ECHL officials to officiate Red Wings’ prospect tournament

FYI, per the ECHL:

ECHL officials to officiate at NHL Prospects Tournament in Traverse City

The ECHL announced on Thursday that 16 ECHL on-ice officials, along with Senior Vice President of Hockey Operations Joe Ernst and Manager of Officiating Stephen Thomson, will work the 2018 NHL Prospects Tournament in Traverse City, Michigan from Sept. 7-11. This marks the seventh consecutive tournament that ECHL officials have worked games.

Debuting in 1988 with four teams, the NHL Prospects Tournament has expanded to now include eight clubs – Carolina Hurricanes, Chicago Blackhawks, Columbus Blue Jackets, Dallas Stars, Detroit Red Wings, Minnesota Wild, New York Rangers and St. Louis Blues. Teams are divided into two divisions for a three-day round robin tournament, then ranked by their win-loss records for final placement in seventh, fifth, third and Championship games on the final day.

Ernst and Thomson will be responsible for the selection and scheduling of the officials for each game of the tournament, and will assist any playing or rule situation that takes place during the tournament. The officiating staff for the tournament includes eight referees and eight linesmen.

Continue reading ECHL officials to officiate Red Wings’ prospect tournament

Wings video: Kronwall, Abdelkader, Hronek, Svechnikov speak with the media

Updated 3x with Justin Abdelkader, Filip Hronek and Niklas Kronwall’s comments @ 2:20 PM: Here’s Niklas Kronwall speaking with the media for 3:25, per the Red Wings, talking about Henrik Zetterberg’s fate, as well as his own:

Update: Here’s Justin Abdelkader…

Continue reading Wings video: Kronwall, Abdelkader, Hronek, Svechnikov speak with the media

NHL 19 will allow players to play as ‘legends’ Terry Sawchuk, Ted Lindsay and Mark Howe

EA Sports revealed its “NHL 19 Legends” trailer today, and Terry Sawchuk, Ted Lindsay and Mark Howe are among the Wings’ “legendary” representatives:

Some Wings prospect tournament player expectations

Here is the Red Wings’ prospect tournament roster, along with some of my tournament expectations for each player:

2018 Detroit Red Wings NHL Prospect Tournament Roster

# Name Pos. 2017-18 Team Acquired

11 Filip Zadina RW Halifax (QMJHL) 2018 1st round (6th overall): At this point, Zadina would be wise to show that his scoring prowess in the QMJHL will not require much of a transition period, as WDIV’s David Bartkowiak Jr. suggested. Zadina has superstar potential, but it may take time for him to adjust to tighter confines and heavier checking at the NHL level (at 6′ and 196 pounds, he should be able to hack it), and now is as good a time as any to make those transitions while continuing to score.

21 Dennis Cholowski D Portland (WHL) 2016 1st round (20th overall): Dennis needs to show the Wings that he’s physically and mentally matured as a defenseman. At 20 years of age, and standing at 6’1″ and 200 pounds, Cholowski is probably ticketed to play for the Grand Rapids Griffins as Filip Hronek appears to be “more ready,” but Cholowski could upset the call-up order if he has a strong tournament and training camp. It’s going to be imperative that Cholowski and teammate Vili Saarijarvi are the leaders on defense, in both offensive and defensive situations (i.e. on the power play and penalty-kill).

Continue reading Some Wings prospect tournament player expectations

Bartkowiak wonders aloud whether Zadina = Mantha 2.0

WDIV’s David Bartkowiak Jr. wonders aloud whether Filip Zadina’s Quebec League success won’t immediately translate to high NHL productivity, suggesting that Zadina may turn out to be Anthony Mantha 2.0–a player worth waiting for, but requiring some developmental time:

The Red Wings, as a club, are known for having prospects “marinate,” if you will, in the minor leagues before slotting them into the NHL lineup. Case in point is Anthony Mantha, who led the Red Wings with 24 goals this past season, his second full season with the NHL team.

Mantha’s road to NHL-level production is about four or five years in the making. Remember, it was Mantha, the 20th overall pick in the 2013 draft, who scored 57 goals and another 63 assists in his final year in the QMJHL. That was after two full seasons with the QMJHL’s Val d’Or Foreurs. He scored 51 points in his first season, 89 points in his second and then finished with that monster 120-point season. He was destined for NHL success.

And he’s found it, but it took two full seasons in the AHL and growing pains in the NHL before Mantha could be considered a real threat to opponents. He had to find a way to use his big 6-foot-5 frame and learn what tracking down the NHL’s fastest players is like. The jump from juniors to the pros isn’t exactly a walk in the park.

Of course, Zadina is not Mantha, and it’s not necessarily fair to compare any players, especially two players with such different backgrounds. But one thing the Red Wings might be looking for is whether Zadina can show consistent growth at another level. He only played one season in Canada juniors, so there’s no way to really measure his growth at that level.

Bartkowiak Jr. continues, and Zadina’s spot in the lineup (or the lack thereof) will be determined over the course of the next couple of weeks…

Tweets from practice: “Captain’s practices” officially begin at LCA

The Red Wings have been holding informal practices at Little Caesars Arena for some time now, but the media was let in for the first official “captain’s practice” today, as noted by the Detroit News’s Ted Kulfan:


The Red Wings then said, “Hello from LCA”:

More to come, obviously.

Update #1:

Continue reading Tweets from practice: “Captain’s practices” officially begin at LCA

Nice pitch, Mr. Shine

Grand Rapids Griffins forward Dominik Shine fired a “first pitch” right through the strike zone at the West Michigan Whitecaps’ Grand Rapids Griffins-themed evening–while shooting the ball with a hockey stick:

 

The Athletic’s Pronman will be watching Joe Veleno intently

The Athletic’s Corey Pronman has penned a list of prospects that he will be watching intently from each and every one of the NHL’s 31 teams, and Joe Veleno earns his nod as the Wings’ prospect-to-watch:

Detroit: Joseph Veleno, C

Michael Rasmussen, Filip Zadina, and Filip Hronek are the Wings’ top prospects with realistic chances of making the opening day roster. The reason I’m mentioning Veleno is due to the fact he slid on draft day over concerns about his offensive potential, with many scouts I’ve talked to labeling him a third-line center at best. I think there’s a little more there, though. He’s shown it to be in flashes, and he’ll have a chip on his shoulder after what’s transpired in the summer. I’ll be curious to see if he can light the lamp a few times in the preseason.

Continued

Khan spotlights 10 prospects to watch in Traverse City

MLive’s Ansar Khan posted a list of 10 prospects who bear watching during the Red Wings’ prospect tournament, and aside from the star players, I’m curious to find out whether this prospect can round into form after battling multiple knee injuries…

Axel Holmstrom

Position: Center

Height/Weight: 6-1/200

Age: 22

Acquired: 2014 seventh round (No. 196)

2017-18 team: Grand Rapids (AHL)

2017-18 stats: 66 games, 7 goals, 19 assists, 26 points

He didn’t have a big impact in his first full pro season with the Griffins. He’ll return to Grand Rapids, where he hopes to put up better numbers while finding his niche as either a top six forward or a checking-line center.

Khan continues…

 

Kulfan discusses the prospect tournament with Ryan Martin

The Detroit News’s Ted Kulfan spoke with Red Wings assistant GM Ryan Martin regarding the Red Wings’ annual prospect tournament, which begins on Friday in Traverse City, MI:

“For sure it’s an evaluation camp,” said Ryan Martin, Red Wings’ assistant general manager. “It’s an excellent opportunity for players to show what they can do, in front of the front office, coaching staff, the eight teams competing at the tournament, and representatives from all 31 teams who will be there.”

For the Red Wings, and their curious fan base, this tournament will be a chance to see recent first-round draft picks Dennis Cholowski, Michael Rasmussen, Filip Zadina and Joe Veleno all on the same team, and playing against top-tier talent from other NHL organizations.

Rasmussen and Zadina are two forwards who have a path to making the Opening Night NHL roster, while Cholowski has more of a crowded battle with several other defensemen for an available roster spot on the blue line.

“There will be a lot of evaluation, there is training camp and exhibition games and (intra-squad) scrimmages, but this is a first chance to make an impression and show they deserve to be in the NHL,” Martin said.

The 8-team tournament takes place on Friday, Saturday, Monday and Tuesday at Centre ICE Arena, and jobs on the Red Wings’ roster aren’t necessarily in play, but the pecking order for call-ups and nods for later-in-the-year promotions are definitely part of the equation…and the free agents get recruited by teams all over North America.

With something like 200 scouts in attendance, this is a place to get noticed, and as Martin tells Kulfan, the teams involved believe that the tournament offers elite-level play:

“I love this tournament,” said Martin, who believes the community involvement from Traverse City, makes this one of the better such tournaments around the league this weekend. “When you consider the over 200 volunteers, the rink, the setting, the talent in this tournament, the weather, it’s a great week (of hockey).

“It’s great, great hockey, and with games being staggered and going on at both rinks, for a hockey fan it doesn’t get much better.

“You’re going to see the top three, four or five top prospects from each of the eight organizations. For most of these players it’s the best quality of hockey they will have played in during their career (to this point).”

Kulfan continues, and you can access the tournament schedule here on Centre ICE’s website.