The Malik Report

From development camp, here comes the Red Wings’ 2019-2020 season schedule:

2019-20 regular season schedule announced

94th season begins on Saturday, Oct. 5 in Nashville; twenty-two weekend dates among 41 home games in 2019-20

DETROIT – The Detroit Red Wings today released their schedule for the 2019-20 season and the team’s 94th overall in the National Hockey League. The Red Wings will open the campaign on the road on Saturday, Oct. 5 against the Nashville Predators before hosting the Dallas Stars for the Home Opener on Sunday, Oct. 6 at 7:00 p.m. Little Caesars Arena will host 22 weekend home games (five Fridays, seven Saturdays and 10 Sundays), including the regular-season finale on Saturday, April 4 versus the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Continue reading Here’s the Red Wings’ 2019-2020 regular season schedule

Via Kukla’s Korner, the Red Wings are going to be streaming part of Tuesday’s development camp drills, starting at 11:30 AM this morning, on their YouTube page:

Update: The Wings are broadcasting on Twitter as well:

We’re live at day 1 of #RedWings Development Camp at the BELFOR Training Center inside Little Caesars Arena. #DRWDC #LGRW https://t.co/tKdf1vOlyM— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) June 25, 2019

ESPN’s Dmitri Filipovic penned an article discussing the free agency plans which he believes would best benefit the NHL’s Atlantic Division teams, and here’s what Filipovic had to say about the Red Wings:

It would behoove the Red Wings to avoid taking on any bad future money. Everything that’s not completely bolted down for the long haul should be in play, and every free-agent contract they hand out should be of the shorter-term variety. They should use this as an opportunity to figure out what they truly have in all of their young players, giving them a chance to play through growing pains and get the necessary reps at this level. If there are any veterans that either don’t have other obvious landing spots or are looking to rebuild their value on the fly, they can offer them prime scoring minutes and the promise that they’ll be moved to a contender at the deadline should they produce. They’ve made at least 10 picks over the past three drafts — 32 total, although the 2017 class was disastrous, with five of their picks not even being signed as of this writing — and already own nine picks in 2020, a number that’ll only grow between now and the trade deadline.

The good news is that new GM Steve Yzerman comes in with a blank slate and a long leash, allowing the Red Wings to see this rebuild through properly without any real desperation to misguidedly fast track things with quick fixes. Missing the playoffs for three seasons in a row and counting is an especially bitter new reality for an organization that prided itself on the 25-year stretch that came before it, but at least there’s finally light at the end of the tunnel in Detroit. That’s something that couldn’t be said a couple of years ago, when they were bad but also stuck with no cards to play.

Continued

The Athletic’s Max Bultman posted a superb profile of Red Wings draft pick Ethan Phillips, who was selected with the 97th overall pick in Vancouver this past weekend. Phillips is all of 5’9″ and 146 pounds, but the plucky forward believes that he can buck the odds–as do the Red Wings:

No draftee is guaranteed a path to NHL, and while the fourth round still annually yields players to hockey’s highest level, making it from that draft slot can require every bit of that focus, preparation and businesslike approach Owens cited.

With the way the modern game has evolved to accommodate smaller players, making the most of those traits — plus a healthy bit of work in the gym — could go a long way toward letting his skill shine through.

“He’s undersized but he’s a very fast skater, he’s got very good hockey sense, he’s got very good skill,” Red Wings director of amateur scouting Tyler Wright said. “We just thought at the value of where he was at — he’s going to go to college, we’ve got a little bit more time to develop him with going to college for four years. He’s gotta get stronger, obviously. I hope he grows, but that’s not really — I mean, I think if you look at the National Hockey League, I think there’s more and more small players playing, but you’ve gotta be fast, you’ve gotta be quick, you’ve gotta have skill. He fit all those bills for us, and that’s why we took him.”

Continued (paywall)…

The Detroit Red Wings’ summer development camp begins today at Little Caesars Arena, and MLive’s Ansar Khan posted a list of 10 players to watch this week. I will be watching these two turning-pro players very closely:

Filip Larsson, goaltender: Detroit’s top goaltending prospect will be starting his pro career in Grand Rapids following a strong college season at Denver (1.95 goals-against average, .932 save percentage, four shutouts in 22 games) that was hampered by a preseason ankle injury.

Gustav Lindstrom, defenseman: Poised, smart, physical puck-moving defenseman who is set to play for the Griffinsfollowing a strong season with Frolunda, one of the top teams in Sweden. The Red Wings’ second pick in 2017 (38th) might see some time in Detroit this season and surely will challenge for a regular spot in 2020-21.

Continued

This morning, DetroitRedWings.com’s Dana Wakiji joins the fray of media members who’ve spoken with Dylan Larkin at his hockey school in Waterford, MI.

Wakiji discusses the Larkin Hockey School, Evgeny Svechnikov’s presence at the school, and Larkin’s take on the Wings’ draft class:

“I do love the kids,” Larkin said after Monday’s morning session. “It’s fun for us. They’re mouthy, sometimes they don’t pay attention and I catch myself maybe getting a little upset and then I just laugh. How could you not? You just take a step back. The kids, they have a mind of their own, you just let them go and be themselves and they all have personalities, they all love hockey – maybe not love listening or skating drills but they definitely love the scrimmaging and being around and lunchtime and being with their buddies.”

There are plenty of other things the Larkins could be doing this summer — training for their own upcoming hockey seasons, seeing the latest movies or just relaxing in the sunshine — but they make sure they keep their priorities in order.

Wakiji continues…

On Monday, DetroitRedWings.com’s Arthur J. Regner sat engaged in a sit-down interview with Red Wings forward Dylan Larkin at his hockey school in Waterford, MI, and WXYZ’s Brad Galli also spoke at length with Larkin, discussing several topics over the course of a 9-minute interview:

During Larkin’s interview with Galli, #71 discussed the injury he suffered at the World Championship:

Continue reading WXYZ’s Galli speaks with Dylan Larkin

Of brief Red Wings-related note this morning:

1. The CTV News Windsor posted an article discussing the excellent participation in the annual Bob Probert Ride:

The annual Bob Probert Ride is being called a success. More than 1,500 people took part in the motorcycle ride across Windsor-Essex on Sunday.

The 9th annual ride supports cardiac services and equipment across the region and has raised more than $1-million to date.

It’s named after former hockey tough guy Bob Probert, who spent the majority of his NHL career with the Detroit Red Wings. Probert died July 5, 2010.

Edmonton Oilers NHL forward Zack Kassian was one of the ride captains this year. Kassian, a Windsor native, says he has fond memories of Probert.

“He was a big, loving guy you know that cared about his family, a good person,” says Kassian. “Obviously he went through his struggles, but (I remember) it’s the things he accomplished on the ice as one of the premier enforcers that could play the game and score goals — but at the end of the day he was a good family man.”

2. Also, the Oakland Press’s Pat Caputo and 97.1 the Ticket’s Jamie Samuelssen appeared on Fox 2’s SportsWorks on Sunday night, and both gentlemen discussed the Red Wings’ 2019 NHL Draft performance:

The Detroit Red Wings invited 17 free agents to this year’s summer development camp, and several stories hit the wires today regarding the invites.

The Windsor Star’s Jim Parker spoke with Guelph Storm defenseman Owen Lalonde regarding his invitation:

The 19-year-old Lalonde, who plays defence for the OHL’s Guelph Storm, had the offer extended after Saturday’s NHL Draft.

“It came pretty much out of nowhere,” said Lalonde, who is a defenceman with the OHL’s Guelph Storm. “I hadn’t heard too much from anyone during the whole process.”

The six-foot-one, 185-pound Lalonde helped Guelph to an OHL title this year and a spot in the Memorial Cup. He attended prospects camp with the Toronto Maple Leafs a year ago.

“I just got a call after the draft Saturday for an invite to development camp in Detroit and then to the (rookie) camp in September in Traverse City, too,” Lalonde said on Monday. “Detroit was the only team I heard from, but it was still pretty cool because it’s the team I’ve grown up watching all my life and, of course, how close it is to home.”

The Red Wings also invited several college-graduating players to development camp, and Upper Michigan’s Source (TV WLUC 6 Marquette) noted that some of the older players in attendance will fill out the Grand Rapids Griffins’ roster this fall:

Continue reading A bit about several of the Red Wings’ summer development camp invitees

On Wednesday, the Rocket Mortgage Classic will kick things off at the Detroit Golf Club in Detroit, and the Free Press reports that several members of the Red Wings will play in the Pro-Am portion of the event:

Detroit Lions great Barry Sanders will highlight the list of celebrities who tee it up in Wednesday’s pro-am of the PGA Tour’s Rocket Mortgage Classic at Detroit Golf Club.

Sanders will be joined by another Pro Football Hall of Famer, Jerome Bettis, the Detroit native and Super Bowl champion with the Pittsburgh Steelers who has been a member at the club.

Musician Kid Rock, Michigan State basketball coach Tom Izzo, Arizona Cardinals receiver Larry Fitzgerald and three Red Wings — Justin Abdelkader, Danny DeKeyser and Jimmy Howard — also will tee it up.

TSN’s Bob Weeks reports that there will also be a Red Wings fan in attendance among the professional golfers playing in the main event:

Seven Canadians are in the field for this week’s inaugural run of the Rocket Mortgage Classic in Detroit, Mich. That includes Mike Weir who was given a sponsor’s exemption.

Weir’s hometown, Brights Grove, Ont., is just a short jaunt from the site of the event and he’s expecting a large contingent of supporters from the Sarnia area. It will mark his fourth PGA Tour start in the last six weeks.

Weir is excited to play close to his home and also in the city of his favourite NHL team, the Detroit Red Wings.

The other Canadians in the field are Corey Conners, Mackenzie Hughes, Roger Sloan, Adam Svensson, Ben Silverman and Nick Taylor.