DetroitRedWings.com’s Art Regner appeared on The Woodward Sports Nettwork’s “Big D Energy” show to discuss his expectations of the Red Wings this upcoming season:

The Grand Rapids Griffins have posted their weekly press release ahead of games against the Rockford IceHogs, Friday at home (7 PM EDT on WXSP/AHL TV [Free!]) and Saturday on the road against the Milwaukee Admirals (7 PM EDT on AHL TV [Free!]):

This Week’s Games

GRIFFINS vs. Rockford IceHogs // Fri., Oct. 15 // 7 p.m. // Van Andel Arena

TV: WXSP-TV

Listen: WOOD 106.9 FM/1300 AM at 7 p.m.

Watch: AHLTV (Free view for opening weekend)

Season Series: First of eight meetings overall, first of four at Van Andel Arena

All-Time Series: 52-36-9-11 Overall, 33-11-5-5 Home

NHL Affiliation: Chicago Blackhawks

Noteworthy: The Griffins came away with points in seven of the eight games last season against the IceHogs with a 4-1-2-1 record. Grand Rapids is also 16-10-6-6 in the last five seasons against Rockford. Prior to their 9-4 win at Rockford on March 3, 2021, the Griffins’ last nine-goal outing was a 9-1 win at Rockford on Feb. 5, 2016. They came within two goals of matching their team record, set in an 11-6 victory at Rockford on Jan. 19, 2013.

GRIFFINS at Milwaukee Admirals // Sat., Oct. 16 // 7 p.m. EDT // Panther Arena

Listen: WOOD 106.9 FM/1300 AM at 6:35 p.m.

Watch: AHLTV (Free view for opening weekend)

Season Series: First of 12 meetings overall, first of six at Panther Arena

All-Time Series: 102-68-7-7-8 Overall, 48-35-5-5-5 Road

NHL Affiliation: Nashville Predators

Noteworthy: Grand Rapids’ 102 victories over Milwaukee are the most against any opponent in franchise history. Furthermore, the Griffins have faced the Admirals more than any club in the AHL, competing in 192 games dating back to the 2001-02 campaign when both teams joined the AHL from the International Hockey League. Last season was the first year that the Griffins and Admirals did not play each other due to Milwaukee opting out of the shortened season.

26th Season of Hockey: The Grand Rapids Griffins begin the franchise’s 26th overall season of play, 21st as a member of the American Hockey League and 20th as the primary affiliate of the 11-time Stanley Cup champion Detroit Red Wings on Friday evening when they host the Rockford IceHogs. This marks the first time the Griffins will begin their season at Van Andel Arena since 2017. Grand Rapids has competed in 1,913 games between the IHL and AHL and has amassed a 1,010-695-27-64-117 regular season record (0.582), to go along with 17 playoff appearances, seven division titles and two Calder Cups (2017, 2013).

Simon Says: Ben Simon, 43, begins his fourth season as Grand Rapids’ head coach. A year ago, he guided the Griffins to a 16-12-3-1 record (36 points, 0.563) and a third-place finish in the Central Division. Simon has only coached in one full AHL season as head boss, as his second and third campaigns were cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic. During his inaugural year at the helm in 2018-19, he became the eighth head coach in franchise history to lead the Griffins to the postseason during his first full season behind the bench. Simon served as an assistant coach in Grand Rapids from 2015-18 under Todd Nelson and helped the franchise win its second Calder Cup in 2017. He is the fourth former Griffins assistant to then become the head coach. Appearing in 21 games and scoring nine points (4-5—9) with the Griffins in 2006-07 as part of an 11-year professional playing career, Simon is the third former Griffins player to serve as Grand Rapids’ head coach, joining Nelson and Danton Cole (2002-05).

Continued

Of Twitter-related note this afternoon:

1. The Grand Rapids Griffins have named their opening-night roster:

Your 2021-22 Griffins are set! #GoGRG

Learn more about each player >> https://t.co/bZQgDex6sX pic.twitter.com/Wmso0IGWSB— Grand Rapids Griffins (@griffinshockey) October 14, 2021

2. Bally Sports Detroit posted a clip of Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill discussing the state of the team’s defense:

Jeff Blashill knows what it will take for the @DetroitRedWings to be successful this season.#LGRW pic.twitter.com/2f8acWtXW6— Bally Sports Detroit (@BallySportsDET) October 14, 2021

And who knew?

Stupid Stat of the Day: Detroit is 11-10-4 all-time when starting the season at home against a team that primarily wears blue. pic.twitter.com/7dZDswIFJp— DetroitHockey.Net (@detroithockey96) October 14, 2021

Of prospect-related note in Europe today:

In the SHL, Albert Johansson finished at -2 with 2 shots in 19:44 played as Farjestads BK lost 4-1 to Oskarshamn;

And William Wallinder finished at -1 in 17:09 played as Rogle BK won 3-2 over Frolunda HC.

For Frolunda: Simon Edvinsson had an assist, finishing at +1 with 3 shots in 19:15 played;

Elmer Soderblom scored a goal, finishing at -1 with 2 shots in 15:37 played;

And Theodor Niederbach finished even with 1 shot in 9:40 played.

From IceHockeyGifs on Twitter:

Continue reading Prospect round-up: Johansson nears 20 minutes of play; Edvinsson 1A, Soderblom 1G in Frolunda loss to Wallinder and Rogle →

The Detroit News’s Ted Kulfan filed a lengthy report on Danny DeKeyser and Marc Staal being named alternate captains:

For Danny DeKeyser, specifically, you could tell it meant a lot.Being named an alternate captain, along with fellow defenseman Marc Staal, to captain Dylan Larkin, was special news for the Macomb native who grew up a Red Wings fan, and got the chance to play for his hometown team.

“Huge honor,” DeKeyser said after Thursday’s morning skate, as the Wings prepared to open the regular season at Little Caesars Arena. “It’s a team I’ve grown up watching my whole life and I had a dream growing up as a kid to play here. It’s pretty awesome and special for me, especially more so being named assistant captain.”

DeKeyser and Staal view the designations as high praise, but believe there are many other leaders on this team who will step up and lead this roster. It’s just that DeKeyser and Staal will happen to wear “A’s” on their sweaters, along with Larkin wearing the “C.”

“We have a lot of guys with a lot of experience in the room, guys like Nick Leddy and Sam Gagner, and obviously Staalsie,” DeKeyser said. “Whether you have a letter on your chest or not, it doesn’t always matter. Guys will lead and guys who’ve been around the league a long time, you have respect from the team and coaching staff, as well. Not much is going to change.”

Continued; WXYZ’s Jeanna Trotman also filed a report on DeKeyser and Staal’s remarks:

Continue reading Kulfan, Trotman on Danny DeKeyser and Marc Staal’s A’s →

Today’s pregame episode of The Forecheck is scheduled to air at 5:15 PM EDT:

The Free Press’s Helene St. James posted an article explaining why the Red Wings’ coaches and management chose to name Danny DeKeyser and Marc Staal the team’s alternate captains:

“I have discussions with Steve Yzerman about a lot of things,” Blashill said Thursday hours before the season opener against Tampa Bay. “He’s got a wealth of experience and I love to get his insight and opinion. It’s critically important in leadership that you get that insight and opinion. That’s always been my management style. Then I make the decision I think is best.”

DeKeyser, 31, and Staal, 34, join a leadership letter alliance that has changed considerably over the past year. Dylan Larkin was named captain in January, and former alternates Frans Nielsen and Luke Glendening departed the organization over the summer; Justin Abdelkader was bought out in the prior offseason.

“We have a bunch of guys in the locker room that are going to be part of our leadership group,” Blashill said. “Danny and Marc are very worthy of it. Both guys that have been around the league a long time. Marc wore a letter in New York. One of the things we wanted when we brought him back was his leadership. Does an excellent job of I would say being serious but keeping it loose at the same time.

“Danny has been a really good Red Wing a long time. His work ethic was exemplified by the work he put in to come back from a major back surgery. He’s led by example and has really good leadership quality.”

Continued

This is pretty cool, per the Winged Wheel Podcast:

We’re excited to announce (in partnership with @iyer_prashanth) a new campaign in benefit of the @JDanielsFund for the new season:

? WINGS MONEY ON THE BOARD ?

Keep reading to find out how it works, or check out this post on our site! ⤵️ #WingsMotB https://t.co/qZaRdzzQO6 pic.twitter.com/BaWt9YsWad— Winged Wheel Podcast (@WingedWheelPod) October 14, 2021

As the new Detroit Red Wings season begins, make a pledge (or many) based on certain players, the whole team, or whatever you want!

ex. $1 for every Larkin goal, $0.50 for every point in the standings, $5 for every Nedeljkovic win; etc. Get as creative as you’d like! #WingsMotB— Winged Wheel Podcast (@WingedWheelPod) October 14, 2021

After you make your pledge, reply or QT us to tell everyone what you’re pledging (if you want), and use #WingsMotB!

At the end of the season, we’ll add up the pledges & remind you to donate. Once you do, you’ll be eligible to receive awesome giveaways and some big prizes…— Winged Wheel Podcast (@WingedWheelPod) October 14, 2021

Those who enter #WingsMotB will be eligible to receive giveaways like WWP stickers, swag packs, shirts, merch, & other fun stuff! You’ll also be entered into big giveaways for jerseys, memorabilia, meet & greets, & more.

We’ll also be doing one-off events, so stay tuned on that.— Winged Wheel Podcast (@WingedWheelPod) October 14, 2021

So, to get started, visit https://t.co/qZaRdzzQO6, click the link to go to the pledge form, & make your first pledge today!#WingsMotB— Winged Wheel Podcast (@WingedWheelPod) October 14, 2021

The Detroit Free Press’s Ryan Ford was tasked with writing “Everything You Need to Know About the Detroit Red Wings’ 2021-22 NHL season” today. Among his notes and quotes:

The new kids

In general manager Steve Yzerman’s third season leading the franchise, Wings fans will finally get to see the results of his early drafts with his first two first-rounders making the opening-night roster:

Moritz Seider: A surprise pick at No. 6 overall in 2019, Seider has grown into a defenseman with the potential to dominate.  As a 19-year-old, he had two goals and 20 assists with a minus-5 rating in 49 games with the Grand Rapids Griffins in the AHL. The Wings farmed him out to Rögle of the Swedish Hockey League in 2020-21 to ensure he had a full season of work; in 41 games, he posted seven goals and 21 assists and was named the league’s top defenseman. With the Wings, expect to see him paired with defenseman Nick Leddy (we’ll get to him in a bit), who should provide some veteran leadership.

Lucas Raymond: The No. 4 pick in 2020 also spent the 2020-21 season in Sweden, though unlike Seider, he’s a native Swede. As a 18-year-old, he had six goals and 12 assists in 34 games with Frölunda of the SHL. Raymond was even more impressive in the preseason with the Wings over the past month, leading the team with six points (two goals, four assists). He should get a chance to impress early in the regular season, too, as he’ll likely be paired with Dylan Larkin and Tyler Bertuzzi on the Wings’ top line.

Continued

MLive’s Ansar Khan has already filed his game-day notebook ahead of tonight’s game vs. the Tampa Bay Lightning (7:30 PM on BSD/BS Sun/97.1 FM), and Khan notes that the Red Wings’ players are excited about playing in front of a raucous home crowd again:

“We didn’t get a chance to play in stadiums that had the ability to go to capacity last year and so it’s been a ton of time for us,” coach Jeff Blashill said. “I think anybody, a player, a coach, would tell you that fans, how much they mean to the game, how much they mean to the energy and the momentum. So, it’s always special opening night, but given the fact we haven’t see this type of atmosphere in a while it will be that much more special. We have great fans throughout the state of Michigan, very passionate. I think the best fans in the NHL. This means a lot of them. We have a connection with the city for certain and we respect how much this means and want to go out and put out a good effort on a nightly basis.”

Last year began with only 250 fans, mostly players’ families and friends, allowed in the building and ended with some general admission tickets sold but only a maximum of 750 fans allowed in the seats. Tonight will be the first time since March 10, 2020 – what turned out to be the final game of the season before the pandemic shutdown — that LCA will host a significant number of fans.

“All the players are even more so excited this year with the fans being back in the building,” defenseman Danny DeKeyser said. “I think it’s going to be a great night. It’s been a long time since we’ve seen full buildings and the noise the fans bring. They bring another side of the game that we didn’t have for the last year-and-a-half.”

Continued