The Red Wings’ prospects at the World Junior Championship will be playing in the following games on Wednesday, first reported by The Mayor of Mayor’s Manor, an LA Kings website:

Rumored schedule for #WorldJuniors quarterfinals on Wednesday…

9am – Finland v SWE/GER
1230p – SWE/GER v Latvia
4p – Canada v Swiss
730p – USA v Czechia— John Hoven | The Mayor (@mayorNHL) August 16, 2022

And confirmed by FloHockey’s Chris Peters:

QF schedule for Wednesday per TSN:

Finland vs. Germany 10 a.m. MT
Sweden vs. Latvia 1:30 p.m. MT
Canada vs. Switzerland 5 p.m. MT
USA vs. Czechia at 8:30 p.m. MT— Chris Peters (@chrismpeters) August 16, 2022

Long story long, the schedule is as follows in terms of Eastern Daylight Time:

Finland (Eemil Viro) vs. Germany at 12 PM EDT

Sweden (Simon Edvinsson, Theodor Niederbach, William Wallinder) vs. Latvia at 3:30 PM EDT

Canada (Donvan Sebrango, Sebastian Cossa) vs. Switzerland at 7 PM EDT

Team USA (Carter Mazur, Red Savage) vs. Czechia (Jan Bednar) at 10:30 PM EDT.

Your #WorldJuniors quarter-finals matchups:@leijonat vs @deb_teams @Trekronorse vs @lhf_lv @HockeyCanada vs @SwissIceHockey @usahockey vs @narodnitym pic.twitter.com/aFxUXJFbLp— IIHF (@IIHFHockey) August 16, 2022

The final game of the World Junior Championship’s round robin play was consequential: Sweden had to beat Germany to finish second in Group B, which would afford them the opportunity of battling Latvia in Wednesday’s Quarterfinal.

If the Swedes lost, they would actually finish below Germany in the standings, and face Finland in the Quarterfinal.

For the Red Wings’ prospects participating in the game–Theodor Niederbach and William Wallinder (Simon Edvinsson was OUT for the game)–Monday night’s game also represented an opportunity to rebound from Sunday night’s 3-2 loss to Team USA, and to build momentum in terms of both team and individual play.

Sweden won the game 4-2, with Niederbach earning an assist on the 4-1 goal for Sweden, but it wasn’t as easy as you might think. The Germans took a 1-0 lead 4:00 into the 1st period, and until the Swedes both tied the game 1:52 later, and earned a lead at 12:29…It felt like Germany was going to upset the lackadaisical Swedes.

That’s not what happened, however, and while the Swedes’ level of attention to detail was a bit ugly at times, the Germans couldn’t beat back-up goaltender Calle Clang again until Luca Munzenberger got a BIZARRE goal with 7.1 seconds remaining in regulation, so Sweden punched its ticket to a match-up with Latvia.

In terms of Red Wings prospects playing in the game…

Continue reading Red Wings at the WJC: Sweden wins 4-2 over Germany: Edvinsson sits, Niederbach 1A, Wallinder plays 15:27 →

Red Wings prospect and Team Canada defenseman Donovan Sebrango gave a 1:16 interview to TSN’ Tessa Bonhomme after Canada’s 6-3 win over Finland at the World Junior Championship on Monday night.

I can’t embed the video, but here’s the summary:

‘Everyone wants that gold’: Sebrango says Canada will do anything possible to win

Donovan Sebrango talks to TSN’s Tessa Bonhomme following Canada’s victory over Finland and says he’s willing to do anything possible to capture gold with his Canadian teammates.

Sebrango says that the Canadians can’t be too mad having held off the Finns, and that they’re willing to put their bodies on the line in order to win Gold, so that’s not a surprise. He also says that the Canadians are seeing different and new faces take the spotlight, and the whole team working together, as a balanced lineup.

Updated 2x at 10:06 PM: A bit of a shock hit the Red Wings Twitter world when the Tre Kronor, a.k.a. the Swedish national team, announced on Twitter that their lineup for Monday night’s game vs. Germany at the World Junior Championship would not include Simon Edvinsson.

Här är laget! 😍

Förbundskapten Tomas Montén ställer följande formationer på isen när Juniorkronorna möter Tyskland. Nedsläpp strax efter kl 4. Du ser matchen i TV6/Viaplay.

Heja Sverige! 🙌🇸🇪#worldjuniors @IIHFHockey pic.twitter.com/rDHAqxesOa— Tre Kronor (@Trekronorse) August 16, 2022

Edvinsson played 22:46 during Sunday night’s 3-2 loss to Team USA, so it’s possible, if not probable, that Edvinsson is nursing some sort of minor injury, but going into Wednesday’s Quarterfinal round, I do not expect coach Tomas Monten to clarify his status.

Update: Via the Detroit News’s Gregg Krupa on Twitter:

Simon Edvinsson spelar inte den avslutande gruppspelsmatchen mot Tyskland. Lär vara en ren försiktighetsåtgärd. #Juniorkronorna— Rasmus Kågström (@rasmuskagstrom) August 16, 2022

Simon Edvinsson does not play the final group stage match against Germany. Supposed to be a mere precaution.

Update #2: From me:

TSN’s Bob McKenzie says that there is speculation that Edvinsson is either 1) banged up or 2) got food poisoning.

I’m hoping for the food poisoning?— George Malik (@georgemalik) August 16, 2022

Team Canada and Team Finland squared off in a battle for supremacy in Group A at the World Junior Championship on Monday night, with the 3-and-0 Canadians looking to finish round robin play at 4-and-0, and the Finns looking to improve upon their similar (2 regulation wins and 1 overtime win) record.

As TSN’s James Duthie said before the game, the winner of the Canada-Finland game would face Switzerland in Wednesday’s Quarterfinal, while the loser would battle the loser of tonight’s 10 PM EDT-starting game between Sweden and Germany.

Two underrated Red Wings prospects would battle in Canadian defenseman Dominic Sebrango and Finland’s Eemil Viro, also a defenseman.

As Sebastian Cossa was set to back up Dylan Garand in goal, Monday night’s game involved players that “you don’t really notice” as Sebrango plays a spare, steady and physical game on Canada’s top defensive pair, and Viro quietly embodies a similar (albeit less physical) role the Finns’ second defensive pair.

This was a unique game! Canada dominated the first period, absolutely blew Finland away in the 2nd period, and then got into penalty trouble in the 3rd, and was really worked over by the Finns, who almost pulled off an improbable rally.

The score was 6-3 Canada, but Canada, who will face Switzerland in the Quarterfinal on Wednesday, had to bust its butt to play in the 3rd.

In terms of Red Wings prospects playing in the game:

Donovan Sebrango was his steady self, finishing at +1 in 21:01 played, earning lots of PK time, taking one untimely penalty, and blocking shots;

Eemil Viro had perhaps his best game of the tournament thus far, moving the puck up ice with pace and aplomb while avoiding hits and using his short stick to break up plays in the defensive zone, ultimately finishing at +1 with 1 shot in 16:43 played.

In terms of the game’s narrative…

Continue reading Red Wings at the WJC: Canada wins 6-3 over Finland, will face Swiss in QF; Sebrango 21:01 played, Viro 16:43 →

Detroit Hockey Now’s Kevin Allen ponders the reasons why several former Red Wings players, including forward Sam Gagner, have not been able to find gainful employment in the NHL over the course of the free agency period thus far:

Veteran Detroit Red Wings forward Sam Gagner made the joking observation at the end of last season that some of his younger teammates “are a little closer to my kids’ age.”

But the 33-year-old Gagner is far from over the hill. His 13-goal, 31-point production in 2022-23 represented his best season since 2017-18. Gagner is a penalty-killer, polished defensive forward and a natural leader.  If the Red Wings were trying to win a Stanley Cup, instead of rebuilding, they may have re-signed Gagner.

That’s why it’s mildly surprising that Gagner is still available in the free agent marketplace.

….

It still seems likely that he will sign with a good team. He’s been linked to both the Edmonton Oilers and Toronto Maple Leafs. He could be a valuable role player on a contender.

“I try to have the same mindset every night,” he said at the end of the season. “It’s not always going to go the way you want but for the most part I’ve felt pretty good about where my game has been at most of the year.”

Allen Continues, and, yesterday, the Edmonton Journal’s Kurt Leavins reported the following:

Continue reading A bit about Sam Gagner’s future from DHN and the Edmonton Journal →

The Detroit News’s Nolan Bianchi posted an article in which he discusses Red Wings prospects and Team USA forwards Carter Mazur and Red Savage’s strong World Junior Championship performances thus far with both players, who are particularly confident in their abilities:

Heading into Team USA’s elimination round slate, which begins Wednesday, Mazur is in the midst of announcing himself to the hockey world. He’s tied for fifth in points (four goals, two assists) among all players in the tournament. Who would have thought? Mazur would.

“Yeah, I honestly did,” Mazur said when asked if he’d thought following the 2020 draft, when he went undrafted through seven rounds, that he’d ever get the opportunity to play on this stage.  Once (I was drafted) it felt like my confidence sorta jumped through the roof and I started finally coming together and believing in my game and know what I could do. So I felt like once that all came together, that I had a really good shot to make this team in the winter.”

Savage, on the other hand, as been less productive, but only slightly. His hard-nosed game shows up less on the scoresheet than others, but with two goals and an assist, he’s also getting onto the radar of hockey fans.

“It’s a hard team to make, but I’ve always been confident in my abilities,” Savage said. “It was definitely something that I had to really work towards, and it was definitely always a big goal of mine to make this team.”

Continued; Savage also reveals that he used to play for Compuware in Metro Detroit, whereas Mazur played for Kris Draper’s Little Caesars team, and as such, they grew up as rivals.

The Hockey News’s Adam Proteau has been posting lists of players who he believes are “on the hot seat” for each NHL team, and he feels that Red Wings trade acquisition Ville Husso is “on the hot seat” in Detroit:

RED WINGS HOT SEAT: VILLE HUSSO, GOALTENDER: WHY: Detroit will begin the 2022-23 season on an optimistic note, after GM Steve Yzerman infused the lineup with free agent veterans, including forwards Andrew Copp and David Perron, and defenseman Ben Chiarot. But their biggest free agent acquisition is goaltender Ville Husso, whose negotiating rights were acquired by St. Louis in early July, and who subsequently signed a three-year, $14.25-million contract to become the Red Wings’ starting goalie.

To be sure, there were stretches last season with the Blues where the 27-year-old Husso looked like a legitimate No. 1 threat in net, and he did finish the regular season with career-highs in games played (40), Goals-Against Average (2.56) and Save Percentage (.919). However, Husso ultimately lost the starter’s job to veteran Jordan Binnington by the end of the season, and his seven playoff appearances in 2022 for St. Louis were not ideal (2-5 record, 3.67 G.A.A., .890 SP). If he were better than Binnington, the Blues wouldn’t have traded Husso.

Nevertheless, Wings GM Steve Yzerman had to improve on his team’s abominable goaltending performance last season, and he clearly saw Husso as the best option available to him this summer. He paid the price of a third-round draft pick to St. Louis to get ahead of his competitors and sign Husso before he hit the free agent market. And then he gave Husso a hell of a raise from the relatively paltry $750,000 he made in 2021-22. A $4-million raise, in fact.

So, now. Husso is “The Man” in Detroit, but that comes with highly-raised expectations. He has only 57 regular-season games of NHL experience, and he’s not going to be playing in front of the most stingy defensive team, even with the addition of new head coach Derek Lalonde. The Red Wings have a different defense corps with Chiarot and veterans Mark Pysyk and Olli Maata joining rising star Morris Seider and Filip Hronek. But that may not be good enough to push the Wings into a playoff berth in the Atlantic Division. They’ll need Husso to step up and steal some games.

Continued; I’m a little more optimistic that Husso and Alex Nedeljkovic can both rebound from last season’s performances, but that’s just me.

The Red Wings’ prospects will wrap up their World Junior Championship round robin play with games this afternoon and evening, and they’re consequential games at that.

After Switzerland plays Austria at 2 PM EDT in Edmonton…

Team Canada vs. Finland takes place @ 6 PM EDT on TSN and the NHL Network; Canada has to win this evening to win Group A:

Donovan Sebrango and Sebastian Cossa play for Canada; Eemil Viro plays for Finland;

Team Sweden vs. Germany takes place @ 10 PM EDT on TSN and the NHL Network; the winner of this game will finish second in Group B:

Simon Edvinsson, Theodor Niederbach and William Wallinder play for Sweden.

Update: Here’s TSN’s schedule:

#WorldJuniors GAME DAY:

Switzerland 🇨🇭 🆚 Austria 🇦🇹: 2pm et on TSN 3/5

Canada 🇨🇦 🆚 Finland 🇫🇮: 6pm et on TSN 3/5

Germany 🇩🇪 🆚 Sweden 🇸🇪: 10pm et on TSN 3/5

Also LIVE on https://t.co/BQGeAnElqf and the TSN App: https://t.co/3PTSwVFR94#TSNHockey pic.twitter.com/oa23sBA3XY— TSN Hockey (@TSNHockey) August 15, 2022