HSJ in the morning: Regarding coach Derek Lalonde’s lesson planning for training camp

The Free Press’s Helene St. James discusses Red Wings coach Derek Lalonde’s preparations for training camp, which begins at Centre ICE Arena this morning:

Lalonde and assistant coaches Bob Boughner and Alex Westlund are among the many new faces brought in by Steve Yzerman in his fourth year as general manager. Along with Alex Tanguay, the only bench coach left from Jeff Blashill’s tenure, the group has been busy preparing changes when the Wings take the ice Thursday at Centre Ice Arena.

“In today’s day and age, with being able to do so much virtually, I think we got well out in front of this,” Lalonde said. “Even probably a month ago, talking with Steve, I thought we were a little further ahead of where I expected. We did a once-a-week Zoom with staff, and then we got together 10 days prior to camp. We’re in a good spot. Hopefully it translates to a good start of camp. We’ll have emphasis of team defense. a lot of the first couple days you’ll see will be play without the puck and improving in some of those areas that we struggled last year. We were one of the worst teams in any defensive category last year, so that’s a good starting point. A lot of that is team effort, everybody on the ice pulling the same way. Keep the puck out of your net. A lot of camp early on will be our play away from the puck.

“Special teams will be a big part of it. We’ll introduce that Day 3 or 4, leading into our Red and White Game and having those types of repetitions before exhibition.”

Wednesday saw players undergo physicals. The camp roster featured 40 forwards, 21 defensemen and eight goaltenders, who will break into three groups the first three days. Sunday features the Red and White Game, and after Monday’s practice the Wings will return to Detroit for an eight-game exhibition slate. The Wings open their preseason slate on Tuesday against the Penguins in Pittsburgh.

“We kind of projected a Detroit roster, projected a (Grand Rapids) roster,” Lalonde said. “You’ll see some guys jumping around a lot throughout the first couple days. Not a lot of theme to who’s where — it’s more about team structure, more about chemistry with guys playing with each other. We’re going to have a ton of time with eight games. That’s a lot, exhibition-wise, in the NHL.”

Continued

Morning Khan: ‘storylines’ to watch as training camp begins

MLive’s Ansar Khan filed an early-morning column in which he discusses pertinent storylines as the Red Wings begin training camp today at Centre ICE Arena:

Will Dylan Larkin and Tyler Bertuzzi be distracted by their contract situations?

Yzerman’s offseason signing spree did not include extensions for two of his top players as Larkin and Bertuzzi head into the season in the final year of their contracts. It’s only a question of when the Red Wings lock up Larkin, who’s headed into his third season as captain and could get an eight-year deal worth more than $8 million per season. Bertuzzi’s ability to play in Canada moving forward could help progress contract talks. It could also make him a more viable trade candidate. Both are coming off 30-goal seasons and could enhance their bargaining power with strong starts.

Will a new coaching staff ignite Filip Zadina?

Jeff Blashill provided Zadina with ample opportunity to establish himself in the NHL – a top-six role and regular spot on the power play. But the sixth overall pick in 2018 has not capitalized (10 goals, 24 points in 74 games last season). Perhaps a new voice and different approach will help get the most out of this potential sniper. The Red Wings are pleased with his work ethic and effort, but for whatever reason, the results haven’t come.

Can Jonatan Berggren crack the roster?

His chances were much better before Dominik Kubalik was signed. Now, it appears Berggren will spend another season in Grand Rapids, at least to start. The Red Wings’ top three lines appear set. The skilled Berggren is not a fit for the fourth line and he certainly won’t stick around as a spare forward. Berggren, selected 33rd overall in 2018, led the Griffins with 64 points in 70 games (21 goals, team-leading 43 assists), setting the franchise rookie scoring record and finishing second among AHL rookies.

Continued

Red Wings Alumni’s game vs. ‘Yoopers United’ raised $100,000 for United Way of Marquette County

According to the Marquette Mining Journal, the Red Wings Alumni’s game against the “Yoopers United” this past weekend made a huge impact for the United Way of Marquette County:

More than $100,000 was raised at the Marquette County Hockey Night held Saturday evening at the Berry Events Center on the campus of Northern Michigan University in Marquette.

The featured attraction was an exhibition hockey game between the Detroit Red Wings Alumni and Yoopers United, the latter a locally based team that included at least one current pro player along with a number of former high school, college and junior hockey players.

While the game ended in a 7-7 tie, the community was the big winner as funds go to the United Way of Marquette County’s Community Investment Fund. Money in the CIF goes directly back to communities in the county, including through UWMC’s annual grant funding, the group said in a Wednesday news release.

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Bultman notes that Yzerman’s still bullish on Zadina’s potential

Wrapping up today’s coverage of Red Wings GM Steve Yzerman’s pre-training camp press conference is The Athletic’s Max Bultman, who noted that Yzerman gave rare praise to a player that some have written off already in Filip Zadina:

In many ways, you could say Zadina already earned a stamp of approval from his GM earlier this summer, when the Red Wings inked the winger to a three-year contract.

But Yzerman was clear Wednesday in his belief that Zadina is “on the right path to becoming a real good player in the NHL.”

“He’s learning to do the little things well, even if you’re not scoring,” Yzerman said. “All young players, all scorers in particular, always measure yourself on goals and assists, production. And it’s always — whether you’re playing junior, whether you’re playing in the American league, in the NHL, and in particular for these higher draft picks — everybody wants to see the goals and assists, measure (them) in goals and assists. And you fall into that yourself, thinking, ‘I’ve gotta produce, I’ve gotta produce.’ Ultimately, if you do all the other things well, the pucks will go in the net for you.”

Yzerman delivered that message to Zadina, telling him to keep working at those little things and that if he did, the pucks would find their way into the net.

“And he’s a hard worker,” Yzerman said. “When I talked to our staff, our strength coaches and whatnot — his dedication off the ice. He really wants to be a good player and knows he’s got things to improve upon. But again, I expect him to take another step forward, and I think his attitude is excellent, his work ethic is excellent. He just needs to stick with it.”

Continued (paywall); we’ll find out whether Zadina’s still got some “boom” in that “bust” this season. I’m not willing to write him off, either.

Tweet and video of note: WXYZ’s Galli discusses Yzerman’s presser, Edvinsson’s status

WXYZ’s Brad Galli discussed Red Wings GM Steve Yzerman’s pre-training camp press conference on this evening’s sports segment…

“I expect us to be a better hockey team,” Steve Yzerman said.

The @DetroitRedWings GM made a lot of moves this offseason, and is “cautiously optimistic” before camp opens in Traverse City. pic.twitter.com/C3Q0Exwx6g— Brad Galli (@BradGalli) September 21, 2022

And Galli posted a video clip in which Yzerman discusses Simon Edvinsson’s chances of making the big club:

Tweet of note: More from BSD’s John Keating’s interview with Derek Lalonde

Bally Sports Detroit’s John Keating posted a clip from his longer interview with Red Wings coach Derek Lalonde, which was made available in Twitter form:

.@JohnKeatingBSD updates us on the Wings from Traverse City 🍒

Hear about Derek Lalonde’s transition to new NHL coach. #LGRW pic.twitter.com/y6vFfBPk09— Bally Sports Detroit (@BallySportsDET) September 21, 2022

Compete, compete, compete

DetroitRedWings.com’s Jonathan Mills posted an article regarding Red Wings GM Steve Yzerman’s pre-training camp press conference today. Yzerman addressed the concept that he’s turned over a third of the roster over the course of the summer….

“I believe we’ll be a better hockey team this year, I expect us to be,” Yzerman said in a pre-camp Zoom call with the media on Wednesday. “Having said that, it can take some time for things to settle in, for everyone to get familiar with one another, for the coaches to get to know the players and how to best utilize them.”

When assessing what the Red Wings’ lineup might look like this season, Yzerman said a lot will be determined by players trying to earn, keep or find their place.

“It’s important they recognize there’s competition not only for jobs, but for ice time,” Yzerman said. “I believe that competition is really healthy and it’s going to push guys to perform. I believe good athletes, mentally strong guys, really enjoy that challenge.

“Some of the players have to recognize, ‘I got to perform. I might lose my spot on this line. I might lose my spot in the lineup.’ We got some depth at a lot of positions now. Hopefully, that translates to us being a better team as well.”

And he formulated his expectations for the team’s improvement thusly:

Yzerman, who’s entering his third year as Red Wings GM, said he wants to see Detroit continue developing its identity as a tough team to compete against.

“If our team can be a harder team to play against and be more competitive in games, that’s improvement for us,” Yzerman said. “That’s advancing for us.”

Continued

Tweets of bemusing note: vintage stick + golf ball = chaos

Why you would take a vintage Easton Synergy stick to a golf course is beyond me, but hey, what the hell:

Who can guess what happened next? pic.twitter.com/s6xliDytRL— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) September 21, 2022

😅 https://t.co/zSu2JP4Rs6 pic.twitter.com/qEkVTjs6T3— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) September 21, 2022

While we’re talking about a sport I do not understand…

The ball has its own energy or life force, if you will. Its natural environment is in the hole. Why don’t you send him home? His bags are packed. He has his plane ticket. Bring him to the airport. Send him home.#DRWTC pic.twitter.com/OCP7bG4AMp— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) September 21, 2022