Al Sobotka gets his day in court

According to the Free Press’s Tresa Baldas, former Red Wings Zamboni driver Al Sobotka’s getting his day in court:

More than three years after getting fired for urinating in a drain at work, ex-Detroit Red Wings Zamboni driver Al Sobotka heads to trial this week in Wayne County Circuit Court, where he hopes to convince a jury that he was wrongfully axed from a job he held for 50 hockey seasons.

A jury of five women and three men was seated on Tuesday, Oct. 7 in the high-profile employment dispute, which pits a beloved Zamboni driver and octopus twirler and hurler against a multibillion-dollar entertainment company.

Sobotka is suing Olympia Entertainment, alleging he was let go because the higher-ups at the company thought he was too old, and used the 2022 peeing debacle as an excuse to get rid of him. Moreover, he alleges the company engaged in a cover-up by having an executive who knew nothing about him fire him, just so they could wall off another executive who allegedly called him “old” just weeks before the incident, and then replaced him with a 37-year-old underling after he was fired.

Continue reading Al Sobotka gets his day in court

Midnight Red Wings ride: From Wings & Tigers to a LEGO LCA, great expectations, and Red Wings origins

Of Red Wings-related note as of midnight on Tuesday night/Wednesday morning:

  1. The Detroit Tigers had a rough go on Tuesday, but the Red Wings were at least there to witness the game from a suite:

2. Both the Free Press’s Helene St. James and MLive’s Ansar Khan also posted short articles about the LEGO Little Caesars Arena which impressed the Wings’ locker room and coaches on Tuesday:

3. Detroit Hockey Now’s Bob Duff took note of Red Wings coach Todd McLellan’s comments regarding the rookie trio of Emmitt Finnie, Michael Brandsegg-Nygard and Axel Sandin Pellikka:

Continue reading Midnight Red Wings ride: From Wings & Tigers to a LEGO LCA, great expectations, and Red Wings origins

Prospect round-up: Svrcek gets a talk-up despite Brynas loss in Champions Hockey League action

In the Champions Hockey League:

Noah Dower Nilsson didn’t play in Frolunda HC’s 4-1 win over the Eisbaren Berlin;

And Michal Svrcek finished at -1 with 3 shots and 4 blocked shots in 16:45 as Brynas IF lost 2-1 to Storhamar Hamar, but he earned praise from Red Wings Prospects on Twitter…

And a write-up from the Hockey News’s Jacob Smeds:

When Brynäs faced Norwegian club Storhamar in the Champions Hockey League, they opted to rest much of their regular lineup. That gave 11 junior players a chance to step in, and several of them made a strong impression. Standing out above the rest was Detroit Red Wings prospect Michal Svrček, whose speed and energy created scoring chances throughout the night for Brynäs.

…

Svrček was Brynäs’ best player on the night. He was a whirlwind on the forecheck and made several strong plays offensively, particularly on the power play where he got a look on Brynäs’ top unit. There, he showed excellent movement around the right faceoff circle, keeping the play dynamic and avoiding any stagnant sequences. Thanks to that, he found several smart passing options, both into the slot and across the offensive zone. The opposition’s pressure on the penalty kill was minimal, and Svrček took full advantage of it.

Detroit Red Wings prospect Michal Svrček deserves more ice time in the SHL. Right now, expensive signings are blocking his spot despite not performing at the same level. If Brynäs don’t give him a proper opportunity in the SHL soon, there’s a real chance he could look for new opportunities across the Atlantic.

Svrcek has been banished to the J20 league, and if you recall from earlier this summer, the OHL’s Windsor Spitfires both drafted Svrcek in the CHL’s Import Draft and made a hard push to land his services. It’s entirely possible that we’ll see Svrcek on the other side of the Detroit River if his SHL situation doesn’t improve.

About the Red Wings’ letter men

MLive’s Ansar Khan took note of Red Wings coach Todd McLellan’s comments regarding the coaching staff’s decision to name Moritz Seider and Lucas Raymond as the team’s alternate captains:

“When I got here last year, (Dylan) Larkin was the captain, but we had six, seven rotating A’s. I didn’t even know who wore them on any given night,” coach Todd McLellan said. “We’re Original Six. All my years here (previously as an assistant coach from 2005-2008), there was clear definition of who was going to (wear the A), but that didn’t prevent, you know, when Nik Kronwall was a younger player when I was here or whoever else was around that group, Kris Draper and Kirk Maltby, they didn’t wear A’s, but they led. And that’s what we’re going with.”

McLellan said the leadership group includes many more players. Veterans such as Patrick Kane, Ben Chiarot, Andrew Copp, Alex DeBrincat and J.T. Compher all have worn the ‘A’ at one time or another or are looked upon as leaders.

“I expect our younger letter-wearers to lean on Patrick Kane and Copp and Compher and Chiarot and who else had them last year,” McLellan said. “They all have good experience. And the ones that were wearing them, I don’t expect them to change one bit. They’ve been great. So, I think we’re in a good spot.”

McLellan also made a surprising comment about the ways in which the coaching staff interacts with the players:

Continue reading About the Red Wings’ letter men

Video: Patrick Kane and coach Todd McLellan speak with the media

The Detroit Red Wings practiced with what appears to be their lineup for Thursday night’s home opener vs. Montreal on Tuesday morning, and this afternoon, coach Todd McLellan revealed that Moritz Seider and Lucas Raymond will wear the alternate captains’ “A’s” on a permanent basis this upcoming season.

He also discussed the concept of building chemistry within the roster over the course of the preseason and regular season ahead.

The Red Wings just posted a clip of both Patrick Kane and coach McLellan speaking with the media today:

Also of Red Wings-related note this afternoon: The Free Press’s Helene St. James also posted a clip of coach McLellan’s presser in non-embeddable form;

MLive’s Ansar Khan posted this highlight from McLellan’s presser:

And I can’t embed it, but Grand Rapids Griffins coach Dan Watson spoke with WOOD Radio over the course of a 4-minute interview this morning.

One more:

Tweet of note: FloHockey.tv to stream Saturday’s Griffins-Texas Stars game for free

FYI:

Post-practice Tweets: on the schedule, Lego LCA and Seider and Raymond to wear the alternate captains’ ‘A’s’

The Detroit Red Wings broke in their Centennial Jersey gear as the team practiced on Tuesday, in anticipation of Thursday’s home opener vs. Montreal (7 PM on FanDuel Sports Network Detroit) and a difficult opening-month schedule, which includes a home-and-home series with Toronto, games against Florida and Tampa Bay, Edmonton, and…

Hell, here’s the schedule for you to peruse:

Not an easy run for the Wings in October, and it doesn’t get much easier in November thanks to a 5-game West Coast swing:

Anyway, the Wings’ media corps entered the locker room after Thursday’s practice to speak with the players and coach McLellan, and they received a Lego surprise:

Continue reading Post-practice Tweets: on the schedule, Lego LCA and Seider and Raymond to wear the alternate captains’ ‘A’s’

A prediction about John Gibson’s ‘fantasy [hockey] renaissance’

Rotowire’s John Britt makes fantasy hockey predictions for the 2025-2026 season, and he’s bullish on Red Wings goaltender John Gibson’s resurgence:

John Gibson’s fantasy renaissance in Detroit

Gibson has every tool to re-emerge as a top-10 fantasy goalie now that he’s found new life in Detroit. Anaheim’s defensive collapse over the last several seasons skewed his stat line beyond recognition. In 2022-23, the Ducks ranked last in expected goals against per 60 at 5-on-5 and followed it up by coughing up more than 32 shots against per game in 2024-25. Regardless of his performance, that environment was a recipe that decimated Gibson’s win totals and ballooned his GAA. However, a closer look at last season’s numbers reveals some signs of improvement. In 29 games, he registered a solid 2.77 GAA and .912 save percentage. More importantly, his shot-quality numbers turned positive again: he finished with a Goals Saved Above Average (GSAA) above zero for the first time in five years.

Continue reading A prediction about John Gibson’s ‘fantasy [hockey] renaissance’