THN’s Eargood interviews Jesse Kiiskinen

Earlier this morning, Detroit Hockey Now’s Bob Duff discussed new Red Wings prospect Jesse Kiiskinen’s displaying an edge at the World Junior Summer Showcase, and the Hockey News’s Connor Eargood has now posted a wide-ranging interview with the former Nashville Predators prospect:

Because of Kiiskinen’s mandatory military service [this summer], the Red Wings haven’t gotten a chance to see their newly acquired prospect in action since the trade until the ongoing World Junior Summer Showcase, where Kiiskinen is captaining Team Finland. What they see should impress them. Though he hasn’t been perfect and is scoreless in two games played, Kiiskinen’s skating and sticktoitiveness have stood out on a young Finnish roster. So has his leadership, a commodity in need for Finland thus far.

“He has good character,” Finland coach Lauri Mikkola told The Hockey News. “He is a good person and just a little bit leader in the locker room there. He has lots of giving for the team.”

A team-first forward that plays to win? In the Red Wings organization? Yeah, that’s not very surprising. In fact, Detroit had interest in adding Kiiskinen to its prospect pool for a while, including in his 2023 draft year. 

“I had a lot of meetings and calls with the Finnish scout (Antonin Routa) from Detroit,” Kiiskinen explained, “and (when) I was (at the) combine, I had the interview with those guys and I was thinking they were interested.”

Eventually, the Red Wings were interested enough to acquire him. It just took some time and the right circumstance to do so.

Continued; again, the Red Wings traded a pretty good prospect in defenseman Andrew Gibson to Nashville for both Kiiskinen, a right wing who’s going to play for HPK Hameenliina of the Finnish Liiga, and the 2nd-round pick that Detroit used to send Jake Walman and his $3.4 million salary to San Jose.

My take after reading Eargood’s interview is that the Wings put a lot of faith in Antonin Routa and the rest of the Wings’ European scouts in order to swap the physical Gibson for Kiiskinen, so we’ll see how Kiiskinen develops playing his second pro season in the Liiga. Although he swapped out the Lahti Pelicans for HPK, he should be more comfortable and self-assured this season.

Wings’ Shai Buium ready and willing to join the Griffins

MLive’s Ansar Khan looks back to the Red Wings’ Summer Development Camp this morning, discussing big defenseman Shai Buium’s learning curve as the University of Denver alumnus graduates to play pro hockey in Grand Rapids.

The 21-year-old defender played in 1 game for the Griffins this past spring, after his University of Denver Pioneers won their second NCAA Division 1 Hockey Championship in 3 seasons. Buium told Khan that he needs to keep working on his skating as he “turns pro”:

“Obviously, the game gets faster, guys are stronger,” Buium said this month at Red Wings development camp. “Skating and building strength, I think they come together. When you have good strength and your edgework is getting better, it’ll come together and you’ll be a better skater, faster and stronger.”

The Red Wings selected Buium 36th overall (second round) in 2021 and watched the 6-4, 210-pound left-shooting defenseman progress each season. He tallied seven goals and 36 points in 43 games last season, doubling his production from his freshman year.

“I think I got a lot better defensively,” Buium said. “Just learn new things every year. I like to be a sponge and just take it all in. Good defense just generates more offense for me. I like to be on the offensive side of things and playing good defense helps with that.”

Buium joins former Denver teammates Carter Mazur and Antti Tuomisto in Grand Rapids, after winning an NCAA title with them in 2022. He joins a Griffins defense that won’t have Simon Edvinsson and Albert Johansson, who’ll be in Detroit, and will feature fellow prospects Tuomisto, William Wallinder and Eemil Viro as well as veterans Brogan Rafferty, Josiah Didier, William Lagesson and Tory Dello.

Continued (paywall); Shai doesn’t have his brother Zeev’s offensive upside, but the elder Buium is likely to become a shut-down defenseman with a bit of a mean streak.

Whipple, Kiiskinen battle it out in Plymouth

Detroit Hockey Now’s Bob Duff reports that Red Wings prospects John Whipple and Jesse Kiiskinen vigorously battled each other as Team USA Blue won a hard-fought 5-3 victory over Team Finland:

[Their competition] led to some heated battles between the pair, which had to warm the cockles of any Red Wings fans in attendance. If there’s been one element that been found consistently wanting on the Detroit roster in recent seasons, it’s been locating hard-nosed players who were willing to not only go to the dirty areas on the ice, but were also willing to arrive at those spots in ill humor.

For both Kiiskinen and Whipple, that’s a way of life. In fact, it’s the only way they know how to play the game.

“Just trying to be as mean as I can and shut plays down,” was how Whipple described his style.

Kiiskinen also takes pride in being a thorn in the opposition’s side.

“That’s what I do,” Kiiskinen said. “I like that. I feel confident when I hit the boards and hit the other guy. Everything like that. In front of the net, the battles, I like those battles.”

Continued; the Red Wings drafted Whipple knowing that he possessed a nasty edge, but I’ll admit that I was disappointed when the Red Wings traded a similarly rough-and-tumble defenseman in John Gibson to Nashville for Kiiskinen (who is serving as Finland’s captain at the WJSS).

It’s good to hear that Kiiskinen, who’s going to play for HPK Hameenlinna of the Finnish Liiga this upcoming season, was giving Whipple, a University of Minnesota commit, everything he could handle.

Tweet of note: Glamour shots

Via Paul Kukla of Kukla’s Korner/Abel to Yzerman comes another Tweet regarding Red Wings GM Steve Yzerman and assistant GM/director of amateur scouting Kris Draper’s appearance at the Detroit Lions’ training camp today:

Tweet of note: Coach Lalonde spends a day at the WJSS

Per the Hockey News’s Sam Stockton:

Christian Fischer hopes to provide Detroit more offense

MLive’s Ansar Khan filed a Monday-afternoon article which discusses Christian Fischer’s press conference from his re-signing with the Detroit Red Wings as an unrestricted free agent. As Khan notes, Fischer believes that he can provide more offense to the team:

Fischer feels there is more to his game after his production dipped last season to five goals and 19 points in 79 games.

“I wasn’t too pleased with my offensive production,” Fischer said. “I know I should be well over double-digits in my goal mark. I just wasn’t that dialed in, didn’t have the good fortune with point totals. Obviously, that’s not my biggest concern, that’s never going to be how I’m measured in performance. With that being said, I definitely have way higher expectations for myself. I’ve done it.”

The former 32nd overall pick produced 15 goals and 33 points in 2017-18 with Arizona, his first full season. He came close to matching that in 2022-23 with 13 goals and 27 points.

The Red Wings lost a chunk of offense with the departures of David Perron, Robby Fabbri, Daniel Sprong, Shayne Gostisbehere and Jake Walman. Vladimir Tarasenko and full seasons with Patrick Kane and Jonatan Berggren will help compensate. They’ll need improvement from others, too. Fischer hopes to do his part.

“When I think of last year, it’s probably more about finishing,” he said. “Early in the season, I’m watching my clips and just kind of shaking my head thinking, ‘How the heck did I not put that one in?’ I think a little bit goes towards joining a new team. I think it takes a little bit of getting the coach’s trust and maybe you simplify your game more than you should, just to make sure you’re getting that puck out and maybe not trying that high-risk move at the wrong time.”

Continued (paywall; MLive is paywalling everything these days); as Khan notes later on in his article, Fischer is aware of his role as a shut-down, defensively-minded forward, but at this point, any offense he can provide would be welcome.

Press release: American Red Cross to hold blood drive at Little Caesars Arena on August 8th, with free preseason tickets in the mix

I thought this might be a useful “community” category press release to note, per Ilitch Sports + Entertainment:

American Red Cross Partners with The District Detroit for 7th Annual Blood Drive at Little Caesars Arena

Presenting donors will receive Tigers tickets, pre-season Pistons and Red Wings tickets while supplies last

The American Red Cross, in partnership with The District Detroit, is inviting donors to give blood at its seventh annual blood drive at Little Caesars Arena to meet the needs of those who depend on lifesaving blood. All presenting donors will receive a voucher for tickets to a Detroit Tigers game and tickets to pre-season Detroit Pistons and Detroit Red Wings games.  

Blood and platelet donors are critically needed, and all blood types are in demand, especially those with type O.

While summer can be full of vacations and outdoor fun, it’s also recognized as a time of higher risk for car accidents, especially among teen drivers. A single car accident victim may require as many as 100 units of blood. More than a quarter of all blood products each year are used in critical care and emergency room situations, highlighting the importance of generous blood and platelet donors. 

The blood drive will be from 10 a.m. – 8 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 8, on the Via Concourse at Little Caesars Arena, 2645 Woodward, in Detroit. Complimentary parking is available in the UWM Garage at 128 W. Fisher Service Drive, which is close to the arena’s Meijer entrance to the blood drive.

Continue reading Press release: American Red Cross to hold blood drive at Little Caesars Arena on August 8th, with free preseason tickets in the mix

Talking about Michael Brandsegg-Nygard’s pluses

The Detroit News’s Ted Kulfan filed a Monday-afternoon notebook article about Red Wings prospects Michael Brandsegg-Nygard, Jakub Rychlovsky and Axel Sandin Pellikka. Kulfan notes that Brandsegg-Nygard had to adjust to new skates at the Red Wings’ Summer Development Camp, but when he got his own skates in baggage, he perked up:

“He was having trouble with his skates, falling down,” Cleary said. “I talked to him and said ‘Listen, I’m not here judging that, whether you can stand up or not. We’ve seen your body of work, and (amateur scouting director) Kris Draper has looked at him all year with our scouting staff.”

What stood out for the Wings was Brandsegg-Nygard’s frame, a sturdy 6-foot-1, 207 pounds, and the fact he knew how to use his body to an advantage.

“You can see he’s strong protecting the puck, and he can shoot it very well,” Cleary said. “Like every young kid, we look at their testing, and they have to get stronger, which they will as they get older and more mature. His skating, he knows he’s got to work on, and he’s driven to work on.”

Brandsegg-Nygard will play in Sweden next season, for Skelleftea, jumping from Sweden’s second division to the top men’s league. Brandsegg-Nygard will be a teammate of defenseman Axel Sandin-Pellikka, the Wings’ 2023 first-round pick.

“That’s a jump for sure,” Cleary said of moving up a division. “But with his size and his weight, he’ll be able to handle himself and protect himself in the corners, hang on to the puck a little better. The transition will be easier with him having a frame to him.”

Continued (paywall); we don’t technically know whether MBN is going to play in Sweden or whether he’s going to play for Grand Rapids, given that he’s going to attend the Red Wings’ training camp…

But it is highly, highly likely that he will remain with Skelleftea AIK on a loan (now that the Red Wings have signed him to an entry-level contract, they control his place of play).

Bally Sports Detroit returns to XFinity/Comcast…on a premium tier

The Detroit News’s Tony Paul reports that the Detroit Tigers will be on XFinity/Comcast again–as will the Detroit Red Wings this fall, presuming that Bally Sports Detroit still exists at that time:

Diamond Sports Group, the parent company of the Bally Sports regional sports networks, and Comcast, the parent company of cable giant Xfinity, announced they have reached a deal to reinstate the 15 RSNs, including Bally Sports Detroit, starting Thursday.

The deal ends a three-month stalemate, after the RSNs were booted from Xfinity’s offerings May 1.

Under the new deal, however, the RSNs only will be available on Xfinity’s “Ultimate TV” package, or an upper tier. That was Xfinity’s drawn line in the sand when negotiations originally broke down, with company officials arguing it was unfair for a hefty monthly carriage fee to be passed down to all basic-cable customers, the majority of whom don’t watch the RSNs.

Xfinity announced Monday it would offer its basic-cable subscribers access to the “Ultimate TV” package for three months at no additional cost.

“We appreciate Diamond Sports working with us to reach a solution that returns the Bally Sports RSNs to our Ultimate TV customers in a way that reflects the changing video marketplace for local sports,” Greg Rigdon, president of content acquisition for Comcast, said in a statement late Monday afternoon.

“We look forward to making these networks available on Aug. 1, so customers can enjoy watching their favorite teams again.”

Continued (paywall); here’s more from the Free Press’s Andrew Birkle:

Continue reading Bally Sports Detroit returns to XFinity/Comcast…on a premium tier