrom) July 10, 2019

Sad to hear about the passing of former Red Wing Greg Johnson. One of the nicest pro athletes I’ve ever met. He was a pleasure to interview and just a great guy to be around.— Ken Kal (@KenKalDRW) July 10, 2019

2. In the alumni department, via CapFriendly and the Detroit News’s Gregg Krupa:

NY #Islanders signed free agent G Jared Coreau to a 1 year/2-way contract.

NHL: $700,000
Minor: $225,000 ($275,000 gtee)

Coreau will be an Unrestricted Free Agent again next summer.https://t.co/DDJTQkwoGS pic.twitter.com/YI6oyvoC2k— CapFriendly (@CapFriendly) July 10, 2019

3. In the charitable event category:

Continue reading Tweets of note: Nicklas Lidstrom on Greg Johnson; on charitable events

Hockeysverige.se’s Ronnie Ronnqvist posted an extensive interview with new Red Wings defenseman Patrik Nemeth today, and here’s a rough translation thereof:

Why the NHL Swede chose Detroit: “There needed an addition to the back of the defense”

He didn’t stay in Colorado–and landed a more lucrative contract in Detroit. To Hockeysverige.se, defenseman Patrik Nemeth tells about the years in Colorado and the left he hopes to earn with his new team.

“When you come to a new team, there are new eyes that see you and you really have the chance to make a [good] first impression,” he says.

Patrik Nemeth had a rather tough introduction to the NHL. He traveled over to join the Dallas organization in 2012. He played five seasons, but a nasty wrist injury yielded him not securing a position on the team. For the last two seasons, he’s been playing for Colorado, which was a boost for the 27-year-old from Kista. There he received a lot of playing time and good defensive responsibilities. Before the upcoming season, Nemeth became a free agent on July 1st, and it was Detroit that chose to sign him.

“It’s a process that you go through. The interview period starts a week before the first of July. It’s teams who interview and check your interest. then your agent asks the teams, ‘Where do you see him playing?’ In the end it sifted down to a handful of teams where everything felt more concrete and real,” says Nemeth when hockeysverige.se meets him for an interview on the Tyreso Strand.

Continue reading Roughly translated: Patrik Nemeth speaks with Hockeysverige.se’s Ronnie Ronnqvist

MLives Ansar Khan profiles Red Wings prospect Ryan Kuffner this morning, noting that Kuffner chose to take part in the Wings’ summer development camp despite playing in 10 NHL games this past season:

Kuffner, 23, focused on individual skills during the Red Wings’ recent development camp.

“You’re playing against bigger guys,” Kuffner said. “It’s about spinning out in the corner and working on the stuff that you see on the ice, in-tight skills that are the difference-maker in the pros that so many of those guys do so well. I was able to witness it, but it’s just one thing I really have to work on.”

Another is lower-body strength.

“That’s pretty much in the corners, the tight spaces, because if you can be on the opposite side of the pushing around, that’s massive,” the 6-1, 195-pound Kuffner said. “Then it just opens up an extra second to make a play and that’s more than enough time to be able to make a difference. I think it’s strength, especially on the bottom, but working the whole body and just getting as strong as I can, not necessarily as big.”

The Ottawa native is spending the summer in metro Detroit, living with Patrick Holway, a defenseman the Red Wings drafted in the sixth round in 2015, who’ll be attending Merrimack College in the fall. He’s skating three times a week and training with the likes of Dylan Larkin, Luke Glendening and Darren Helm.

“I think a big thing for me this summer is just being here, being with the guys, doing everything we can to make it a competitive environment because that’s only going to make us better,” Kuffner said.

Khan continues

On Monday, the Free Press’s Helene St. James submitted her best estimate of the Red Wings’ opening-night roster, and this morning, WDIV’s David Bartkowiak Jr. engages in a similar task.

Bartkowiak Jr. also takes note of some of the prospects in the Red Wings’ system who may make the team at some point during the 2019-2020 season (if not in 20-21), and I believe that he offers a good estimate of said prospects’ progress and relative worth:

Taro Hirose (LW): Hirose left Michigan State late last season and signed with the Red Wings. In his first 10 NHL games he scored a goal and 6 assists. He did not look like a rookie just out of college. He looked very ready for the pros. He’s 23 years old now, and he looks like a legitimate pro hockey player. He could be spending some time in Grand Rapids this year, but he appears to be the type of player who has the mind for the NHL. He is strong in all areas of the ice, responsible with the puck and, well, he’s a good freaking hockey player who didn’t get drafted due to his size — 5-10, 160 pounds. He put up 50 points in 36 games played with the Spartans last year.

Ryan Kuffner (LW): Kuffner, 23, also joined the Red Wings out of college this past season. The product of Princeton played in 10 games at the end of the season but didn’t record a point. He’s another guy who got passed up in the draft and came to Detroit for a chance to play. We shall see. He’s listed at 6-1, 195 pounds.

Joe Veleno (C): Fans want Veleno in the Red Wings lineup right now, but he hasn’t played a second of pro hockey. He will be in Grand Rapids at the start of this season — I think that’s a pretty safe bet. But everyone is so hyped about him because of the type of player he is. He also scored 104 points in 59 games played this past season in the QMJHL. He is a part of the future for Detroit, but right now Nielsen, Filppula and Glendening are in his way. And that’s OK. There is no real reason to rush him right now. He’s 19. Let him get used to a new level first. One step at a time.

Bartkowiak Jr. continues at length.

DetroitRedWings.com’s Arthur J. Regner posted a “By the Numbers” examination of Red Wings prospect Victor Brattstrom’s 2018-2019 season. Regner’s article includes both sets of statistics from the Swedish goaltender’s season and an assessment of the 22-year-old’s progress from Wings goaltending coach Brian Mahoney-Wilson:

” He got better this year in Timra, with a good goalie coach over in Sweden. Timra was deferred to the Allsvenskan league because they were a marginal team in the SHL, but it’ll be a really good situation for Victor because he’ll probably play 45-50 games, which he didn’t have that luxury last year because he was playing with Niklas Svedberg. The thing is, by the end of the year, he was outplaying Svedberg. One, due to his work ethic, and also the quality of starts he had.” – Brian Mahoney-Wilson, Red Wings goaltending development coach

Continued

Hockeybuzz’s Bob Duff paid tribute to Greg Johnson, who passed away today at 48:

Johnson’s NHL days began with the Red Wings in 1993, and he quickly gave an indication of his character. During the 1993-94 season, he left the Wings to join Canada in time for the Winter Olympic Games, helping the Canadians win a silver medal.

By volunteering to join the Canadian squad, Johnson’s two-way NHL deal switched to a minor-league pact. His decision to live out the Olympic dream cost him $40,000 in salary.

It also cost him some blood. Johnson became a cult hero in his homeland in Canada’s quarter-final against the Czech Republic. Johnson took a slap shot in the nose during overtime, but remained on the bench while his now-broken nose was stitched up.

“The idea was that if they stitched me up on the bench, I could go right back out for my next shift,” Johnson recalled at the time, “but just as they finished, we scored.

“So the trainer looks at me and says, ‘Good, the game’s over. Now we can take those stitches out and put them in right.’”

Continued

It’s July 10th, so what is it time for? A nap, maybe? Nope. Instead, Sportsnet and ESPN have filed sets of power rankings and fantasy power rankings, respectively.

Sportsnet’s Luke Fox figures that it’s not too early to assess teams’ off-season moves…

18. Detroit Red Wings

Steve Yzerman has taken a more patient approach to his first summer with his new/old franchise than we imagined. His big free agency purchases were 35-year-old Valterri Filppula and 27-year-old Patrik Nemeth (two years, $6 million each). Eleven Red Wings are set to come off the books in 2020. That should be the Summer of Stevie, when the full-scale renovations begin.

(we’ll ignore the fact that Anthony Mantha, Andreas Athanasiou and Tyler Bertuzzi all require raises as restricted free agents in 2020)

And ESPN’s Sean Allen lists fantasy hockey player rankings–250 of them–via specific team-by-team criteria:

Detroit Red Wings: A patient rebuild will give emerging fantasy assets such as Anthony Mantha, Tyler Bertuzzi and Andreas Athanasiou another chance to advance their position. The same is true for less-proven commodities like Filip Zadina, Michael Rasmussen and Evgeny Svechnikov. … Who is going to play the point on this power play? The Red Wings have no new options and Dennis Cholowski‘s nine power-play points topped the squad last season.

As such, Dylan Larkin cracks the top 50 player rankings at 41st overall, Anthony Mantha follows at 130th, Andreas Athanasiou is ranked 216th, Tyler Bertuzzi is ranked 226th, and Michael Rasmussen is ranked 238th.

The AHL has announced home openers for its 30 franchises, and the Grand Rapids Griffins will open their 2019-2020 campaign against the Chicago Wolves on Saturday, October 5th before returning to Van Andel Arena for the home opener on Friday, October 11th vs. Milwaukee.

Then the Griffins head to Rockford to open the IceHogs’ season on Saturday, October 12th.

The AHL will release its regular season schedule tomorrow at 3 PM.

October 11. See you then.

Check back tomorrow for the full schedule!

? https://t.co/AXAYMaoe1w #GoGRG pic.twitter.com/Rz7r7aeaX2— Grand Rapids Griffins (@griffinshockey) July 9, 2019

The Detroit News’s Ted Kulfan continues to empty out his notebook from development camp. Today, he discusses Filip Larsson’s progress made as the University of Denver netminder “turns pro”:

“I know it’s a good opportunity,” Larsson said of playing with the Griffins. “I’m not looking at NHL this upcoming season. I want to make the AHL team and get as many games as possible and develop. In future years, maybe have that opportunity (in the NHL).”

If Larsson adapts to the pro game as quickly as he did from junior to college hockey, the Wings’ organization will be thrilled.

Two years ago, Larsson starred in junior, going 18-10-0 for Tri-City in the USHL, with a tidy 1.65 goals-against average and .941 save percentage.

Last season after missing the first two months of the college season because of a groin injury, Larsson debuted Nov. 24 and was named the National Collegiate Hockey Conference’s goaltender of the month in December — his first full month of college play.

In 22 games for Denver, Larsson had a 13-6-3 record with a 1.95 GAA and .932 save percentage, and four shutouts.

Continued

The Calumet Coliseum will receive $150,000 to renovate their facility ahead of a September 26th exhibition game between the St. Louis Blues and Detroit Red Wings. The Marquette Mining Journal’s Jamie Glenn reports that the renovations are “just the start” of the planning process for hosting the game:

Planning is underway for a week full of fun leading up to the early fall game. Tickets for the main event will be free and will be offered on a lottery system.

“We’re planning a lot of the activities the week before the game itself,” [ Calumet Hockey Association board member and media relations coordinator John] Carroll said. “That has us really busy. As a committee, we meet every week and we’re in communication every week and are in communication with the NHL, the players association and the other partners almost daily. (We just met) to iron out details and put together events that we would like to have planned for that week.

“The tickets will be dispersed through a lottery system. As far as capacity for the building goes, we’re working with the NHL, the players association, NBC and Kraft, trying to figure out how many people we’re going to be able to seat. Right now we don’t know. We expect to have more information on that in (early) August.”

With the top Hockeyville prize came $150,000 in renovation money for the rink.

“What we were able to do is start work on a few things in the building, things that have been on our wishlist,” Carroll said. “We’ve already done a lot of work over the last several years, so we’re in really good shape to host the game. At this point, it’s just doing things that will keep the building (and) the ice plant going for the next (many) years.

“The great thing about winning this is that it gives us a jumpstart to make improvements and make repairs that will keep the building going long into the future. It takes the stress off the hockey association and the other users of the building.”

Continued