The Red & White Authority is back…
Back by popular demand… The Red & White Authority Podcast!!
Danny DeKeyser joins @ArthurJRegner as they discuss his recovery from back surgery, the acquisition of Marc Staal and more!
?️: https://t.co/h1AuLDj30Y
?: https://t.co/1TzfiHQsOk pic.twitter.com/VtiIf87KgZ— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) October 2, 2020
Alexis Lafreniere’s potential to be an immediate player and the No. 1 pick in the 2020 NHL Draft, reasons why center Quinton Byfield should be the No. 2 pick and a look at why goalie Iaroslav Askarov is so highly regarded were among the topics discussed on the new episode of the NHL @TheRink podcast.
The podcast, recorded Friday, previewed the 2020 NHL Draft and featured co-hosts Dan Rosen and Shawn P. Roarke joined by special guest Adam Kimelman, NHL.com deputy managing editor and co-host of the NHL Draft Class podcast.
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Kimelman said he thinks the New York Rangers, who hold the No. 1 pick, will get a player in Lafreniere, a left wing with Rimouski of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, who potentially could score 50 points next season.
He also said he thinks the Los Angeles Kings should take Byfield, a forward with Sudbuy of the Ontario Hockey League, with the No. 2 pick and the Ottawa Senators should take Germany-born forward Tim Stuetzle at No. 3. Stuetzle plays for Mannheim in Germnay’s top professional league.
While unlikely, Kimelman said he wouldn’t be surprised if Askarov, who has started his 2020-21 season with SKA St. Petersburg in the Kontinenal Hockey League, went as high as the No. 4 pick to the Detroit Red Wings. He thinks the Russia-born goalie can be a top-10 pick.
Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill played hockey for Ferris State University in Big Rapids, Michigan before embarking upon his coaching career. His coach at Ferris, Bob Daniels, reminisced upon Blashill’s coaching beginnings in a conversation with the Big Rapids News’s John Raffel:
“What happened was during his senior year, we had a meeting and I asked him what his plans were,” Daniels said. “He said he didn’t know and wasn’t sure he was going to pursue pro hockey and he was thinking of going on for his MBA.”
Daniels asked Blashill if he had ever thought about getting into coaching.
“He said he thought about it but didn’t know how to go about it,” Daniels said. “I said why don’t you stick around one year and work as a volunteer assistant coach for us and work on your MBA here? That summer, Jamie Russell left to go to Cornell. So we had an opening. So he went two weeks from being a student assistant coach to a fulltime assistant coach for us. It was a matter of being at the right place at the right time.”
He also spent six seasons (2002-08) with Miami University, helping the CCHA’s RedHawks qualify for the NCAA Tournament four times while recruiting three Hobey Baker Finalists
Blashill was a goalie four seasons at Ferris and was Rookie of the Year in 1994-95 and earned a spot on the CCHA’s All-Academic Team for 1996-97.
“He had a solid career for us,” Daniels said. “We’ve been blessed with having some really good goaltenders and certainly Jeff was one of them.”
MLive’s Ansar Khan penned an article regarding the surreal nature of this year’s virtually-held NHL draft, and he spoke with Red Wings GM Steve Yzerman, as well as several top prospects, regarding the parties’ adaptation to a different kind of draft:
This year’s draft, originally scheduled for June 26-27 at the Bell Centre in Montreal, will be unlike any other, held virtually. The first round is Tuesday (7 p.m., NBC Sports Network) and Rounds 2 through 7 are on Wednesday (11:30 a.m., NHL Network). Front offices from 31 teams will be stationed in their home markets, making selections on a video conference while prospects are scattered throughout North America and Europe watching on TV and waiting for their phone to ring.
The Red Wings will select fourth overall in the first round. They have nine picks on the second day, including three in the second round and two in the third.
“We’re pretty well-organized and prepared to go for Tuesday evening,” Red Wings general manager Steve Yzerman said. “Most of our (scouts) will be scattered. All our guys in Europe will be home, all our guys in Canada will remain in Canada, apart from (chief amateur scout) Jesse Wallin. We’ll have everybody on a call throughout the entire process. We’re comfortable with how it’s going to operate.”
Prospects have had to wait more than three months for this, but it hasn’t dampened their enthusiasm.
“When the draft was pushed back a couple months it was kind of frustrating because that’s something you look forward to all year,” defenseman Jake Sanderson, a projected top-10 pick, said. “And even going to the draft, just being there with my teammates, that would have been super cool. Being drafted will be the same either way, very exciting.”
Of Red Wings-related note in terms of the Wings’ European prospects and European-loaned players:
In the ICE Hockey League, Michael Rasmussen finished at -2 in the Graz99ers’ 2-1 loss to the Dornbirn Bulldogs;
In the Swedish Allsvenskan, Almtuna IS won 4-3 over Vasteras IK; Gustav Lindstrom finished at -2 in 23:05 for Almtuna; Gustav Berglund had an assist and finished at +1 in 13:38 played. Filip Larsson served as the back-up for Almtuna;
And in the Finnish Liiga, Otto Kivenmaki had an assist and finished at +1 in 13:06 played as Assat Pori won 3-2 over TPS Turku. Kasper Kotkansalo played 21:06 for Assat.
Okay, I have a lot of ground to cover in a short amount of time, so:
As always, thank you for your time and your readership.
The Detroit News posted its latest “OctoPulse” podcast, whose programming is described as follows:
Red Wings beat reporter Ted Kulfan takes a look at the highlights from Steve Yzerman’s pre-draft news conference and the special guest is potential draft pick Marco Rossi of the Ottawa 67’s.
Here are some of the highlights on episode 36 of the OctoPulse podcast:
►2:50: Steve Yzerman on Cale Makarr
►8:20: Yzerman on director of amateur scouting Kris Draper
►11:15: Kulfan on the Stanley Cup champion Tampa Bay Lightning
►12:30: Ottawa 67’s center Marco Rossi
►40:00: Yzerman on former Rangers defenseman Marc Staal
Today’s been a little light in terms of the rumor mill–which I don’t mind–but this tidbit regarding restricted free agents, from NBC Sports’ James O’Brien, got me thinking:
Anthony Mantha and Tyler Bertuzzi (Red Wings): Pretty much all of the Red Wings’ focus is on the future. Even so, Bertuzzi and especially Mantha represent significant pieces for both the present and future. Locking them both up to team-friendly, preferably long-term deals will be key.
You and I have both heard The Fourth Period and the local beat writers indicating that the Wings may go short-term with the 26-year-old Mantha, and that would make sense from both a salary cap standpoint and given Mantha’s inability to stay healthy;
Bertuzzi is a year younger, but I would guess that the Wings may go with a “bridge deal” with Bertuzzi as well given that the team doesn’t know what his “ceiling” is production-wise.
It should be noted that both players have salary arbitration rights, so I would imagine that the Wings will try to avoid arbitration hearings with either player.
Two more mock drafts of note have hit the wires this afternoon:
2. And McKeen’s Hockey also has the Wings picking Drysdale:
4. Detroit Red Wings – Jamie Drysdale, D, Erie Otters (OHL)
The Red Wings take the first defenseman off the board and the blueliner with the most superstar potential. His skating and his hockey IQ allow for the Red Wings to play fast and smart with the puck on his stick. With still some growth and maturity, his offensive instincts from the back end remind some of Cale Makar or Quinn Hughes. While he may not be as dynamic offensively as those two, he certainly can put points on the board and play smart without the puck, too. Drysdale separates himself from Sanderson for his potential as a point producer, and the Wings will take the superstar potential over the reliable blueliner here. (Mike Sanderson)
If you’re interested, TSN posted a YouTube video in which Craig Button also named his top 3 defensemen available in the draft…
And Sportsnet posted a video highlighting their top 5 Ontario Hockey League-playing prospects:
Jimmy Howard spoke with the Bangor Daily News’s Larry Mahoney 24 hours after Red Wings GM Steve Yzerman confirmed that the team will not be bringing Howard back for the 2020-2021 season:
“It’s bittersweet,” Howard said. “All good things come to an end. It has been such an honor to play for this organization and this city.”
Howard said he is looking to land an NHL job for next season, saying this one left a bitter taste in his mouth.
“I want to go out and prove I can still play in this league for one or two more years,” he said. “I don’t think anyone would want to go out this way.”
Howard isn’t surprised Detroit didn’t offer him a contract.
“It’s the business side of this profession. We all have an expiration date with an organization,” he said.
Howard said he isn’t going to dwell on the past. He is skating and working out in Michigan while hoping to latch on with another team. He said he is looking forward to opening a new chapter of his career with another franchise.
“I’m excited about it. It’s the first time I will be going through free agency. I’m curious to see how it will all work out,” he said.
