The Malik Report

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.

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.

Red Wings coach Derek Lalonde appeared on the “Stoney and Jansen Show” on 97.1 the Ticket this morning, speaking with Jim Costa and Steve Jansen for about 11 minutes, and you can listen to the interview here.

Last week, the NHLPA released the following presser stating that Red Wings prospects Marco Kasper and Sebastian Cossa will be taking part in the annual NHLPA Rookie Showcase at the Washington Capitals’ practice facility in Arlington, Virginia:

MEDIA ADVISORY: 2023 NHLPA ROOKIE SHOWCASE TO BE HOSTED BY NHLPA & UPPER DECK ON SEPT. 5

…Connor Bedard, Leo Carlsson, Adam Fantilli and Matthew Knies are among group of 35 prospects and rookies scheduled to attend event with sports collectibles leader Upper Deck at MedStar Capitals Iceplex

TORONTO (Aug. 25, 2023) – The National Hockey League Players’ Association and Upper Deck will host its 13^th annual NHLPA Rookie Showcase on Tuesday, Sept. 5 at MedStar Capitals Iceplex in Arlington, Virginia, with 35 NHL® prospects and rookies scheduled to attend. This unique event provides Upper Deck – the official trading card partner of the NHLPA and the NHL – with an opportunity to capture photographs and videos of many of the game’s top young prospects and rookies in their official NHL team uniforms. The content collected will be used by Upper Deck to create the players’ first NHL and NHLPA licensed rookie trading cards, as well as additional promotional materials throughout the season and beyond.

Continue reading Belated press release: Marco Kasper, Sebastian Cossa to take part in ‘NHLPA Rookie Showcase’ on September 5th

Red Wings prospect Marco Kasper attended last weekend’s EC-KAC exhibition game in his hometown of Klagfurt, Austria, and he engaged in a lengthy, 6-and-a-half minute interview with EC-KAC’s YouTube channel, but it’s in German:

The fundraising for TMR’s server renewal on August 31st has gone…So-so. We’ve been able to pay off Jetpack’s $99 fee, but we’re about three hundred dollars short of covering Bluehost’s fees.

If there’s any way that you can help me raise that $300 before August 31st, when I absolutely have to pay the server bill, I would greatly appreciate your help…

And yes, there’s the matter of trying to squeeze out nearly $3,000 for the Traverse City trip, but you can’t have a Traverse City trip with no website.

So:

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).

Thank you.

DetroitRedWings.com’s Jonathan Mills “wraps up” Dylan Larkin’s 2022-2023 season this morning, concluding with Larkin’s expectations for the 2023-2024 season:

This season, Larkin wants the Red Wings to “be faster” and “score more in transition.”

“That’s how I see where the league is going in general, just more off the rush,” Larkin said. “It’s not making crazy plays, it’s the defense getting the pucks up to us quick and trying to create odd-man rushes.”

And for Larkin, who signed an eight-year contract extension with Detroit in March, helping lead the Red Wings back into the playoffs as soon as possible remains his primary focus.

“I’d like to make the playoffs next year,” Larkin said. “And have the last nine or 10 (years) of my career to be kind of a different story.”

Continued

The Athletic’s Corey Pronman posted his ranking of the best players under 23 years of age in the NHL this morning, and several Red Wings players made his list:

12. Moritz Seider: Seider’s pure scoring numbers took a slight dip from his Calder Trophy season, but he was still a big-minutes and highly impactful NHL defenseman. Seider provides two-way impact, but it’s his defensive play that gets you the most excited. With his length, mobility and high-end physical play, he projects to be one of the league’s premier shutdown defenders for a long time. You add that he has good enough skill to run an NHL power play — even if that part of his game never becomes elite — to making plays with pace, and Seider looks like he will be a star in the NHL for a while.

26. Lucas Raymond: Raymond’s second NHL season wasn’t as successful as his rookie year, but he was still important to Detroit at a very young age. He has special puck skills, with the ability to make high-skill maneuvers with the puck seem routine. He combines that skill with excellent offensive IQ which allows him to make so many difficult plays. He has the ideal toolkit to run a power play and is a threat inside the offensive zone. Raymond isn’t that big, but he works hard and doesn’t shy from going to the net. It’s his size combined with good-but-not-great feet that hold him back at times versus men. He doesn’t have a great transition game so when he’s not scoring, his game isn’t that impactful. I think he will score enough in the league that it won’t matter too much and he will be a top-scoring wing for a team for a long while.

32. Nate Danielson: Danielson is a well-rounded center who has a lot of NHL traits. He’s a big body who skates and competes well, which when combined with his offensive touch, allows him to be effective in a lot of situations. He has an excellent stick and is able to beat defenders with skill at NHL speeds often. He makes a lot of plays with pace but also shows the vision and shot threat to run a power play off the edge. Danielson is a competitive two-way center who wins a good share of puck battles and can kill penalties. He looks like a potential high-in-the-lineup all-situations center in the NHL.

40. Simon Edvinsson: Edvinsson played a major role for Grand Rapids in all situations as a 19-year-old, continuing the pro success he showed in the SHL. Edvinsson checks all the boxes. He’s a very strong skater for a massive defenseman. He has good puck skills and he can move pucks and make plays. He has a little physical edge in him and makes a lot of stops. I don’t know if the offense will ever be elite because I don’t see that type of offensive IQ, but Edvinsson should play a lot of NHL minutes for a long time.

65. Marco Kasper: Kasper didn’t have a huge offensive season for Rogle, but he was an important part of their team and continued to show he can play well versus men. Kasper is a strong skating center with strong offensive skills, but he’s not the flashiest player. The strengths of his game are his work ethic and physicality. His motor is outstanding, he plays in traffic and projects as a reliable two-way center in the NHL. He could be a second-line center, but I think on a contender he probably is a #3.

Continued (paywall); Axel Sandin Pellikka (#96), William Wallinder (#106), Elmer Soderblom (#149), Carter Mazur (#155) and Sebastian Cossa (#167) also crack Pronman’s list.

Via Paul Kukla over at Abel to Yzerman, Daily Faceoff’s Matt Larkin weighs in as to how much the Detroit Red Wings have improved over the course of this summer:

3. Detroit Red Wings

In: Alex DeBrincat, J.T. Compher, Jeff Petry, Klim Kostin, Shayne Gostisbehere, Justin Holl, James Reimer, Daniel Sprong, Christian Fischer, Alex Lyon

Out: Dominik Kubalik, Pius Suter, Filip Zadina, Robert Hagg, Jordan Oesterle, Alex Nedeljkovic

For a second consecutive offseason, GM Steve Yzerman got busy. He evidently understands that, even for one of the franchise’s most legendary players, the runway eventually gets short for every GM. The Red Wings’ 25-year playoff streak has given away to a seven-year drought, and Yzerman seems hellbent on ending it. Big-ticket UFA addition J.T. Compher won’t match the offense he showed in Colorado playing with Mikko Rantanen, but Compher’s two-way game will strengthen a Detroit center group that already boasts Dylan Larkin an Andrew Copp. Alex DeBrincat, acquired from the Ottawa Senators, gives Larkin the best pure goal-scorer he’s played with to date. DeBrincat has a real chance to be Detroit’s first 40-goal contributor since Marian Hossa in 2007-08.

The Wings weren’t exactly knocking on the door of the playoffs last season, finishing 12 points out of contention at 35-37-10. But they’ve undoubtedly deepened themselves at every position. They look like a team that should score more and allow fewer goals this season. If one of their top prospects, such as center Marco Kasper or defenseman Simon Edvinsson, cracks the NHL roster, we could see the Wings jump to the Wildcard periphery.

Continued; at this point, it’s nice to not read smack talk from Buffalo or Ottawa regarding the Wings’ offseason changes…

The Red Wings released the names of the participants in the annual Prospect Tournament this past week, and Detroit Hockey Now’s Bob Duff examines some of the tournament invites this morning:

Right-winger Jake Uberti will be playing his second consecutive season for the Red Wings in this event. He spent the last season as an overager in the OHL with the Mississauga Steelheads and in the QMJHL with the Acadie-Bathurst Titan. Despite tallying just six goals last season, center Matyas Melovsky led the QMJHL Baie-Comeau Drakkar in scoring with 58 points.

Right-winger Dean Loukus is from Calumet, Mich. His 56 points last season would earn him a share of the team scoring lead with the OHL Saginaw Spirit. Another right-winger, Nic Sima split his OHL campaign last season between the North Bay Batallion and the Spirit.

From Mistissini, Que., left-winger Israel Mianscum might be the most fascinating prospect among this year’s crop of free agents. From the Quebec Cree Nation, Miansum was in attendance at the development camp of the Montreal Canadiens in the summer of 2022. He potted 30 goals last season with the QMJHL Sherbrooke Phoenix.

Just 18, netminder Lucas Matecha was posting a stellar .940 save percentage a 1.44 goals-against average in two games this past season with Czechia’s under-18 national team. He’s slated to play in 2023-24 with the WHL Tri-City Americans.

Connor Punnett, Finn Harding and Jackson DeSouza face perhaps the biggest challenge of any of the rookie free agents. They’re all defensemen, and Detroit is absolutely loaded right now with rearguard prospects.

Punnett put up impressive offensive numbers with the OHL Barrie Colts in 2022-23, accounting for 14 goals and 34 assists in 66 games. Playing last season with the OHL Steelheads, Harding, 18, previously was playing Tier II for the Toronto Jr. Canadiens. That’s the former team of Red Wings defenseman Jake Walman. Colorado-born DeSouza, 20, has spent the past five season in the WHL with the Kelowna Rockets.

Continued