Tweets of note: Wings to stream Sunday’s Red vs. White game; looking back on prospect tournament interviews; Scotty Bowman turns 90

Of Red Wings-related Twitter note this morning:

  1. Red Wings play-by-play announcer Ken Kal reports that the Red Wings will stream the Red vs. White game on Sunday at 12 PM:

2. Fellow broadcaster Daniella Bruce always does a great job during prospect tournaments and the main training camps, and she shared some highlights of the past weekend on Twitter/X:

3. And former Wings beat writer Keith Gave notes that today is a special day in the hockey world:

Next step for the Wings’ prospects: not falling off the face of the earth

I posted my final impressions from the Red Wings’ prospect tournament in the form of Detroit’s 6-5 loss to Toronto yesterday afternoon/evening, and, as the prospects take the day off to teach some Blair Elementary School kids how to play hockey today, it’s important to mention the following:

Now that the prospect tournament is over, the players re-set and attempt to make an impression and impact over the course of training camp and the exhibition season.

For the Red Wings’ prospects, that includes “not falling off the face of the earth.” By that, I mean that there are always prospects who use their “runway” provided by the prospect tournament to excel in training camp, and there are always players (both draft picks and free agent try-outs) whose play drops off significantly when the NHL players come to town.

Sometimes they rebound from getting lost in the shuffle of 50+ players participating in training camp; sometimes they’re never to be seen from again, even in an era where the line between prospect tournament try-outs’ skill levels and the skill levels of the Red Wings’ own draft picks has become narrower and narrower.

I’m not just interested to see how William Wallinder, Antti Tuomisto, Marco Kasper, Elmer Soderblom, Cross Hanas and Sebastian Cossa do during training camp; I’m also going to be keeping an eye on the free agent try-outs who made hay, like Nic Sima, Jackson DeSouza and Lukas Matecha. We’ll see which players “rise to the top,” and which players just plain old fall off in terms of their pace of play.

Again, the prospect tournament and training camp are not the be-all-end-all, but they begin to establish a “pecking order” for the Red Wings’ prospects, especially given that the Grand Rapids Griffins’ coaching staff and Toledo Walleye’s coaching staff are both at least partially new from the head coach on down this upcoming season.

From the Grand Rapids Griffins-contracted Riley Sawchuk to the Kaspers, Soderbloms and Wallinders of the world, the Red Wings’ prospects are looking to earn AHL spots on a crowded Grand Rapids Griffins roster, and it’s not going to be easy for all of them to succeed.

It all starts (again) on Thursday.

Shapiro on 38 prospect tournament players

Sean Shapiro took in every game at the Red Wings’ 2023 Prospect Tournament, and this morning, on his Substack, he offers scouting reports on 38 of the prospects who attended the tournament. He’s not particularly bullish on any of the Wings’ top prospects:

Marco Kasper — There were some frustrating moments for Kasper in this tournament, he was constantly a target for opponents, and probably should have had more than just two assists — he didn’t get some of the finishing to match his setups.

…

Elmer Soderblom — Truthfully, I’m not sure why he played in this showcase. He was in the NHL last season, and while he has some flaws, this prospect tournament felt like it should have been a step below him. And he played that way. Yes, he scored in each game, but for a player with NHL experience and his size, he needed to have a larger impact.

William Wallinder — Detroit didn’t win a game, but they were the better team for most of the tournament when Wallinder was on the ice. That’s one of the biggest compliments I can give to the defenseman, who played a quiet, but effective game throughout the tournament. There were times I would have like to see him seize an offensive opportunity, but that is nitpicking.

Continued (paywall)

THW’s Wolak talks player expectations for the Wings’ new additions

The Hockey Writers’ Tony Wolak offers expectations for each and every one of the Red Wings’ roster additions this morning. His expectations for Alex DeBrincat are realistic….

Alex DeBrincat – RW

Contract: Four years – $7.875 million AAV

Role(s): DeBrincat will be a top-six forward for the Red Wings, with a majority of his time spent on the top line. He’ll also man the left flank on the top power play unit, where he’ll be the primary shooter.

Value/Production Expectations: It will be interesting to see how DeBrincat—who has historically thrived with elite playmakers—meshes with Detroit’s top forwards. Dylan Larkin and Lucas Raymond are dual threats – solid playmakers and shooters, and David Perron is more of a shooter than a passer. Andrew Copp has decent playmaking skills as well. None are elite, though. 

All of this to say, I don’t think 40 goals is likely. DeBrincat scoring 30 is much more probable. Either way, he gives the Red Wings a sorely needed scoring boost and adds a ton of value to the power play.

But I think that he under-sells Jeff Petry a bit, given his power play aplomb:

Jeff Petry – RD

Contract: Two years – $2,343,750 AAV

Role(s): If Gostisbehere leans offense, and Holl leans defense, then Petry is the bridge between the two as an all-situations defender within the bottom four. He could see some time on the second power play—either as the quarterback or on the left flank—and will likely have a minor role on the penalty kill. In addition, Petry is likely the first choice for top-pairing duties if Moritz Seider or Jake Walman miss time.

Value/Production Expectations: Historically, Petry has been a strong offensive contributor. He also turns 36 midway through the season and is joining a new team. Expect Petry’s offensive numbers to decline a little bit – 15-20 points in 60-plus games is a fair projection.

I know it’s “root for the old guys” syndrome, but I hope that Petry can post in excess of 30 points this upcoming season.

Continued; Tony asked to be featured here on TMR, and I agreed that his work merits sharing.

Video: Burchfield and Wojnowski discuss training camp questions on Fox 2’s SportsWorks

97.1 the Ticket’s Will Burchfield and the Detroit News’s Bob Wojnowski spoke with Fox 2’s Dan Miller on yesterday night’s SportsWorks, and they discuss the Red Wings from the 14-minute mark until the 16:20 mark of the video, discussing their expectations for the Red Wings to remain relevant to playoff discussion, whether the Wings will be “buyers” or “sellers” at the trade deadline, and lingering questions about Ville Husso and Lucas Raymond:

That pesky puck-in-the-netting rule gets ‘tweaked’

Daily Faceoff’s Vasili Gianarankos reports that the 2023-2024 season finds tweaks to several NHL rules via a post from Scouting the Refs, including an infamous rule for Red Wings fans with long memories:

Puck-in-Netting Challenges Clarified (Rule 38.2)

The coach’s challenge rule regarding missed stoppages has been updated to specify the eligible situations for a challenge when the puck contacts the spectator netting. Such plays are eligible for a challenge no matter the team that caused the puck to go up into the netting.  This update is consistent with how the rule was applied in the 2022-23 season. “A play that results in a “GOAL” call on the ice where the defending team claims that the play should have been stopped by reason of any play occurring in the offensive zone that should have resulted in a play stoppage caused by the attacking team but did not. The one exception to this provision is when the puck strikes the spectator netting caused by either team and goes unnoticed by the on-ice officials.“

Continued, with more tweaks as provided by Scouting the Refs; the Red Wings have scored a couple of goals that shouldn’t have counted due to pucks in the netting, and have had more than a few goals against due to missed calls in that regard. It appears that any “unnoticed” play is now legal.

The Athletic’s Bultman on Big Elmer and more from Traverse City

The Athletic’s Max Bultman offers “6 Thoughts” regarding the Red Wings’ prospect tournament play in Traverse City. Among them:

The Red Wings’ best player over the weekend was probably Elmer Söderblom. And he should have been. At a tournament composed mainly of players looking to make the NHL — and many of those knowing they won’t have a real chance for a couple years — Söderblom has already played in the world’s best league. You wanted to see him look like a man against boys, and he did. So that’s a good sign for him heading into camp — he seems ready to go.

Two things in particular stood out to me. The first was that while Söderblom’s length has always been obvious, I felt like I saw him using it more to extend possessions at this tournament. He was swatting pucks out of the air, and just generally disrupting exit attempts in a way that earned the Red Wings extra time with the puck in the attacking end. That’s great to see, and it’s something he can use to separate himself if he can carry it over into the preseason.

The second was I want to see him use his weapon of a shot more. His hands are the reason he’s become such a tantalizing prospect at 6-foot-8, but that body also equates to a rocket of a shot when he gets his weight behind it, and I was encouraged to see him utilize that shot a few times at this tournament. I still want to see it more though, especially in stride on the rush. Obviously, his sublime puckhandling will continue to be a huge part of his game, but his shot stands out as a tool that can help him really maximize his potential.

Continued; Soderblom definitely looks more comfortable using his tremendous puck-handling skills to create time and space for himself, but his shot seems to be a work in progress. He likes to defer to others via passes on the rush, and worry about shooting closer to the net, but I’d imagine that he’s got a great slapper as well as strong one-timer and wrist shots.

Will DeBrincat hit 50 goals? One optimistic list-maker thinks so

DobberHockey’s Tom Collins offers a list of 10 players who could hit the 50-goal mark this season, and he includes Alex DeBrincat among them:

Alex DeBrincat

In the 56-game covid season, DeBrincat hit the .62 goals per game mark, but didn’t hit 50 goals due to a lack of games. Aside from that year, he hit the 41-goal mark twice. Last year, it didn’t work out in Ottawa for DeBrincat as there were plenty of other options for goal-scoring. Now in Detroit, DeBrincat will be the main guy Detroit will lean on to score goals. Dylan Larkin had 32 goals last year to lead Detroit. Two other players had 20 goals, but one is now in Ottawa, and the other is 35-year-old David Perron. DeBrincat should be seeing an extra two minutes per night in Detroit, and if he has chemistry with anyone with the Red Wings, there should be an uptick in goals.

Continued; it would be great if DeBrincat hits 30 goals this upcoming season. The Red Wings need offense from wherever it can come, and they need a significant amount thereof.

The Athletic previews the Atlantic Division

The Athletic posted an Atlantic Division preview this morning, and Max Bultman weighed in as to which players left, which players joined the fray, and he offers reasons for optimism and reasons for concern as the 2023-2024 season approaches:

Reason for optimism: Did you see all those new names? The Red Wings turned over nearly 40 percent of their roster and addressed some huge needs in the process. The most glaring need entering the summer was for a scorer, and they got one of the league’s most dangerous in DeBrincat, plus a 2022-23 breakout story in Daniel Sprong. They needed to improve their blue line, and they made a significant investment there as well, trading for Petry and signing a bona fide power-play QB in Gostisbehere and a minute-eater in Holl. Compher gives them a deep center group and a much-needed right-handed option on draws, and he, Kostin and Fischer should make them tougher to play against. DeBrincat is the big one, and he’ll naturally grab the headlines, but the real story of Detroit’s offseason is how much deeper the team could be.

Reason for concern: There are a few. First, while the Red Wings got deeper, they still may not have the top-end stars to really threaten in a division teeming with them. To stack up, they’ll need continued steps forward from young standouts Moritz Seider and Lucas Raymond plus likely a surprise or two. Second — and relatedly — DeBrincat (and Sprong) alone likely won’t be a total cure for Detroit’s scoring shortage. This was a bottom-10 scoring team in the league last season, which leaves a lot of ground to make up. And then there’s the goaltending: Ville Husso was very good for long stretches of last season, but his final line — an .896 save percentage and a 3.11 goals-against average — left a lot to be desired. The best explanation is fatigue, as Husso’s play noticeably dropped as a heavy 56-game workload piled up, but the Red Wings will likely count on him for at least 50 starts again, and they’ll need him to hold up better this time around.

Bold prediction: Raymond breaks out for 30 goals and 70 points. After Raymond’s dazzling rookie season, when he had 23 goals and 57 points, predicting this kind of output in Year 3 hardly would have seemed bold. But that was before a classic “sophomore slump” last season, when he finished with 17 goals and 45 points. The bet here, though, is Raymond bounces back in a big way, putting it all together and becoming the top-line threat the Red Wings so badly need him to be.

Continued (paywall); The Athletic’s beat writers still believe that the Wings will finish seventh out of the Atlantic’s eight teams.

Duff profiles Cross Hanas

Detroit Hockey Now’s Bob Duff posted a profile of Red Wings prospect Cross Hanas, who played particularly well during the Red Wings’ 2023 Prospect Tournament:

Detroit Red Wings prospect Cross Hanas will be the first to tell you that he didn’t know what to expect from himself as he was taking the ice at the NHL rookie tournament in Traverse City.

“I think (in the first game) I did feel in the first period those little things on the mental side where you’re back in it,” Hanas admitted of his initial trepidation. “But once you get that first bump or maybe hit someone for the first time you just kind of realize, ‘Alright, everything’s good. We’re good. We’re ready to roll.’”

In early January of last season, his first as a pro, Hanas was injured in a game playing for the AHL Grand Rapids Griffins, Detroit’s top farm club. He underwent shoulder surgery. His season was done. In fact, he was only given medical clearance to return to game action the week prior to the rookie tournament.

The 21-year-old left-winger was enjoying a decent rookie pro campaign when he was suffering that injury. Hanas was good for 9-8-17 numbers through 30 games with the Griffins. And just like that, it was all over.

“The first couple of months were pretty tough for sure,” Hanas remembered. “The rehab is no joke. It’s a lot of work, a lot of time. Probably the biggest thing you gotta to is be patient, have a good work ethic. I know I can’t stand sitting out a game, so me having to sit and watch every game the rest of the season last year was real tough. But it makes you just want to keep working and get your rehab done as fast as possible.”

Continued; this is quite good, and Hanas is definitely an under-the-radar prospect.