A bit more praise for Anton Johansson

Daily Faceoff’s Steven Ellis attended the World Junior Summer Showcase in Plymouth last week, and as we move on to the next stage of the summer news cycle, Ellis offers a bit more praise for Red Wings prospect and Leksands IF defenseman Anton Johansson (as one of Ellis’ top 10 NHL-drafted prospects at the WJSS):

Anton Johansson, D, Sweden (Detroit Red Wings)

Johansson played three of the four Swedish games and was noticeable with all of them. I think he’s a full lock, for sure. I remember watching him in the past and be worried about his footspeed. That wasn’t the case in Plymouth, and he’s just an overall better skater beyond just quickness. Johansson was much more engaged offensively than I remember and was as good defensively as I’ve seen. I didn’t expect to like Johansson more than Axel Sandin Pellikka, but here we are.

Continued; I wouldn’t write off Sandin Pellikka just yet…

DetroitRedWings.com’s Mills on Axel Sandin Pellikka

DetroitRedWings.com’s Jonathan Mills spoke with Red Wings prospect defenseman Axel Sandin Pellikka and Red Wings director of player development Dan Cleary, discussing ASP’s strengths and weaknesses:

“Smart kid,” Red Wings director of player development Dan Cleary said about Sandin Pellikka. “Really composed. That translates to his on-ice game as well. When he’s under pressure or siege, he’s got the ability to calm it down and make the play instead of rushing it. He’s already in real good shape and tested well.”

The 5-foot-11, 180-pound blueliner was pleased with the overall strides he made last season but wants to close existing gaps in his defensive game.

“That’s something I’m working on with my defensive coach in the SHL too,” Sandin Pellikka said. “Pierre Jonsson, he always helps me with that and wants me to get stronger. He takes me aside pretty much after every practice and makes me do one-on-one drills.”

Sandin Pellikka, who represented Team Sweden at the 2023 World Junior Summer Showcase from July 29 – Aug. 4 at USA Hockey Arena in Plymouth, Mich., will continue his development with Skellefteå AIK next season.

Expected of Sandin Pellikka, according to Cleary, will be improving “certain areas of his game.”

“Going into his second year in the SHL, which is a great development league to play in, he’s already in good shape,” Cleary said. “He’s gotta get stronger and a little more quicker, but he’s certainly got the brains. He’s got the tools, a nice set of hands and good patience.”

Continued

Dylan Larkin makes NHL.com’s list of the top 20 centers in the NHL…At #19

NHL.com has ranked its “Top 20 Centers,” and Red Wings captain Dylan Larkin made the list, albeit at #19 out of 20:

19. Dylan Larkin, Detroit Red Wings: Larkin led the Red Wings in goals (32), assists (47), points (79), power-play goals (16), power-play points (31), game-winning goals (five), shots on goal (244) and takeaways (56) last season and was tops among Detroit forwards in ice time per game (19:33). The 26-year-old has led the Red Wings in points in five of the past six seasons. He led them in power-play ice time per game (3:28) and was second among forwards in short-handed ice time per game (1:50). His 54.4 face-off winning percentage was also first on Detroit.

Continued; I’m iffy on some of the players ahead of Larkin being listed where they are, but I’m not unrealistic as to my expectations of Larkin ranking higher.

Tweet of note: Wie geht’s, Mo?

Red Wings forward Lucas Raymond and defenseman Moritz Seider visited the Detroit Lions’ training camp in Allen Park recently, and the Red Wings caught a conversation Seider had with…Amon-Ra St. Brown, who speaks German:

THN’s Proteau: Alex DeBrincat’s on the Red Wings’ ‘hot seat’

The Hockey News’s Adam Proteau has been examining who might be on “the hot seat” for various NHL teams, and today, he discusses the Red Wings player and GM facing the most pressure to perform well this upcoming season:

Red Wings’ Hot Seat: Alex DeBrincat, LW/RW: DeBrincat got his wish and worked his way out of Ottawa this summer, but don’t fool yourself – as a hometown hero in Detroit and a player with a salary cap hit of $7.875 million, DeBrincat will get a ton of the spotlight and the attendant pressure.

The 25-year-old winger is entering his prime, and for his salary, he’s got to do more on offense than he did last season with the Senators, when he posted 27 goals – a drop-off of 14 goals from his 2021-22 campaign – in 82 games. DeBrincat will be a fixture on Detroit’s top forward line, but he has to justify that move, and his salary, with drastically-increased production. The Red Wings are under pressure to get back into the playoffs in 2023-24, and if they fail to do so, and DeBrincat doesn’t generate enough offense, he’ll hear the heckles of frustrated Wings fans.

DeBrincat is signed for the next eight seasons, so we don’t see a trade happening anytime soon, but fans can quickly sour on a player if the doesn’t deliver what they want out of them. DeBrincat should tread lightly now that he’s got the employer he wanted, because now that they’ve paid him like an elite player, they expect him to perform like one.

Continued; there’s no doubt in my mind that DeBrincat faces a ton of pressure to perform, but I’d suggest that Proteau’s “Warm Seat” member, one GM Steve Yzerman, is the person in the Red Wings’ organization facing the most pivotal season during 2023-2024.

Allen: DeBrincat’s new agent is Dave Gagner

Red Wings forward Alex DeBrincat’s agent, Jeff Jackson, recently became the CEO of the Edmonton Oilers, which means that DeBrincat needed to find a new agent. Detroit Hockey Now’s Kevin Allen reports that DeBrincat stayed with his hockey agency, Wasserman Hockey, and he’s now represented by former NHL’er Dave Gagner:

Oddly enough, DeBrincat’s new agent also holds a connection to a recent Detroit player. The high-scoring forward in now represented by Dave Gagner.

A longtime NHL forward himself, Dave is the father of forward Sam Gagner. Sam was a popular Detroit player from 2020-22. He skated last season with the Winnipeg Jets and is currently an unrestricted free agent. Oddly enough, Gagner isn’t represented by his father. His agent is Judd Moldaver, who like Dave Gagner, is with Wasserman Hockey.

That doesn’t mean that Dave hasn’t proven to be a major influence on Sam’s life and hockey career.

“I think we talk a little differently to each other now,” Sam Gagner explained. “I’ve got three kids of my own now so you kind of have a different perspective. I understand that I probably at times when you’re leaning on your parents it’s a lot to handle for parents, too. And I see that as a father myself now.

Continued

Tweets of note: Lucas Raymond, Moritz Seider visit Lions training camp

Red Wings forward Lucas Raymond and defenseman Moritz Seider visited Allen Park on Saturday afternoon:

A profile of USA Hockey NTDP director of player personnel Rod Braceful

The Detroit News’s MacKenzie Thompson has posted a profile of USA Hockey’s director of player personnel for the National Team Development Program, Rod Braceful. Braceful is a Detroit native, and his godmother, Judy Richardson, is the reason why he became a hockey player, coach, and now, an important executive for the U.S.’s developmental hockey pipeline:

Rod Braceful’s first on-ice hockey experience was at Jack Adams Arena in Detroit after his godmother secretly stepped in and signed him up for learn-to-play lessons at four years old.

Barbara Yancy-Braceful, Braceful’s mother and longtime school educator, didn’t think that he was serious about wanting to play hockey, so she didn’t sign him up.

In true fairy godmother nature, Judy Richardson stepped in, signed him up, and requested that his mother just let him try it out. Now, more than 30 years later, Braceful has made USA Hockey history.

Last month, the 35-year-old Braceful became the first African-American to be named the director of player personnel for USA Hockey’s National Team Development Program, which has produced more than 200 players in the National Hockey League during the organization’s 27 years based in Ann Arbor and now Plymouth.

“If you’re good to the game, it’s good to you,” said Braceful, who left his job as an amateur and pro scout with the Chicago Blackhawks to take the prestigious USA Hockey position. “I’m just fortunate that the game has still been giving back to me all these years.”

Continued (paywall); if you can read the story, it’s worth your time.

FloHockey’s Peters on Anton Johansson and ‘ASP’

FloHockey’s Chris Peters weighed in this evening with articles discussing the best performers from Team USA‘s two squads at the World Junior Summer Showcase, as well as Teams Sweden and Finland, and he offers the following takes on two promising Red Wings Swedes:

Anton Johansson, D (Detroit Red Wings): Johansson likely wrote his name in ink on Sweden’s [World Junior Championship] roster with his performance. He has the right mix of size and skill to be a threat at both ends of the ice. His puck skills and footwork have vastly improved, which makes him a more credible offensive threat. He had three points in the event over the three games he played and was noticeable every single time out.

Axel Sandin-Pellikka, D (Detroit Red Wings): Highly skilled and mobile, Sandin-Pellikka had one quiet game of the three he played in, but his last two were fairly solid. He’s strong despite his lack of size and his offensive instincts are high-end. He played a good two-way game and scored one of the better goals of the event, cutting through defenders before snapping a quick shot off. As a returning player, he’ll likely be in a big role at the tournament.

Continued; as I noted in tonight’s impressions from Friday at the World Junior Summer Showcase, Johansson sat out Friday’s 5-4 loss to USA Blue, but he’s a prime example of how far a player can come in a developmental year;

As far as Sandin Pellikka is concerned, he’s working on putting his game together while playing against men on a full-time basis this year with Skelleftea AIK, and his skill set is truly elite. It’s a matter of finding a toolbox for all those fine wrenches and hammers and saws.