The Malik Report

After the second session of the day at the Red Wings’ summer development camp, director of player development Shawn Horcoff spoke with the media.

Horcoff didn’t know whether Filip Zadina (hamstring, probably out for the week) or Taro Hirose (day-to-day injury) were going to take part in the on-ice activities after missing Monday’s session, but he did address the Wings’ decision to draft Moritz Seider and Antti Tuomisto in the first and second rounds of the 2019 draft, he emphasized the concept that the summer development camp is not an evaluation camp, but instead, an instruction camp, and Horcoff weighed in regarding several of the Wings’ prospects over the course of a 5-and-a-half-minute interview:

Once Horcoff was through, the media corps spoke with a trio of “quiet guys.”

Antti Tuomisto, the Red Wings’ 35th overall pick, spoke softly about his strengths as an offensive defenseman, his friendship with fellow Assat Pori forward Otto Kivenmaki and Red Wings signee Oliwer Kaski, and Tuomisto shared that he’s headed to college after one more year with Assat, suggesting that an NCAA playing experience combined with an NCAA education were too good to pass up:

Otto Kivenmaki then spoke with the media, stating that he’d gained nearly 20 pounds, and that he was up to about 155 from a draft weight somewhere in the 130’s. Kivenmaki is 5’8″ and listed at 154 pounds, and the 2018 draft pick spoke of the challenges and advantages available to “small forwards” like himself:

Finally, 2019 draft pick and defenseman Gustav Berglund spoke with the media, discussing his admiration for the Red Wings of the 2008 Cup era, his appreciation of Nicklas Lidstrom and Erik Karlsson’s offensive prowess, and his belief that he needs to improve defensively after a point-per-game performance with the Frolunda Indians’ under-18 team:

In video form, from the Red Wings:

Continue reading Audio from the first day of the Red Wings’ summer development camp: Horcoff, Tuomisto, Kivenmaki and Berglund; also an update on Zadina and Hirose’s injuries

Via TSN, former Red Wings goalie Jim Rutherford and forward Vaclav Nedomansky were named to the Hockey Hall of Fame’s 2019 Induction class. Rutherford was named as a “builder,” and Nedomansky was named as a player:

A native of Hodonin, Czechoslovakia, Nedomansky defected to Canada through Switzerland in 1974, joining the World Hockey Association’s Toronto Toros.

After four seasons in the WHA, Nedomansky, a centre, made the jump to the NHL with the Detroit Red Wings in 1977.

Nedomansky would go on to play 421 NHL games over six seasons with the Red Wings, Blues and Rangers, scoring 122 goals and 156 assists.

He represented Czechoslovakia on a number of occasions internationally, including two Winter Olympics.

A goalie in his playing days, Rutherford played 457 games over 13 seasons with the Red Wings, Penguins, Leafs and Los Angeles Kings, but the native of Beeton, Ont.’s greatest success came in the front office.

Running the front office of the Hartford Whalers/Carolina Hurricanes for two decades, Rutherford took the team to a Stanley Cup Final in 2002 before ultimately falling to the Wings, but would win the Cup four years later over the Edmonton Oilers in 2006.

Leaving the Hurricanes in 2014, Rutherford would join the Pens as GM that same year and won back-to-back Cups in 2016 and 2017.

WDIV’s David Bartkowiak Jr. posted a set of five facts about defenseman Moritz Seider. Among them:

1. He was DEL Rookie of the Year: Seider played 29 games with Adler Mannheim, of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL), this season. The DEL is Germany’s top professional ice hockey league. He only had 6 points through those 29 games, but was logging heavier minutes and ended up playing 14 playoff games.

2. He’s already won a pro championship: Seider tallied 5 assists in those 14 playoff games, helping Adler Mannheim win the DEL championship.

3. He led German defenseman at WC: Germany surprised the world this spring at the World Championship, earning a 5-2 record and a trip to the tournament quarterfinals. Seider led the German defensive group with 2 goals in 5 games played.

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Of audio-related note from the first day of the Red Wings’ summer development camp:

Jonatan Berggren, a 2018 draft pick, will be testing a recently-healed lower back on Wednesday morning, and Berggren spoke with the media corps regarding his injury and the healing process:

Center Joe Veleno conducted a lengthy interview, discussing his last season in Major Junior hockey, the process that is “turning pro” at either the AHL or NHL level, and his discussion regarding showing leadership at this summer’s development camp:

First-round draft pick Moritz Seider also spoke with the media, mostly discussing his draft experience and his hope that playing in Germany with Adler Mannheim will help prepare him for North American pro hockey:

Michigan Hockey’s Michael Caples also posted video clips of the interviews with Veleno, Seider and Berggren:

Continue reading Audio/video from the first day of the Red Wings’ summer development camp: Berggren, Veleno and Seider

The Detroit Red Wings released their 2019-2020 regular season schedule today, and several beat writers posted some of the highlights thereof.

1. The Detroit News’s Ted Kulfan posted the following:

The Detroit Red Wings’ season-opener for 2019-20 will be Saturday, Oct. 5 at Nashville at 7 p.m.

As previously reported, the Wings’ home opener will be Sunday, Oct. 6 against Dallas, also at 7 p.m.

Regular-season schedules were released Tuesday for all 31 NHL teams.

The Wings’ traditional New Year’s Eve home game is against San Jose at 7:30 p.m.

The Wings close the season on Saturday, April 4 at home against Tampa Bay at 7 p.m.

2. Among MLive’s Ansar Khan’s schedule notes:

Oct. 6 vs. Dallas: The home opener art Little Caesars Arena.

Oct. 18 at Edmonton: First game against the Oilers and their new general manager, Ken Holland, who held the position in Detroit since 1997.

Oct. 27 vs. St. Louis: The Stanley Cup champion Blues make their lone appearance in Detroit.

Oct. 29 vs. Edmonton: Holland’s homecoming.

3. And, from the Free Press’s Helene St. James:

The All-Star break/bye week falls Jan. 23-30. The Wings close out the season April 4 at home against the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Their exhibition season starts Sept. 17 with hosting the Chicago Blackhawks at Little Caesars Arena. The teams meet again the next night at United Center. Other home games fall September 20 against the New York Islanders, Sept. 22 against the Pittsburgh Penguins, and Sept. 27 against the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Road games have the Wings at the Islanders on Sept. 23, at Pittsburgh on Sept. 25, and the finale, Sept. 28 at Toronto. The schedule also features a game against the defending Stanley Cup champion St. Louis Blues Sept. 26 in Calumet (ticket information for that event has yet to be released).

Downtown Publications’ Kevin Elliott posted a profile of Fox Sports Detroit analyst Larry Murphy, and Murphy discusses the effects of winning two Stanley Cups with the Wings (1997 and 1998), as well as his job analyzing hockey games:

“Winning the Cup here in Detroit after the team had such a long dry spell, that was exciting for the city when we won. It’s ingrained in the fabric of the city. You only get that in an Original Six city,” Murphy said, referring to the six original NHL teams –Boston, Detroit, Chicago, Montreal, New York and Toronto – from 1942 to 1967.

After retiring from the NHL in 2001, Murphy began providing color commentary for a portion of Detroit’s West Coast road games for Fox Sports Detroit, along with former Wing Pat Verbeek. His duties expanded with the network until 2013, when he and the sports provider parted ways. This past Valentine’s Day, the network announced Murphy was returning to Fox Sports Detroit for the 2018-19 season. He said they are now in contract talks for the upcoming season.

“It’s a job that takes a lot out of you. I spend more time prepping than on the air. It’s a lot to know what’s going on in the league. Reading, watching and observing – that’s the biggest, most time consuming part of the job,” Murphy said. “You have to be aware of the players in the system and what they are doing. You have to be ready to go three or four questions deep on every player in the system.

“Watching is the easiest part. I enjoy watching the Wings play. That’s the easiest part of the job.”

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Per MLive’s Ansar Khan:

#RedWings have made qualifying offers to RFAs Joe Hicketts, Patrik Rybar and Dominic Turgeon, retaining their rights. They did not qualify Martin Frk, Dylan Sadowy, Libor Sulak and Axel Holmstrom, the latter two who have returned to play in Europe. Deadline is today.— Ansar Khan (@AnsarKhanMLive) June 25, 2019

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.

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