HSJ, Khan on Sulak and the rest of the Wings’ rookie debuts

The Free Press’s Helene St. James, MLive’s Ansar Khan and the Red Wings posted comment videos ahead of tonight’s game vs. Columbus, and here are the articles which accompany them, from St. James, who focuses on Libor Sulak…

Libor Sulak thought of his family as he prepared to make his NHL debut.

The defenseman was to be part of Thursday’s season opener for the Detroit Red Wings at Little Caesars Arena, one of five rookies on the roster. The Wings see Sulak as someone who can make them better because of how fast he can skate, an asset he showed off repeatedly during preseason.

“I’m intrigued by Libor because his skating is elite,” Wings coach Jeff Blashill said after the morning skate. “His body and strength and reach are elite. I think he’s got to learn a number of things in positioning, to make sure that he is on the right side of the puck so he’s not giving up easy chances. It’s something we’ve talked about with him through this week. The good thing is he seems to want to learn it, he seems to have a capacity to learn it.

“That will be the biggest thing for him, is can he just play from the right side of the puck and if does that, boy, he is going to be a real good player in the league. So hopefully he can learn that real fast.”

Who continues, and Khan, who focuses on the Wings’ rookies:

 

FSD posts video of Dylan Larkin, Zach Werenski breaking bread together

Fox Sports Detroit posted a video of Red Wings forward Dylan Larkin and Blue Jackets forward Zach Werenski “breaking bread” together ahead of tonight’s game between Detroit and Columbus:

Update: Fox Sports Detroit’s “The 313” discussed the start of the broadcast season as well:

 

HSJ on ‘Sixty Minutes of Hell’

The Free Press’s Helene St. James asked Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill to clarify the Wings’ “60 Minutes of Hell” mantra:

“It means hard to play against, making it hard for the other team,” Dylan Larkin said. “It’s a good model for us I think because we are capable of doing that with our speed up front and our defense.”

The shirts were the brainchild of coach Jeff Blashill, a variant on Arkansas’ Nolan Richardson’s ’40 minutes of hell.’

“We have to be hard to play against on a nightly basis,” Blashill said. “We have to make sure that we’re not a ‘tween-er’ team, we’re not kind of skilled but not winning the skill game and kind of hard but not really hard enough. We have to be miserable to play against every night.

“That means different things to different people. I have to find what that means to us. But we have to be more miserable to play against. I want teams walking into LCA going, boy, I don’t want to play this game, not this will be an easy one. It’s just kind of a reminder on a daily basis of making sure that we stay really, really miserable to play again.”

Red Wings-Blue Jackets game-day comment videos

The Free Press’s Helene St. James, MLive’s Ansar Khan and the Red Wings posted game-day comment videos, with St. James spotlighting Libor Sulak and Dylan Larkin…

 

 And Khan speaking with Dennis Cholowski…

Continue reading Red Wings-Blue Jackets game-day comment videos

Red Wings-Blue Jackets morning skate Tweets II: Wings’ media availability (no tribute-“A”-ries) and CBJ’s skate (same lineup)

The Morning Skate Tweets post was quite busy ahead of tonight’s game between Detroit and Columbus (7:30 PM EDT on FSD/FS Ohio/97.1 FM), so here’s a second post to summarize the Wings’ post-morning skate media comments and Columbus’ morning skate:


Continue reading Red Wings-Blue Jackets morning skate Tweets II: Wings’ media availability (no tribute-“A”-ries) and CBJ’s skate (same lineup)

Seidel on Filip Zadina’s longer developmental timeline

The Free Press’s Jeff Seidel discusses Filip Zadina’s longer developmental timeline in a column this morning:

“We want him to be important and he will be important in Grand Rapids,” Wings general manager Ken Holland said. “He’s going to play important situations. He’s going to play in the top two lines.”

You have to remember that Zadina is 19 years old.

“I want Filip Zadina to be fully developed by the time he’s 22, or 21, or 22,” Holland said.

As Holland talked, as he changed those numbers, it sounded interesting, if not revealing.

Like he was debating in his own head.

Obviously, there is no firm timeline.

And this is nothing new. Wings fans have heard this kind of talk before, waiting for prospects in Grand Rapids.

And frankly, it drives them nuts.

“When Henrik Zetterberg showed up in North America, I think he was 21 years of age,” Holland said. “Pavel Datsyuk showed up in North America when he was 22 years of age. Then, in Pav’s first year he scored 11 goals his first year and 12 goals the next year. They became who they were, when they were 24 and 25 years of age.”

Continued

 

USA Today’s Allen compares Dylan Larkin to his peers

USA Today’s Kevin Allen compares Dylan Larkin to his peers today, asking Auston Matthews and Jack Eichel to weigh in regarding the Red Wings’ budding star:

Larkin’s game is speed and relentless pursuit of the puck.

“He can fly and still catch players off guard,” Matthews said.

It’s possible that he could net 25-30 goals and push his assist total upward.

“If he gets a little confidence, he will take off,” Eichel said.

 Another reason why Larkin is the perfect foundation block is he is a Michigan native. He grew up in the Detroit area when the Red Wings were winning Stanley Cups.

“I see the fans’ perspective – the tweets, comments from friends at home,” Larkin said. “I love the city, love the fans and I want to be successful for them. But it’s different now because I’m on the other, with this group, and I want to win for them, too.”

Allen continues…

The Athletic’s Custance weighs in on Jeff Blashill in his contract year

The Athletic’s Craig Custance discusses Jeff Blashill’s need to impress during the final year of his contract with the Red Wings:

In Detroit, Blashill runs a program that was once great and is now going through the long and painful process of trying to reclaim its place as one of the best organizations in the NHL. And heading into this NHL season, one that begins for the Red Wings tonight against the Blue Jackets, he’s facing a crucial point in the process for himself personally.

This season marks the last of the four-year contract he signed to replace Mike Babcock when Babcock left for the Maple Leafs. Blashill, to put it in the parlance of the players, is in a contract year.

He has to earn his extension by succeeding with a roster that has all the makings of one that should end up close to the basement. By any reasonable calculation, it’s not a playoff roster. It’s also not an ideal spot for a coach being evaluated in a league measured by wins and losses.

“My focus as a coach is no different regardless of my contractual situation. It’s everything possible we can do to help these guys continue to take steps so our team ceiling gets higher and higher and higher and higher,” Blashill said. “The question is, ‘How quick will that happen?’ I can’t answer that. That’s the goal regardless of my contract.”

Custance continues…