The Malik Report

The Detroit News’s Ted Kulfan discusses the Red Wings’ potential season-opening roster as decisions apply to the forward group:

► In: Tyler Bertuzzi, Erne, Fabbri, Sam Gagner, Larkin, Namestnikov, Rasmussen, Mitchell Stephens, Pius Suter, Filip Zadina.

► On the bubble: Taro Hirose, Raymond, Carter Rowney, Bobby Ryan, Smith, Veleno.

For this exercise, Stephens is assumed to be on the roster. The speedy, tenacious Stephens seemingly solidified a spot Saturday by arguably being the Wings’ best forward, after a string of good preseason performances. Stephens likely will be the fourth-line center.

Ryan, 34, in camp on a professional tryout, likely will be signed to a one-year contract. Ryan had two goals and two assists in six games, but he also brings important veteran intangibles that could help the Wings.

Rowney could fill the role of being an extra forward, able to step in when needed. 

Smith would appear to have a roster spot locked up,  but the severity of his injury clouds his outlook. Also, Smith didn’t have a consistently productive preseason.

Which leaves us with Raymond and Veleno, two young players fans are longing to see in the NHL — but the Wings’ front office have a development plan in place.

Continued (paywall)

I have a bad feeling that Red Wings fans are going to revolt on Monday, when I expect Lucas Raymond and Joe Veleno to be sent to Grand Rapids (barring injuries on the Red Wings’ roster)…

But I’m not going to be here for all of the fun. I have an appointment with my primary care physician at 1:15 PM, and it takes about half-an-hour to get to Providence Hospital from South Lyon, so I’m going to be gone from approximately 12:45 until somewhere around 3 PM.

That will conflict with tomorrow’s practice (which probably starts at 11 AM) and the submission of the Wings’ final roster by 5 PM EDT, but I’ve got to prioritize my health here, and getting my physical is essential.

So I hope my priorities are correct in deciding to not cancel tomorrow’s appointment. It will be a little bit of an impediment to covering Monday’s practice and/or roster moves, but sometimes you’ve got to get yourself taken care of first.

Per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, the Wings are waiving Taro Hirose to send im to Grand Rapids:

Carrick/Larsson (ANA); Jonsson-Fjallby (BUF); Gelinas, Lajoie, Leivo, Noesen, Smith (CAR); Carlsson, Lehtonen, Stenlund (CLB); Delia, Subban (CHI); MacDonald (COL); Petrovic (DAL0; Barber, Hirose (DET); Carlsson, Gibson (FLA)…— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) October 10, 2021

Which Chris Johnston confirms:

Collin Delia (CHI), Malcolm Subban (CHI), Jacob MacDonald (COL), Alex Petrovic (DAL), Riley Barber (DET), Taro Hirose (DET), William Lagesson (EDM), Kyle Turris (EDM), Lucas Carlsson (FLA), Christopher Gibson (FLA), Austin Strand (LA), Austin Wagner (LA) …— Chris Johnston (@reporterchris) October 10, 2021

So it looks like Givani Smith and Carter Rowney make the Red Wings’ roster for now.

No word on Bobby Ryan’s try-out contract.— George Malik (@georgemalik) October 10, 2021

I’m expecting Lucas Raymond and Joe Veleno to be sent down to Grand Rapids to start the season, but, again, I do not expect them to end the season in Grand Rapids.— George Malik (@georgemalik) October 10, 2021

Per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, Red Wings/Grand Rapids Griffins goaltender Calvin Pickard was among those who cleared waivers yesterday.

Everyone on waivers yesterday cleared— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) October 10, 2021

Of prospect-related note in Europe today:

In the Swedish J20 league, William Wallinder finished even with 4 shots in Rogle BK’s 3-2 loss to Linkoping;

And Liam Dower Nilsson finished at -1 with 2 shots and a 10-and-9 faceoff record in Frolunda HC’s 7-2 loss to Sodertalje SK.

The Red Wings held their “Media Day” on Friday, shooting promotions for Bally Sports Detroit and their in-arena videos:

In the alumni department, Frans Nielsen has signed with the Eisbaren Berlin of the DEL:

+++ BREAKING NEWS +++
Die Eisbären Berlin können die Verpflichtung des dänischen Nationalspielers Frans Nielsen verkünden. Der Stürmer erhält die Rückennummer 51 und wird in der kommenden Woche in Berlin erwartet. #ebb #Nielsen
Mehr dazu hier: https://t.co/SNHQ08XQLE pic.twitter.com/9CS0Vvs5xZ— Eisbären Berlin (@Eisbaeren_B) October 10, 2021

MLive’s Ansar Khan discusses the battle for spots on the Red Wings’ roster this morning, noting that several players may be injured, complicating the coaching and management staffs’ decision-making processes:

The only [roster] decisions are at forward, and they could be impacted by injuries. Blashill said nobody other than Jakub Vrana (shoulder surgery, out four months) has been ruled for the opener, but they will know more Monday at practice.

Michael Rasmussen and Givani Smith have been dealing with what Blashill described as day-to-day injuries. Dylan Larkin, Robby Fabbri, Adam Erne and Vladislav Namestnikov also did not play Saturday, preventing the team from having a “dress rehearsal” in the exhibition finale.

“We don’t know who’s going to be available and who’s not,” Blashill said. “We’re taking it day by day. We’ll make (roster) decisions when we have to make decisions and not before that.”

The Red Wings might be inclined to sign veteran right wing Bobby Ryan, in camp on a tryout. He had two goals and two assists in six games and could slot into the top six with his offensive ability as Vrana’s replacement. Ryan’s right-handed shot and leadership ability also would be assets.

The Red Wings have several young players pushing for job, mostly notably former first-round picks Joe Veleno and Lucas Raymond, who are waiver-exempt, and Taro Hirose, who is not waiver-exempt.

Continued; along those lines, the Free Press’s Helene St. James also posted an article this morning which discusses the players she believes will make the Wings’ final roster:

Continue reading Khan, HSJ in the morning: On the battle for roster spots at forward

Of prospect-related note in North America on Saturday:

In the QMJHL, Jan Bednar stopped 30 of 33 shots and four shootout shooters in the Acadie-Bathurst Titan’s 4-3 shootout win over Saint John;

Oscar Plandowski finished even with a shot in the Charlottetown Islanders’ 2-0 loss to Halifax;

In the WHL, Alex Cotton scored 2 goals, finishing even with 9 shots, and he was named the second star in the Lethbridge Hurricanes’ 2-1 OT win over Red Deer;

Cross Hanas had an assist, finishing at +2 with 5 shots, in the Portland Winterhawks’ 3-2 win over Seattle;

Sebastian Cossa stopped 28 of 30 shots and 2 of 3 shootout shooters in the Edmonton Oil Kings’ 3-2 shootout loss to Medicine Hat;

Continue reading Prospect round-up: Bednar wins, Cossa drops shootout, Cotton scores 2, and a busy NCAA Saturday

Detroit Hockey Now’s Bob Duff offers a list of 5 Takeaways from the Red Wings’ final preseason game, a 3-1 loss to the Buffalo Sabres, and I feel like just leaving this observation here and letting the firecrackers hit the wall:

Kids Aren’t All Right: If this was the final exam to determine if they’ll earn a spot on the team, those test papers are going to come back to rookie forwards Lucas Raymond and Joe Veleno with a lot of red marker all over them.

Neither player distinguished themselves. Did they extinguish their chances of sticking with the big club? That remains to be seen.

“It does show guys, our young guys, the relentless nature of the league,” Blashill said. “You got to show up every single night and you got to find a way to have a great ‘B’ game when you don’t quite have your best stuff. That’s good experience and it’s good for evaluation purposes.”

Continued; there’s no doubt that Raymond, Veleno and Moritz Seider didn’t play great games vs. Buffalo or Pittsburgh.

I would suggest that all three experienced the NHL preseason grind in a big way–both mentally and physically–over the course of playing 5 or 6 preseason games apiece, and I would also suggest that Veleno and Raymond are all but locks to start the season in Grand Rapids, but I’m not sure that they’ll be in the AHL to end the season.

I also hope that some of the expectations that Moritz Seider was going to step in and be an All-Star right off the bat were tempered by his ups and downs during the preseason. I know that he had hiccups, and that he has to be much more demonstrative in terms of making plays himself instead of deferring to his elders, but he learned fairly quickly over the course of the preseason, and while I’m not willing to compare him to Nicklas Lidstrom, it’s been a long time since I’ve seen a defenseman with so much raw potential on the Wings’ roster.