The Malik Report

Of Red Wings prospect-related note in North America on Saturday:

In the ECHL, Billy Christopoulos stopped 32 of 34 shots and T.J. Hensick scored the OT goal as the Toledo Walleye won 3-2 over the Greenville Swamp Rabbits;

In the QMJHL, Oscar Plandowski scored a goal, finishing at -1 with 3 shots in the Charlottetown Islanders’ 7-4 win over Cape Breton;

The Jan Bednar-less Acadie-Bathurst Titan won 4-3 over Saint John;

In the WHL, Sebastian Cossa’s Edmonton Oil Kings won 3-2 in overtime over Swift Current;

Cross Hanas had an assist, finishing at +2 with 5 shots in the Portland Winterhawks’ 4-1 win over Spokane:

?️ HIGHLIGHT OF THE NIGHT ?️

It’s a thing now, and we are here for it.@pdxwinterhawks | #WHLHoN pic.twitter.com/IgOEtogfXD— The WHL (@TheWHL) December 19, 2021

Alex Cotton finished even with 2 shots in the Vancouver Giants’ 3-1 win over Prince George;

Kienan Draper did not register a point in the Chilliwack Chiefs’ 4-2 loss to Alberni Valley;

In NCAA Hockey, Ryan O’Reilly finished at -1 with 2 shots in the Arizona State University Sun Devils’ 4-2 loss to Colorado College.

The Detroit Red Wings defeated the New Jersey Devils 5-2 on Saturday evening, pushing their record to 15-13-and-3 despite some rough COVID difficulties for both teams.

The list of players and coaches on the COVID list was long–Jeff Blashill, Alex Tanguay, Robby Fabbri, Alex Nedeljkovic, Michael Rasmussen, Carter Rowney, Givani Smith and Filip Zadina for Detroit, and for the Devils…Well, I’ll let NewJerseyDevils.com’s Sam Kassan’s recap take care of that one:

Continue reading Red Wings-Devils wrap-up: Larkin’s hat trick brings memories of ‘nana and grandma,’ while Devils curse COVID-decimated roster in loss

The Detroit Red Wings attempted to snap their losing streak by prolonging the New Jersey Devils’ misery as the Devils came to Detroit amidst a 4-game losing streak…

All while playing in the first double-header in Little Caesars Arena history, with LCA transitioning from a noon NBA basketball game to 8 PM NHL hockey.

As you know by now, both the Red Wings and Devils were hit hard by COVID, with the Wings absent coach Jeff Blashill, assistant coach Alex Tanguay, goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic, and forwards Robby Fabbri, Michael Rasmussen, Carter Rowney, Givani Smith and Filip Zadina.

The Red Wings managed to win a 5-2 decision over the similarly decimated Devils thanks to 3 goals from Dylan Larkin…

2 goals from Tyler Bertuzzi and a 31-save performance from Thomas Greiss, all of whom were excellent as the Ben Simon and Doug Houda-coached Red Wings did the job they needed to do to emerge at 15-13-and-3.

Continue reading Red Wings-Devils quick take: Shorthanded Wings, shorthanded Devils. Victory goes to Detroit via a Larkin hat trick

Dylan Larkin has scored his first NHL hat trick in the Red Wings’ battle of a game against the New Jersey Devils this evening:

Hat trick alert! ???

Congrats to @Dylanlarkin39 on his first career @enterprise hat trick! pic.twitter.com/FLX3LCq9vg— NHL (@NHL) December 19, 2021

Here’s the Sportsnet version:

Dylan Larkin scored his first career hat trick and joined Lucas Raymond and Tyler Bertuzzi as the third @DetroitRedWings skater to score at least three goals in a game this season.#NHLStats: https://t.co/wXHy0UWARS pic.twitter.com/hbA4TUHH4S— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) December 19, 2021

And another one.

UPDATE: The #RedWings have placed forward Filip Zadina in the NHL’s COVID-19 protocol.— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) December 19, 2021

EliteProspects.com’s Russ Cohen posted a profile of Red Wings 2021 draft pick and U.S. World Junior Championship forward Carter Mazur:

Many in the draft and prospects sphere were caught by surprise when the Detroit Red Wings drafted Carter Mazur out of the Tri-City Storm in the third round of last July’s draft.

Few scouts, much less casual observers had seen him play live, and there were lingering doubts about his ceiling as a draft-plus-one forward that hadn’t crested the point per game mark in the USHL.

The Red Wings saw constant improvement from Mazur though, and that has carried over into this year with the University of Denver and even into Team USA’s World Junior roster camp.

The Jackson, Michigan native was happy to be back home flying from Denver to Detroit and playing once again in USA Hockey Arena. “It’s tough that my family is here, and I can’t see them. That’s tough,” Mazur told EP Rinkside. “I live 40 minutes from here. I’ve played here multiple times. It may make me feel more comfortable, but no matter where I play, I feel comfortable.”

Mazur spent a short time with the NTDP and U17 squads. His seven games with the U17 team meant he played with many of the players in this camp, including Matty Beniers and Jake Sanderson.

“You come into camp, and you usually don’t know that many people. In this camp I feel like I know everyone,” Mazur proclaimed. “I feel like I am close friends with a lot of people here and it makes you feel more comfortable knowing the people around you. You just know more about them besides their hockey game.”

Continued

The Toledo Blade’s Mark Monroe posted a lengthy article discussing the Toledo Walleye’s Winterfest activities at Fifth Third Field later this month:

Kyle Bonis made the walk from the locker room to the ice thousands of times during his pro hockey career, but none compared to the moment he emerged from the dugouts at Fifth Third Field onto an outdoor rink.

Bonis played for the Walleye in 2014-15 when the organization became the first ECHL team to host an outdoor game.

“I remember the feeling of walking out of the dugout and seeing the rink for the first time and thinking back to the rink in my back yard,” Bonis said. “It was the purest form of the game. Playing outside was a special highlight in my entire hockey playing career.”

Now retired, Bonis will once again play on the outdoor sheet of ice as part of the Toledo legends team that will take on a group of former Detroit Red Wings players in an alumni game on Dec. 30.

The alumni contest is part the second Winterfest, an 18-day outdoor extravaganza that will include youth, high school, college, and adult hockey games as well as a hall of fame ceremony and open skates. Winterfest, which will run through Jan. 2, will be highlighted by two Toledo Walleye games on Dec. 26 and Dec. 31.

“The excitement is as high as can be,” said Neil Neukam, the Walleye’s executive vice president and general manager. “We are so happy to be able to have fans come in from all over the region and country to be a part of Winterfest and help support the economy of our community.”

Continued

Of Red Wings prospect-related note in the Swedish Allsvenskan:

Albin Grewe did not play in Mora IK’s 3-2 overtime win over Sodertalje SK;

And Filip Larsson didn’t play in HV71 Jonkoping’s 2-1 win over Almtuna IS.

I’m very iffy on this theory because asymptomatic players who are battling COVID can still infect their teammates, family, friends and rink workers, but Steve Yzerman broached the subject today, as the Free Press’s Helene St. James noted:

The Detroit Red Wings‘ expanding list of team personnel in COVID-19 protocol prompted general manager Steve Yzerman to question the daily testing mandated by the NHL as the virus has infiltrated pro sports as it has the world.

Wings head coach Jeff Blashill and starting goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic are among seven Wings in quarantine. Around the NHL, the Colorado Avalanche, whose Monday game at Detroit was postponed, and the Florida Panthers have had their seasons shut down through the Christmas holiday break because of an outbreak of COVID. 

“What’s important to know is that all of our players, coaches, the teams around the league — nobody has experienced any significant illness in getting the virus,” Yzerman said Saturday. “It’s not more than, at this point, a minor cold.”

Robby Fabbri, Michael Rasmussen, Givani Smith, Carter Rowney, and assistant coach Alex Tanguay also are in protocol. Tyler Bertuzzi (the only player in the NHL who is not vaccinated) and Marc Staal emerged from quarantine Dec. 13, and Danny DeKeyser has also been in protocol. Yzerman said the Wings are encouraging “our players, our entire staff, to get the booster if they have not had it at this point.”

DeKeyser and Fabbri both have had the virus twice. DeKeyser said he was asymptomatic during the second time, which happened around Thanksgiving. When a vaccinated player does not have symptoms, Yzerman wondered why they are tested.

“At the end of the day — now I’m getting political — our players are testing positive with very little symptoms, if any symptoms at all,” Yzerman said. ” I don’t see it as a threat to their health at this point. I think you might take it a step further and question why are we even testing, for guys that have no symptoms.”

Continued (paywall); it’s dangerous in my opinion to other people, and one must “do no harm” to others.

No Jeff Blashill tonight. No Alex Tanguay tonight. But Red Wings GM Steve Yzerman still believes that the Wings’ interim coaching staff of Grand Rapids Griffins coach Ben Simon, Wings assistant coach Doug Houda and Griffins assistant coach Todd Krygier should get the job done, as he told MLive’s Brendan Savage:

“I think we’ll get through it fine,” Yzerman said. “Ben and Todd know our players really well. Five or six have played for them this year, actually. So, it shouldn’t be too bad of a transition. I’m curious to see how it goes.

“Myself, I’ve never really been behind the bench and been in that position with a lot of video reviews and things like that. Things are a little bit different from the NHL to the American Hockey League but I think for the most part it will be relatively seamless transition.

“Ben, Todd and the rest of them along with Jeff and our staff, I’m sure they’ve been on the phone constantly since yesterday afternoon going through all the different scenarios, talking about our players and what adjustments Jeff Blashill would make and what recommendations Ben would have.”

Blashill and Tanguay went into COVID protocol along with players Givani Smith, Carter Rowney and Alex Nedeljkovic. They joined forwards Robby Fabbri and Michael Rasmussen in COVID protocol.

With so many players sidelined, the Red Wings recalled goaltender Calvin Pickard and forward Riley Barber from Grand Rapids.

“As long as we’re playing, we’ve got to figure out a way to win games,” Yzerman said. “Just looking at it from a hockey perspective, some guys are getting a great opportunity to play whether it’s Thomas Griess in net tonight or Riley Barber or Taro Hirose. Go out and have a positive impact. It’s a great opportunity for them to take advantage of a chance to play in the NHL.”

Continued