I’m struggling with depression and anxiety right now

Gang,

I’m sorry that I haven’t been consistent in posting content over the past two days.

I’ve hit a really hard place because I’ve realized that my hopes of attending the Red Wings’ prospect tournament and main training camp with Aunt Annie are remote at best.

We’ve been struggling mightily to raise the $550 for the server, Bluehost, the web program, Jetpack, and a bit to plain old pay our internet bill this month.

I know that my illness has not helped because I’m not posting consistent content right now, but aside from some seriously dedicated, die-hard fans, it appears that most of you are GoFundMe’d out and tired of helping out a blog that’s had to make several significant pauses due to my mother’s death and my aunt’s infirmities.

With that in mind, I take great pride in going to Traverse City because it’s the one place that I’m accredited like a beat writer and not a blogger (the Wings still have a strict “no bloggers, period” policy at Little Caesars Arena, some 17 years after I got into the blogging business), and I work Gord-damned hard to give you a good product.

Continue reading I’m struggling with depression and anxiety right now

Tweet of note: ‘Roast & Toast of Tomas Holmstrom and Nicklas Lidstrom’ raises $400K for charity

Per the Jamie Daniels Foundation:

USA Today’s Brehm gives the Wings’ offseason an ‘A’ grade

USA Today’s Mike Brehm issued offseason grades for the NHL’s 32 teams, and he gives the Red Wings high marks for their significant amount of roster turnover:

Detroit Red Wings: A

They were the most active in free agency, adding Shayne Gostisbehere, Justin Holl, Compher, Daniel Sprong and a couple of goalies on the opening day. That group didn’t include a pure goal scorer, but they acquired one with the Alex DeBrincat trade and signed him to a four-year extension. The Michigan native is a two-time 40-goal scorer who dropped to 27 last season after a trade to Ottawa. The Red Wings then added Petry, a two-way veteran right-shot defenseman who’s the son of former Tigers pitcher Dan Petry. This is the second consecutive year that GM Steve Yzerman was aggressive in the offseason. It didn’t work last season and Detroit was a seller at the trade deadline. This year, the Red Wings seem like they might have a better chance.

Continued

Placing my fundraising cards on the table

Hi, everybody.

It’s Tuesday, August 29th, and I have two fundraising requests:

  1. We’re still about $200 short in terms of fundraising for the Malik Report’s server fees, which are $269.00 for Bluehost, taxes included. I need to raise that $200 by Friday to keep TMR going.
  2. I’ve posted a GoFundMe for the Traverse City trip, and its cost is a staggering $2,900, but that’s the reality in terms of our fundraising goal for the next three weeks, because taking up my 81-year-old Aunt Annie will cost an extra $900 due to her need for a first-floor, handicapped-accessible room.

It’s a bit fanciful to hope that we can raise that kind of money in three weeks, but we are hopeful that your desire to continue TMR’s coverage at the Red Wings’ prospect tournament and main training camp is still strong.

I never do more than “break even” on the trip, so the goal here is to simply cover expenses for the two weeks that I hope to be in Traverse City.

As always, here are the usual usual fundraising means:

If you’re are willing or able to lend a fundraising assist, you can use PayPal at https://paypal.me/TheMalikReport, Venmo at https://venmo.com/george-malik-2, Giftly by using my email, rtxg@yahoo.com, at https://www.giftly.com. And you can contact me via email if you want to send me a paper check. I’m also on Cash App under “georgeums” (an old nickname).

If you can’t help raise funds, it would be great if we can spread the word regarding the fundraisers, because we’re in tough straits.

A profile of Red Wings free agent try-out Israel Mianscum

CBC North’s Celina Wapachee posted a profile of Red Wings free agent try-out Israel Mianscum, who was both invited to the Wings’ Summer Development Camp, and now Detroit’s fall prospect tournament:

A hockey hopeful from the Cree community of Mistissini in northern Quebec has been invited to the NHL Prospect Tournament and, for a second time, to a development camp with the Detroit Red Wings. 

Israel Mianscum, 20, is currently playing in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) with the Sherbrooke Phoenix. Last year, he had a 61-point season in 65 games, with 30 goals and 31 assists. In July, he attended his first development camp with the Red Wings organization. 

“It was very fun, I had a good experience. I saw how others played and that pushed me to play harder. I saw where I needed to be to make it [in the NHL],” said Mianscum in Cree.  “There were people that encouraged and helped me, like the coaches and scouts telling me what I need to work on.”

Now Mianscum has been invited back for the NHL Prospect Tournament, which the Detroit Red Wings team is hosting from Sept. 14 to 17 in Traverse City, Mich.

“Six teams of prospects play against each other, about two or three games. That is where you can showcase how you can play,” Mianscum said.

Continued, with comments from now-Grand Rapids Griffins coach Stephane Julien, as well as Mianscum’s parents…

Roughly translated: A bit of former Wing Filip Zadina’s interview with Hockeysverige.se’s Uffe Bodin

If you’re interested, former Red Wings forward Filip Zadina gave an in-depth interview to Hockeysverige.se’s Uffe Bodin tonight. Zadina doesn’t have anything bad to say about the Red Wings or his time there, simply stating the following to Bodin:

“I had been there for almost five years, and things didn’t go as I had hoped,” says Filip Zadina, when he explains why it ended as it did in Detroit.

“I have been injured a lot and didn’t feel well. Sometimes it’s best to try and leave the old behind, move on, and focus on the future. Sometimes it’s better than staying in the same place and just hoping things turn around. Hope can be good, but it’s not something I want to sit and wait for. I felt it was time for something different, and I think it will help me, especially mentally, to get a fresh start, forget what happened in Detroit and find the joy in hockey again.”

You still gave up a lot of money to do that, and you don’t see players doing that very often.

“If I had been 31 or so on, I might have thought differently. But I’m only 23 now, and I think the best case scenario for me is to play hockey for less money and get a chance to play regularly instead of going in and out of the lineup. Sometimes you have to sacrifice something to get something more out of life. I am still young, and I will be able to earn the money later.”

It has been argued that Zadina’s development was harmed because he entered professional hockey too early, before he was ripe for the task in the NHL. He himself believes that there may have been some truth in that, but that he did not think along those lines at the time.

“It’s tough for a young rookie to come to a team under rebuilding like Detroit was then. Such a team didn’t have as strong a core as other teams have. I was happy and lucky that I got the chance in the NHL so early, which I probably wouldn’t have gotten with many other teams.”

“I tried my best at the time, but if you’re not a McDavid or a Matthews, it’s difficult to make that kind of difference. I couldn’t do it and that’s okay. These are unique players who we’re talking about. You don’t get five or six players in the draft every year who play for the same team for 20 years, and can make such a big difference.”

The interview continues, and you can read a Google translation of the interview here.

Tweet of note: CapFriendly reports that ECHL’er Cam Hillis has signed a PTO with the Red Wings

Per CapFriendly on Twitter, via A Winning Habit’s Ken MacMillan:

Hillis, 23, was a 2018 3rd round pick of the Montreal Canadiens, and he posted 50 points in 45 games with the ECHL’s Indy Fuel this past season. EliteProspects lists him at 5’9″ and 174 pounds, so the 2000-born center from Oshawa, Ontario is likely going to end up signing with the ECHL’s Toledo Walleye or the AHL’s Grand Rapids Griffins.

THN’s Stockton on Joe Veleno’s necessary future

Joe Veleno didn’t have any arbitration rights this summer, so he signed a “prove it” contract with the Red Wings, inking a 1-year, $825,000 contract last week.

At 23 years of age, Veleno’s future with the organization is “up in the air” to some extent, and the Hockey News’s Sam Stockon wonders what a successful 2023-2024 campaign will constitute for Veleno:

Earlier this summer, Steve Yzerman praised Veleno for adding different layers to his game to the ones he showed in junior.  “I think [Veleno] in junior was considered a power play net-front guy,” Yzerman said.”He’s learning how to check. He’s learning how to win face-offs. He’s killing penalties. That is earning him ice-time, and the offensive part [of his game] is growing.”  In that sentiment, Yzerman summated the challenge for Veleno moving forward.  

Detroit’s top six continues to grow more crowded with off-season additions like J.T. Compher and Alex DeBrincat, while youngsters like Jonatan Berggren or Marco Kasper continue to push closer to claiming their own places in the Wings’ top six.  

As such, it’s even less likely than ever that Veleno will blossom into a top-of-the-lineup scorer, which changes the nature of his mandate.  Instead, Veleno needs to show that he is a player whose ability as a checker and penalty killer makes him valuable in the bottom six, while still flashing some of the skill that once made him an exceptional prospect.

At 23, Veleno is in something of a liminal space: no longer a prospect but still a player you would hope will continue to add new layers to his game.  One year at under a million dollars is the epitome of the “prove-it” contract, so what exactly does Veleno need to prove?

Veleno needs to show that on a team pushing toward the post-season (if not quite making it there) that he makes sense in a bottom six role.  It’s where he’s played for the bulk of his pro career, but the stakes (for him and for his team) are different now.

This season’s Red Wings will be the deepest group Veleno has been a part of, so even after avoiding a stint in the minors a year ago, it will be more difficult than ever to crack the lineup.  The ’23-24 Wings also carry loftier ambitions than any of the three Red Wing teams Veleno has played for to date.

Continued; wherever Veleno lands in the lineup, he has to excel in his terms of his positional duties, or he’s going to be squeezed out. Plain and simple.

Press release: former Red Wings defenseman Danny DeKeyser heads into real estate

According to DBusiness Magazine’s Jim Stickford, former Red Wings defenseman Danny DeKeyser has chosen his post-hockey career path:

After a 10-year career with the Detroit Red Wings, professional hockey player Danny DeKeyser has joined Saros Real Estate, a brokerage firm in Grosse Pointe, as an associate.

Saros Real Estate stated DeKeyser’s local ties, network, work ethic, and extensive knowledge of the area should provide clients with a unique advantage when navigating the real estate landscape.

“Danny DeKeyser’s decision to jump right into his next chapter so fresh into retirement is a testament to his commitment to excellence both on and off the ice,” says Jimmy Saros, president and CEO of Saros Real Estate. “We are thrilled to have an individual of his caliber who is so accomplished at such a young age to play an integral part of our team. His dedication to serving the community aligns perfectly with our values, and we know his work ethic will propel him to great success in the real estate industry.”

….

DeKeyser remains active with the Red Wings organization in multiple facets and as well as running DeKeyser Training Institute, a hockey advising, consulting, and training group which offers a wide variety of services from youth hockey camps, private sessions, and full team practices. As he embarks on his new journey with Saros Real Estate, he looks forward to helping families accomplish their real estate goals and making a difference in the community that has rooted for him over his decade long NHL career.