Wings remain at the bottom of ESPN’s ‘offseason power rankings’

ESPN’s Emily Kaplan posted a set of “offseason power rankings” for each and every one of the NHL’s 31 teams, and the Red Wings haven’t budged from the #31 spot as of yet:

31. Detroit Red Wings

Detroit GM Steve Yzerman knows his team is still a few years away, but he made several moves — especially on defense — to make the Red Wings more competitive than last season, when they finished with 23 points fewer than any other team. Troy Stecher and Jon Merrill were both shrewd signings, while Marc Staal replaces Mike Green for veteran leadership in the locker room.

Continued

Prospect round-up: Zadina scores again in Extraliga action

Of prospect-related note so far today:

In the Czech Extraliga, Jan Bednar didn’t fall into the back-up rotation as HC Energie Karlovy Vary won 2-1 over Litvinov;

Filip Hronek had an assist and 3 shots, finishing at +2 in 19:45 played as HK Mountfield won 4-0 over HC Olomouc;

Filip Zadina scored the 5-2 goal in HC Ocelari Trinec’s 5-2 win over Zlin. Zadina played 16:36, finishing at +1 with 8 shots:

In the ICE Hockey League, Michael Rasmussen finished at -2 and took a penalty during the Graz99ers’ 5-2 loss to Fehervar AV 19;

In the Swedish Allsvenskan, William Wallinder had 3 shots, finishing even in 14:43 played during MODO Hockey’s 3-2 win over Vasterviks IK;

Later today, in the USHL, Kyle Aucoin’s Tri-City Storm will battle the Waterloo Black Hawks;

And in NCAA Hockey, Ryan O’Reilly and Arizona State will tangle with Michigan at 7 PM EST on the Big Ten Network.

Update: The USHL game between the Tri-City Storm and Waterloo Black Hawks was postponed;

Ryan O’Reilly finished at -1 in Arizona State University’s 3-0 loss to the University of Michigan.

Red Wings tease ‘Reverse Retro’ jersey on Twitter, part 2

So we brace for change, coming on Monday, November 16th (projected):

Details from the past.
Remixed for the future.

adidas #ReverseRetro coming soon. pic.twitter.com/qgCu1tcZw0— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) November 15, 2020

Here was the team’s Tuesday, November 10th teaser:

#ReverseRetro @adidashockey pic.twitter.com/vp5JXJKy8k— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) November 10, 2020

HSJ addresses the Wings’ need(?) for an enforcer

In her latest mailbag feature, the Free Press’s Helene St. James discusses the possibility of the Red Wings adding a player with dedicated fighting skills to the lineup in the light of Anthony Mantha’s injuries suffered due to skirmishes:

[Dylan] McIlrath, 28, came into the NHL with high expectations, drafted 10th by the New York Rangers in 2010, but the 6-foot-5, 236-pound defenseman has not been able to establish himself as an NHL regular, logging just 66 career games. He’s a good minor leaguer, someone the Wings value having in Grand Rapids because he helps prospects adjust to professional hockey and opens up space for them.

[Givani] Smith, 22, was drafted in the second round in 2016, billed as a high-energy, physical forward with a respectable scoring touch. He made his NHL debut last season, appearing in 21 games (two goals, one assist) over three stints before being returned to the Griffins in February. Smith (6-feet-2, around 205 pounds) has fought multiple times at the American Hockey League level, twice during NHL preseason games, and once — Nov. 12, 2019, at Anaheim — in a regular-season game.

The key for Smith will be demonstrating he can be physical — such as delivering big hits — without taking penalties for the Wings. He must show he belongs in the bottom-six mix amid competition that includes Adam Erne and Evgeni Svechnikov. The Wings certainly could stand to be more physical, beyond just having a capable fighter whose absence would not be as devastating as losing a scorer such as Mantha, and that’s where Smith has to establish his value in the lineup.

Continued

Prospect round-up: Berggren, Veleno, Seider score goals in SHL

Of prospect-related note:

In the Finnish Liiga, Victor Brattstrom stopped 15 of 17 shots as KooKoo won 3-2 in a shootout over HPK;

Eemil Viro had 2 shots and finished even in 14:52 played as TPS Turku won 2-1 over SaiPa;

In a difficult outing, Otto Kivenmaki finished even in 11:48 played and Kasper Kotkansalo finished at -2 in 19:09 played as Assat Pori lost 9-1 to Lukko Rauma.

In the SHL, Jonatan Berggren scored a goal on 2 shots, finishing at +1 in 17:42 played as Skelleftea AIK won 3-2 in overtime over IK Oskarshamn:

Joe Veleno scored his first SHL goal on 1 shot, finishing at +1 and winning 46% of his faceoff in 15:14 of ice time as the Malmo Redhawks won 7-2 over Brynas:

Moritz Seider had an up-and-down game, scoring a goal, taking 4 shots and finishing even in 22:39 played as Rogle BK lost 6-5 in overtime to Orebro Hockey. Matias Brome had an assist, 1 shot, and finished at -1 in 18:58 played.

Albert Johansson had 2 shots and finished at +1 in 14:06 played as Farjestads BK won 5-0 over Djurgardens IF. Albin Grewe had 1 shot in 9:53 played for Djurgarden;

Lucas Raymond had 1 shot in 12:15 played as the Frolunda Indians won 3-1 over Linkopings HC;

Tonight, in NCAA Division I hockey, Sam Stange and the University of Wisconsin will battle Notre Dame (on the NHL Network at 7 PM);

In the USHL, Kyle Aucoin and the Tri-City Americans will battle Lincoln;

And Chase Bradley’s Sioux City Musketeers will tangle with the Waterloo Black Hawks.

Update: in NCAA Hockey, Ryan O’Reilly scored a goal on 1 shot and finished at -1 in the Arizona State University Sun Devils’ 8-1 loss to the University of Michigan;

Sam Stange had 1 shot and finished at -1 as the University of Wisconsin Badgers won 5-3 over Notre Dame;

Update #2: In the USHL, Chase Bradley had 2 shots and finished even in the Sioux City Musketeers’ 4-3 win over Waterloo;

And Kyle Aucoin had an assist and 3 shots, finishing at +1 in the Tri-City Storm’s 3-2 OT win over Lincoln.

Nick Cotsonika speaks with Art Regner in latest ‘Red & White Authority’ podcast

DetroitRedWings.com’s Art Regner speaks with NHL.com’s Nicholas J. Cotsonika today for the latest “Red & White Authority” podcast:

Nick @Cotsonika discusses the possible scenarios for the upcoming NHL season and evaluates the #RedWings offseason on the latest Red & White Authority podcast.

Listen: https://t.co/HTvfTbRVUg
SoundCloud: https://t.co/pNdmdlAw1O pic.twitter.com/y5pBhzG3Em— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) November 14, 2020

Wings prospect Donovan Sebrango announces fundraiser for National Service Dogs

This Tweet is the kind of stuff this blog hopes to amplify. Red Wings draft pick and Kitchener Rangers defenseman Donovan Sebrango has partnered with Ontario’s National Service Dogs to raise funds to purchase and train a service dog to be named “Ranger.”

Why’s he doing this? This Tweet explains:

Three Things: A pair of Wings-related Hockey News lists, and the latest ‘OctoPulse’ podcast

Of brief Red Wings-related note this evening:

  1. Five Red Wings cracked the Hockey News’s Matt Larkin’s “Top 250 Fantasy Hockey Players for 2020-2021” list:
Continue reading Three Things: A pair of Wings-related Hockey News lists, and the latest ‘OctoPulse’ podcast

Duhatschek and Ken Holland discuss Hall of Fame memberships for scouts…Like Hakan Andersson

Former Red Wings GM Ken Holland spoke with The Athletic’s Eric Duhatschek regarding the concept of scouts earning Hockey Hall of Fame memberships, and he pointed to a particular case as an example of great drafting and great scouting:

Within the context of a sensational late-round pick that pans out, how do you determine organizationally who gets the credit for making the choice? According to Holland, even that can be tricky because scouting is, above all, a collaborative exercise.

Holland cited the Red Wings as an example of how the process unfolds. Jim Nill was Holland’s assistant GM and he oversaw the draft until leaving to join the Dallas Stars as their GM in 2013 while Hakan Andersson is the team’s long-time European scout, responsible for selecting, among others, Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg, in the late rounds.

“So Hakan Andersson has a list of names and he’s sitting over Jim Nill’s left shoulder, and he’s saying, ‘I like this Pavel Datsyuk kid. I like him a lot.’ So, Jimmy Nill looks over his list and he doesn’t have anybody else and Hakan is pushing, pushing, pushing and so the Red Wings draft Pavel Datsyuk. And Pavel Datsyuk goes on to be one of the best players in Red Wing history.

“Now is that Jim Nill? Or is that Hakan Andersson? Well, it’s actually both. Jim Nill could have made the decision to draft a kid from Western Canada and not draft Pavel Datsyuk. But to Jim’s credit, as the chief decision-maker, he trusted Hakan Andersson’s judgment and Hakan delivered. Now is Hakan getting credit for that pick? Or Jim Nill? It’s in the eye of the beholder, right?”

Continued; Hakan Andersson should be a Hockey Hall of Famer for certain.