Three things: Praise for Z’s smarts, the chicken or the egg (that is AA’s ice time), and Zadina’s re-set

Of Red Wings-related note this evening:

  1. The Toronto Sun’s Steve Simmons lauded Henrik Zetterberg:

Statistics can’t measure what Henrik Zetterberg did for the Detroit Red Wings. They are only part of the package. A player like Zetterberg, getting 18 minutes a night, was 16 minutes of a clinic on how to play without the puck. There have been few players smarter than him in his time in the NHL. He’s in my Hall of Fame, every single day.

2. The Traverse City Record-Eagle’s James Cook noted that there’s a chicken-vs-egg sort of thing going on between Andreas Athanasiou, who believes that ice time merits successful scoring, and coach Jeff Blashill, who believes that successful scoring merits ice time:

“I think any player would argue more minutes will equal more production,” Red Wings head coach Jeff Blashill said. “I don’t know that’s necessarily always true. I’d also argue there’s lots of players in the league that have found ways to be very, very good without lots of minutes, and then what generally happens then is more minutes follow.”

Athanasiou could be in line for more ice time anyway, with Friday’s retirement announcement by Henrik Zetterberg at training camp.

Athanasiou has been working on a line with Thomas Vanek, who Detroit re-signed this off-season after dealing the forward to Florida at the 2017 trade deadline.

“I think playing with a player that’s so highly skilled like him, it makes the game so much easier,” Athanasiou said. “When the puck is on his stick, I don’t have to worry too much, I know it’s going to be in the right spot — as long as I put myself in the right position, I have a good feeling it’s going to be right on my tape. He’s so good with the puck, and I think my speed opens up a lot of ice for him. I think we both have that mindset where we know how to use each other and have those give-and-gos and find that open ice and create the offense.”

Continued

3. DetroitRedWings.com’s Dana Wakiji and Arthur J. Regner noted that Filip Zadina has taken the disappointment of the prospect tournament and put it behind him as training camp serves as a hard re-set:

Continue reading Three things: Praise for Z’s smarts, the chicken or the egg (that is AA’s ice time), and Zadina’s re-set

Good news regarding Centre ICE’s fundraising efforts

The Traverse City Record-Eagle’s James Cook reports good news regarding Centre ICE Arena’s fundraising efforts:

Centre Ice Arena is more than 80 percent of the way in repaying the $220,000 it borrowed to meet NHL safety guidelines to host the NHL Prospect Tournament and Detroit Red Wings training camp.

Centre Ice director Terry Marchand said two teams from the Prospects Tournament — Detroit and Dallas — each pitched in $10,000 to help with the costs.

The rink underwent major renovations to both ice surfaces over the last year, following the NHL changes in rink requirements.

“They loved it,” Marchand said of the eight NHL teams participating in the Prospects Tournament. “The rink is set up perfectly for this tournament.”

The $20,000 from the National Hockey League franchises raises the fundraising total to $75,000, on top of a previous $110,000 contribution from Traverse City Tourism. That leaves $35,000 remaining.

The Red Wings promised to return training camp to Traverse City for at least three more years, while Centre Ice has a commitment from the Prospect Tournament of five years. It’s unlikely the Red Wings would leave before the tournament.

Continued

Evening news: On AA, Zadina and Day 2 Wings videos

Updated at 6:44 PM: Of Red Wings-related mainstream media note this evening:

1. As the Free Press’s Helene St. James notes, Andreas Athanasiou believes that the chicken comes before the egg, and that ice time begets performance:

Consistency is an issue: at one point last season, Athanasiou went 15 games without scoring a goal and contributing only four assists. He later went 13 games without a goal.

“I think it’s just consistently playing – I think when I get those consistent minutes, I consistently produce,” Athanasiou said. “So as long as those minutes don’t fluctuate from a lot to a little, if it’s a comfortable amount of minutes, I definitely can produce with it.”

Athanasiou’s minutes did fluctuate during the 15-game stretch, but he topped 14 minutes in eight of those games. Athanasiou has been vocal about ice time – or lack of it – before.

“I think any player would argue more minutes will equal more production,” coach Jeff Blashill said. “I don’t know that’s necessarily always true. I’d also argue there’s lots of players in the league that have found ways to be very, very good without lots of minutes, and then what generally happens then is more minutes follow.”

Blashill said he plans to be vigilant that “whatever line is really going, they have to keep getting lots of ice time.”

St. James continues, and you can watch Athanasiou’s comments here:

2. MLive’s Ansar Khan spoke with Filip Zadina regarding his rebounding from an up-and-down prospect tournament:

Continue reading Evening news: On AA, Zadina and Day 2 Wings videos

Impressions from the second day of Red Wings training camp ’18

The Detroit Red Wings’ second day of training camp began with a little bit of a shock treatment for Team Lindsay, which woke up a little rusty: coach Blashill made the first practice group skate lateral laps for a couple of minutes, and Blashill himself explained that he wanted to issue some “immediate punishment” for a case of the sleepies.

Eventually, Team Lindsay woke up and took part in a complicated hour-and-a-half’s worth of attacking and gap control drills, so many that I’ve got four pages worth of drill notes in my notebook.

It’s hard to emphasize how fast the Red Wings are executing their drills this season, but the pace is break-neck, if not, dare I say it, “Babcockian.” It’s been impressive to watch the Red Wings emphasize not just team speed, but also execution of high-tempo plays at high speed. The average fan in the crowd may not understand the intricacies of a looping retrieval and counterattack, but things like urgency and pace translate to any level of hockey-speak…

And Filip Zadina’s 2 goals and an assist, Tyler Bertuzzi’s goal and 2 assists and the tremendous level of play during the scrimmage between Team Howe and Team Delvecchio spoke to the level of competition for jobs, even on the second day of training camp.

Continue reading Impressions from the second day of Red Wings training camp ’18

Afternoon round-up: Videos and articles from the second day of training camp, Zetterberg stuff and chatter about Jussi Jokinen

Of Red Wings-related note on a Saturday afternoon:

1. Fox Sports Detroit’s John Keating conducted an interview with Jeff Blashill from Centre ICE Arena this morning…

2. And the Red Wings posted clips of David Pope, Andreas Athanasiou and Evgeny Svechnikov speaking with the media:

Continue reading Afternoon round-up: Videos and articles from the second day of training camp, Zetterberg stuff and chatter about Jussi Jokinen

Audio from the second day of training camp ’18, part 3: Cholowski and Zadina

The final crop of audio from Saturday’s sessions at Red Wings training camp come in the form of interviews with Dennis Cholowski, who addressed his form over the course of a 2-minute chat, and Filip Zadina, who was a little bit wordier in discussing his renewed level of confidence for about five minutes:

Audio from the second day of training camp ’18, part 2: Green, Mantha, Blashill

Red Wings defenseman Mike Green, forward Anthony Mantha and coach Jeff Blashill spoke with the media during scrums at the Red Wings’ training camp on Saturday, and:

Mike Green discussed his return to health after neck surgery and his preparations for what he hopes will be an improved season:

Anthony Mantha talked about his hopes of playing on a fast line with Dylan Larkin and Tyler Bertuzzi, his inability to box this past summer and his non-decision regarding the shot blockers on his gloves:

Finally, Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill addressed his sleepy campers this morning, the chicken-or-egg game that is ice time vs. opportunity for Andreas Athanasiou, his hopes that AA and Thomas Vanek skate well together on the Wings’ third line, his take on tonight’s alumni game and much more over the course of an 11-minute interview: