The Malik Report

The Hockey News’s Rachel Doerrie and Tony Ferrari picked a World Junior Championship-participating player who belongs to each and every one of the NHL’s 32 teams who are worth watching, and their pick for the Red Wings is a good one:

Detroit Red Wings – D Simon Edvinsson: While Canadian netminder Sebastian Cossa easily fits the bill for this exercise, it will be the Red Wings’ top pick last summer that fans should be watching. He has been absolutely delightful at the SHL level this season and his game has begun to round out the way everyone in the prospect world had hoped. Whether it’s defensively or offensively, Edvinsson will very likely be the Swedes’ best blueliner.

Continued; at the present moment, Cossa will probably back up Canadian starting goaltender Dylan Garand, so Edvinsson should be the Wings’ resident minute-munching defenseman at the WJC.

The Free Press’s Helene St. James posted a primer of sorts, explaining where things stand for the Red Wings amidst an NHL “pause“:

The Detroit Red Wings come out of the Christmas break with the NHL still sorting through the mess created by the pandemic.

Teams can return to practice — and COVID-19 testing — at 2 p.m. local time Sunday. The Wings have been shut down since Dec. 19, when a rising number of team personnel testing positive made fielding a competitive lineup unsustainable.

The league-wide holiday break began Dec. 22, two days ahead of schedule. At that time, 50 games had been postponed. Monday’s games — including the Wings playing at the New York Rangers — also have been postponed, bringing the total games needing rescheduling to 64.

In addition to Monday’s game, the Wings had two other games postponed: At home Dec. 20 against the Colorado Avalanche, and Dec. 23 at the Minnesota Wild. Their next scheduled game is Wednesday at the New York Islanders — but that could change. The NHL is expected to provide an update on its return-to-play plans by the end of Sunday.

Continued

Red Wings prospect Simon Edvinsson spoke with Aftonbladet’s Simon Holm earlier today regarding Sweden’s World Junior Championship team’s Christmas celebrations at their hotel in Red Deer, Alberta. What follows is roughly translated from Swedish:

Continue reading Roughly translated: Sweden’s Christmas celebrations at the hotel were up and down for Simon Edvinsson

Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman confirms: It’s Christmas!

Merry Christmas, everyone! Enjoy the day— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) December 25, 2021

So the Red Wings have Christmas wishes for you…

From our family to yours — Merry Christmas, #RedWings fans! ❤️ pic.twitter.com/T7n20Cvy4o— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) December 25, 2021

And in the “my favorite present as a kid” category, Mitchell Stephens is a little too excited about “toiletries and underwear” for his own good:

??? pic.twitter.com/o4W5B9gBce— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) December 25, 2021

Merry Christmas, gang.

The Toledo Blade’s Mark Monroe has posted a Christmas Day column which discusses the Toledo Walleye’s Winterfest activities at Fifth Third Field in Toledo:

From remembering legends of the past to honoring its outdoor roots, Winterfest has become a tremendous celebration of Toledo hockey.

The 18-day event centered around an outdoor rink constructed on the Mud Hens’ baseball diamond continues this week. A Toledo Hockey Hall of Fame ceremony will be held on Wednesday and an alumni game pitting former Detroit Red Wings greats against Toledo’s legends will be held on Thursday.

Mickey Redmond, the beloved Red Wings television color commentator who also played for Detroit for six seasons, will play in the alumni game at 6:30 Thursday night.

“I’m looking forward to being in the great hockey town of Toledo and seeing all the Winterfest activities. It doesn’t get any better than that,” Redmond said.

The Walleye were the first ECHL organization to ever hold an outdoor game in 2014-15 and seven years later enthusiasm for the sequel has only grown. The Walleye will once again play two outdoor games. Toledo hosts Kalamazoo on Sunday and will take on Indy on Dec. 31 — the first New Year’s Eve game in the organization’s history.

“During the recruiting process, Winterfest was a selling point to potential players,” Walleye coach Dan Watson said. “As a staff, we are excited and we’re looking forward to playing at Fifth Third Field.”

Continued

Red Wings legend Gordie Howe used to “work on Christmas day,” and, in an article discussing the NHL’s long history of Christmas Day games, Stubbs speaks with one Marty Howe regarding his dad’s scoring exploits:

Gordie Howe was more than Mr. Hockey.

He also was Mr. Christmas.

It’s been 50 years since the NHL last played games on Christmas Day and it’s highly unlikely that teams ever will skate again Dec. 25. So lock up Howe’s half-century-old records for most career Christmas goals (12) and points (24), eight points ahead of the 16 (10 goals, six assists) Frank Mahovlich scored in 12 games.

The NHL played 124 games on Christmas between the 1920-21 and 1971-72 seasons, with Howe playing an NHL-record 21 times on Dec. 25. But the League has not dropped a puck that day since 1971, by agreement between the NHL and NHL Players’ Association.

…

Howe and his wife, Colleen, loved everything about the holiday, Mr. Hockey taking pride in the elaborate light displays he designed on their home. Then he’d string more lights over the rink he built on the front lawn for children Marty and Mark, with whom he’d play in the World Hockey Association and NHL, and Murray and Cathy.

“Gordie played so well on Christmas probably because he behaved himself pretty well, he never really overindulged,” Marty said. “He’d be social, have a couple with his teammates, then excuse himself, probably to see what Mark and I were going to do next.”

Continued, with quite a bit of information about the NHL’s Christmas Day games…And some of Howe’s records.

IIHF.com’s Chapin Landvogt posted a list of players to watch from each of the teams participating at the World Junior Championship in Edmonton, and several Red Wings prospects made his list:

Sebastian Cossa, G, [Canada], 19:: One of the best and most successful starters in the WHL, Cossa has done a lot of winning the past three years. It’s basically all he does. Uncertain whether he’ll even be Canada’s starter, if Cossa gets the call, he brings a whole heck of a lot to the table for a nation that has racked up a lot of medals the past 30 years.

…

Jan Bednar, G, [Czechia], 19: This Detroit Red Wings draft pick is a starter in the QMJHL and has been an up-n-comer for several years now. He’s now looking to man the pipes for a Czech team that has all the makings of not only being a playoff contestant, but perhaps even go for a medal. His performance may be what makes it possible.

…

Simon Edvinsson, D, [Sweden], 18: A high draft pick in last summer’s NHL draft, the towering Edvinsson has been a workhorse and revelation for Swedish powerhouse Frolunda, not only taking a regular shift, but racking up 12 points in 24 games to date. Capable of it all in all three zones, Edvinsson has what it takes to take over a short tournament of this nature and will his team to victory. You won’t be able to miss him.

Continued; I’m not expecting Cossa to start for Canada as Dylan Garand has the experience at the WJC as a 19-year-old, but Cossa should gain good experience as a back-up;

Bednar is a wild card because he’s so spectacular and spectacularly inconsistent at the same time, surrendering “softies” at the same rate that he makes tremendous saves;

And Edvinsson’s going to be fun to watch because he, like Moritz Seider before him, is one of those players who’s a rink rat and a hard worker who challenges himself to improve every time he takes to the ice.

Good idea here:

SCHEDULE UPDATE: @NHL delays return to game play by a day; games on Dec. 27 postponed.https://t.co/UX99dQ0tp1 pic.twitter.com/zZRrGjpt7L— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) December 24, 2021

I’m writing this entry from a parking lot in South Lyon, waiting for Chinese food for Christmas Eve dinner.

I know that “the holidays” and “the holiday season” are in fact very difficult for many people, and I very sincerely hope that most of you are sitting more than just “surviving” these days…

But I know that many of you are just surviving, and there’s no shame in that. I know that Aunt Annie and I have struggled to find “the reason for the season” ourselves, and we only hit our stride yesterday.

It’s not easy to deal with the loss of a loved one, the stress of this stupid pandemic and our financial uncertainty (yay, TMR readers!) at the same time. I’m sure that many of you are facing your own challenges this year, and goodness knows that, sometimes, family can make the situation worse.

But we’re in this together, and we’re going to get through these holidays, even if you’re feeling particularly grinch-y on what’s little more than just a Friday evening in December.

I still wish you and your families as much happiness and health as possible, I hope that you’re able to find some joy in Christmas, Festivus, Kwanzaa, a belated Hannukah, or just the plain old weekend.

Please be well, stay safe and know that you matter. Survive and thrive as you can, and let’s all hope that a year from now, we’re healthier and happier than we are today.

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