Praise for Edvinsson’s first-day WJC performance

Via Spector’s Hockey on Twitter comes this article from the Hockey News’s Tony Ferrari, who listed his “Three Stars” from Sunday’s games at the World Junior Championship:

First Star – D Simon Edvinsson

The Red Wings prospect was a force in all three zones on this night. In what was set to be the most competitive matchup of the day on paper, Edvinsson led the Swedes to a solid win over an underwhelming Russian squad. His ‘First Star’ status is about everything in his game both on and off the stat sheet. His defensive performance was quite impressive as he read passing lanes and intercepted puck carriers in their path, using both his body and stick work to separate the man from the puck before transitioning the play up ice quickly.

The 2021 sixth overall pick was putting his full arsenal on display in this game. With no power-play time, Edvinsson decided that the penalty kill was the appropriate time to score a goal. Closing in along the boards as two Russian players fumbled over the puck, Edvinsson collected the puck with ease and then took off up ice. With his smooth stride, he took off up ice and tucked the puck between Yaroslav Askarov’s legs. He did an excellent job activating off the blueline, keeping pucks deep and threading passes through levels of the Russian defensive structure.

Continued; here’s Edvinsson’s goal:

HSJ in the morning: Blashill discusses the Wings’ battle with COVID outbreaks

The Free Press’s Helene St. James filed an early-morning article discussing the Red Wings’ battle with their COVID outbreak:

[Red Wings coach Jeff] Blashill said he started coughing on the way home from the Dec. 16 at Carolina, and tested positive the next day. That led to Grand Rapids Griffins coach Ben Simon serving as acting head coach Dec. 18, when the Wings beat the New Jersey Devils, 5-2. When four players entered protocol Dec. 19, it was no longer feasible to field a lineup for the one game that at that point was still on the schedule, Dec. 23 at Minnesota. 

“It was probably the right move, I guess, given where everybody was at across the league,” Blashill said. “Where we were at, we were going to have a hard time fielding a roster. And at that point, it’s not so much about competitive equity as just filling a roster. We had number of guys in protocol and a new of guys continue to move into protocol. We are in a difficult time with this pandemic and ultimately what anybody wants is to be able to field the requisite number of players and be able to play.”

Raymond entered protocol before Christmas, but Leddy was added Sunday. Tyler Bertuzzi, Danny DeKeyser and Marc Staal also have tested positive this season.

Speaking Dec. 18, general manager Steve Yzerman questioned whether it made sense to test vaccinated players (of which Bertuzzi is the only exception) who are asymptomatic. Blashill expressed confidence in how the NHL is handling playing through the pandemic, and dealing with the highly contagious Omicron variant.

“I don’t know if anybody knows the exact best way to handle what we are all going through, and that’s trying to run a professional sports league and play games within this pandemic,” Blashill said. “They are hard decisions that are being made.”

“I’m sure the guys that haven’t yet tested positive are anxious, I’m certain of that. This seems to be highly transmissible. We are all anxious. This is the world in which we are living right and we have to find every way possible to make the most of it.”

Continued (paywall); it’s going to take teamwork for the Red Wings to get through this latest battle with COVID.

Roughly translated: Simon Edvinsson discusses Sweden’s win, his point-to-the-stands goal celebration with Expressen

Red Wings prospect Simon Edvinsson scored a goal and added two assists during the Swedes’ World Junior Championship-opening win over Russia on Sunday, and he spoke with Expressen’s Adam Johansson after the game. Here’s a rough translation of their conversation:

Continue reading Roughly translated: Simon Edvinsson discusses Sweden’s win, his point-to-the-stands goal celebration with Expressen

Red Wings at the WJC: Sebrango scores, Edvinsson 1G+2A, Niederbach 1G at World Juniors

Of Red Wings prospect-related note at the World Junior Championship:

Eemil Viro had 1 shot, finishing even in 20:13 played as Team Finland won 3-1 over Germany;

Carter Mazur had 5 shots and took a penalty, finishing even in 16:44 played, and Red Savage finished even in 11:03 played as the 4th line center in Team USA’s 3-2 win over Slovakia;

Donovan Sebrango scored a goal, fishing even with 1 shot in 19:50 played as Canada won 6-3 over Czechia. Sebastian Cossa served as the back-up goaltender sat in the press box for this one:

And Simon Edvinsson had a goal and 2 assists, finishing at +1 with 2 shots in 23:43, and Theodor Niederbach scored a goal on 2 shots, finishing at +2 in 17:40 played as Sweden defeated Russia 6-3.

Edvinsson spoke to IIHF.com’s Andrew Podnieks after the game:

Defenceman Simon Edvinsson, who plays for Frolunda in Sweden and was drafted 6th overall by Detroit just a few months ago, was the game’s dominant player. He scored a goal, moved the puck seamlessly out of his zone, and was a boulder behind his own blue line. He logged a team-high 23:43 of ice time.

“I think we played well,” Edvinsson said. “We were pretty sharp and had a good mindset. The game had its ups and downs, but we were strong on defence and in front of their net as well. I think we did a good job.”

…

Russia coach Sergei Zubov elected to make a goalie change during the intermission, sending Yegor Guskov into the crease to start the third. The Russians coudn’t have asked for a better chance to start the final period. Helge Grans lost the puck in front of Wallstedt, but Michkov’s quick shot was stopped by the goalie.

Soon after, the Russians ran into penalty trouble again and paid the price. They gave Sweden 1:44 of power-play time with two men, and this time Alexander Holtz’s quick one-timer beat Guskov to make it 4-1.

“Our power play was really good today,” Edvinsson added. “We have some great players on it and managed to score some important goals.”

On Monday, Finland battles Austria at 2 PM EST, Germany plays the Czechs at 7:30 PM, and Sweden battles Slovakia at 9:30 PM.

Prospect round-up, North America: Walleye lose outside

Of Red Wings prospect-related note in North America: Technically, no Red Wings prospects played outside of the World Junior Championship in North America on Sunday, but we consider the Toledo Walleye to be part of the Red Wings family as their ECHL affiliate.

Billy Christopoulos stopped 34 of 36 shots but only one of four shootout shooters as the Toledo Walleye lost a 3-2 shootout decision to the Kalamazoo K-Wings outside at Fifth Third Field on Sunday evening. The Walleye got goals from Brady Tomlak and John Albert.

Duff’s notebook: Wings will be playing with patchwork roster until COVID protocols lessen

Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill spoke with the media on Sunday, and he wasn’t optimistic about the Red Wings being able to dress a competitive roster until the team’s litany of COVID protocol-related absences lessen, as he told Detroit Hockey Now’s Bob Duff:

If the NHL requires the Red Wings to play on Wednesday, they will do so with a shorthanded lineup. What about those who are out of COVID-19 protocol and able to participate? How could they possibly be expected to be at 100% of their capabilities?

“We won’t have all of them and I think part of it is there’s one thing to be available to play,” Blashill said. “There’’s another thing to be ready to play. Just because a guy’s out that day, that means he wouldn’t have skated at all for 10 days. Where’s everybody at from that aspect?

“We’ll make those decisions as we move forward. We certainly have plans in place for call ups from the American Hockey League to play if needed and fill those roster spots. We’ll play with a roster, if we do play, that we’re going to go in there and win the hockey game. But we won’t have everybody available to us beyond even the two guys that we placed in today.”

Continued

Kulfan’s notebook: Blashill unable to conduct mini-training camp due to decimated roster

The Detroit Red Wings had hoped to press the reset button on their season during Sunday’s practice, but the number of players in COVID protocols prevented that from taking place, as the Detroit News’s Ted Kulfan found in his Sunday notebook article:

With so much time off, it would be ideal to have a training camp feel to these practices. But the depleted roster makes that impossible.

“I’d love to, but the problem is you can’t do it to the degree you’d like because the numbers you have available,” ‘Red Wings coach Jeff] Blashill said. “If we had a full team today, the practice would have looked a lot different, or (Monday) the practice would look different. But you are restricted by what you can do.”

Blashill had no information on whether the game against the Islanders — who put five player on the protocol list Sunday — was going to take place.

The Wings, and the rest of the NHL went into a pause last Wednesday in hopes of stemming the rapid rise of COVID cases.  The Wings have had three games postponed and have two games scheduled for this week (Wednesday at New York Islanders, Friday at home against Washington).

“Certainly there will be challenges, but I know the Islanders won’t care and they may still have their own challenges,” Blashill said. “It was probably the right move given where everyone was at across the league (to pause the season). We were going to have a hard time fielding a roster at that point. It’s not about competitive equity as much as just filling a roster. We had a number of guys in the protocol and a number of guys continue to move into protocol over the next couple of days.”

Continued

Khan’s notebook: Wings hit hard by COVID, unsure whether they’ll play Wednesday

MLive’s Ansar Khan filed a notebook article regarding Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill’s media availability on Sunday afternoon, and the Red Wings’ coach was uncertain when or whether the Red Wings will return to play given the COVID outbreak on their team:

“We’re tentatively planning on playing (Wednesday), but I don’t know whether or not the games will happen,” coach Jeff Blashill said. “The NHL has done a good job through the course of this whole pandemic of taking information and making decisions when they have to, not necessarily before they have to. I’ve been watching NHL Network and a lot of guys across the league have tested positive (upon returning from the holiday break). So, I don’t know if that means there will be a further delay in the restart of our schedule.”

One day after their 5-2 victory over New Jersey on Dec. 18, the Red Wings were shut down for a week due to an increasing number of COVID-19 cases.

Sunday was Blashill’s final day in COVID protocol. He will join the team on the ice for practice Monday, along with forwards Robby Fabbri and Michael Rasmussen, who were removed from protocol on Sunday.

Blashill said he anticipates having only 12 skaters – two more than they had Sunday — and a goaltender on the ice.

Lucas Raymond and Nick Leddy entered protocol on Sunday (Blashill said Raymond tested positive before Christmas, so he could return sooner), joining forwards Adam Erne, Sam Gagner, Carter Rowney, Givani Smith, Pius Suter, Joe Veleno and Filip Zadina, defenseman Jordan Oesterle and goalie Alex Nedeljkovic.

It will take players a while to get into playing condition once they start filtering back onto the ice.

“Guys haven’t skated since last Saturday, so (Sunday) was used to start the process of getting our legs back,” Blashill said. “That’s not an easy thing when you’ve been off this long, even for those that weren’t sick. It’s a step today and hopefully we’ll take another step tomorrow.”

Continued

NHL, NHLPA reveal return-to-play parameters

From the NHL and NHLPA:

NHL, NHLPA Agree to Temporary Changes to CBA, Including Reintroduction of Taxi Squads; Three Additional Games Postponed

NEW YORK/TORONTO (Dec. 26, 2021) – The National Hockey League Players’ Association and the National Hockey League today announced agreement on the temporary formation of “Taxi Squads” as well as temporary changes to the Collective Bargaining Agreement to address issues related to the ongoing COVID pandemic. While some of the highlights are listed below, a full copy of the temporary changes can be found here.

As well, three additional games have been postponed for COVID-related reasons: Columbus-Chicago on Dec. 28 and Pittsburgh-Toronto and Boston-Ottawa on Dec. 29. All other games currently scheduled, beginning with those on Dec. 28, remain slotted to be played on their scheduled dates.

Continue reading NHL, NHLPA reveal return-to-play parameters