Three things: Two prospect tournament articles and a Wings ‘community tour’ press release

Of Red Wings-related note early on a Saturday morning:

  1. The Traverse City Record-Eagle’s Jake Atnip spoke with Red Wings prospect Dennis Cholowski and Grand Rapids Griffins coach Ben Simon regarding the expectations for Cholowski at the prospect tournament:

“This tournament gives you confidence,” the Canadian defenseman said. “Being around all of these guys and playing a few games gets you ready for training camp.

“This hockey is really good hockey. It definitely gets you ready. The NHL preseason games are not going to be much different from this hockey. If you are able to come out here and play well it gives you a lot of confidence rolling into the preseason.”

Cholowski participated in the NHL Prospect Tournament last year and sees it as an opportunity to head into training camp trending in the right direction. His new coach agrees.

“It is important for them to get to know me a little bit and get off on the right foot,” first-year Griffins head coach Ben Simon said. “Good habits, practice habits and leaving a good impression. They want to leave a good impression with the NHL team first and foremost. Then throughout that process if they leave an impression with Detroit it will obviously reflect well with me as well.”

2. Hockeybuzz’s Bob Duff spoke with Wings assistant GM Ryan Martin regarding the tournament and the Wings’ top prospects taking part in said event:

Continue reading Three things: Two prospect tournament articles and a Wings ‘community tour’ press release

Wings and Wild recaps of Friday’s 4-2 loss at the prospect tournament ’18

I’ve weighed in on the Red Wings prospects‘ 4-2 loss to the Minnesota Wild at the prospect tournament on Friday night, and here are the official takes, per MinnesotaWild.com’s Dan Myers…

Minnesota overcame a massive disparity in the power play column; the Wild had just one power play to the Red Wings’ seven at one point in the third period. But thanks to its tremendous kill, led by goaltender Kaapo Kahkonen, Minnesota was able to weather the storm.

Overall, the Wild killed seven of Detroit’s eight power play chances. The only goal against came off the stick of 2018 sixth-overall pick Filip Zadina on a one-timer from the right circle that nobody in the world was stopping.

Kahkonen, who is expected to battle for regular time in Iowa this season, made 28 saves.

“You always need to have good goaltending to have good penalty killing,” said Iowa coach Tim Army. “The penalty killing units were great. They really dug in.”

Myers continues, and DetroitRedWings.com’s Dana Wakiji picks up the story from there via a “trending” recap:

Filip Zadina: Zadina’s shot is a known commodity and he used it effectively, scoring just 10 seconds into the Wings’ fourth power play at 18:45 of the first period. The goal tied the game at 1. Zadina had other opportunities on the power play as the Wild took several penalties during the game but he was not able to convert again.

Quotable: “It was pretty good situation on the ice. Cholo passed me the puck well and I hit it and I scored. It was good, but we lost, so I’m kind of disappointed with myself that I didn’t have more on the ice but we got to be ready for tomorrow’s game.” – Zadina

Quotable II: “He’s a pure goal-scorer. I played with him all last year, I think I’m pretty well used to seeing that by now. I think that’s what everyone expects of him. He’s got a lethal shot and when he’s able to get away, it’s the velocity on it is pretty good.” – [Jared] McIsaac

Quotable III: “Overall I thought he played very well. The expectations for him are so high, we’re holding him to a high standard, so it’s going to be tough for him to fulfill that every day. But obviously his goal was a nice shot. He wants the puck, he wants to compete and that’s one thing you notice right away is that he cares, he competes. There’s some things that he’s got to get out of his system a little bit moving forward but overall, I thought he settled in as the game went on nicely.” – Ben Simon, Grand Rapids Griffins head coach

Wakiji also continues, and the Wings posted some post-game videos on Twitter:


 

Impressions from the Red Wings’ 4-2 loss to the Minnesota Wild at the prospect tournament ’18

The Detroit Red Wings’ prospects dropped a 4-2 decision to the Minnesota Wild’s prospects on Friday night in Traverse City.

As a result, the Wings will focus on Saturday’s game against the Dallas Stars’ prospects (7 PM EDT on FSD GO and the Wings’ website) as a must-win affair.

All was not lost on Friday, despite the Wings going 1-for-8 on the power play and surrendering 35 shots to an opportunistic Wild team; as stated in the audio post, the Wings received strong performances from their stars, with Filip Zadina scoring a trademark one-timer goal, Dennis Cholowski and Joe Veleno registering 2 assists apiece, Jared McIsaac scoring and Patrik Rybar stopping 32 of 34 shots in his North American debut.

Continue reading Impressions from the Red Wings’ 4-2 loss to the Minnesota Wild at the prospect tournament ’18

Audio from the Red Wings prospects’ 4-2 loss to Minnesota at the prospect tournament ’18

The Detroit Red Wings’ prospects were just a little too fancy and just a little too fine on Friday night, going 1-for-8 on the power play and losing 4-2 to the Minnesota Wild’s prospects.

The Wings started strong and their top players were good-to-great, but the Wings’ prospects seemed to be missing a little cohesion and a lot of net-front drive, and between getting out of flow due to the 12 special teams situations (8 PP’s and 4 PK’s) and the loss of Vili Saarijarvi (undisclosed) for the third period, the Wings were just unnerved enough to be kept on their heels by an opportunistic Wild team.

Continue reading Audio from the Red Wings prospects’ 4-2 loss to Minnesota at the prospect tournament ’18

Frk hopes to find a spot on the Wings’ forward lines (again)

According to the Detroit News’s Ted Kulfan, Martin Frk aims to earn a roster spot for the second straight season as Frk finds himself among stiff competition for one of the last spots on the Wings’ forward lines:

“I have to show them I deserve to be here,” said Frk on Friday, after another informal team workout. “I worked real hard in the summer to make sure I’m ready for this season. I was kind of in this spot last year. I had to come in here and earn a spot, and I stayed the whole year.

“I don’t think I have a spot here. I have to work real hard for it and make sure I show them I can play here. I want to do everything I can for it to make sure I start the season here.”

The fact Henrik Zetterberg (back) will not start the season — Zetterberg’s career could be in jeopardy — gives Frk a better chance of landing a roster spot that is suddenly open.

But forwards Evgeny Svechnikov and Dominic Turgeon are looking for NHL jobs. Then there is Luke Witkowski, who is a versatile player and can play either forward or defense. He’s also the team’s physical presence and Witkowski’s spot is uncertain.

Continued

Red Wings post ‘morning skate report’; Wakiji talks Zadina-Rasmussen-Smith line

Ahead of tonight’s game against the Minnesota Wild, the Red Wings posted a prospect tournament “morning skate report”…

And DetroitRedWings.com’s Dana Wakiji discussed the reunion of the Filip Zadina-Michael Rasmussen-Givani Smith line in her notebook:

Zadina is 6-feet, 196 pounds, with speed, skill and a spectacular finish around the net.

Rasmussen is 6-foot-6, 221 pounds, with fantastic hand-eye coordination and a willingness to park in front of the net.

Smith is 6-foot-2, 206 pounds, with the ability to take whatever spot he wants on the ice and a relentlessness in his game.

“You go to the draft and you see their names called and you meet these kids a little bit and you see highlights. You’re excited,” Grand Rapids coach Ben Simon said. “It’s great for the organization, you see how talented they are. It’s a great glimmer of hope with what’s coming up the pipeline for Detroit. To be able to kind of get these guys for a week and see what they can do and get them off on the right foot so they’re going to camp on a positive is huge. These kids are excited. This is their first camp, their first opportunity to really leave a good impression or start with a good impression off Day 1 so it is exciting.”

Wakiji continues…

Walleye add defenseman MacKenzie Stuart

From the Toledo Walleye:

Mackenze Stewart joins the Walleye ranks

(Toledo, OH) – Defenseman Mackenze Stewart has agreed to terms for the 2018-19 season with the Toledo Walleye.

Stewart, a native of Calgary, Alberta, appeared in 56 games last season with the Kalamazoo Wings, scoring four goals with eight assists and 55 penalty minutes. He also appeared in a pair of games for Utica in the AHL with five penalty minutes. The 6’4”, 215 pound defenseman spent his first pro season in Alaska in 2016-17 where he posted 13 points (6G, 7A), 117 penalty minutes and was a plus six.

“Big, powerful defenseman is the best way to describe Mackenze,” said Head Coach Dan Watson. “We witnessed his abilities last season in Kalamazoo and feel like he will be a tremendous fit to our defensive unit.”

The 23-year-old was drafted by Vancouver in the 7th round of the 2014 NHL Draft while he playing for the Prince Albert Raiders of the WHL. Over 163 career WHL contests, Stewart scored 15 times with 16 assists and 230 penalty minutes. His final WHL season was in the 2015-16 season with Tri-City when Stewart collected 47 penalty minutes and 11 points (5G, 6A) in just 36 contests. The defenseman made his pro debut during that season with six games in Kalamazoo and four more in Utica.

 

Dominic Turgeon tells Khan that he’s healthy, ready to push for an NHL job

MLive’s Ansar Khan spoke with forward Dominic Turgeon regarding his recovery from a “thoracic outlet syndrome” blood clot that required the removal of a rib, as well as Turgeon’s goals for an upcoming (and hopefully healthy) season:

“My mindset is to come into camp and be strong in what I can bring to hockey,” Turgeon said. “Being a strong two-way player, being good on face-offs, being good on the penalty kill, and also provide some offense.”

Turgeon’s season ended abruptly on April 11, when he underwent surgery in Round Rock, Texas. The Griffins were on a road trip when Turgeon was diagnosed with thoracic outlet syndrome. After the clot was removed, he flew to Tampa, where a rib was removed from his right side.

“It definitely was scary,” Turgeon, Detroit’s second pick (63rd overall) in 2014, said. “I didn’t know much of it at the time, but stuff happens in life. Thankfully, the recovery went well.”

How he developed the condition remains a mystery.

“One day my arm just kind of got swollen, kind of got big,” Turgeon said. “I thought it was from an elbow problem at first. It never really went away. Eventually I got it checked out and I needed surgery right away. They said a lot of pitchers or even tennis players get it, but it’s very rare for hockey players.”

Khan continues…

Impressions from Friday’s morning skate at the Red Wings’ prospect tournament ’18

The Detroit Red Wings’ prospects participated in a morning skate ahead of tonight’s game against the Minnesota Wild’s prospects at Centre ICE Arena (7:30 PM EDT on Fox Sports GO and the Red Wings’ website).

As noted in the audio post, the Wings’ prospects worked on breakouts, both in possession of the puck and via dump-in retrievals by goaltenders or defensemen, and they also engaged in some power play/PK drills.

Continue reading Impressions from Friday’s morning skate at the Red Wings’ prospect tournament ’18

WDIV’s Bartkowiak Jr. looks forward to 5 regular season games

WDIV’s David Bartkowiak Jr. posted a list of 5 “must-watch” Red Wings games during the 2018-19 season, and I personally dig this one:

Oct. 11 — Maple Leafs at Red Wings

Of course, the bad blood between these Atlantic Division rivals goes back decades. But now that they’re back in the same division with former Red Wings forward Brendan Shanahan and former Red Wings coach Mike Babcock running things for the boys in blue, the Maple Leafs and Red Wings rivalry is in full force. At least one of the teams is a contender this year — you can guess which one.

On Oct. 11, fans at Little Caesars Arena will get a look at John Tavares and Auston Matthews up close. Thanks to the Tavares signing, the anticipation for this Maple Leafs season is as big as it has ever been in the history of the Toronto franchise. It’s the perfect time to see the Red Wings upset them early in the season — it may be the only shot they have at beating Toronto this year, no joke.

Honestly, a Wings-Leafs game in Detroit is way worth the ticket. The Toronto fans will show up in droves, and there will be animosity in the stands. Hopefully no ginger ales get thrown — not saying that’s ever happened before.

Bartkowiak Jr. continues…