Griffins name Charlie Kaser assistant equipment manager

It’s official, per the Grand Rapids Griffins:

GRIFFINS’ NEW ASSISTANT EQUIPMENT MANAGER NAMED

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – The Detroit Red Wings on Thursday named Charlie Kaser as the assistant equipment manager for the Grand Rapids Griffins. He replaces Andrew Stegehuis, who has been hired by the Rochester Americans as their head equipment manager following six full-time seasons with the Griffins.

Kaser, 23, has nearly eight years of experience assisting the Griffins’ equipment staff on game days, having served as a stick boy since 2010.

Born in Kansas City, Mo., and raised in Grand Rapids, Kaser is completing his environmental science degree from Portland State University and will graduate in 2019. He competed on the Vikings’ ACHA D2 hockey team for two seasons from 2013-15 and was employed in the golf industry in the Portland area prior to joining the Griffins full time.

Charlie is the son of Griffins vice president of community relations and broadcasting Bob Kaser.

Caputo weighs in on a potential Larkin captaincy

The Oakland Press’s Pat Caputo offers an opinion as to whether the Red Wings should name Dylan Larkin their captain if Henrik Zetterberg is no longer able to play:

Already, the Red Wings’ ticket selling campaign is based on Larkin. The plans are listed on the marquee at Little Caesars Arena next to his likeness. So are the ads running during the Tigers’ broadcasts on Fox Sports Detroit and upon the scoreboard at Comerica Park.

Larkin definitely has his plusses. He has extraordinary speed. At higher levels of competition internationally playing for the United States, at both the World Junior Championships and World Championships, Larkin has risen his performance.

Teams adjusted to his play early his rookie season and he became lost. He was roughed up a lot, and seemed to have difficulty fending for himself on the ice. Not any more. He’s stronger on his skates, savvy when it comes to creating space on the ice and has become a much better playmaker.

Used to be a time when the prime of an NHL forward was considered 28, but now it’s more like 24. Two years from now Larkin could be an exceptional player.

Larkin also has cognitive recognition beyond most his age. He’s understands situations and people and how to learn from failure rather than be ruined by it. That’s why he’s been labeled a potential captain from the moment the Red Wings selected him in the first round, 15th overall, in the 2014 NHL Draft prior to his freshman – and only season – at the University of Michigan.

With rank comes responsibility, though. If they put the “C” above the winged-wheel crest on Larkin’s blood, red jersey, he’d have to meet a standard unlike any he has remotely before, especially given what being captain of the Red Wings’ has meant. Yzerman, Nicklas Lidstrom, Zetterberg – that “C” is more than just a letter. It’s a genuine honor. They don’t “name” the Red Wings’ captain, they “anoint” him.

Would I make Larkin captain? Yeah. Probably. But I’d darn well make sure he knows exactly what it means, not only in the Red Wings’ dressing room, but this town overall, before I’d do it.

Continued

Samuelssen weighs in on Henrik Zetterberg’s future

The Free Press’s Jamie Samuelssen discusses Henrik Zetterberg’s potential outcomes this morning:

If you were able to advise Detroit Red Wings captain Henrik Zetterberg, what would you tell him?

I’m not in the business of telling people when they should retire.

First of all, it’s none of my business. Secondly, I’d never want someone to tell me when I should retire.

Henrik Zetterberg doesn’t seem to be seeking advice on what his next move should be. Or more to the point, he’s not listening to voices as much as he’s trying to listen to his body. And by all accounts, his body is telling him that his hockey career is over.

Zetterberg has been dealing with back issues ever since the Olympics in 2014. He missed stretches of seasons. He lost effectiveness on the ice at times. It got to the point last year where the only time he played hockey was in the games themselves, never in practice. The question is not whether Zetterberg can play in the NHL anymore. Of course he can. The question is whether or not he can play like Henrik Zetterberg again and it sure seems like he can’t.

Continued

Khan examines Nick Jensen’s 2018-19 possibilities

MLive’s Ansar Khan discusses this season’s outlook for defenseman Nick Jensen this morning:

2018-19 outlook: The Red Wings value Jensen’s skating ability (for defense) and right-handed shot (for puck-moving). He beat out fellow young defensemen Ryan Sproul, Xavier Ouellet and Alexey Marchenko, who are no longer with the organization, for a spot in the lineup and maintained it. Coach Jeff Blashill thought highly enough of Jensen to include him on the U.S. World Championship roster.

But Jensen isn’t assured of a spot in the lineup. The Red Wings expect prospect Filip Hronek, coming off a strong rookie season with the Grand Rapids Griffins, to make the roster. Hronek will only stick around if he’s playing regularly. If all of their defensemen are healthy, Hronek’s best chance for a lineup spot is Jensen’s.

The Red Wings must decide whether to re-sign Jensen or trade him by the deadline. With young defensemen like Joe Hicketts, Libor Sulak and Dennis Cholowski waiting in the wings, Jensen could be moved for a draft pick during the season.

Continued

 

Jimmy Howard and Keith Petruzzelli appear on the latest ‘Red and White Authority’ podcast

Both Red Wings goaltender Jimmy Howard and Wings prospect Keith Petruzzelli are taking part in Warren Strelow’s goaltending camp at USA Hockey Arena this week, and the pair spoke with DetroitRedWings.com’s Arthur J. Regner for the latest “Red and White Authority” podcast:


From Dylan Larkin’s 97.1 interview: playoffs possible?

97.1 the Ticket’s Will Burtchfield transcripted part of Dylan Larkin’s interview on the Jamie and Stoney Show this morning, and Larkin made a surprising proclamation regarding the Wings’ 2018-19 season trajectory:

“I think our team made a huge step in the offseason with the draft and the free agent signings. We have no reason why we shouldn’t be a playoff team, I think, and then make some noise in the playoffs,” Larkin told 97.1 The Ticket.

The Red Wings finished 13th in the East last season, missing the playoffs by 24 points. But Larkin is encouraged, in particular, by the potential of Filip Zadina, the sixth overall pick in this year’s draft, and Michael Rasmussen, the ninth overall pick in last year’s draft. Both forwards will have a real chance to earn a spot on the opening-night roster.

“If Zadina can make the team and Rasmussen — it seems (from) every indication that he’ll make the team. These guys are high-end draft picks, so if they come in and have a great rookie season, and the free agents we got, if they come in and play great, I think it’ll just help us,” Larkin said.

Continued, and if you missed the interview post from this morning, here’s an embedded clip of the interview:

Kulfan’s Q and A with Jeff Blashill includes a kind-of-sort-of Henrik Zetterberg update

The Detroit News’s Ted Kulfan engaged in a lengthy question-and-answer session with Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill, and Blashill discussed Henrik Zetterberg’s health (among many other topics):

■ Question: Jeff, certainly there’s a lot of talk right now regarding Henrik Zetterberg. What’s the latest on him? Have you talked to Hank at all, and what do you expect at this point?

■ A: “As you know, Hank wasn’t able to practice for half the year. He was able to gut it out through those last two months where he wasn’t able to practice. There were nights I didn’t think he’d able to play and he did play.

“He’s had a hard summer and I don’t think his back is reacting great. Certainly we’ll know more in a month (at training camp), but as of today, there’s a lot of doubt as to whether his back will be healthy enough to play.”

■ Q: At various times, it has been remarkable the level of pain he’s had to play through. How much of a loss will it be if you don’t have him in the lineup, both on and off the ice?

■ A: “It was unreal, and it speaks to the level of a competitor he is, and honestly, the toughness, to play through what he did. Obviously if Hank isn’t able to play, there’s a lot of areas where it affects your team. Certainly from a leadership standpoint, but he’s still a real good player for us.

“But with that said, I’ve always been a huge believer that you never worry about who is not available, and you worry about who is available. How much it affects your team depends on the growth of other players, and has there been enough growth among other players? Will it or not be a factor? We’ll see.”

Continued, and I don’t expect Zetterberg’s status to be determined until training camp, if not October or November.

 

HSJ speaks with Kris Draper regarding 2019 draft class, Zadina, Rasmussen and more

The 2019 draft’s scouting season got underway at the recent Hlinka/Gretzky Cup, and the Free Press’s Helene St. James spoke with Wings special assistant to the GM Kris Draper regarding his and the Wings scouts’ statuses as already quite busy scouting potential 2019 draft picks:

The Wings already hold 11 picks in 2019, including two-[second] round picks (their own and the New York Islanders’, via Vegas from the Tomas Tatar trade). For a team that’s likely to pick inside the top 10 again, the 2019 edition looks promising.

“Spending the week in Red Deer and Edmonton where the Hlinka Gretzky was, you can once again see there is a lot of skill out there. There are a lot of high-end centermen who are going to be in the mix for top picks, some real good Swedish defensemen, and then Finland has a high-end winger.

“Going into the draft last year with the amount of picks we had, it was highly anticipated for how it was going to play out, and in the end we felt we walked away with a great crop of young hockey players. We’ve got a lot of picks going into the draft again. You see these players now and we are going to be following them throughout the year and we’ll see where we are at in Vancouver.”

Continued at length; Draper also discusses Filip Zadina, Michael Rasmussen and the Wings’ status as a team whose players want to finish in the playoffs, despite some relatively long odds against such an eventuality:

“I know how proud NHL players are. I know the pride of the Detroit Red Wings players. They want to win. We know what we are going to get out of our hockey team, we know what we are going to get out of our coaching staff. Those guys want to do everything they can to win hockey games and make the playoffs.

“But you also realize when you have an opportunity to get four picks in the top 40, there is a reason why you get them. You are not a playoff team. We have the sixth pick in the draft, we get Filip Zadina. We have the 30th pick in the draft, we get Joe Veleno. Then we get Jonatan Berggren and Jared McIsaac. We feel that those players, with some maybe as soon as next year, but probably all four over the next two-to-three years are going to be a huge part of where this organization is going to go.

“The way you get better is through drafting and development. You can’t make your team substantially better through free agency like it used to be. Teams draft their players, they develop their players, and they sign them to long-term deals. We’re all aware of that.”