The animated avatars of Lucas Raymond, Dylan Larkin, Alex Nedeljkovic, Moritz Seider, Danny DeKeyser and Michael Rasmussen wish you all Happy Holidays:
Sending love and happiness to the greatest fans in hockey this holiday season. ❤️
See you soon, Hockeytown! pic.twitter.com/3LF8M5mTBm— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) December 24, 2021
Red Wings prospect and Acadie-Bathurst Titan goaltender Jan Bednar will play for Czechia during the World Junior Championship, having made the official Czechia roster named 45 minutes ago:
?Takto vypadá finální nominace #U20CZE pro #WorldJuniors. Na českou soupisku se nakonec nedostali obránce Matěj Pinkas a útočníci Jaroslav Chmelař se Stanislavem Vrhelem. #narodnitym #jakolev pic.twitter.com/0zSaOcYxU6— Hokejový nároďák (@narodnitym) December 24, 2021
The Detroit News’s Ted Kulfan filed a notebook article which profiles Red Wings prospect and Team Sweden World Junior Championship defenseman Simon Edvinsson:
Edvinsson has 12 points (11 of them assists) in 24 games, with a plus-4 rating, while playing top-four minutes as an 18-year-old for the powerhouse organization.
Fredrik Sjostrom, the Frolunda general manager, has felt Edvinsson’s potential has been an intriguing ingredient for scouts evaluating Edvinsson.
“Simon has tremendous upside,” Sjostrom said. “When you have that size and reach and skate as well as he does, you’re going to go early in the draft. In today’s game, you need speed and ability. He’ll definitely be a top-pair defenseman in the NHL.”
…
“He’s a big, rangy D that can really skate,” Yzerman said. “He’s got good puck skills. We just see his potential to be a defenseman that can log a lot of minutes, (and) can be a solid defender that can add some offense to the game as well. We like his skating ability, his size, his reach and we’re hoping he can become a big-minute defenseman for us.”
Sjostrom, the Frolunda GM, played against Nicklas Lidstrom in the NHL and believes there are characteristics in Edvinsson’s game that compare favorably with Lidstrom.
“He (Lidstrom) was one of the best defensive defenseman not because he was physical but because he was smart,” Sjostrom said. “Simon doesn’t get enough credit for his defensive game. He’s a very good defender and moves really well for his size. He just needs time to grow into his body, to build strength the right way.”
The Tampa Bay Times’ Eduardo A. Encina posted an article explaining how NHL players tend to reach out to each other after hits and scraps, including one Tampa Bay Lightning forward Mathieu Joseph, who had a dust-up with Dylan Larkin (resulting in Larkin being suspended) this year:
On the ice, the game moves fast, and when Lightning forward Mathieu Joseph and Detroit’s Dylan Larkin pursued a loose puck near the side boards earlier this season, Joseph didn’t expect what happened next.
As the puck skipped past Larkin’s stick, the Red Wings captain turned toward the boards to collect it. Coming with speed from a different angle, Joseph was caught in a tough spot and ended up hitting Larkin into the boards head-first.
Larkin, who spent eight weeks in a surgical collar last April after being cross-checked by Dallas’ Jamie Benn, jumped to his skates and sucker-punched Joseph in the face, knocking him to the ice.
A few days later, cooler heads prevailed. Joseph saw on social media that Larkin was visiting a specialist for his neck. He didn’t know about Larkin’s injury history, and after replaying the hit over and over on video and in his mind, Joseph reached out to apologize.
“I thought my hit wasn’t great, but at the same time, it was really hard for me to stop,” Joseph said. “… Someone told me … about some of the bad injuries that he had last year. … And knowing that I was the guy after his first game coming back doing this back to him — even if, with a sucker punch, his reaction was probably not the way to do it after — but obviously I just wanted to know that he was all right with the hit.”
Continued; here’s the scrap:
Red Wings captain Dylan Larkin did not appreciate this hit by Lightning forward Mathieu Joseph and let him know immediately. #LGRW pic.twitter.com/iu8KlirWOy
— Bally Sports Detroit (@BallySportsDET) October 15, 2021
Detroit Hockey Now’s Kevin Allen reports sad news from the “people behind the scenes” department today:
Former Philadelphia Flyers and Vancouver Canucks coach Bob McCammon, 80, died. Energetic McCammon was one of the game’s most colorful characters.
McCammon had also worked for the Detroit Red Wings as a pro scout. He launched his coaching career in Michigan when he coached the Port Huron Flags in 1973-74. He had played for the Flags prior to coaching them.
The Vancouver Province’s Patrick Johnston penned McCammon’s obituary, highlighting the unique way McCammon prepared his players for a playoff game.
Bob McCammon was quick-witted, full of energy. Everyone in the hockey world knew him well. He was outgoing, always ready to talk hockey.
Aunt Annie and I haven’t had the cheeriest of Christmastimes this year. It’s been a bit dark around the house, between a little bit of depression for the both of us, the reality of spending our second year and third Christmas without my mom, and the seasonal grind that is living life in a still-in-a-pandmic world as an immune-compromised person and her caregiver…
But we are tremendously grateful this morning. I asked the TMR community to step up and help us take care of AA’s property taxes as we really had nowhere else to go but the whole concept that this is a reader-supported blog, and this afternoon, I’m dropping off the final check that will pay off our taxes for the year.
It’s hard to ask for help. And it’s really hard for me to learn how to say, “Hey, there are no commercials here, no paywalls, but I pour my heart and soul into this blog, etc. etc.”
That’s probably the worst part of the job, in all honesty, but when you’re essentially a non-profit business, you still need to pay the bills. And the bill is paid.
It wouldn’t be so without the reason that I do this–you.
Now I still need to raise funds as the screen on my cell phone literally peeling off my phone like a bad wrapper off a sardine can, and it’s gonna cost about $500 to replace that phone because my credit score is a fraction (hello, student loans). But I need the phone for work as much as anything else (hey, you’ve seen what I use the computer for!), and so I’m going to keep asking that you consider lending a hand to help me break even.
But I can’t do that without expressing my profound, sincere and immense gratitude for your remarkable kindness in helping my aunt and I stay here.
Just like every Traverse City trip, just like Moonshot, a.k.a. my laptop, and just like so many other hoped-for dreams and possibilities, it happened because I work for a community.
That’s pretty cool. And very Christmassy.
If you’re willing to lend a hand, you can use PayPal at https://paypal.me/TheMalikReport, Venmo at https://venmo.com/george-malik-2, Giftly by using my email, rtxg@yahoo.com, at https://www.giftly.com. And you can contact me via email if you want to send me a paper check.
Keeping in mind that a look at the NHL’s Eastern Conference standings reveals that the Boston Bruins have played in 5 fewer games than the Red Wings, and are only 3 points behind Detroit, thus skewing the standings quite significantly…
Here’s your optimistic Tweet of the day, from NHL.com:
Which of these first round #StanleyCup matchups would you be most excited to see? ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/eQFGZxHHn5— NHL (@NHL) December 24, 2021
Future Considerations’ Matthew Dubreuil posted an article for the Sporting News this morning, listing 13 NHL-drafted prospects worth watching at the World Junior Championship in Edmonton this year. One Red Wings prospect makes his list:
3. Simon Edvinsson, Sweden
Team: Frolunda HC (SHL)
Position: D
2021-22 stats: 24GP | 1G | 11A | 12PTS
Drafted: Detroit Red Wings (1/6, 2021)Simon Edvinsson brings both a combination of athleticism and high compete level to this tournament. The 6-foot-5 defenseman has also improved his defensive play and should be an important contributor from Sweden’s back end.
A product of the Detroit Red Wing system, Edvinsson has spent the entirety of this season with Frolunda in the SHL and has put up 12 points (one goal, 11 assists) in 24 games – good enough to be the top point producer amongst U20 defensemen. He can be the driving force that may help Sweden improve upon their fifth-place finish from last year.
“Edvinsson is a defenseman that I expect will be the next superstar from Sweden,” Sweden-based FCHockey scout Fredrik Haak said. “He has the size, the speed, but most importantly he has the hockey IQ and hockey sense to be a front player both offensively and defensively. Edvinsson will be one of the most important players in special teams for Team Sweden in the World Juniors with his hands and creativity.”
I can’t post an embed code to this link from the Edmonton Oil Kings’ website, but Sebastian Cossa, who’s currently likely to play for Team Canada as the back-up to Dylan Garand in goal, spoke with his WHL team’s website’s Andrew Peard over the course of a 6-minute-and-20-second interview.
It’s pretty good, thought it’s bit of a “turn the speakers up” interview.
The Free Press’s Helene St. James posted a subscriber-only article this morning which examines the Red Wings via 10 subjects upon which St. James focuses. Among them:
His guys: Yzerman got a piece of business done this month, inking Fabbri to a three-year extension. It’s another piece in Yzerman’s transformation of the roster. When training camp began in 2019, there was a sense among the players that they weren’t “his guys,” meaning Yzerman’s. Now almost all of them are.
Of the players on the NHL payroll (including those on injured reserve), 13 forwards, seven defensemen and both goaltenders bear Yzerman’s stamp of approval. Either he has brought them in, he re-signed a player he inherited (like Filip Hronek), or, in the case of Dylan Larkin, Yzerman named him captain. That leaves forwards Filip Zadina and Joe Veleno to earn Yzerman’s endorsement. Yzerman has engineered significant change in a short amount of time while giving himself flexibility within the confines of the salary cap.
Larkin ascending: Larkin went into the extended break having recorded his first hat trick at the NHL level, giving him a team-leading 15 goals and 29 points. He spoke sweetly of thinking of his grandmothers when the third goal went in — they used to encourage him to score with $5 rewards. His contract with the Wings carries an annual average value of $6 million, so he doesn’t need nana’s money anymore, but the Wings needed Larkin to have this kind of season after he produced just 23 points in 44 games last season. Larkin is on pace to reach 30 goals for the second time in his career, and he has re-established that he’s the team’s engine. Larkin is a big believer in doing things right — remember, he was Henrik Zetterberg’s understudy — and that’s showing again.
…
The trinity: Raymond leads the rookie scoring race, and Seider leads rookie defensemen in scoring. On top of that, Alex Nedeljkovic, who is still considered a rookie even though he was a finalist for the Calder last season, leads rookie goaltenders with nine victories. It’s happened just twice in NHL history that the rookie leaders in each category — points by a forward, points by a defenseman and wins by a goaltender — have all been on the same team.
In 1929-30, forward Ebbie Goodfellow (34 points in 44 games), defenseman Harvey Rockburn (five points in 36 games) and goalie Bill Beveridge (14 wins in 39 games) did it with the Detroit Cougars (who were renamed the Red Wings in 1932 when James Norris bought the franchise). In 1936-37, Syl Apps, Jimmy Fowler and Turk Broda did it with the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Continued (paywall)
