The Malik Report

Sportsnet’s Jason Bukala discusses the Red Wings’ 2023 Prospect Tournament today, scouting the Columbus Blue Jackets, Dallas Stars, Toronto Maple Leafs and the Red Wings’ rosters. Here’s what he has to say about the Red Wings’ most interesting prospects:

DETROIT RED WINGS

Nate Danielson, 6-foot-2, 187 pounds, right shot forward
Ninth overall in 2023

Danielson will be skating in his first pro camp after being selected ninth overall in Nashville and scoring 33 goals and 45 assists for the Brandon Wheat Kings (WHL) last season. I appreciate his effort in all three zones. Like Fantilli, Danielson can be deployed in a variety of roles and trusted to give maximum effort. The Red Wings are bringing a big and strong forward group to Traverse City, so I’m interested to see how much Danielson benefits from the extra space that’s created by his linemates.

Marco Kasper, 6-foot-1, 192 pounds, left shot forward
Eighth overall in 2022

Kasper came to North America at the end of his SHL season in 2022-23, where he played for Rogle. His offensive output increased marginally last year. Kasper is a responsible forward who can play the middle and the wing. He’s involved in the heavy lifting and isn’t shy about driving to the crease. I’m looking for him to define his game in Traverse City and give me an idea of his offensive upside.

Other notable Red Wings prospects:

Rookie games, and exhibition games in general, tend to range in defensive detail. Goalies are sometimes hung out to dry as new teammates learn systems. Sebastian Cossa is a massive goaltending prospect for Detroit, standing 6-foot-6 and 209 pounds. He spent most of his first-year pro season playing for the Toledo Walleye of the ECHL in 2022-23 and we’re looking for growth.

One of the biggest forward prospects in all of hockey will be suiting up for the Wings at this event. Elmer Soderblom was selected in the sixth round of the 2019 draft by Detroit and stands a staggering 6-foot-8, 248 pounds. Soderblom is still developing, but he got off to a nice start last season, scoring five goals and three assists in 21 NHL games and the same totals in 20 AHL games.

Continued; good stuff from Bukala, who will be attending the tournament. I’ll have to say “hi” to him.

It appears that Red Wings captain Dylan Larkin is in Las Vegas, Nevada today at the NHL Media Tour:

📍 NHL Media Tour pic.twitter.com/0Wk0SnePbI

— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) September 13, 2023

Per Detroit Hockey Now’s Tim Robinson, the Toronto Maple Leafs released their roster for the Red Wings 2023 Prospect Tournament last night, and former Red Wings prospect Robert Mastosimone, who signed a contract with the AHL’s Toronto Marlies in August, will participate in the tournament:

The Toronto Maple Leafs finalized their roster for this week’s NHL Prospects Tournament in Traverse City on Tuesday.

Fourteen of the 26 players, including 2023 top pick Easton Cowan, were drafted by the Leafs. They are coached by Toronto Marlies boss John Gruden.

They will join prospects from the Dallas Stars, Columbus Blue Jackets and the Red Wings in games starting Thursday and running through Sunday.

The Maple Leafs roster has a Michigan flavor. Max Ellis (Plymouth) and defenseman Tommy Miller (West Bloomfield) are Michigan natives. Forward Robert Mastrosimone,  second-round pick by the Red Wings in 2019, also is on Toronto’s roster. Toronto’s top prospect, Matthew Knies, will play in Traverse City.

The Maple Leafs play their first game Thursday against Columbus at 3:30 p.m. They play the Red Wings Sunday at 2 p.m.

Continued; like any team, the Leafs’ prospects are very top-heavy, with six important forwards, four good defensemen, and a single prospect goaltender.

On Sean Shapiro’s Substack, “Shap Shots,” Shapiro continues to break down the Red Wings’ power play after discussing zone entries last week. Today, Shapiro breaks down the Wings’ in-zone play:

For Lalonde, who presented about this at the coaching camp I attended back in June, there are four guiding principles, similar to the two guiding principles on entries.

1. Shot-first mentality
2. Loose puck retrievals
3. Bumper support
4. Getting the penalty kill box moving

By this mindset there are no bad shots on the power play. A shot on net can lead to something more, at worst case scenario it’s frozen by the goalie, and that just creates another opportunity to win the face-off and sustain pressure — and perhaps possession — 200 feet from Detroit’s net.

Continued (paywall)

Hey everyone,

I just wanted to let you know that Aunt Annie and I made it up to Traverse City safely, and established a Malik Report North outpost here in our hotel room.

Aunt Annie likes to sleep with the TV on and loud during the night, so I’m up at 6:18 AM, but I think we’re going to have to negotiate some quiet time so that I can get some real rest on the days that I’m working.

Otherwise, things are going well. The trip was smooth and we’re settling in.

With the Red Wings’ 2023 Prospect Tournament slated to start tomorrow, MLive’s Ansar Khan discusses 5 prospects of interest this morning:

Marco Kasper: The team’s top pick in 2022 (eighth overall), Kasper is one of the few players who made their NHL debut before playing their first AHL game. He displayed defensive awareness and grit at Toronto late in the season but a knee injury suffered in that game ended his season. He would need a strong camp and preseason coupled with an injury or two to a veteran to have a chance at making the Red Wings roster. But he’s likely to get some development time in Grand Rapids.

Carter Mazur: Gritty winger with some scoring skills, this Jackson native might be on the fast track to the NHL. Chances are, he’ll still need some time in the AHL, where he produced six points (three goals, three assists) in six games to end the season. He gained more valuable experience on Team USA at the World Championship (one goal, three assists in 10 games).

Continued; I’m interested in seeing whether reality matches the hype for William Wallinder, who earned a ton of praise during his time with Rogle of the SHL.

The prospect tournament is only three games long, but it’s always a great runway with which to afford prospects a running start for training camp.

The Clarkston News’s Matt Mackinder profiles a member of the Toledo Walleye this morning, discussing Mitch Lewandowski’s pride about joining the Red Wings’ ECHL affiliate:

After five years playing NCAA Division I hockey at Michigan State University and a taste of the pro game at the end of the 2021-22 season, Clarkston native Mitch Lewandowski is ready for his first full season in the pro ranks.

Over the summer, Lewandowski signed a contract with the ECHL’s Toledo Walleye, the AA affiliate of the NHL’s Detroit Red Wings. Lewandowski sat out the 2022-23 season with an injury after signing with the ECHL’s Orlando Solar Bears, but says he is 100 percent for the upcoming season.

“I was looking for a spot that would be best fit for me,” said Lewandowski. “My agent Scott Bartlett mentioned Toledo would be a good spot. Had a phone call with the head coach (Pat Mikesch) shortly after and loved what I was hearing about the city and organization and signed with Toledo three days later.

“It’s going to be great being close to home, 15 minutes farther than it was driving to Michigan State. My parents, family, and friends are excited to be able to come watch games. Toledo being in the Detroit Red Wings organization makes it even that more special being a Michigan kid.”

Continued; the prestige of playing for the Red Wings and their related affiliates is definitely a draw for free agents of all kinds, including the 25-year-old Lewandowski.

The Athletic’s Max Bultman posted a mailbag feature today, discussing a number of topics, from prospect tournament lines to potential additions to the Wings’ roster, Andrew Copp’s production, and more:

What do you think of Kasper this season? Will he be a part of the NHL roster? We think so. Greetings from a Rögle fan. — Robo X.

The fact he got a game in the spring is a point in his favor. My feeling is Kasper will play NHL games this season. Is that number nine? Is it 20? Is it 40? All of that remains to be seen.

It is possible, of course, that Kasper pulls a Lucas Raymond and grabs a spot for opening night. But the Red Wings are deeper than they were in Raymond’s rookie year, and the fact Kasper plays center might make it even more complicated. Detroit could always opt to break him in on the wing — or to flex Andrew Copp, for example, outside — but getting them to consider that option for one of their top prospects is going to require him to really kick the door down this fall.

Perhaps he will do that. I spent some time around Rögle last season and was quite impressed by Kasper’s maturity and work ethic. That was amplified even further when I saw he was able to be a full participant at development camp despite sustaining a meaningful injury at the end of the season. So I have no doubt he put the maximum amount of work in this summer, and his talent speaks for itself.

But if you put me on the spot, I’d say he starts in Grand Rapids and plays himself up to Detroit sometime around late January. From there, I think he’ll make it hard to send him back down

Continued (paywall); I’m a Kasper fan as well, and we need to remember that his father, Peter, was a long-time pro in Europe. Kasper grew up under the tutelage of his dad, who’s also his agent.

Between dad’s tutelage, and hanging around KAC Klagenfurt of the Austrian league, Kasper’s been exposed to professional hockey players and the circumstances of their success and failure since he was a little kid, so it’s not surprising that Kasper has an air of cool, collected maturity about him.

The Athletic’s Sean McIndoe discusses the long-forgotten “Supplemental Draft” this morning. The NHL once doled out the rights of NCAA-playing players aged 21 or older via this draft, and McIndoe blames the Red Wings for its abuse and misuse…Sort of…

As with most things in life, the problem starts with the Detroit Red Wings.

Specifically, the Red Wings were upsetting everyone in the mid-80s by actually trying to win — and worse, by spending money to do it. They’d just been purchased by pizza magnate Mike Ilitch, and he got the crazy idea in his head that he could build a better team by spending money. This did two things: Annoyed his fellow owners, who were all cheapskates, and led to every article about the situation making a joke about the pizza guy and his dough. (As one example, enjoy this archived Sports Illustrated piece from 1985 that repeatedly refers to the new guy as “Mike Hitch”.)

Spending money on standard-issue UFAs like Warren Young and Harold Snepsts was bad enough. But Ilitch went a step further in 1985, handing GM Jimmy Devellano a blank check to sign a group of college free agents. All five players were too old to be eligible for the entry draft but had caught the attention of scouts late in their college careers. The Wings signed all of them to multiyear deals paying them six figures, unheard-of sums for unproven prospects.

Continued (paywall) with a bit about the Wings’ misses and one hit (Adam Oates) in the Supplemental Draft…

And no, you could never call Mike Ilitch a hockey cheapskate.

The Athletic’s Ian Mendes discusses the best “under-the-radar” signings of this past summer, and Mendes likes the Wings’ signing of Shayne Gostisbehere:

Shayne Gostisbehere — Detroit Red Wings

Fresh off finishing a six-year contract that came with a $4.5 million cap hit, Gostisbehere took only a small pay cut in signing his $4.125 million deal with Detroit. However, this one doesn’t come with any long-term security since it’s just a one-year contract. Gostisbehere hasn’t come close to replicating the 52-assist, 65-point season he recorded in the first season of his long-term deal with the Flyers back in 2017-18. In Detroit, Gostisbehere joins an eclectic group of veteran defensemen that includes Ben Chiarot, Jeff Petry, Justin Holl and Olli Maatta. Moritz Seider will be the undisputed No. 1 defenseman for the Red Wings, but Gostisbehere should have a chance to see time on the second-unit power play.

Continued (paywall); calling the Wings’ defense eclectic is very polite and kind of Mendes.