Monroe: ECHL’s Walleye, AHL’s Griffins will have to wear neck protection this upcoming season

Per the Toledo Blade’s Mark Monroe:

Cut-resistant neck protection must be worn by all ECHL players and on-ice officials starting this season.

The ECHL’s board of governors approved the measure in June. All ECHL skaters, referees, and linemen — regardless of age or experience — will be required to wear approved neck wear.

The American Hockey League passed a similar measure last week.

The increased safety measures come in the wake of the shocking on-ice death of forward Adam Johnson in Europe last October.

About a dozen Toledo Walleye players began wearing protective neck guards last season.

The safety equipment is made of Kevlar or other protective material. The guards resemble the top of a turtleneck sweater.

Walleye forward Brandon Hawkins, who wore the neck protection last season, said he fully supports the measure.

“It’ll be good for everyone, especially after the tragic event that happened last year with Adam Johnson,” Hawkins said. “It just provides a layer of security to keep the players safe throughout the year. I think it’s a smart move by both the AHL and ECHL for the mandate.”

Continued

Pronman ranks Red Wings as having 14th-best prospect pool

The Athletic’s Corey Pronman has never been an easy sell when it comes to all things Red Wings, so it should come as no surprise that Pronman suggests that Detroit’s in the middle of the NHL’s 32 teams’ prospect pools because they “don’t have a star” in their prospect arsenal:

The Red Wings’ rebuild is at a bit of a crossroads. They have a solid NHL roster, but they haven’t become a playoff team yet. Their up-and-coming star Moritz Seider is now a three-year veteran. They have a good prospect pool, headlined by top-10 picks Nate Danielson and Simon Edvinsson. I wouldn’t call their prospect pool elite though, despite how many high picks they’ve had, and while they have some very good forward and defense prospects, there is the question of whether or not there’s a legit star in this group.

Key addition: Michael Brandsegg-Nygard

Key graduate: Moritz Seider

2023 ranking: 8

2024 NHL Draft grade: C+

Hard grader, this Pronman:

1. Lucas Raymond, LW

March 28, 2002 | 5-foot-11 | 188 pounds | Shoots right

Drafted: No. 4 in 2020
Tier: Top of the lineup player

Skating: NHL average
Puck skills: High-end
Hockey sense: Above NHL average
Compete: Above NHL average
Shot: Above NHL average

Analysis: Raymond had a great season; he was a constant offensive threat for Detroit and led their team in scoring. He has special puck skills, with the ability to make high-skill maneuvers in tight areas at a high rate. He combines that skill with excellent offensive IQ and vision. He had a good shot and with how many plays he makes he can run a PP1 in the NHL. Raymond isn’t that big, but he works hard and doesn’t shy from going to the net. He’s not that big or fast, but he’s very elusive and has good edges. He is a legit top-line forward in the NHL.

Continued (paywall); part of me wonders what Pronman would have said had the Red Wings drafted someone like Cole Eiserman this past June, and part of me is just so happy that the Red Wings have legitimate prospects beyond the 10 he “grades” that I just don’t care what he thinks.

Take that for what you will.

NHL Network names Moritz Seider 20th-best defenseman in the league today

Well, it’s somewhere to start from:

Whether it’s breaking up a big play, setting up a goal or scoring on the power play, some defensemen can do it all. NHL Network producers and analysts chose the top 20 defensemen in the League right now, which were revealed Wednesday in the fourth of a nine-part series. Here is the list:

20. Moritz Seider, Detroit Red Wings

Seider has not missed a game in his three NHL seasons, which included 42 points last season (nine goals, 33 assists), 17 power-play points, while leading Detroit in ice time per game (22:22) for the third straight season. The 23-year-old was also the only player to have at least 200 hits (211) and 200 blocks (212) last season. Seider won the Calder Trophy as NHL rookie of the year in 2021-22.

Continued; oh, we can argue about this one…But at this point, I’m glad that he was mentioned among the league’s best. We’ll take it and go from here.

Vladimir Tarsenko had his ‘day with the Cup’ in Florida at Broward Health hospital

In tangential Red Wings news:

New Red Wings forward Vladimir Tarasenko is closing his summer with an important day–his day with the Stanley Cup–and the former Florida Panthers forward chose to spend his time with several important organizations.

Per 7 News Miami’s Chantal Cook:

A hockey star stopped by a South Florida hospital with a generous gift.

Florida Panthers player Vladimir Tarasenko appeared at Broward Health Medical Center on Tuesday. He donated $10,000 which will go towards helping children and their families.

“We believe that the way you treat people, you get it back at the end of the day. So we wanted them to see and also spend together as much time as we can,” said Tarasenko.

The day was spent interacting with the kids. The Stanley Cup was also present as part of the NHL Champions’ tour.

Each player is afforded one day with the trophy.

And Local 10’s Christian De La Rosa:

Following the Florida Panthers’ victory over the Edmonton Oilers earlier this summer, the team has been taking the historic trophy across the globe to celebrate.

On Tuesday, former Panthers forward Vladimir Tarasenko, who has since signed with the Detroit Red Wings, shared the Cup with youngsters at the Boys & Girls Club of Broward County.

Panthers mascot Stanley C. Panther was also at the fun event where Tarasenko also donated $10,000 to the Boys & Girls Club.

NHL.com’s Anna Kulesa also reported from the scene…

Continue reading Vladimir Tarsenko had his ‘day with the Cup’ in Florida at Broward Health hospital

Getting ready for the IIHF Olympic qualifying tournament

Red Wings prospects Marco Kasper of Austria and Michael Brandsegg-Nygard of Norway are going to participate in the IIHF’s 2026 Olympic qualifying tournament between August 29th and 31st in Milan, Italy.

Both players will be playing 3 games over the course of 3 days, and the IIHF’s YouTube Channel will stream Austria and Norway’s games online (outside of the rights-holding countries).

Daily Faceoff’s Steven Ellis posted a tournament primer, and he discussed both Kasper and Brandsegg-Nygard’s roles on their respective teams:

From Aug. 29 to Sept. 1, 12 nations will battle for three spots in Milan. The teams will be split up into three cities: Bratislava, Slovakia (Austria, Hungary, Kazakhstan, and Slovakia); Riga, Latvia (France, Latvia, Slovenia, and Ukraine); and Aalborg, Denmark (Denmark, Great Britain, Japan, and Norway).

The winner of each of the three tournaments will join the pack of 12 in Italy in 2026, with the host teams of all three events expected to be the favorites to move on. The teams with automatic invitations are Canada, Czechia, Finland, Germany, Italy (as hosts), Russia, Sweden, Switzerland and the United States.

Here are his takes on Kasper and MBN:

Marco Kasper, C, Austria (Detroit Red Wings): The Austrians should lean on Kasper to bring speed and skill to the lineup. Kasper’s first season in North America started off slowly, as he registered just five points in his first 16 games over the season’s first two months. He still had some difficult stretches, including a six-game pointless streak to close the regular season and kick off the playoffs. But he was so good when he was on his game, eventually finishing with 14 goals and 35 points. Hopefully, he can start the year off with a big showing on the international stage, surrounded by as much help as he’s ever had while representing the Austrians.

Michael Brandsegg-Nygård, RW, Norway (Detroit Red Wings): Brandsegg-Nygard might not be the flashiest player, but he’s a battler. And as the 2024 World Championship wore on, it was good to see him getting more opportunities alongside Zuccarello and Thoresen. MBN also received lots of love from those who watched him in some exhibition action over the past few weeks, too, which is an excellent sign for one of Detroit’s top prospects. He had one of the best shot releases in the 2024 draft, and with the right linemates, he will be one heck of a scoring threat in the NHL – and, hopefully, for Norway at this tournament, too.

Continued; the Austrian Ice Hockey Association and the Norwegian Hockey Federation have very good websites (with associated respective Eishockey_aut and Norskishockey Twitter accounts).

Tweet of note: Red Wings invite F Austin Watson to camp on Pro Try-Out

Updated at 11:58 PM: Via TSN:

Quoting TSN:

The 32-year-old American spent last season with the Tampa Bay Lightning, scoring two goals and two assists over 33 games. 

Watson has scored 60 goals and 58 assists over 515 career games with the Nashville Predators, Ottawa Senators and Lightning. He has 10 goals and nine assists over 45 career playoffs games, all with Nashville. 

The left winger was originally selected 18th overall by Preds in 2010 and spent a decade with the franchise before joining the Sens in 2020. 

Watson is coming off a one-year, $776,665 contract. 

Watson stands at 6’4″ and 205 pounds, and in his last full season with Ottawa, he posted 123 penalty minutes in 75 games.

He’s being brought in as a deterrent, most likely.

Update: The Detroit News posted something of a profile of Watson…

Continue reading Tweet of note: Red Wings invite F Austin Watson to camp on Pro Try-Out

‘Getting the crankies out’ regarding Raymond and Seider

I’m writing this in the darkness of a power-less condominium in South Lyon, so I’m getting my “crankies” out here.

I’m getting tired of the late-summer narratives suggesting that either the Red Wings’ GM should be fired and/or that the “rebuild is off the rails” because it is August 28th, and the Red Wings have yet to reach contract agreements with Lucas Raymond or Moritz Seider.

Contract negotiations aren’t built upon what makes the fan base comfortable. If that were true, the Red Wings would have been able to hammer out extensions with their two marquee restricted free agents as soon as they were able to be signed to extensions last January.

It’s late summer. The whole fan base is getting jittery about seeing their Red Wings back on the ice in late September, and the hope is of course that Raymond and Seider will be among the players who hit the ice in Traverse City. If they don’t, it’s something of a failure for management for sure.

Continue reading ‘Getting the crankies out’ regarding Raymond and Seider

Power’s out at Blog Central

My apologies for the lack of content over the last 17 hours. Our power went out in South Lyon yesterday afternoon, and it remains out this morning.

DTE hasn’t updated us with an estimate for restoration of service yet, which suggests that we may be without power for some time to come.

I will try to catch up once we have the WiFi back up. 

Until then, take care and please relax a bit about the Raymond and Seider contact extensions. They’ll get done when they get done, and regrettably, we have no sway in influencing the timeline.

Press release via THN: Red Savage named captain of Michigan State University’s hockey team

As noted by the Hockey News’s Sam Stockton, the Michigan State University Spartans’ hockey team has named Red Wings prospect forward Red Savage team captain for the 2024-2025 season:

East Lansing, Mich. –  Michigan State head coach Adam Nightingale has announced the team captains for the 2024-25 season.  Senior Red Savage (Scottsdale, Ariz) will be the 79th Spartan to wear the C, while juniors Matt Basgall (Lake Forest, Ill.), Karsen Dorwart (Sherwood, Ore.), and Tiernan Shoudy (Marysville, Mich.) will serve as alternate captains.  The captains are determined by a vote of team members. 

These four embody what it means to be a Spartan,” noted Nightingale.  They will do a great job in leading our program.”

Savage is coming off a junior campaign in which he established new career highs in all offensive categories.  He had 10 goals and 17 assists for 27 points (+9), and his assist total matched his combined career total from his first two collegiate seasons.  A fourth-round draft pick of the Detroit Red Wings, Savage came to MSU in the summer of 2023 after two seasons at Miami (Ohio). 

Both Basgall and Dorwart were alternate captains for the 2023-24 season and carry that over into their junior campaigns as well.   Basgall posted a career-best 15 assists as a sophomore, and was MSU’s least-penalized player while leading the team in blocked shots (61, eighth in the Big Ten).  Dorwart established new career bests in goals (15), assists (19) and points (34), and tied for second in the Big Ten and 11th nationally in shorthanded goals.  Shoudy is in his first season wearing a letter, and last year surpassed his freshman year totals in both assists (12) and points (16), and finished a +3 with 25 blocked shots.  He also owned the team’s best faceoff win percentage (253-218, .537)

All four captains have been active in community outreach programs like Adaptive Trick-or-Treating, the Student-Athlete Food Drive, and visits to the pediatric playroom at Sparrow Hospital.  The three alternate captains are Academic All-Big Ten selections, and Basgall and Shoudy are not only the two hockey representatives on the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee but were 2024 College Sports Communicators (CSC) Academic All-District Selections and AHCA All-American Scholars as well.

Daily Faceoff ranks Wings’ prospect pool as NHL’s 5th-best

Daily Faceoff’s Steven Ellis ranks the Red Wings’ prospect pool as the 5th-best in the NHL;

5. Detroit Red Wings (2023: 7th)

Notable prospects: Simon Edvinsson, Axel Sandin-Pellikka, Michael Brandsegg-Nygard

When the Detroit Red Wings stopped being a playoff team more than half a decade ago, they had a rough pipeline, to say the least. Now? They boast one of the most impressive pipelines in all of hockey, with some serious depth at every position. For starters, Simon Edvinsson and Axel Sandin-Pellikka are two of the best defensive prospects in hockey right now. Then you throw in recent first-rounders Michael Brandsegg-Nygard and Marco Kasper up front, and two of the best goaltending prospects in the game in Sebastian Cossa and Trey Augustine, and you’ve got a group that’s primed for a bright future. Of course, it’s all fine and dandy, on paper, but they need these guys to produce. And I do think they need another impact playdriver, too. But it truly feels like the Red Wings aren’t too far away from being playoff-bound again.

Continued; I do agree that the Red Wings might want to draft another player who generates energy on the ice, but otherwise, the prospect pool is very, very good right now. It’s come a long way from the later days of the Ken Holland regime.