Cold comfort: The Mrazek draft pick is now a 3rd-rounder

The Philadelphia Flyers defeated the Washington Capitals 6-3 on Sunday evening, and as a result, per MLive’s Ansar Khan…

Update: Here’s a little more from the Free Press’s Helene St. James:

Sunday saw Petr Mrazek won his fifth game since being traded to Philadelphia Flyers Feb. 19. As long as the Flyers make the playoffs — and that’s looking pretty safe as they have 85 points, good for third place in the Metropolitan Division — the 2018 conditional fourth-round pick the Wings received in the trade becomes a third-round pick.

That would give the Wings three picks in the third round: their own, Pittsburgh’s (from the Scott Wilson trade) and Philadelphia’s. The Wings also have two first-round picks and two second-round picks, all of which may come within the first 40 selections.

The pick would improve to a second rounder if the Flyers advance to the Eastern Conference finals and Mrazek wins six playoff games.

Mrazek made 25 saves in the Flyers’ 6-3 victory over Washington on Sunday. Next up for the Flyers: A date Tuesday at Little Caesars Arena against the Red Wings, who have lost 10 straight.

Red Wings-Avs quick take: 0-9-and-1, ain’t that a kick in the groin

The Detroit Red Wings tried to snap an 0-8-and-1 losing streak against the surging Colorado Avalanche on Sunday afternoon. Colorado had won 6 of their past 10 going into Sunday’s game, and the Avs had earned points in 9 of 10 games.

Detroit displayed good efforts for portions of a 5-1 loss. The Wings gave up a 3-0 lead over the course of the first 31:14, but Detroit played much better during the second half of the 2nd period and until the Avs scored their 4-1 goal in the 3rd, with the Red Wings playing honest-to-goodness dominant hockey for about a period. The Wings just couldn’t or wouldn’t score on Semyon Varlamov, and Jared Coreau was not spectacular by any means, but he got no support whatsoever as Nathan MacKinnon and company steamrolled the Wings.

Disturbingly, Henrik Zetterberg and Gustav Nyquist–arguably the best players of late on the team’s best line of late–were -4, and Bertuzzi and Ericsson were -3.

Detroit will head home at 0-9-and-1 over their past 10 games, hoping to beat Petr Mrazek’s Philadelphia Flyers on Tuesday and the Washington Capitals on Thursday before heading out to play games in Toronto (Saturday) and Montreal (Monday the 26th).

Continue reading Red Wings-Avs quick take: 0-9-and-1, ain’t that a kick in the groin

NCAA Division 1 hockey playoffs are set: Michigan Tech, Michigan, Kotkansalo’s BU Terriers in action next weekend

Via the Free Press’s Kirkland Crawford, the NCAA Division I hockey tournament’s playoff seeds are set, and three teams will be of interest to Michigan hockey fans, for various reasons:

In the “local team” category, Michigan Technological University will battle Notre Dame on Friday, March 23rd at 3 PM EDT on ESPN2, representing the “East” bracket;

The University of Michigan will battle Northeastern University on Saturday, March 24th at 4:30 PM on ESPNews, representing the Northeast Division;

And Red Wings prospect Kasper Kotkansalo’s Boston University Terriers will also represent the Northeast Division, playing against Cornell on Saturday, March 24th at 1 PM on ESPNews.

Mid-day news: Wings-Avs previews; on Nyquist and this week’s opponents

Of Red Wings-related note this afternoon:

Update: Here’s the Wings’ Game Day Preview video:

Update #2: Here’s Wings coach Jeff Blashill’s pre-game remarks:

1. ColoradoAvalanche.com’s Scott MacDonald filed a Wings-Avs preview ahead of today’s game between the teams (3 PM EDT on FSD/Altitude/97.1 FM). Among MacDonald’s notes:

Last Time They Met

The Avalanche took on the Red Wings on Nov. 19 and skated out of Little Caesers Arena with a 4-3 overtime victory. Despite falling 3-1 midway through the third period, Colorado battled back and tied the game with less than a minute remaining to force overtime. Nathan MacKinnon notched the winning tally in the extra frame and Carl Soderberg, Nail Yakupov and Erik Johnson each netted a goal of their own to secure the win. Tyson Barrie tallied two helpers in the win and Jonathan Bernier made 21 saves to help his team to victory.

Continue reading Mid-day news: Wings-Avs previews; on Nyquist and this week’s opponents

Prospect round-up: Griffins go 1-for-3 on the week; Walleye win 3 straight; playoffs underway elsewhere

Of prospect-related note over the last couple of days:

In the AHL, the Grand Rapids Griffins had a rough week. The Griffins, who are in tough as they battle for a playoff spot,

On Wednesday, Grand Rapids blew a 2-0 lead en route to a 4-2 loss to the Iowa Wild. The Griffins’ website posted a recap;

On Friday, things went much better. Grand Rapids beat the Rockford IceHogs 4-3 in overtime thanks to an Eric Tangradi marker, and the Griffins earned coach Todd Nelson his 300th win. The Griffins’ website posted a recap;

On Saturday, the Iowa Wild did their best to dent the Griffins’ playoff hopes, and they did so by scoring with 16 seconds remaining in regulation, winning 2-1 over the Griffins. Again, the Griffins’ website posted a recap;

Continue reading Prospect round-up: Griffins go 1-for-3 on the week; Walleye win 3 straight; playoffs underway elsewhere

Griffins’ McIlrath engages in a spirited bout

The Grand Rapids Griffins did not win on Saturday night, dropping a 2-1 decision to the Iowa Wild, but they did not do so before Dylan McIlrath and Kurtis Gabriel doffed gloves and engaged in a spirited bout:

 

HSJ’s conversation with Holland, Yzerman, Nill reveals the obvious: Chris Ilitch’s post-season thoughts will determine the organization’s future

The Detroit Free Press’s Helene St. James engaged in a series of conversations with Red Wings GM Ken Holland, Tampa Bay Lightning GM Steve Yzerman and Dallas Stars GM Jim Nill regarding the time, work and patience that go into rebuilding teams.

As you might imagine, the Red Wings GM’s words–regarding his own future–are of most importance to the fan base:

Holland, 62, has been the Wings’ general manager since taking over in 1997 for Jim Devellano, who was hired to run the team in 1982 by new owner Mike Ilitch. Holland is in the last year of his contract, and his future is uncertain. The expectation is Holland will meet with current owner Christopher Ilitch soon after the season ends. Maybe Holland is renewed for two or three years, with Kris Draper continuing as an understudy. Maybe Holland joins another organization. Holland wants to keep working, and said he is not concerned about the uncertainty of whether he’ll be staying in Detroit or looking for a new job.

“It’s not odd for me because I’ve been here for a long time,” he said. “The Red Wings have been a big part of my life, my family’s life. It’s like somebody who went to the University of Michigan — you’re a Michigan alumni and you want Michigan to do good even when you leave. Right now, I’m a Red Wing and I want the Red Wings to be successful. The work we are doing right now is going to pay dividends down the road. I can’t tell you how far down the road. It depends on how many of those kids become players and then what other things happen. But this is an important stretch for the team in order to compete for a Stanley Cup down the road.”

Holland is aware of the criticism that he has signed players to constrictive contracts, including Jonathan Ericsson for six years for in 2013, Justin Abdelkader for seven years in 2015 and Danny DeKeyser for six years in 2016. A section of the fan base wants him gone. Holland knows that. But like Nill, Holland keeps the outside chatter at a distance.

“It’s a conscious decision because no one understands,” Holland said. “They don’t know all the information. They’ve only got pieces of the information. They don’t understand what factors into drafting, into developing. You’re going to have some things that don’t go your way, and at the end of the day, we made the playoffs 25 years in a row, we won Stanley Cups.

“I love that Wings’ fans are passionate. I can understand they’re frustrated. When you’ve been as good as we’ve been for as long as we’ve been, it’s no fun building. But the (collective bargaining agreement) has done a fabulous job creating a system that provides competitive balance.”

St. James continues at considerable length, and her article is worth your time. St. James also mentions that Dylan Larkin, Anthony Mantha and Tyler Bertuzzi have “bright futures”…

Red Wings-Avalanche mini preview: how the tables have turned

The Detroit Red Wings will wrap up their 5-game road trip with a visit to Denver to play the Colorado Avalanche on Sunday afternoon (3 PM EDT on FSD/Altitude/97.1 FM), and the winless-in-9 Wings find themselves in a rare position:

They’re worse off than the Avs. The 26-34-and-11 Red Wings sit 19 points behind the 38-25-and-8 Avalanche, who sit tied for the first Wild Card spot as of 11 PM on Saturday night.

Colorado lost their most recent game, a 4-2 loss to the Nashville Predators on Friday night, but the Avs had won their previous 3 games, and Colorado sits 4-1-and-3 over the course of 7 March games.

Long story long? The Avs are winning/accumulating points like crazy, so the Wings have the chance to play a spoiler’s role here.

Continue reading Red Wings-Avalanche mini preview: how the tables have turned

Griffins announce dates of annual youth hockey camp (July 23-27)

The Grand Rapids Griffins posted a press release regarding their annual summer youth hockey camp:

GRIFFINS YOUTH HOCKEY CAMP RETURNS THIS SUMMER

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – The Grand Rapids Griffins invite area youth hockey players to take part in the annual Griffins Youth Hockey Camp, which will be held July 23-27 at Griff’s IceHouse at Belknap Park.

Open to kids ages 6-16, the camp runs from 8:30 a.m.-2:45 p.m. daily with groups separated by age. Players will receive 11 hours of on-ice instruction as well as 11 hours of dry-land video work and fun. The cost is $350 per child and includes a camp jersey, t-shirt, hat, a locker room to store equipment for the week, and lunches provided by popular local restaurants.

The camp will be instructed by former Griffins defenseman and seven-year NHL veteran Joel Kwiatkowski, along with Griffins assistant coach and 2017 Calder Cup champion Ben Simon. During the week, appearances will also be made by Griffins defenseman and two-time Calder Cup champion Brian Lashoff, current Detroit Red Wing Luke Glendening, and Griffins assistant coach and 16-year NHL veteran Mike Knuble.

For more information, please visit www.griffinshockey.com/hockeycamp for a printable flyer or call (616) 774-4585 ext. 3025.

FSD video: Mickey Redmond gets Steve Yzerman to smile

The Red Wings and Fox Sports Detroit have been posting “Tales From the Rink” videos of late, and during Friday night’s broadcast, Mickey Redmond told the tale of Steve Yzerman being encouraged to smile after a scrap in Toronto…