EP Rinkside ranks Wings’ prospect pool as 5th-best in the NHL

EP Rinkside ranks the Red Wings’ prospect pool as the 5th-best in the entire NHL, and here’s what Lasse Alanen has to say about the Wings’ prospects in general:

The Detroit Red Wings have once again reprized their position in the top-five of our annual prospect pool ranking, falling one spot to No. 5. It marks the fourth year in a row the team has featured in the top five when we’ve done this exercise.

The fact that they’re near the top again shouldn’t come as a surprise. The core of the pool remains the same, with Jonatan Berggren being the only notable graduate compared to last year’s ranking. 

The 2023 draft was also yet another big one for the Red Wings, as the team had two top-17 picks and three additional selections in the second round. This helps to compensate for the fact that some of their most well-known prospects (Theodor Niederbach, Sebastian Cossa, Liam Dower Nilsson, for example) haven’t progressed as expected.

Blueliners are undoubtedly the strong point of the Red Wings’ prospect pipeline. When we recently ranked the top-100 affiliated NHL prospects, four defencemen from the Red Wings’ system were featured and two of them ranked in the top-40. You’re also able to find other lesser-heralded yet still intriguing defensive prospects deeper in the system.

The organization also has two middle-six centres with very strong likelihoods of playing and a pair of interesting goalie prospects.

Continued (paywall)

Tweet of note: No update on Mazur; Lombardi to return

Coach Watson said that he was hoping to get an update on Mazur soon, but I doubt that it will be made public.

A bit about Nate Danielson’s debut from Khan

MLive’s Ansar Khan posted a day-after-the-game column about Nate Danielson’s debut with the Red Wings’ prospects, who lost 4-2 to Dallas last night. Danielson had two assists in his Red Wings debut:

The Detroit Red Wings’ top pick in this year’s drafted assisted on both goals in a 4-2 loss to Dallas in Traverse City, displaying some of the traits that prompted the team to take him ninth overall.

“I thought he was a real smart player,” Grand Rapids Griffins coach Dan Watson said. “He plays a 200-foot game, he makes plays, he sees plays, he anticipates the game well. He’s going to be a really good player. And that’s kind of the first time I’ve really seen him live, outside of watching video on him before the tournament. I like where his head’s at. He’s mature for his age.”

Danielson, a 6-2 right-shooting center, realizes it’s important to measure himself against more experienced players.

“I thought it was a pretty fast game,” Danielson, 18, said. “There’s some older guys and they’re a bit bigger and stronger, so it was a little more physical than I’m used to. I thought I did a good job of adjusting to it pretty quick.”

“I think everything happens a little bit quicker. You have to really be out there with your head up and just making plays a bit quicker.”

Continued; Danielson is only 18, but the skinny Brandon Wheat Kings captain isn’t lacking in self-confidence.

Friday practice audio: William Wallinder, Elmer Soderblom, Marco Kasper and coach Dan Watson

Several Red Wings players and coach Dan Watson spoke with the media after Friday’s practice at the Red Wings’ 2023 Prospect Tournament in Traverse City.

We started off with William Wallinder. The soft-spoken defenseman talked about adjusting to North American hockey, his goals for the upcoming season, and his relationship with Rogle BK teammate Marco Kasper:

Then Elmer Soderblom towered over the assembled media, discussing his hopes of dominating at this prospect tournament so that he may build some runway in terms of momentum for joining the Red Wings’ roster this upcoming season:

Marco Kasper was charming in talking about everything from going to high school in Sweden to adjusting to North America, where he has to drive everywhere instead of bike around in Sweden, as well as training with Klagenfurt AC and the influence of his father, who’s both his agent and a former pro hockey player:

Finally, coach Dan Watson had no update on Carter Mazur, but said that Amadeus Lombardi missed practice with a personal issue that won’t keep him out of tomorrow’s game vs. Columbus. He discussed the adjustment of moving to the AHL, his family’s decision to remain in Cleveland for now, and “breaking in” his staff, as well as the performances of players like Kevin Gibson and Nate Danielson:

THN’s Stockton weighs in on Detroit prospects’ loss to Dallas

The Hockey News’s Sam Stockton posted a review of the Red Wings prospects’ 4-2 loss to Dallas last night:

Soderblom’s first period goal offers an example of a different type of winning NHL hockey.  The finish is little more than a tap-in, nothing out of the ordinary, but the play Soderblom makes to facilitate the puck along to his line-mates (Nate Danielson and Cross Hanas) is excellent.

A major question facing Soderblom’s fledgling career is whether he can skate at a high enough level to contribute to an NHL team.  On this sequence, Soderblom shows that even in spots where he’s giving up a speed advantage, he can use his frame and reach to make plays.

Soderblom is pursuing Dallas defender Jacob Murray (67 in green) into the corner for a dumped puck.  Murray has a head start and positional advantage, but Soderblom is able to cut him off as the pair head toward the end boards and prevent the Dallas D man from making a play.

I’m not sure Soderblom even gets a touch on the puck, but his effort and leverage prevent Murray from making a play, and instead, the puck continues around the boards for Danielson and then Hanas.  Instead of a chance for a clean Dallas exit, Detroit gets the opportunity to pursue offense, and the Red Wings capitalize.

Continued

Twitter video: Galli speaks with Henrik Zetterberg at the MSHOF induction ceremony

Here’s WXYZ’s Brad Galli speaking with Henrik Zetterberg at the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame induction ceremony for 1:51:

The Athletic’s Goldman discusses a potential ‘second contract’ for Moritz Seider

The Athletic’s Shayna Goldman discusses potential summer-of-2024 restricted free agents who could re-sign with their teams “early” this season, and she includes Moritz Seider (who is coming off his “entry-level” deal at the end of this season):

Cap space isn’t a big issue for the Red Wings. But will management want to go as big as possible this soon? Will Seider?

Looking back at [GM Steve] Yzerman’s track record sparks that question from Detroit’s side. He hasn’t consistently gone for the big contracts post-ELC to his stars. Victor Hedman and Steven Stamkos each signed five-year deals, before going for the maximum. Nikita Kucherov was signed to a bridge deal first, too. So if that is Yzerman’s pattern, maybe mid-term is the move.

Then there’s the player perspective: Would Seider be selling himself short, especially after he had a very slow start to 2022-23?

A shorter-term deal could be a two- or three-year contract worth a cap hit of around $5 million. Evolving-Hockey has a five-year deal at $6.5 million, on average. But how much would that raise the price of his next deal? That’s what could motivate Yzerman to push for more with a core piece. Then, a cap hit percentage of 10 and 11 could make sense, similar to other young No. 1s like Makar, Fox, Quinn Hughes, Miro Heiskanen and Charlie McAvoy. That would equate to a $9 million cap hit, which would line up with his market value.

Detroit may push it a little lower based on his last season, but the recent Jake Sanderson contract may have set the bar for a No. 1 upward of that $8 million benchmark. As long as Seider rebounds — which the Red Wings have to bet on — that market value should start climbing, raising the chance of him delivering positive value throughout the deal. 

Continued (paywall); I can’t see Seider earning less than $8 million given that the Sanderson deal came along as a “comparable.”

Via LeBrun: a little fantasy hockey…I mean football…chat with Dylan Larkin

The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun spoke with NHL players during the NHL Media Tour regarding a certain hot locker room topic–fantasy football–and Dylan Larkin discussed the Red Wings’ fantasy football pool:

“It really gets going in the locker room,” captain Dylan Larkin said.

Especially over trades.

“Every year, around the (fantasy) trade deadline, there’s always a controversial trade,” Larkin laughed.

“(Commissioner Robby) Fabbri is always in talks with guys looking for something. Our emergency backup goalie (Josh Block) was in our league for a long time and he always had controversial trades.”

Defending champ?

“Olli Maatta won last year,” Larkin said. “Auto-draft, too.”

Continued (paywall); this blogger is not a fan of fantasy sports. I’m too loyal to my players, so I can’t get into the ever-changing lineups.

One nod for Marco Kasper as the ‘top rookie tournament player’

NHL.com had a panel of writers discuss their “top rookie tournament players,” and Marco Kasper earned a mention from NHL.com’s Tom Gulitti:

Marco Kasper, Detroit Red Wings

The center became the first 18-year-old to play for the Red Wings since Martin Lapointe in 1991 when he made his NHL debut against the Toronto Maple Leafs on April 2, but fractured his kneecap in that game and was out the rest of the season. Now healthy, Kasper will be looking to earn a roster spot with Detroit to begin the season and the NHL Prospects Tournament in Traverse City will be the first step. The No. 8 pick in the 2022 NHL Draft, has offensive potential, as evidenced by his 23 points (eight goals, 15 assists) in 52 games with Rogle BK of the Swedish Hockey League last season, and is responsible defensively, but needs repetition to adjust to the North American game. It will be interesting to see what he can do playing against other top prospects in Traverse City. – Tom Gulitti, staff writer

Continued; Kasper displayed pace and snarl on Thursday night.

Walleye coach Pat Mikesch expects his team to emphasize offense

Toledo Walleye coach Pat Mikesch is in Traverse City this weekend to take in the Red Wings’ 2023 Prospect Tournament, but the Walleye’s new bench boss spoke with the Toledo Blade’s Mark Monroe regarding his team’s signings, and its emphasis on creating offense this upcoming season:

“We’re happy with our forward group,” Mikesch said. “I think we’re going to be able to play a fun brand of hockey. What our fans are accustomed to is a great transition team. I think we’re going to be a very deep group up front.”

The Walleye have signed 13 players this offseason, including 2022-23 leading scorer Brandon Hawkins. Forward Kirill Tyutyayev, who ranked third on the team in scoring, also returns along with Conlan Keenan (seventh on the team in scoring) and Sam Craggs.

“I’m really excited,” said Hawkins, who set a franchise record for goals scored in a season with 39. “We’ve got some really talented players coming in that can play at an extremely high level.”

Mikesch said that group will get a big boost with the additions of high-scoring forwards Orrin Centazzo and Bowling Green State University product Brandon Kruse along with Carson Denomie and Mitchell Lewandowski.

“We like these pieces,” Mikesch said. “We’re getting the right players around Hawk.”

Continued