A bit of fantasy hockey/rookie talk from ESPN

ESPN’s Victoria Matiash issued several fantasy hockey roster surprises as we head into the first week of the NHL season…

Michael Rasmussen, C/LW, Detroit Red Wings (13.2 percent): By no means a slam dunk to remain with the Red Wings all season long, the 2017 No. 9-overall draft selection impressed enough to secure an NHL roster spot out of camp. We’re wagering that he’ll stick. Already tabbed to serve on Detroit’s power play, Rasmussen is expected to shift into a permanent top-six role soon enough. The large-framed 19-year-old, an imposing scoring presence in front of the net, scored 31 goals and 28 assists in 47 WHL games this past season. Also of note, rookie defenseman Dennis Cholowski is tapped to enjoy minutes with the man-advantage while veteran Mike Green battles an illness. The 20-year-old has short-term value, at a minimum, in deeper leagues to start the season.

And Chris Peters posted a list of rookies who need to clamp onto roster spots to stick with their present employers:

Evgeny Svechnikov, LW, Detroit Red Wings

Bad luck seems to keep hitting Svechnikov. He is going to start the season on non-roster injured reserve, which is how he started last season. Svechnikov never managed to stick with the NHL team last year and saw a dip in his AHL production as well. It was a bit of a troubling development for a once-exciting prospect. He had a decent preseason, the injury appears to be minor, and he is expected to head to Grand Rapids once again. The Red Wings have every reason to continue believing in him, but this is going to be an especially big season for him to prove he deserves a place on the NHL roster — and soon. This is a team that is attempting to rebuild, and if there isn’t a spot for him during these transitional years, then it’s time to start making other plans.

Monroe: Walleye to have instant replay access at Huntington Center

Per the Toledo Blade’s Mark Monroe:

A bit about Thomas Vanek’s second stint in Detroit

From the Detroit News’s Ted Kulfan’s notebook comes this note regarding Thomas Vanek:

Forward Thomas Vanek brought a lot of positives to the lineup during his first tour with the Wings two seasons ago.

Having an opportunity to bring Vanek aboard again has already turned out to be a treat for Blashill.

“I don’t know if I can state clearly enough the impact he has on our younger players,” Blashill said. “One of the reasons we brought him back is how much he makes the other guys better. He’s such a smart offensive mind.”

Blashill used an example from Thursday morning. Vanek went to the coaches’ room to borrow a teaching pad to diagram face-off plays to his linemates.

“He’s a smart hockey mind,” Blashill said. “Playing with Double-A (Andreas Athanasiou), that chemistry has a chance to be real great.”

Continued

Wallner speaks with Dominic Turgeon regarding his recovery from thoracic outlet syndrome

Ahead of the Grand Rapids Griffins’ season-opener, the Grand Rapids Press’s Peter J. Wallner spoke with Dominic Turgeon regarding his recovery from thoracic outlet syndrome:

Once the initial scare and concern passed, he went through an offseason of careful recovery followed by a good training camp with the Detroit Red Wings. Now, the third-year pro is ready to put the incident behind him and focus on the opener.

Ironically, it will be back in Texas on Friday.

“Yeah, I really hadn’t even thought about that,” he said.

As for camp and recovery, Turgeon added: “Overall, I thought my camp went pretty well. It was good to just get back in the groove, get back in preseason games and get back to (playing) a lot of games in a lot of nights.

“Overall, my body’s feeling good and I’m ready to go.”

Turgeon’s offseason included blood thinner for three months, followed by light training and eventually weight lifting.

“I thought recovery went well and I did have another ultrasound, and everything looks good, looks fine,” he said. “… I had a good summer of training and I had a lot of time to do it, so I feel 100 percent and ready to go.”

Wallner continues, and he posted a video of Turgeon’s remarks:

 

 

Crain’s Detroit Business’s Shea on the revamped ‘Hockeytown’ logo/campaign

Crain’s Detroit Business’s Bill Shea examines the Red Wings’ revamped “Hockeytown” logo and advertising campaign:

The Red Wings last month trotted out the refreshed “Hockeytown” logo that re-imagines the phrase in fabric letters that matches the names on player jerseys. It will be heavily used in the team’s TV, signage, and digital marketing campaign all season, on merchandise and apparel, and will show up in many places inside Little Caesars Arena including on the dasher boards. It was removed from the ice for this season so that the iconic Winged Wheel logo could be featured alone (with four corporate advertising logos around it), the team said.

“Hockeytown” as it was felt dated, the team’s top marketing executive said.

“It was time for a refresh,” said Craig Turnbull, senior vice president for marketing and communications for the Red Wings and Olympia Entertainment. “It’ll be much more featured. We’re happy with the way it came out. The reaction from guests has been very positive.”

“Hockeytown” has been a backbone of the team’s branding since the expression was introduced by the Detroit office of ad agency Bozell Worldwide in 1996 to commemorate the Red Wings’ 70th anniversary. It’s become ingrained with the team, players, fans, and was legitimized by the team’s playoff success and six Stanley Cup appearances.

It’s also a registered trademark, along with the Winged Wheel logo. Using “Hockeytown” as a fan-base reminder of the team’s glory years and to reinvigorate their sense of community is one strategy. So is playing defense against any suggestion that anywhere else is Hockeytown.

Continued

 

A Red Wings blog