Free Press posts excerpt from book commemorating 25 years since the 1997 Stanley Cup win

The Detroit Free Press is publishing a book called, Stanleytown: The Inside Story of How the Stanley Cup Returned to the Motor City After 41 Frustrating Seasons, commemorating the 25th anniversary of the Red Wings’ 1997 Stanley Cup win. The Free Press posted an excerpt from writer Shawn Windsor this morning:

The elation lasted for days, weeks, heck, throughout that summer of 1997. You could hear it on the streets, where cars blared their horns. You could see it there, too, as drivers festooned their windows with flags of the Winged Wheel, flapping in the breeze, a red-and-white rainbow that stretched from the

Ambassador Bridge to the Mackinac Bridge and back.

Hockey might not have the broad appeal of football or even baseball, and we can debate where basketball falls into the mix. But on the June night the Wings clinched the Cup, after all the pain and disappointment and the finals sweep at the hands of the New Jersey Devils two seasons before, after all that, the Wings grabbed the hearts of everyone.

And made them whole again.

Continued

Two things: on Red Wings rookies and coach Blashill’s rank (amidst misery and decency)

In news of good cheer (or the lack thereof), Sportsnet’s Rory Boylen has posted a list of questions for each and every one of the NHL’s 32 teams as training camps approach, and his take on the Red Wings’ biggest question is preceded by the now-familiar, “But the Red Wings are going to suck anyway”…

Detroit Red Wings: Which kids stand out?

With another year of misery expected, Wings fans can only hope for progress. Moritz Seider, the sixth overall pick in 2019, arrives and seems to have the inside track on a roster spot he still needs to earn. Is he a top-four guy right away? Joe Veleno and Jonatan Berggren, selected three picks apart from each other in 2018, are competing for a spot, but is there a chance both could make the team? And how sharp does Lucas Raymond look right away, even though we’re not expecting him to crack the NHL roster out of camp?

Continued; and Detroit Hockey Now’s Kevin Allen offers this assessment of Jeff Blashill as he stacks up among the Atlantic Division’s best and worst coaches, ranking Blashill a solid 6th out of 8:

Jeff Blashill, Detroit Red Wings: My read on Blashill is that Yzerman thinks he has done a credible job with a rebuilding team. Not an exceptional job, not a poor job. A decent job.  But it feels like Yzerman expects to see more growth from this team under Blashill this season.

Misery and decency. I’ll take decency over out-and-out misery, please.

Kulfan’s 10 storylines to watch heading into training camp

The Detroit Red Wings begin training camp on Thursday at Centre ICE Arena. This afternoon, MLive’s Ansar Khan has asked five pertinent questions regarding training camp, and now the Detroit News’s Ted Kulfan is offering an article discussing 10 storylines to look toward starting on Thursday (it’s a subscriber-only story):

► 5. Playing time on defense 

There are plenty of NHL-caliber players and only six positions in the lineup, so the competition beginning in training camp will be intense. Seider, Nick Leddy, Filip Hronek and Marc Staal figure to man the top-four spots.

But, they will be pushed by Troy Stecher, Danny DeKeyser, Jordan Oesterle, Gustav Lindstrom and minor-league free agent Wyatt Newpower, who all at least figure to battle for the two spots on the third-pairing.

It’s a good situation to be in for Blashill, who might have some tough decisions to make on playing time. The Wings have more quality options on defense than they’ve had in recent seasons.

► 6. Welcome to the Wings

There will be plenty of new faces to welcome into the locker room and lineup this weekend in Traverse City.

Leddy, Suter, Oesterle, Stephens, goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic, and forward Carter Rowney are all players brought in during the offseason, as the roster again saw changes.

These next several weeks will be important for Nedeljkovic, as goaltenders, in general, have plenty to work on this time of year.

For Nedeljkovic, coming over to a new team, getting comfortable and familiar with the players in front of him, and getting acclimated again to tracking pucks will be vital during the exhibition season.

► 7. Who will wear the ‘A’?

The Wings will need to find replacements for alternate captains Luke Glendening (signed with Dallas) and Frans Nielsen (bought out).

There are plenty of options.

Veterans such as Staal (who wore the A on occasion last season), DeKeyser and forward Sam Gagner are all viable options. Each was, or has been, a respected veteran in the locker room in recent seasons and would be obvious choices moving forward.

Continued (paywall)

Monroe: Walleye to play 2 ECHL preseason games vs. Kalamazoo

Per the Toledo Blade’s Mark Monroe:

The @ToledoWalleye will play two preseason games. They will play at Kalamazoo on Friday, Oct. 15 at 7 p.m. and then they will host the K-Wings at the Huntington Center on Saturday, Oct. 16 at 7:15 p.m. https://t.co/oN8NfUuiHi— Mark Monroe (@MonroeBlade) September 21, 2021

Khan’s questions for training camp

MLive’s Ansar Khan has posted a set of questions facing the Red Wings going into training camp on Thursday here at Centre ICE Arena in Traverse City. Among them:

What do Lucas Raymond and/or Jonatan Berggren need to show to earn an NHL roster spot out of camp?

The Red Wings lack skill and scoring ability, elements the two wingers bring from Sweden as they transition to the North American game. They need to produce in camp scrimmages and preseason games while showing they won’t be defensive liabilities.

The team’s top six projects to consist of Larkin, Bertuzzi, Filip Zadina, Jakub Vrana, Pius Suter and Robby Fabbri. For Raymond, the No. 4 pick in 2020, and/or Berggren, the 33rd selection in 2018, their best opportunity is to beat out a veteran like Vladislav Namestnikov or Sam Gagner on the third line. Bobby Ryan, who’ll be in camp on a tryout, could also figure in the mix. Raymond and Berggren will not play on the fourth line. Young, waiver-exempt players need to be playing decent minutes to remain on the Red Wings roster; otherwise, they will be sent to the Grand Rapids Griffins for further development.

Does Moritz Seider have a roster spot locked up?

More than likely, as further evidenced by his exclusion from the Prospects Tournament, but the organization will want to see him earn it in camp. Seider, 20, flourished last season with Rogle BK, being named the top defenseman in the Swedish Hockey League, and also earned top D-man honors at the World Championship, helping Germany reach the final four.

The big, righthanded shooter (6-3, 207) will be paired with a veteran left-shooter, likely Nick Leddy or Marc Staal. He likely will be used on the penalty kill but probably not on the power play right away.

Continued

Prospect round-up: Kivenmaki’s Pelicans beat Grewe’s Ilves

Of prospect-related note:

In the Finnish Liiga, Otto Kivenmaki finished even with 1 shot in 14:09 played as his Lahti Pelicans won 4-3 in overtime over Ilves Tampere. Albin Grewe finished even with 3 shots in 9:02 played for Ilves.

#Liiga
Ilves-Pelicans 3-4:
– Kivenmäki 0+0, +/- 0, 1 SOG, 14:09 ice time
– Grewe 0+0, +/- 0, 3 SOG, 9:02 ice time#LGRW— Red Wings Prospects (@DRWProspects) September 21, 2021

Red Wings sign Bobby Ryan to a professional try-out

From the Red Wings on Twitter:

Here’s a bit of background from WDIV’s David Bartkowiak Jr…

Ryan, 34, played 33 games with Detroit this past season under a one-year contract. He notched 7 goals and 7 assists in that time. He scored four of those goals in his first three games with the Red Wings, which is a franchise record. But the the right wing’s season ended prematurely due to injury.

He became a restricted free agent at the end of the 2020-21 season and remains without a new contract.

The Red Wings have more than enough cap space left sign another free agent. Perhaps Ryan will sign another one-year deal.

As well as the Free Press’s Helene St. James:

Continue reading Red Wings sign Bobby Ryan to a professional try-out

Frolunda HC signs Simon Edvinsson to two-year ‘A-League’ contract

According to Hockeysverige.se’s Mans Karlsson and HockeyNews.se’s Alexander Nilsson, Red Wings prospect Simon Edvinsson has signed a two-year “A-League contract” with the SHL’s Frolunda HC, ensuring that he’ll play on the men’s team for the next two seasons (presuming that he remains in Sweden).

Here’s a rough translation of the Frolunda press release:

From Junior to Rookie

Against Lulea Hockey in the Scandinavium [Frolunda’s home rink], Simon Edvinsson reached a milestone–he played 100 minutes in the SHL.

He’s played for Frolunda HC’s A-team since the start of the season last spring, and he played on a rookie contract (and played 100 SHL minutes) through the game agaist Lulea last Saturday.

“It’s wonderful. It’s always been a goal. It’s really cool to get that reward, to just be part of the A-team is a dream,” says Simon Edvinsson.

The 18-year-old Edvinsson–who has signed for two seasons, until the spring of 2023–has played on a defensive pair with Christian Folin so far, and has impressed Frolunda’s GM, Fredrik Sjostrom:

“He’s started the season at an incredibly high level. That he played on a rookie contract, it’s extremely well-deserved, and he will take further steps in the future.”