.Gif of the day: Elmer Soderblom scores his first SHL goal

The Frolunda Indians are currently playing against Farjestads BK, and IceHockeyGifs noted that Elmer Soderblom scored his first goal via an assist from Lucas Raymond (this clip comes from the Detroit Red Wings’ Twitter account):

C More Sport posted an alternate view:

Continue reading .Gif of the day: Elmer Soderblom scores his first SHL goal

Red Wings post Art Regner’s interview with Steve Yzerman

Per DetroitRedWings.com’s Daniella Bruce…

ICYMI: @ArthurJRegner sat down with @DetroitRedWings General Manager Steve Yzerman to discuss training camp, the Red Wings Captaincy, and more. Check out the full interview at the link below!!!https://t.co/nRkOlB4S42 pic.twitter.com/zGbYGFr71X— Daniella Bruce (@daniellabruce_) January 9, 2021

The interview is 20 minutes and 42 seconds long:

Bultman on the Wings’ search for secondary scoring

The Detroit Red Wings’ second Red vs. White scrimmage yielded an 8-3 result (including overtime) for the Red team, which happened to be stacked on top with the Wings’ Bertuzzi-Larkin-Mantha line, as well as the Bobby Ryan-less Fabbri-Zadina second line…

But The Athletic’s Max Bultman asked a very valid question in wondering where the Wings will find their so-desperately needed secondary scoring from after a scrimmage in which the Wings’ top line was head-and-shoulders better than the five other forward lines that dressed for both teams:

Halfway through training camp and with two of three scrimmages in the books, it would be hard to say Detroit’s secondary scoring questions have dissipated, even if improved depth is clear thanks to some new free-agent signings and visible progress from Zadina, in particular. In the team’s second scrimmage Friday night, Mantha and Bertuzzi each scored twice in a 7-2 contest, as the Red Wings’ top line looked head and shoulders above the rest.

To be fair, that kind of performance should be expected from a top line in an intrasquad scrimmage, and Zadina and defenseman Filip Hronek added tallies of their own. Both, without question, will be important pieces for the Red Wings this season and into the future.

But right now, the key question still facing the Red Wings is whether they’ll finally be able to get enough scoring behind Larkin, Mantha and Bertuzzi.

“It looks like there’s more scoring, just from practice,” Blashill said Friday night. “Certainly, I thought our top line tonight was dominant, but I thought (Fabbri) played his best practice/game of the camp so far, I thought Zadina did as well, so those are real positives. … I think (Sam) Gagner’s had a good camp. I think (Valtteri) Filppula’s had a good camp. So I think there’s more guys that look like they’re in position to score goals, and that’s going to be important for us.”

Continued (paywall); Vladisdlav Namestnikov’s presence will also aid the Wings’ scoring efforts, and Bultman duly notes that having a revamped blueline (see: Jon Merrill, Marc Staal, Troy Stecher and a healthy Danny DeKeyser) means that Filip Hronek won’t have to do the heavy lifting all by himself in terms of moving the puck out of the Wings’ end.

All of that being said, until Ryan, Fabbri and Zadina establish themselves as reliable secondary scorers, and the Wings find a third line that can toss in the occasional goal, there will be valid questions about the Wings’ ability to win games on a semi-consistent basis.

The Athletic’s NHL beat writers (including Bultman) make their fantasy hockey picks

The Athletic has asked its NHL correspondents to make their fantasy hockey picks for the NHL’s 31 teams, and The Athletic Detroit’s Max Bultman weighed in with his take on the Red Wings’ fantasy leaders.

Here’s a part of his comments about the Wings and their players:

My team’s sleeper for the 2021 season is: Hopefully defenseman Filip Hronek is a known enough quantity now as a defenseman who can be reliably expected to produce about a half-point per game while playing big minutes. The deep sleeper, though, is Bobby Ryan, who is looking at high-level usage on the Red Wings’ second line and, more importantly, first power play unit. He has been stationed throughout camp at the netfront on a unit with Dylan Larkin and Anthony Mantha, which gives him the chance to juice his scoring totals.


The leader on my team in penalty minutes will be: Hronek. He plays a chippy style, and the sheer volume of minutes he plays will lend naturally to taking more penalties.

BetMGM has Detroit’s projected points as 43.5. They will finish…: Right around that number, but the free agent upgrades (especially in net) would push me ever so slightly to the over. The Red Wings are a clear bottom five team, but winning 20 games and taking four or five more to overtime seems realistic.

Continued (paywall)

Prospect round-up: Bradley scores for Sioux City; Adams’ Friars beat Mastrosimone, Phillips’ Terriers

Of prospect-related note on Friday, part 2:

In NCAA Hockey, Keith Petruzzelli stopped 22 of 27 shots as the Quinnipiac Bobcats lost 5-4 in overtime to Clarkson;

Jack Adams finished at +1 with 2 shots as his Providence College Friars won 7-3 over the Boston University Terriers. Robert Mastrosimone finished even with no shots and Ethan Phillips finished even with 2 blocked shots for Boston University, which played its first game of the 2020-2021 season on Friday night;

And in the USHL, Chase Bradley scored a goal, finishing at +2 with 2 shots as his Sioux City Musketeers won 4-1 over the Tri-City Storm. Kyle Aucoin finished even with 1 shot for Tri-City.

HSJ and Khan on Anthony Mantha, penalty-killer

Tonight’s 2nd Red vs. White scrimmage involved more time for Anthony Mantha on the penalty-kill with Dylan Larkin, and Mantha told the Free Press’s Helene St. James that he’s enjoying his new-found role–as is his coach:

“If you look at Larkin that was doing penalty kill plus five on five and power play last season, he would play around 20-22 minutes a night,” Mantha said. “It’s a big responsibility for me but I think I am willing to do it. Especially when you get two or three penalties in a row, just sitting on the bench, it’s six minutes you’re not moving, you’re not doing anything.

“I’m excited to keep the legs going and hopefully I can get the job done.”

Mantha’s value as a scorer is well established. His line with Larkin and Bertuzzi is fun to watch — Bertuzzi set up Mantha’s first goal, and Larkin set up Mantha for a one-timer to make it 2-0. But for Mantha to also be trusted to kill penalties is something new, and shows his maturation as a player.

“I think Anthony Mantha has grown a lot as a player over his time here and I think he’s continuing to grow,” coach Jeff Blashill said. “Anthony ultimately does a pretty good job defensively. Sometimes it’s not in terms of moving his feet the way I want, but ultimately he’s got that big long stick and he’s smart and he just finds ways to not give up a whole lot of chances five-on-five and we thought potentially he could help our kill.”

St. James continues, and MLive’s Ansar Khan also spoke with Mantha and Blashill about Big Tony’s special teams play:

Continue reading HSJ and Khan on Anthony Mantha, penalty-killer

Khan on the 2nd scrimmage: Blashill happy with better habits from his charges

Team Red defeated Team White 8-3 in the Red Wings’ second intrasquad scrimmage on Friday, and MLive’s Ansar Khan notes that Wings coach Jeff Blashill (and the rest of us Wings fans) was happy to see the levels of his teams’ intensity and execution increase over Tuesday’s (understandably) rust-filled mess of a scrimmage:

“I thought the habits were more like the type of habits you need to get ready to play real games,” Blashill said. “I thought the intensity was higher, I thought we skated harder. I thought that was driven by guys like Mantha, Larkin and (Tyler) Bertuzzi, which is real important for us. They got to be guys driving the bus and I thought they did a real good job of it. The rest of the team was the same way. I think tonight’s scrimmage helps us advance and get better.”

Bertuzzi, who also is getting a look on the PK, scored a pair of goals. The top line has looked as good as expected in camp.

“We just know where the other guys are going to be on the ice, (make) quick plays, trying to roll around,” Mantha said. “You know Bert is going to handle the puck wherever it is, Larks is super-quick, so he opens a lot of plays. I just try to find the open area and get shots off.”

The Red Team, featuring the top two lines, prevailed 7-2. Blashill liked what he saw from the second line of Robby Fabbri, Filip Zadina and Michael Rasmussen, who filled in for Bobby Ryan.

“Fabs’ impact on the game was the best he’s had,” Blashill said. “He was on top of more plays, he had the puck more. I think Zadina has worked extremely hard, so he’s hunted pucks a lot and done a good job and he’s going to have to do that. Fabs competed real hard on the puck, had the puck a little more.”

Continued; Troy Stecher, Matias Brome, likely Griffin Riley Barber and several other players had really good games, and Jon Merrill was quiet, which is exactly what you want to see from a stay-at-home guy. Filip Hronek let a couple of cannons go into the net from his customary one-timer spot in the left faceoff circle as well.

Update: DetroitRedWings.com’s Josh Berenter also noted Blashill and Anthony Mantha’s comments about the scrimmage:

Continue reading Khan on the 2nd scrimmage: Blashill happy with better habits from his charges

Post-scrimmage #2 media availabilities: Mantha, Blashill

The Red Wings have posted a pair of Zoom media availabilities held after the second Red vs. White scrimmage, which Team Red won 8-3. Anthony Mantha spoke with the media, as did coach Jeff Blashill. If more interviews are posted, I’ll post them here:

Update: The Blashill interview has been revised:

Continue reading Post-scrimmage #2 media availabilities: Mantha, Blashill

Good news(?) regarding Bobby Ryan

This is the new normal, so we’d better get used to it:

Bobby Ryan indeed gets the “unfit to play” designation tonight— Max Bultman (@m_bultman) January 9, 2021

Per Jeff Blashill, Bobby Ryan “unfit” to take part in tonight’s scrimmage. Could mean injury, illness …— Helene St. James (@HeleneStJames) January 9, 2021

Bobby Ryan was “unfit to play” for today’s Red and White game. Blashill also said it’s day to day. @DetroitRedWings #LGRW— Daniella Bruce (@daniellabruce_) January 9, 2021