Bultman attempts to predict the 2028-2029 Red Wings roster

The Athletic’s Max Bultman attempts to predict what the 2028-2029 Detroit Red Wings’ roster might look like at forward, on defense and in goal this morning:

Forwards

Carter Bear (21)Dylan Larkin (32)Lucas Raymond (26)
Alex DeBrincat (30)Marco Kasper (24)Michael Brandsegg-Nygård (23)
Max Plante (22)Nate Danielson (24)Carter Mazur (26)
Elmer Söderblom (27)Emmitt Finnie (23)Jesse Kiiskinen (23)

When we did a similar projection one year ago, there was a glaring need at the top of the Red Wings’ future forward corps. That gap has been filled with Detroit drafting Carter Bear in the first round of this summer’s NHL Draft.

Bear projects as a top-six winger who brings significant offensive ability as well as sandpaper to complement the skilled players already playing at the top of Detroit’s lineup. And even though he’ll be just 21 on opening night in 2028, he should be in the NHL by this time, and Dylan Larkin and Lucas Raymond would be a great pair of linemates for him to break in with.

Larkin is one of the most interesting pieces of this projection. The Red Wings’ captain will be 32 in 2028, likely at the tail end of (or perhaps even beyond) his prime. Could that mean one of Marco Kasper or Nate Danielson is manning the 1C slot by then? Possibly. And one of those two young centers ascending to that level is arguably Detroit’s best path to true contention. But for now, we’re going to stick with Larkin until we see one of the younger pivots show they can produce true top-line offense. The good news is, Kasper and Danielson certainly look capable of being strong centers at the levels they’re slotted here.

Kasper’s production and underlying numbers from Jan. 10 (when he entered the top six full-time) through the end of the season were strikingly similar to those of Sam Bennett, the No. 2 center on the Stanley Cup-winning Florida Panthers, in the same span — and not far off some of the other second-line centers on some of the league’s elite teams.

Continued at length (paywall)

Press release: Grand Rapids Griffins single-game tickets go on sale September 4th

Per the Grand Rapids Griffins:

GRIFFINS 2025-26 SINGLE-GAME TICKETS ON SALE ON SEPT. 4

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – Single-game tickets for each of the Grand Rapids Griffins’ 36 regular-season home games at Van Andel Arena will go on sale to the general public this Thursday, Sept. 4 through griffinshockey.com/tickets. Fans can sign up for the Griffins Nation newsletters to receive early access to various ticket pre-sale opportunities.

Under third-year head coach Dan Watson, the Griffins will begin the home portion of their 72-game slate on Friday, Oct. 17 against the Manitoba Moose with Opening Night presented by Huntington Bank.

Griffins tickets can be purchased through the following methods (all purchases subject to a convenience charge):

  • Online through griffinshockey.com/buytickets;
  • On the Griffins app, available for iPhone and Android;
  • In person at The Zone at Van Andel Arena, beginning Sept. 4 (open 11 a.m. – 4 p.m. Monday-Friday);
  • By phone at (616) 774-4585 or (800) 2-HOCKEY.

New this season, the Griffins are introducing the Pick ‘Em Plan, giving fans the chance to create their own lineup by choosing three or six games to bundle together. Starting Thursday, this plan allows fans to save money, secure priority seating for their selected games and experience the season in their own way.

Continue reading Press release: Grand Rapids Griffins single-game tickets go on sale September 4th

Tweet of note: Griffins promotional schedule the focus of ‘GRG City’ Tweet

The Grand Rapids Griffins posted a unique Tweet on Sunday to promote their, well, their promotional schedule for the 2025-2026 AHL season:

Catch-up post: Sunday and Monday’s Red Wings news

I had to crash over the course of Sunday afternoon an all of Monday, so I apologize for the lack of content during that time. Here’s a digest of what Red Wings-related happenings were posted during that time:

  1. As Detroit Hockey Now’s Bob Duff noted, when Red Wings prospect Anton Johansson took a 5-minute major penalty for boarding in Leksands IF’s first exhibition game vs. Linkopings HC, he missed the opportunity to play in a full game with his brother Victor Johansson, who’s a 19-year-old left defenseman. As you probably know by now, Anton and Victor’s father, Thomas (or “Tjomme”) is Leksands IF’s GM.

Per Duff:

The two were forming a defense pairing on the weekend as Leksands was facing Linköping in SHL preseason action. However, the pairing didn’t last long. Anton was assessed a match penalty for boarding eight minutes into the game.

“I told him afterwards it was fun that I got to play with you,” Victor told Swedish website Falu-Kuriren.

“We had of course hoped to play more together now that we started together. But that’s what happens.

“I hope for more minutes (together) in the future.”

Anton’s older brother, Simon, plays for Ilves of the Finnish Liiga. He was in the Minnesota Wild’s system for several seasons.

2. Detroit Hockey Now’s Kevin Allen also took note of several exhibition games’ results on Sunday:

Continue reading Catch-up post: Sunday and Monday’s Red Wings news

Pronman’s list of the top 172 NHL prospects includes praise for Danielson and an Augustine absence

The Athletic’s Corey Pronman lists his top prospects in the NHL this morning, all 172(?) of them…

And he lists Nate Danielson #42nd, Simon Edvinsson #46th, Marco Kasper #52nd, Axel Sandin Pellikka #54th, Carter Bear #66th, Michael Brandsegg-Nygard #68th, and Sebastian Cossa #137th.

Pronman is bullish on Danielson…

Danielson’s production in Grand Rapids wasn’t amazing this season, but he played huge minutes and was often highly noticeable, a trend that’s followed him the last few years. He has excellent one-on-one skills, he skates well and his ability to create chances in transition will make him dangerous in the NHL. He’s a strong passer and shooter who can make a lot of things happen inside the offensive zone. Danielson is also a diligent two-way center. I get the concerns about his production, and at some point, he’s going to need to produce points consistently, but when I’ve watched him, I think his skill is legit and that he can be a top-six forward.

But a little less psyched about Axel Sandin Pellikka…

Sandin Pellikka had an excellent season, posting huge numbers in the SHL for a teenage defenseman, and was the best defenseman at the World Juniors. ASP is a highly skilled and poised defenseman. He looks calm and intelligent with the puck, making a lot of great plays, and has the soft touch of a power-play quarterback. ASP can beat teams with his skill, but also his shot, as he has a bullet one-timer from the left circle that projects to be a legit weapon versus NHL goalies. He’s not that big, but he’s mobile and wins a surprising number of battles for a guy his size. He projects as a top-four defenseman who should be OK defensively in the NHL while being able to run a first power-play unit.

Trey Augustine doesn’t make his list at all, with Pronman believing that the 6’1,” 194-pound Augustine is too small to stick in the NHL, per the embedded audio clip.

5’10,” 170-pound Dmitri Buchelnikov probably misses the list due to his size as well.

Ondrej Becher is grinding out developmental time in Grand Rapids

Detroit Hockey Now’s Bob Duff shares the highlights of a paywalled interview from iDnes.cz’s Patrik Czepiec as part of a larger article in which Duff profiles Red Wings prospect Ondrej Becher:

Detroit chose Becher 80th overall on draft day a year ago. That was following a 32-goal, 96-point season for Becher with the WHL Prince George Cougars.

Becher also collected 19 points in 15 WHL playoff games that spring. Red Wings’ bird dogs got plenty of chances to put their eyeballs on the Czech forward. His club wound up squaring off against Portland, the team of Detroit’s 2023 first-round pick Nate Danielson, in the WHL conference finals.

“His skating is something that when you watch him play, he has that extra gear,” Detroit assistant GM and director of amateur scouting Kris Draper said. “You watch him and he’s able to bring that speed and skill set.”

Slowed by an ankle injury at the start of last season, Becher would manage to accumulate 10-10-20 totals in 59 AHL games with the Grand Rapids Griffins.

Similar to his time in Prince George, Becher, 21, was left to earn every minute of his ice time with the Griffins. And he’s fine with that.

“I had to fight for it,” Becher said. “I started on the third and fourth lines. The beginnings were very difficult, but I worked every day and earned my place.”

Continued; the Red Wings had to ink Becher to a 2-way contract as he “aged out” of the WHL this past season, but the 21-year-old center appears to have the patience necessary with which to maximize his developmental time in Grand Rapids.

He’s plucky, for lack of a better term, and having a strong work ethic in addition to a strong skill set affords him an attempt to buck the odds against him.

A bit about Pavel Datsyuk and his ‘Magic Game’

Updated 2x at 8:21 AM on Sunday, August 31st: According to Russian Machine Never Breaks’ Ian Odland and the Hockey News’s Sammi Silber, former Red Wings forward and Hockey Hall of Famer Pavel Datsyuk held his final “Magic Game” in Yekaterinburg today.

Alex Ovechkin, Ilya Kovalchuk, Sergei Fedorov and of course Datsyuk took part in the friendly game, and MatchTV’s Pavel Lysenkov conducted a very, very long interview with Datsyuk as part of the celebrations. Kovalchuk, Fedorov and Ovechkin discussed the game, which Datsyuk himself initially described as his “Farewell to Hockey,” and Datsyuk, who works for Avtomobillist Yekaterinburg’s youth program, was named an “Honorary Citizen of Sverdlovsk.” Fedorov also discussed the fact that the Red Wings will eventually retire #13, and Datsyuk expressed some disappointment that his North American teammates couldn’t attend the game.

I’m not going to plug the Lysenkov interview into Google or Firefox because it’s FRICKING LONG, and I’m gonna be honest, I don’t want to spend my Saturday night translating a lengthy Russian interview (it’s been a long week of both work and caregiving as Aunt Annie tweaked her back pretty badly, and I’m kind of fried here), but I can tell you that Pavel’s son, Pavel Jr., is a goaltender, and that, while Datsyuk’s very happy to discuss his start in Detroit on the “Two kids and a goat” line, the evolution of the game after the 2004-2005 lockout, the Wings’ rivalry with Pittsburgh, his personal comparisons to Marian Hossa, and his leadership role on the Wings…

He’s still damn proud about having fought and won against Corey Perry, too.

Right now, Datsyuk’s basically a youth hockey coach with Avtomobilist, and for a long time during the course of his NHL career, he said that he hoped to work with children during his post-NHL career, so it sounds like the Magic Man is “living the dream.”

Update: Detroit Hockey Now’s Bob Duff posted two Tweets of note from the game:

Continue reading A bit about Pavel Datsyuk and his ‘Magic Game’

Wondering about William Wallinder

If I were to be asked which Red Wings prospect I’m eying most closely going into this upcoming NHL season, I would say that it’s 23-year-old defenseman William Wallinder.

The 6’4,” 190-pound lefty is really in his “fish or cut bait” season with the Grand Rapids Griffins, and by that I mean that most Europeans who don’t make the NHL by the end of their 3rd season (which Wallinder is going into) tend to head back home to earn more money and notoriety while playing a less-punishing schedule back in Europe.

Wallinder is never going to be a massive point-producer, but he’s one of those 4-5-6 defensemen who could become a very important supporting piece on the Wings’ blueline, and this evening, the Hockey News’s Michael Whitaker picks Grand Rapids Griffins assistant coach Brian Lashoff’s brain about Wallinder’s development:

Wallinder has spent the previous two seasons with the American Hockey League affiliate Grand Rapids Griffins, skating in 127 total games along with another 12 postseason games. His ice time increased with the Griffins this past season to the numerous call ups by the Red Wings of William Lagesson, who often served as the club’s eighth defenseman. 

In the mind of Griffins head coach Brian Lashoff, a former Griffins and Red Wings defenseman in his own right, Wallinder is progressing nicely. 

“He’s steadily progressing into a guy that I think is definitely has potential to play,” Lashoff said of Wallinder. “He, you know, took steps last year, playing more minutes, and we had (William) Lagesson with us at the start of the season, and then he went up to Detroit, so Wallinder took over a lot of that ice time. And I think he did well.”

Lashoff touted Wallinder’s skating and stickwork among his strengths that will eventually help him earn a full-time gig at the NHL level. 

“And, you know, obviously a great skater, you know, underrated. I think defensively, he has a good stick, and those types of things are going to be huge for him to take the next step to go to the NHL,” he said. “So definitely a guy that I think is steadily, steadily progressing to the point where he’s going to be knocking on the door.” 

Continued; to me, Wallinder is sort of a giant-sized Albert Johansson, a larger version of the Wings’ stalwart second-pair defenseman with longer arms, legs and reach through his stick.

Wallinder, like Johansson, isn’t physical per se, but he takes no shit from his opponents, and while Wallinder is going to have to battle his way up the depth chart, his 128 regular season AHL games’ worth of experience and steady play during that period of time suggest that he should be at least earning his “cups of coffee” with Detroit by mid-season, presuming that all continues to accelerate in terms of his steady development.

A Buchelnikov post-script

This is a very small hockey blog, so I tend not to pay attention to page hits or “SEO” (Search Engine Optimization) of headlines, blog entries or the occasional self-written piece.

I know that there’s a small but incredibly loyal readership base here, and I tend to write for them (you), and the rest just doesn’t matter very much, because we get by financially, and we get by in terms of making the loyal and dedicated readers happy in terms of the content delivered.

Today, I wrote an article about the tremendously uphill climb that Red Wings prospect and Russian phenomenon Dmitri Buchelnikov may very well face beginning when he comes over to North America next spring.

There were two things that got left out of the article that I want to highlight for you this evening:

Continue reading A Buchelnikov post-script