Today’s edition of Sportsnet’s “The Greatest NHL Goal of the 21st Century” pits New Jersey Devils forward John Coleman against the Red Wings’ Pavel Datsyuk, and I don’t think there’s much of a chance for Coleman to beat the official Datsyukian Deke-maker:
You can vote for the goal that you prefer here.
Update: This isn’t hard, is it?
The Red Wings’ biweekly program, “The Word on Woodward,” will focus on the Red Wings today, starting at 12 PM EST:
Today’s episode features an update on Red Wings players Michael Rasmussen, Filip Zadina and Filip Hronek as well as interviews with Red Wings goalie Thomas Greiss, Swedish Hockey reporter Jonathan Ekliew and former Red Wings forward Kirk Maltby.
Update: Also:
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— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) November 12, 2020
Tonight on @FOXSportsDet. ? pic.twitter.com/Q5oPjKv4Rx
DetroitRedWings.com’s Brett McWethy filed an article discussing Jon Merrill’s homecoming-via-free-agency this morning:
Jon Merrill hasn’t stopped beaming since officially signing with the Detroit Red Wings on October 9, the first official day of free agency. Considering his story, it’s hard to blame him.
Simply put, Merrill is coming home. The 28-year-old veteran defenseman grew up in Grand Blanc and Brighton, Mich., and skated for the Little Caesars AAA Hockey Club, the youth program the late Mike Ilitch started in 1968, long before he owned the Red Wings or Detroit Tigers. Merrill also spent two seasons at the U.S. National Team Development Program in Plymouth, Mich., before playing three years of college hockey at the University of Michigan.
Appearing on The Word on Woodward on Nov. 3, Merrill referred to his joining the Red Wings as a lifelong dream. He was wearing a Red Wings jersey before he could even walk, and envisioned himself playing for the Wings while practicing in his driveway as a kid.
“I grew up playing for Little Caesars, and going down to Joe Louis Arena once a week, it felt like, to practice or to catch a Wings game,” Merrill told Carley Johnston in the Catching up with Carley segment of The Word on Woodward, presented by Meijer. “And obviously as a kid growing up in the 90s in Michigan, there was a lot of success with the Detroit Red Wings organization. I was a huge fan, and I’m just so fortunate that my career has led me to this point now, and to have an opportunity to play for my childhood team. I’m so grateful.”
There are a trio of articles regarding two Red Wings prospects and a Detroit roster player out this morning in the Swedish and Czech media, but I can’t give you much from any of them because they’re tagged as premium content.
In Aftonbladet, there are profiles of Jonatan Berggren and Albert Johansson stuck behind paywalls, and iSport posted a long article regarding Filip Hronek, too, but that one’s a premium article as well.
As such, the only tidbit of foreign-language news that I can translate for you this morning comes from GT.se, where former Red Wings forward and recent Frolunda Indians signing Christoffer Ehn spoke with Stefan Nilsson regarding a wide range of topics, including Ehn’s take on Red Wings draft pick Lucas Raymond (and, as usual, what follows is roughly translated):
On today’s Frolunda team, there is Detroit’s first choice in the draft, Lucas Raymond. He’s a player that Ehn has a good grasp on.
“He is a player who can decide [games] when it counts, a player who makes a difference. He has the skills, technique, skating and speed, and he can create a lot on his own. He’s a cool player,” says the former Detroit forward.
“I think it is very good for him that he plays this season in Frolunda. I stayed in Frolunda on a loan for one season before I moved over [to the NHL] and it did me very well.”
The Red Wings have a tradition with many Swedes; is that helpful for Lucas Raymond when he goes over?
“It has changed since I got there. Then Henrik Zetterberg had just left, but Swedes like Niklas Kronwall, Jonathan Ericsson and Gustav Nyquist were there. They became a little like extra parents when I was new there,” he says.
“Now it’s not like that. But Lucas will still be well received and cared for. They have scouted him well and are looking forward to him coming.”
The Athletic’s Craig Custance wrote an article chronicling a Q and A with Red Wings free agent signing Bobby Ryan this morning:
Custance: I was a little surprised Detroit was [your free agency] destination. There was a belief you’d end up on a contender. Follow the Corey Perry path. Why Detroit?
Ryan: I knew that I needed to prove there is still some high-end hockey in me. I didn’t want to go somewhere and immediately be a third- or fourth-line guy. I still think I can play in the top six to nine. Steve made it clear I can earn that there. Whereas other teams I talked to, I don’t know if there were a lot of opportunities to move up. Steve [Yzerman] was honest and candid about the fact of, “Listen, if you’re having a very good year and you want to leave at the deadline and I have offers, we can sit down and talk about those things, then we’ll do that.” This opportunity gave me the most chances.
And I’m excited to play with those young guys. They have four or five really really good young forwards there that not only are they young, they’ve been in the league. Dylan Larkin is what 25? It feels like he’s been in the league for 10 years. I’m looking forward to maybe having a chance to play with him or whoever it might be in that top six if I work my way in there and prove I can still score and that I have some legs left, some hockey left. Then we’ll re-assess. If something happens at the deadline, great, if not, I’ll stay with Detroit. I’m very happy about the situation there.
Continued (paywall)
ESPN’s Greg Wyshynski wrote an article for ESPN+ in which he discusses five NHL teams which have, in his opinion, had “Sneaky Good” offseasons, and the Red Wings made his list:
Steve Yzerman doing incredible work as a general manager is nothing new, as anyone who watched the Tampa Bay Lightning hoist the Stanley Cup no doubt understands. But the Red Wings are so far off the radar for many hockey fans these days, it’s like finding out an Oscar-winning actor is doing exemplary work on a TruTV sitcom.
The Wings did some housecleaning, bidding adieu to veterans like Justin Abdelkader, Trevor Daley, Jonathan Ericsson and Jimmy Howard. Yzerman added to their draft pick treasure chest by getting a second-rounder from the Rangers for picking up the last year of Marc Staal‘s contract ($5.7 million). He made a slew of thrifty signings, too: center Vladislav Namestnikov ($2 million AAV, two years), defenseman Troy Stecher ($1.7 million AAV, two years) and defenseman Jon Merrill ($925,000, one year) among them. Forward Bobby Ryan, looking to continue his climb back from addiction, signed a one-year, $1 million deal because he had Ottawa buyout money so he could play for Yzerman — or so he said.
The only specious signing was Thomas Greiss for two years at $3.6 million against the cap, but that might already be a win considering what he replaced. And by that, we mean no one is expecting Greiss to go 2-23-2 next season.
Remember, Steve Yzerman was Joe Sakic before there was a Joe Sakic.
Continued (paywall); I know that he’s referring to Yzerman’s managerial skills in that last comparison to Joe Sakic, but that still sounds like the kinds of comparisons that Avalanche supporters would make between the Yzerman and Sakic when Sakic was in his prime.
Both Filip Hronek and Filip Zadina scored 2 goals today in the Czech Extraliga. Afterward, the Free Press’s Helene St. James discussed Zadina’s performance; this evening, MLive’s Ansar Khan spoke with Red Wings director of player development Shawn Horcoff regarding Hronek’s play:
Hronek has four goals and five assists for a team-leading nine points in seven games for Mountfield HK.
Hronek, 22, led Red Wings defenseman with nine goals and 31 points in 65 games during his second NHL season. He led all player in average ice time (23:54).
“He just continued where he left off,” Red Wings director of player development Shawn Horcoff said. “The thing with Fil, he was almost forced to play too much hockey last year in too many situations, given where he’s at in his career and I think he did very well with it.
“But I think this summer he was able to train, get himself back in shape and looks ready to come in and take an even bigger step next year. Looks like he’ll be better suited and more physically mature and physically able to handle those larger minutes.”
After Filip Zadina’s 2-goal performance for HC Ocelari Trinec today, both iDnes, iSport and Ocelari Trinec’s website spoke with Zadina, and Ocelari’s Martin Stebel’s conversation with Zadina provides the best text. What follows is roughly translated from Czech:
Filip Zadina: We do our best to win!
They entered the season at number one! The Steelmakers also took a valuable win in Liberec, and have registered fourteen out of fifteen possible points in five games. FILIP ZADINA is having an equally successful start to the Trinec loan, and he has scored in all three games so far. “We have an excellent team, quality goaltenders, everything works for us,” says the shooter, looking forward.
At the same time, after the first period, it did not look very promising for the Steelmakers. They collected at the last minute and only showed their true potential during the second period: “In the first period we were just starting, we had some heavy legs, the game was not very successful. In the locker room we said what we should improve, we did certain things. We entered the second period with a clear head, and showed what kind of team we have and it started to turn for us slowly, this was the type of game I love, it was intense, I would like to win like this all the time, but sometimes it doesn’t work out. Win maximum. “
Zadina’s equalizing goal was preceded by hints of the home team’s chances during the guests’ 5-on-3: “Liberec has fast skaters, they’re hard to defend. There was our inaccurate passes and they went to our zone. Fortunately Thanks to God, we scored the first goal,” smiles the Czech first-round draft pick from NHL draft in 2018.
Also, regarding his second goal, which turned out to be a difference-maker, was a bit unconventional: “That’s right. It was a real coincidence. I turned around, slapped myself and Kvac somehow failed [to stop it] there. To tell you the truth, I don’t even know how [it went in]. The main thing is that it went into the net, “he describes the Trinec 2-1 goal, and overall his fourth goal of the year.
According to the original mutual loan agreement, the stellar young man should work under coach Javorovy until about mid-November. So does he have any idea when he will go to the United States for an NHL training camp?
“I really don’t know yet. I’m waiting to see what will happen in America after the presidential election. I’d like to be here as much as possible to help the team, and then join the Red Wings. But now I really have Trinec in my head.”
The Toledo Blade’s Mark Monroe reports that the Toledo Walleye’s 2020-2021 season has an unofficial start date:
The Toledo Walleye are slated to open training camp Jan. 1.
The ECHL announced its critical dates for the upcoming season Tuesday. The Walleye are among 12 teams in the league that will begin a 62-game season starting Jan. 15.
The Walleye players will be allowed to report for training camp Dec. 31, with on-ice sessions scheduled to begin the next day. Opening day rosters are due to the league office by Jan. 13 by 3 p.m.
On Oct. 9, the ECHL announced it would implement a staggered start to the season in which 13 teams will begin a 72-game season on Dec. 11. The other 12 clubs, including Toledo, will start in January.
A schedule of games has not yet been announced by the league.
The Detroit News’s Ted Kulfan spoke with Red Wings director of player development Shawn Horcoff regarding the team’s decision to loan 9 prospects out to European teams this season:
The Wings, Horcoff said, stay in contact with the different coaches and work in unison with them. There are no favors expected, or given, and Horcoff and his stable of assistants in player development (including Dan Cleary and Niklas Kronwall) are able to help in whatever way, if asked.
“We make certain that the same message is being replayed to the player,” Horcoff said. “If we’re telling them to do something, and the coach is saying completely different, you’re spinning your tires and getting nowhere. The good news is, we’ve always had good relationships with coaches, and they’ve welcomed our input. It’s always been important for us to establish relationships, first and foremost, with the coaches. I find when you do that, and gain their trust, they’re a lot more willing to have you involved.”
The matter of playing time is rarely, if ever, discussed. Horcoff trusts the different coaching staffs to utilize their rosters accordingly.
“We’re honest with our players,” Horcoff said. “If they’re not playing good, they’re going to know it. We’re not going to sugarcoat it. That’s not going to make them better. We don’t expect favors as an organization. We just expect the players to be treated well and equally as everyone else.
“And listen, it’s a business, and these coaches want to win. They will put the players out there who will help them win the most. If the coaches aren’t putting them out there, or putting them in situations, a lot of the reasons why is because they can’t do it at that level. What makes them think they’ll be able to do it in the NHL?”
