Khan issues updates on the Wings’ goaltending prospects, Coreau and McCollum’s futures

MLive’s Ansar Khan both received an update on the progress made by the Red Wings’ top goaltending prospects and an update on the future of the Grand Rapids Griffins’ goaltenders. The latter half of the update might be of more interest:

The Red Wings will discuss the futures of Grand Rapids goaltenders Jared Coreau and Tom McCollum at their pro scouting meetings next month.

It’s highly unlikely both will return, since they want to move in at least one younger goalie, whether it’s Fulcher or a free agent. They might offer a contract to one of Coreau or McCollum, but chances are both will hit free agency July 1 to see what’s available.

“(McCollum) would like to find an organization where he can compete for the backup job or at least No. 3,” Martin said.

The Red Wings let him know he won’t get that opportunity in Detroit.

Coreau, despite his struggles when recalled (0-5-1, 4.26 GAA, .867 save percentage), could still be in the mix for a job in Grand Rapids, with the opportunity to be the organization’s No. 3 goalie.

Khan continues…

Shea on the Supreme Court’s sports betting decision

Crain’s Detroit Business’s Bill Shea attempts to “handicap” the Supreme Court’s decision to no longer federally ban sports betting as the decision applies to Detroit’s sports teams and owners:

PASPA is the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act of 1992, better known as the Bradley Act. That’s the law the court struck down as unconstitutional on Monday. The law made just about every type of sports bet illegal except those made in licensed sports books in Nevada, Delaware, Montana and Oregon, along with wagering at horse and dog tracks.

Monday’s decision returns the power to regulate sports wagering to the states, several of which already have legislation established in anticipation of the decision. Michigan is not one of them, but does have bills that were introduced last year.

How the court decision could affect MotorCity Casino Hotel and Greektown Casino-Hotel (to be rebranded Jack Detroit Casino-Hotel later this year) remains to be seen.

Because MotorCity is owned by Marian Ilitch, who also owns the Detroit Red Wings, and Greektown owner Dan Gilbert also owns the Cleveland Cavaliers, any sports wagering operation at those casino would be barred from allowing bets on those teams, for fear of undermining the integrity of the game.

Major League Baseball and the National Football League forbid team owners for having any stake in gambling operations of any sort. That’s why Ilitch isn’t an owner of the Detroit Tigers, which are owned by her late husband’s trust and run by her son, Chris Ilitch.

Continued

 

Custance on the shape of the Wings to come

The Athletic’s Craig Custance penned an article discussing which members of the Red Wings will return for certain for the 2018-19 season, which players could be traded for other assets, and which players will not return to the Wings’ roster:

The Detroit Red Wings’ roster is a mix of young players and veterans on questionable long-term contracts, which means there won’t be a ton of turnover. The rebuild will happen gradually, as bad contracts are burned off and young players are eased into their opportunities.

So next season will be very much like this one for Red Wings fans. It’s going to be measured on the growth of important young players rather than points in the standings. If a couple young defensemen establish themselves as NHL players, like Dylan Larkin and Anthony Mantha did this past season, that bodes well for where things are headed in Detroit.

Still, there’s going to be turnover. There’s going to be debate on who should be moved. There will be opportunity for trades. With that in mind, here’s a look at every player on the Red Wings’ roster and whether they’ll be back when training camp opens…

Custance continues at significant length, and I’d be interested to hear who your “untouchables,” trade bait and “farewells” are…

Team USA’s website notes that Dylan Larkin is climbing the U.S. scoring charts

Of note from Team USA’s website ahead of the Americans’ final game of round-robin play at the World Championship, tomorrow morning against Finland (6 AM EDT on the NHL Network):

LARKIN SETS U.S. RECORD, KANE TIES ANOTHER
With assists in last night’s 9-3 victory over Norway, alternate captain Dylan Larkin (Waterford, Mich.) set a new U.S. record and captain Patrick Kane (Buffalo, N.Y.) tied a U.S. record in Men’s World Championship play. With two assists last night, Larkin set a new U.S. career record for most assists in Men’s World Championship play with 21. Right behind him is Johnny Gaudreau (Salem, N.J.), whose assist last night gives him 20 all-time now. Additionally, Kane’s assist gave him his 10th in the tournament, matching Max Pacioretty (2012) and Craig Smith (2013) for most assists by a U.S. player in a single men’s world championship.

GAUDREAU, LARKIN EYE JOHNSON’S ALL-TIME POINTS RECORD
All-time, forward Johnny Gaudreau (Salem, N.J.) has now tallied 29 career points (9-20) in 22 Men’s World Championship games, which is tied with Paul Coppo for fourth all-time. Just behind him is alternate captain Dylan Larkin (Waterford, Mich.), who holds 28 points (7-11) and is tied with Dustin Brown and Bob Miller for fifth. The record for most career points by a U.S. player in Men’s World Championship history is Mark Johnson, 1980 U.S. Olympic Men’s Ice Hockey Team gold medalist, who tallied 33 (15-18) in 61 games.

 

A bit about the Wings’ draft focus on defense

The Detroit News’s Ted Kulfan penned an article discussing the Red Wings’ dearth of development on their blueline over the past half-decade (or more). Kulfan points out that the Wings rather desperately need to hit a couple of “solid singles” (if not a home run or two) at this year’s draft:

With four picks in the first two rounds of next month’s NHL Entry Draft, the Red Wings will likely concentrate on defense, whenever possible.

“I would anticipate some of those four picks, and three third-round (picks), some of those picks will be used on defense,” [Red Wings GM Ken] Holland said.

How vital a deep and talented defense is to any NHL team was shown last summer during the expansion process as the Vegas Golden Knights were entering the league.

Holland noted how teams that possessed depth on defense worked side deals with Vegas in hopes of retaining defensive depth.

“In the end of the day most of them paid a price in order to hang onto their defense,” Holland said. “Defensemen are coveted in this league, and those defensemen (elite top-pairing) that can play in the league, a defenseman that can make a difference, we have to draft and develop them.”

Kulfan continues at length, assessing the state of the Wings’ defense…

Horcoff, Martin speak with Duff about Kaden Fulcher’s potential

The Hamilton Bulldogs won the OHL title yesterday, back-stopped by goaltender Kaden Fulcher.

Hockeybuzz’s Bob Duff spoke with Red Wings director of player development Shawn Horcoff and assistant GM Ryan Martin regarding Fulcher’s rapid progress up the team’s depth chart:

“He’s improved his movement in the net,” Horcoff said. “We like his size and athleticism. He was a little bit raw but he’s a kid that wants to work and puts in the work. Goalies are more of a long-term project. You get these kids that are young, it takes a while to hone their craft. They really have to put the work in to be ready for the pro game. He’s very much doing that. We’re happy with his progression and where he’s at.”

Where Fulcher will be at next year is a debate the Wings will engage in over the summer months. Detroit’s goaltending is definitely in a state of flux. Jimmy Howard is the only goalie on the roster with any significant NHL experience, and Jared Coreau, who was No. 1 in Grand Rapids and Howard’s back up with the Wings at the end of the NHL regular season, is an unrestricted free agent, as is fellow Grand Rapids netminder and 2008 No. 1 draft pick Tom McCollum. The contract of Matej Machovsky, a free agent signed last summer, is also up and he’s opted to return to his native Czech Republic.

The door of opportunity to turn pro certainly appears to be there for Fulcher but that’s a decision the team is still weighing.

“Next year we have the option to send him back and play an overage junior year, or he’d be working between Toledo and maybe Grand Rapids,” Martin said. “We’ll continue to monitor his development.”

Duff continues, and Fulcher and the Bulldogs will head to Regina to compete for the Memorial Cup starting on the 17th.

Red Wings at the World Championship: Sulak 1A, Hronek 17 minutes played in Czech win over Austria

At the World Championship in Denmark:

Libor Sulak had an assist, finishing even on 2 shots and playing 17:46, and Filip Hronek finished at +1 with 2 shots in 17:40 played as the Czech Republic won 4-3 over Austria.

Here are the game’s highlights:

Update: Here’s the Free Press’s Helene St. James on the Worlds:

Sulak set up the first goal en route to a 4-3 victory over Austria on Monday. The Czechs finished in third place in Group A at the World Championship in Herning and Copenhagen, Denmark, and now await quarterfinals matchups. (They’ll play the second-place team in Group B.)

Sulak has a goal and two assists in seven games. Fellow Wings prospect and Czech teammate Filip Hronek has a goal and one assist. Other Wings at the tournament are Team USA’s Dylan Larkin (three goals, five assists in six games) and Nick Jensen (one goal, three assists), Denmark’s Frans Nielsen (three goals, three assists in six games) and Sweden’s Gustav Nyquist (three goals in five games).

Tuesday marks the final day of preliminary play. Sweden and Russia will battle for first and second place in Group A, while fourth place can be claimed by either Switzerland, Slovakia or France.

The U.S., which leads Group B with 16 points, plays Finland for first place in that group. Canada and Denmark are also in position to advance, with Latvia lurking in fifth place. The top four teams in each group advance to play cross-over quarterfinals.

 

Khan speaks with Tyler Wright regarding the draft

MLive’s Ansar Khan spoke with Red Wings director of amateur scouting Tyler Wright regarding the product of last week’s organizational/draft meetings. Wright told Khan that the team hasn’t quite made its final decision regarding who they’ll pick 6th overall:

The Red Wings had their amateur scouting meetings last week. There was much debate. Wright indicated they’re still formulating their list.

“I don’t think it was a unanimous decision going into these meetings,” Wright said. “To be honest with you, the decision hasn’t been made. We don’t spend a lot of time trying to figure out who’s taking who. We’re trying to identify where we want to go and make sure we have those guys in order.

“Obviously, Rasmus Dahlin is ahead of the class, and rightfully so, as being a generational player. Everybody has identified that. But after that you can really mix or match. We believe we’re going to get a really good player at 6. It just depends what happens 2 through 5.”

Khan continues, and this is a must-read…

Two Things: On Trevor Daley’s stats and AWood40’s clip of Mantha’s goals

Of Red Wings-related note this morning:

1. DetroitRedWings.com’s Dana Wakiji examined Trevor Daley’s stats for the 2017-18 season today, and Daley’s “numbers” weren’t tremendous, but I think that a lot of us Wings fans got it wrong in assuming that Daley would be more productive.

Daley’s 38-point season in 14-15 was something of an aberration for a guy who averages 20-25 points.

Anyway, Daley did lead the Wings’ defense in goals, and the hope is that he’ll best his 17 points this past season given his strong stretch run play (unless that was an aberration, too):

9 — Daley led all Wings’ defensemen with nine goals. That is tied for Daley’s second-best career goal total. He also had nine with the Stars in the 2013-14 season. In the 2014-15 season, Daley had a career-high 16 goals. Daley was tied for 31st among defensemen in goals.

7 — In his 15-year career, it had never happened before this past season. Daley had nine goals and only seven assists, the first time he had ever registered more goals than assists in a single campaign. Daley was not the only one on the Wings with that statistic. Gustav Nyquist, Luke Glendening and David Booth also had more goals than assists.

Wakiji continues…

2. And AWood40 posted a clip highlighting Anthony Mantha’s 2017-18 season goals in a 10-and-a-half-minute highlight clip. Here’s hoping that Mantha bests his 24 goals next season:

 

 

Prospect playoff round-up: Fulcher’s Bulldogs win OHL title, defeating Sambrook’s Greyhounds 5-4

In the Ontario Hockey League championship series:

Kaden Fulcher stopped 40 of 44 shots as the Hamilton Bulldogs won 5-4 over the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds, capturing the J. Ross Robertson trophy as the OHL champions.

Jordan Sambrook scored a goal, finishing at -1 on 7 shots for the Sault, but his late-game marker wasn’t enough to tie the score. Ultimately, the Sault lost 4 games to 2.

[edit/update: You can read the OHL’s website’s recap and watch highlights from the game here. /end edit]

The Bulldogs will go on to play in the Memorial Cup later this month in Regina, Saskatchewan, and Fulcher has already signed a contract with the Wings; Detroit has to decide whether to sign Sambrook to a contract by June 1st, or he’ll go back in the draft.