Prospect round-up: Sandin Pellikka plays 23:24 on an SHL Saturday

Of Red Wings prospect-related note in the SHL today:

Axel Sandin Pellikka finished at -1 with 4 shots in 23:24 played as Skelleftea AIK lost 4-1 to Linkopings HC;

Noah Dower Nilsson finished even with 3 shots and a minor penalty taken in 13:03 played as Frolunda HC won 2-1 in overtime over the Malmo Redhawks;

And Anton Johansson finished even with 2 shots taken in Leksands IF’s 2-1 loss to Orebro Hockey. Leksand is really struggling this season, so there’s already talk of big changes being made.

Wings finding a spark from physical play

The Red Wings dropped a 4-3 OT decision to the Ottawa Senators last night, but the physical, mental and emotional rivalry with the Senators team carried over from last season in a big way, and that was fine with the Red Wings, who were happy that pro try-out Austin Watson got into it with Senators forward Jan Jenik–even though Watson ended up being ejected, and gave the Senators a 5-minute power play.

The Detroit News’s Ted Kulfan discusses the situation today:

“I actually liked it a lot,” Lalonde said. “It energized our guys.”

Watson was scheduled to be in the lineup Saturday in Toronto, the Wings’ final preseason game, and get one final opportunity to show what he can provide. Rosters must be set by Monday at 5 p.m. and Watson appears to be on the cusp of making the roster. The physicality Watson brings, the ability to make opponents think twice about taking advantage of the Wings, could be an important ingredient they might choose to keep.

“It’s amazing, just one guy with that mentality helps the group out a ton,” Lalonde said. “Up to that point, Austin was good in his game. He kills penalties, he had a beautiful Grade A chance on the back door, five-on-five. He’s done some good things with his play also.”

Watson is probably going to have at least a couple of tussles with Ryan Reaves, who the Leafs are dressing as Calle Jarnkrok’s nursing a minor injury…

Long after Watson was ejected, Ottawa’s Cole Reinhardt took exception to Simon Edvinsson delivering a clean, hard hit on a Senators teammate. Reinhardt skated toward Edvinsson and began to engage, but Edvinsson easily hauled Reinhardt to the ice before the scuffle was broken up, much to the delight of the Little Caesars Arena crowd.

The Wings did a good job of sticking up for each other last season. Friday’s responses were a sign they are determined to come to each other’s aid.

“It gets us to stick together,” defenseman Olli Maatta said. “We did that. That’s the toughness you need. It’s not necessarily fighting anymore but it’s a team spirit. Don’t back down and you support your teammates, your partner, your linemates. That’s the mindset we’ve had all three years I’ve been here and we’re going to keep doing that.”

Continued; I’m not as big a fan of the rough stuff in the preseason, but everybody needs to find a spark somehow.

Update: Detroit Hockey Now’s Bob Duff also discussed Austin Watson’s play:

Continue reading Wings finding a spark from physical play

Christian Fischer believes that the Wings need to play ‘relentless hockey’ to win

Ahead of tonight’s game against Toronto (7 PM EDT on DetroitRedWings.com/TSN4/ESPN+), DetroitRedWings.com’s Jonathan Mills spoke with coach Derek Lalonde and coach Christian Fischer about the team’s mentality coming off their 4-3 OT loss to Ottawa, and looking forward:

“For whatever reason, Ottawa is a big rivalry,” Christian Fischer said. “Honestly, I don’t think too many guys mind it. Preseason, I think it’s good to get those emotions back. There’s going to be 82 games of that type of emotion. It’s nice to get a little feistiness in the game and show that fire.”

Fischer said he believes the value of the preseason differs for each player, but everyone benefits from experiencing game-like situations ahead of the regular season.

“The main thing is just getting going and getting up to speed,” Fischer said. “Obviously your habits and stuff get going, but just the emotion, competitiveness and energy that comes with Game 1. I still remember the feeling from our home opener last year, and how fun that was.”

And beyond preparing for the upcoming campaign, Detroit’s Training Camp has been an opportunity for players to set the compete level they want to have all season long.

“Every team wants to be competitive, and everybody is, but I think our identity as a team,” Fischer said about what he hopes the Red Wings carry from camp into this season. “We have very different types of players from every which way. When we’re all on our game, the word that comes to my mind is relentless. When we’re all nonstop and staying above guys, checking and forechecking, when every line is playing their role correctly, we’re a really good team.”

Continued; the Wings will indeed have to play relentless hockey to battle their way into a playoff spot this upcoming season.

Red Wings will begin to ‘cut and paste’ after tonight’s game

The Red Wings have substantial cuts to make to their roster to get it down to 23-man compliance by Monday at 5 PM, and Detroit Hockey Now’s Kevin Allen notes that the cuts will begin tonight, and will probably be announced tomorrow:

The Detroit Red Wings finish their preseason schedule tonight with a road game against the Toronto Maple Leafs. Decision-making about the team’s final roster could start minutes after that games is completed.

“We’ll probably start getting into even right after postgame tonight into tomorrow, a lot of moving parts, obviously so and some tough decision,” Lalonde said. “I think I’ve mentioned going into camp. I hope we sit here after the eight games with some very hard decisions and you guys have seen our young guys have done that to us. So something we’ll work through the next couple days. ”

Cuts will start tomorrow, and then NHL teams have until 5 p.m. to finalize their rosters. Among the decisions that GM Steve Yzerman has to make: Are the Red Wings still comfortable with keeping three goalies? Who is the winner of the preseason goalie competition? Also, is Yzerman willing to carve out a spot or spots for some younger players, particularly Marco Kasper?

As if the decisions weren’t tough enough, the Red Wings squandered a two-goal a third-period lead Friday in losing in overtime to Ottawa. Does this team need a push through a youth infusion?

“I really think our core has led in a good way,” Lalonde said. “But the push from some of those young guys has elevated the camp. “

Continued; pro try-out Austin Watson’s future hangs in the balance as well.

Khan: Red Wings endorse Austin Watson’s play and team toughness

Red Wings coach Derek Lalonde isn’t alone in terms of being impressed with pro try-out forward Austin Watson’s physicality, as MLive’s Ansar Khan notes:

“It’s amazing,” Lalonde said. “Just one guy with that mentality helps the group out a ton. Up to that point, Austin was good in his game. He kills (penalties). He had a beautiful Grade-A chance on the back door, five- on-five. He’s done some good things with his play also.”

Watson was ejected at 16:01 of the first period of the 4-3 overtime loss after roughing it up with Jan Jenik. He received 27 penalty minutes (instigator misconduct, aggressor, fighting, instigator minor). Players liked what they saw.

“You want a guy like that on your team,” Christian Fischer said. “He’s well-respected around the league. He protects his teammates, and he does a really good job at that. He’s made one hell of a career out of it. Mo Seider is an all-star defenseman. He’s not doing those things you shouldn’t. Not only Austin, I think there’s other guys.”

Said Olli Maatta: “It gets us to stick together. I think we did that. I think that’s the toughness you need. It’s not necessarily fighting anymore, but I think that’s a team spirit. Don’t back down and you support your teammates, your partner, your linemates. I think that’s the mindset we’ve had all three years I’ve been here and I think we’re going to keep doing that.”

Early in the third period, Cole Reinhardt took exception to a hit on a teammate from Simon Edvinsson. He tried to pick a fight with the 6-6 rookie, who essentially hauled him to the ice with one arm.

“Preseason, I think it’s good to get those emotions back,” Fischer said. “Starting on Thursday, there’s going to be 82 games of that type of emotion. I think it’s nice to kind of get a little feistiness in the game and show kind of just that fire. We’ve had quite a few spirited matchups with that team and I would assume some more coming. Obviously, nobody wants anybody to get hurt, but to get those juices flowing again. And I love our 23 guys vs. anybody else. That was fun to watch yesterday.”

Continued; the Leafs are dressing Ryan Reaves opposite Watson tonight, so we may see a scrap.

Tweet of note: Red Wings release roster for tonight’s game

The Detroit Red Wings and Toronto Maple Leafs wrap up their exhibition season with a preseason game tonight in Toronto (7 PM EDT start on DetroitRedWings.com/TSN4/ESPN+), and here are the teams’ respective rosters:

Update: Moritz Seider, fashonista:

Maple Leafs also posted pre-game videos of Max Pacioretty, Nick Robertson, Conor Timmins and coach Craig Berube.

Continuing to fundraise to pay the bills

Okay, we’re going to keep this going for a bit. Things are going well fundraising-wise, but we’re short of our goal.

As such:

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Red Wings-Maple Leafs morning skate Tweets and discussion: Toronto dresses its regulars tonight; Wings hold ‘late skate’

Updated at 11:39 AM: The 3-2-and-2 Detroit Red Wings will wrap up their exhibition season this evening, playing against the Toronto Maple Leafs in Hogtown (7 PM EDT start on DetroitRedWings.com/TSN4/ESPN+).

The Red Wings will start Ville Husso this evening (per coach Derek Lalonde), but they’re also going to bring a gaggle of AHL-level players to Toronto, hoping to avenge both Detroit’s 4-3 OT loss to Ottawa on Friday and Detroit’s 2-0 loss to Toronto on Thursday night. Toronto’s going to be dressing a star-studded lineup tonight, so the game will be an uphill climb for the Wings’ young talent.

You might notice that this will be a 3rd game played in 3 nights for the Red Wings, who are wrapping up their 8-game-in-11-night exhibition slate this evening. That’s a lot of games played over a short period of time.

If I may be honest, despite my status as a Wings partisan and as someone who hates it when the cursed Maple Leafs beat the Red Wings, I’ll be relatively happy with any result as long as the Wings don’t suffer any injuries other than sore bodies and mental fatigue from the compressed schedule.

Continue reading Red Wings-Maple Leafs morning skate Tweets and discussion: Toronto dresses its regulars tonight; Wings hold ‘late skate’