The Malik Report

The Toledo Blade’s Mark Monroe covered the first two days of Toledo Walleye camp, and the ECHL team is getting back to what is a new normal:

Coach Dan Watson conducted the first day of training camp on Friday as a team filled with new faces got to know each other.

“It’s nice to walk out here and see some fresh ice and see that Walleye logo back in the middle of the ice again,” Watson said. “To hear the puck snapping against the glass, hitting the net … all those sounds you actually miss when you are not around it. To see these guys out here having fun and with jump in their step, those are the things I really enjoy being back out on to the ice.”

On Saturday, the fresh faces got a taste of what to expect as the organization held a meet-the-team event for season-ticket holders. Nearly 400 season-ticket holders attended the event Saturday. The goal horn blasted for the first time in 19 months to kick off the event.

Walleye executive vice president and general manager Neil Neukam addressed the crowd, urging fans to be supportive and patient. Neukam said there will be no events where fans will have direct access to the players.

“We’re all happy to be back here for hockey. It will be different,” he said. “We will do the best we can to keep it as normal as possible. It’s been a challenge for everyone. Please be patient.”

Continued

The Free Press’s Helene St. James posted a set of post-game observations after the Red Wings’ 3-1 loss to Buffalo this afternoon, and St. James offers this take on the Wings’ 4-and-4 exhibition season record:

Only so much can be read into the 3-1 loss in Saturday’s finale at Buffalo, and the Wings’ 4-4 record — no one plays with a full NHL lineup — but the past two weeks have been a time for players to acclimatize and coaches to evaluate.

“It’s good to go through them,” coach Jeff Blashill said. “It’s experience for a number of guys. It shows how hard the league is — it’s not the teams we’re going to face in terms of the makeup of each roster, there’s going to be a lot better players in the lineup, but it does show our young guys the relentless nature of the league. That’s good experience and good for evaluation purposes.”

The Wings didn’t have much spark in the first period Saturday. Sam Gagner scored off a setup by Mitchell Stephens, tying the game shortly after JJ Peterka’s goal in the second period. The downfall was a goal given up during a power play, when Zemgus Girgensons capitalized on goalie Alex Nedeljkovic mishandling the puck and made it 2-1. Vinnie Hinostroza put it away with an empty net goal late in the third period.

After making do with scrimmages in lieu of exhibitions last season, the Wings having a preseason, even a hectic one, was a welcome return to some normalcy.

“Just getting back into the flow of things is nice,” Gagner said. “Last year, as fortunate as we were to be playing, it was a different year. Everyone is happy to be back on the regular schedule and looking forward to getting things started.”

Continued (with observations regarding Pius Suter and Moritz Seider)

Detroit Hockey Now’s Kevin Allen posits the following theory regarding the Red Wings’ top prospects and the team’s potentially injured players:

The Detroit Red Wings’ growing list of training camp injuries could increase playing opportunities for the team’s top prospects and veteran Bobby Ryan.

Rookies Lucas Raymond and Joe Veleno and Ryan might play in the Red Wings’ opener against the Tampa Bay Lightning as much out of necessity as merit.

“It’s a whole bunch of (injured) guys,” Blashill said. “We don’t know who is going to be available and who’s not. We are taking it day by day.”

Blashill didn’t say who is injured. The injured players previously identified are Michael Rasmussen who has only played one preseason game and Givani Smith.  The severity of either injury is unknown.

“We will make decisions when we have to make decisions,” Blashill said, “and not before then.”

Continued

From the Red Wings:

RED WINGS ASSIGN TRIO TO GRIFFINS  

… Detroit’s Preseason Roster Reduced to 32 Following Exhibition Finale …

DETROIT – The Detroit Red Wings today assigned left wing Jonatan Berggren and defensemen Dan Renouf and Luke Witkowski to the American Hockey League’s Grand Rapids Griffins.

The Red Wings have 32 players on their preseason roster: 20 forwards, nine defensemen and three goaltenders. Detroit concluded its eight-game preseason slate this afternoon in Buffalo with a 4-4-0 record. The team will officially begin the 96th season in franchise history on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. when it hosts the back-to-back Stanley Cup-champion Tampa Bay Lightning at Little Caesars Arena.

The Detroit Red Wings dropped a 3-1 decision to the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday afternoon, wrapping up their preseason slate of 8 games played over the course of only 11 days and nights with a 4-and-4 record.

NHL.com posted a brief recap of the game:

Zemgus Girgensons scored the go-ahead shorthanded goal to help the Buffalo Sabres defeat the Detroit Red Wings 3-1 in the preseason finale for each team at KeyBank Center in Buffalo on Saturday.

Girgensons scored at 19:17 of the second period after a giveaway by Red Wings goalie Alex Nedeljkovic for a 2-1 lead.

JJ Peterka and Vinnie Hinostroza scored, and Craig Anderson made 18 saves for the Sabres, who open the regular season against the Montreal Canadians on Thursday.

Sam Gagner scored, and Nedeljkovic made 35 saves for the Red Wings, who begin the regular season against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday.

The Red Wings played with 11 forwards and 7 defensemen as Jonatan Berggren couldn’t skate in today’s game, but very little seemed to spark the Wings, who have played 6 games in the past 8 days. I guess that’s understandable, but it was a little disappointing, save the fact that Nedeljkovic played so very well (aside from his brain fart).

The Detroit News’s Ted Kulfan also filed a recap…

Continue reading Preseason wrap-up: Red Wings drop preseason finale to Buffalo

The Detroit Red Wings dressed a blended roster of prospects and established players opposite the Buffalo Sabres for today’s matinee affair. With the Wings nursing injuries to Michael Rasmussen and Givani Smith (per MLive’s Ansar Khan) the status of the Red Wings’ 23-man roster, as will be submitted to the NHL at 3 PM on Monday, looked like it was “to be determined.”

The Buffalo Sabres were slightly undermanned as well, but as far as regular season dress rehearsals are concerned, these were the best rosters that both teams could muster.

So the Red Wings wrapped up a slate of 8 exhibition games played over the course of only 11 days and nights, and they did so by dropping a 3-1 decision to the Buffalo Sabres.

During an afternoon in which Sam Gagner was probably the best player on the ice, and the Wings’ only scorer, Detroit was out-shot 38-19 by a more energetic Sabres team, and out-attempted 55-31 during a game where the Wings were just plain old mentally and physically exhausted from the grind–and Buffalo was all too happy to grind them down as a result.

Detroit ends the preseason with a 4-and-4 record, and the first game that counts is Thursday vs. Tampa Bay.

Continue reading Preseason recap: Red Wings lose 3-1 to Buffalo Sabres

Of prospect-related note in Europe this afternoon:

In the Finnish Liiga, Eemil Viro finished at -1 with 3 shots in 17:42 played as TPS Turku lost 2-1 to Karpat in a shootout;

In the SHL, Albert Johansson had 2 assists, finishing at +3 in 14:04 played as Farjestads BK won 5-2 over Brynas:

Continue reading Prospect round-up: Johansson 2A, Soderblom 2G 1A, Niederbach 1G 1A,

Per Chris Johnston:

Full list of today’s NHL waivers: John Moore (BOS), Chris Wagner (BOS), Byron Froese (CGY), Justi Kirkland (CGY), Calvin Pickard (DET), Thomas Hickey (NYI), Richard Panik (NYI), Anthony Angello (PIT), Dylan Gambrell (SJ), Logan Brown (STL), Mackenzie MacEachern (STL) …— Chris Johnston (@reporterchris) October 9, 2021

Alex Biega (TOR), Kurtis Gabriel (TOR) and Michal Kempny (WSH).— Chris Johnston (@reporterchris) October 9, 2021

The Red Wings waived Luke Witkowski and Dan Renouf on Friday, with the intent of sending both players to Grand Rapids, and both players cleared waivers today, per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman:

All waivers from yesterday clear— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) October 9, 2021

The Score’s Sean O’Leary suggests that Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill is among a group of NHL coaches who are not only “on the hot seat,” but also “in the pressure cooker” heading into the 2021-2022 season:

Jeff Blashill, Red Wings: Blashill is also on an expiring deal. Detroit has been uninspiring for years, and he’ll have to make a noticeable impact this season to be re-upped in Hockeytown.

Continued; If the Wings make tangible improvements upon their previous seasons’ records, I wouldn’t be surprised if Blashill remains as the Red Wings’ coach.