Libor Sulak among rookies earning praise from THN’s Campbell

The Hockey News’s Ken Campbell gives six lesser-known rookies a “shout out,” and Libor Sulak made Campbell’s list:

Libor Sulak, Detroit: The Red Wings made it abundantly clear that there were jobs to be taken on their roster and one of them went to the 24-year-old Sulak, who took advantage of a blueline that has been besieged by injuries to regulars Mike Green, Niklas Kronwall, Jonathan Ericsson and Trevor Daley. Sulak played two games with the Grand Rapids Griffins late last season and impressed with his shot and puck-moving ability. He also had an impressive World Championship for the Czech Republic. He might not be around when the Red Wings get all their regular defensemen back, but one of the pleasant surprises for the Red Wings early is that a good number of their young kids, including Sulak, can play at the NHL level.

Little known fact: Sulak was on loan to the Pelicans of the Finnish League last season and finished second among defensemen in goals with nine.

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Kulfan, Wings discuss match-up with Toronto

The Detroit News’s Ted Kulfan posted a post-practice news cycle article discussing tomorrow’s match-up between the Red Wings and the 3-and-1 Toronto Maple Leafs:

Thursday’s game will be the first between the teams this season, and with the Wings searching for their first victory, this might not be the best time for Detroit.

The young defense the Wings are playing with now will be severely tested. In the next-to-last preseason game, against a nearly-full Toronto lineup, the Leafs defeated the Wings 6-2.

“The good thing for us is, at least we saw them in the exhibition and all the young D (defensemen) played in that exhibition game,” Blashill said. “We know how fast they can come at you and we’re better prepared having done that. It doesn’t mean we’ll meet that challenge. It’s up to us to show that. If they’re coming at us flying 100 miles per hour the whole night, it’ll be a long night. We better put the puck behind them, grind them in their zone and make them defend as much as possible. If we do that we’ll be in a good spot. If we don’t, it’ll be a hard night.”

In an effort to generate more offense, Blashill switched two lines during Wednesday’s practice, moving Justin Abdelkader with Dylan Larkin and Anthony Mantha, while Gustav Nyquist skated with Andreas Athanasiou and Thomas Vanek.

Blashill didn’t commit to the changes for the game but needs to see more offense, especially with Toronto coming to Little Caesars Arena.

“Just a look to see if we can’t make one little adjustment to score a bit more. We’re close to scoring,” Blashill said. “Nyquist has a real high hockey IQ, too, and had good success with Vanek (two seasons ago). We’ll see if maybe we can replicate some of that.”

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Griffins post weekly press release ahead of home opener vs. Hershey, road tilt vs. Chicago

Here’s the Grand Rapids Griffins’ weekly press release ahead of the team’s home opener vs. the Hershey Bears on Friday, October 12th. MLive’s Peter J. Wallner has also posted a “Meet the 2018-19 Grand Rapids Griffins” set of head shots and biographies:

GRIFFINS HOST HERSHEY IN HOME OPENER, TRAVEL TO CHICAGO

GRIFFINS vs. Hershey Bears // Fri., Oct. 12 // 7 p.m. // Van Andel Arena
Listen: WOOD 106.9 FM/1300 AM at 6:05 p.m.
Watch: AHLTV
Season Series: First of two meetings overall, first and last at Van Andel Arena
All-Time Series: 3-1-0-0 Home, 7-1-0-0 Overall
NHL Affiliation: Washington Capitals
Noteworthy: In its 81st AHL season, Hershey is the oldest franchise on the circuit.

GRIFFINS at Chicago Wolves // Sat., Oct. 13 // 8 p.m. EDT // Allstate Arena
Listen: WBFX 101.3 FM at 7:35 p.m.
Watch: AHLTV, CW50 (Chicago)
Season Series: First of eight meetings overall, first of four at Allstate Arena
All-Time Series: 41-31-0-2-1 Road, 81-56-2-6-3 Overall
NHL Affiliation: Vegas Golden Knights
Noteworthy: Chicago has won back-to-back Central Division titles.

Continue reading Griffins post weekly press release ahead of home opener vs. Hershey, road tilt vs. Chicago →

Articles from Wings practice: Wings looking to shoot as depleted defense bears down for prolific Leafs; on Mantha’s confidence

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The Red Wings practiced this morning at Little Caesars Arena minus Dennis Cholowski, who’s out with an upper-body injury, and with Niklas Kronwall, who hopes to make his return to the lineup when the Wings host Toronto on Thursday night.

After practice, the Red Wings talked about their emphasis on shooting the puck more regularly, as noted by the Free Press’s Helene St. James in video and then text form:

“We have been passing up too many shots in the slot where there is a grade-a scoring chance and we’re trying to look for somebody back door for a tap-in,” Gustav Nyquist said Wednesday. “It usually hits someone’s skate or someone’s stick and then it deflects in the corner and then it’s not a scoring chance any more. I think it’s a matter of when you have a good scoring chance, take it and shoot yourself. The guy who is waiting for a back door tap-in can get to the rebound.”

The Wings host the Toronto Maple Leafs on Thursday (7 p.m., Fox Sports Detroit) at Little Caesars before heading back on the road for four games. The Leafs are one of the most talented teams in the NHL, as borne out by a five-goals per game average.

The Wings have been beset by injuries on defense to start the season, and that trend continues as rookie Dennis Cholowski is sidelined by an upper-body injury, joining veterans Trevor Daley, Jonathan Ericsson and Mike Green. Niklas Kronwall, who missed the first three games because of injury, is ready to play; he can’t skate like he used to, but he’s still a smart player.

On the front end, the only pending change appears to be Nyquist and Justin Abdelkader swapping spots, with Nyquist joining Andreas Athanasiou and Thomas Vanek, and Abdelkader playing with Dylan Larkin and Anthony Mantha.

Nyquist is second on the Wings with nine shots, behind Larkin’s 11. While players are shown video clips of where they could have shot instead of passed, it can be hard to implement in a game.

St. James continues, and the Detroit News’s Ted Kulfan discussed the Wings’ banged-up blueline…

Continue reading Articles from Wings practice: Wings looking to shoot as depleted defense bears down for prolific Leafs; on Mantha’s confidence →

Videos from practice: Wings talk about shooting the puck

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The Free Press’s Helene St. James posted a 5:22 video in which she spoke with both Red Wings’ players (Gustav Nyquist and Andreas Athanasiou) and their coach regarding their need to shoot pucks more regularly…

And MLive’s Ansar Khan posted a clip of Blashill discussing the team’s attempt to instill a “shooting mentality” in their shooters:

 

Saturday’s Red Wings-Bruins game will start at 3 PM EDT to accommodate MLB playoffs

FYI:

Blashill scouts the Leafs

Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill spoke with the Toronto Sun’s Terry Koshan regarding Thursday’s opponent, the Toronto Maple Leafs:

Update: MLive’s Ansar Khan posted a pair of videos from Blashill and Niklas Kronwall post-practice:

 

Sportsnet’s Boylen praises Cholowski among ‘9 NHL rookie standouts’

Sportsnet’s Rory Boylen praises Red Wings defenseman Dennis Cholowski in an article discussing 9 NHL rookie standouts:

Dennis Cholowski, DET: With an average of 22:10 per game, Cholowski leads all rookies in average ice time. The 20th-overall pick from 2016 racked up a point per game in the pre-season and an injury to Mike Green opened up a spot for some youngster to take advantage — and Cholowski hasn’t missed.

He never made any Canadian WJC squads in junior even after moving from the NCAA to the WHL last season and becoming a major contributor. A great skater with a nose for offence, the 6-foot Cholowski is the kind of defenceman who thrives in today’s NHL and he leads all Detroit defencemen in power-play ice time. When Mike Green eventually returns some of that will be shaved off, but if Cholowski keeps up this level of play, he’ll be hard to turn away from.

Boylen continues, and I’ve been impressed with Libor Sulak, Filip Hronek, Christoffer Ehn, Joe Hicketts and Michael Rasmussen as well, but I’m biased!

 

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